Premier League: Three Key Things To Look Out For This Weekend

As the English premier league reaches its crunch stage, storylines are being written slowly. This weekend, the title race could be decided when Liverpool travel to the Etihad in what could be the biggest game of the Premier League season. At the other end of the table, Everton need a result against Manchester United while Burnley absolutely need to get a positive result to keep their Premier League hopes alive.

1) Can John Stones Handle The Pressure?

Manchester City’s defense has been colossal for pretty much the entire season. Much of that was due to the solid partnership between Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte. Dias is yet to recover from his hamstring problem so John Stones will replace him in the starting XI. Stones alongside Aymeric Laporte will need to maintain concentration against the most prolific attack in the EPL He will need to be at his absolute best for City to have any chance of keeping Liverpool quiet on Sunday evening.

2) Tuchel Needs To Improve Chelsea Defensively

Thomas Tuchel was lauded as a transformative figure when he took over from Lampard. He made the blues sturdier and compact at the back. He must be alarmed at how open Chelsea have been in recent home games against Brentford and Real Madrid. Of course, not all opponents will boast creative midfielders of the level of Christian Eriksen or Luka Modric, but there was more to it. Uncharacteristic individual errors, lack of positioning and the sense that Chelsea look easy to score against. Given how difficult it seems for Tuchel to turn the Madrid tie around, hanging on to a top-four place is now a priority for the blues.

3) Burnley In A Must-Win Game Against Norwich

Burnley put up a stunning performance to earn all three points against Everton on Wednesday. For the Clarets fans, that must be a reinvigorating feeling. Now they need to follow it up with another win against Norwich. The Clarets have already won back-to-back games this season when they defeated Brighton and Tottenham. However, Sean Dyche’s side at least have 12 draws to put them within a point of 17th place.

A second consecutive victory could take Burnley out of the relegation zone. That would undoubtedly build momentum for a tougher run of games to come. Fixtures against Southampton and Wolves are on the horizon before a trip to relegation rivals Watford. Failure to take all three points at Carrow Road would be a blow to a side aiming to secure yet another year in the top flight. Burnley have shown before that they know how to survive and their fans will be counting on that.