Category: Football (Soccer)

An opportunistic goal from James Maddison gave Spurs their first home victory in the league since early November

A reminder of the teams

Tottenham Hotspur (4-1-4-1) Vicario; Pedro Porro, Danso, Davies, Spence; Bentancur; Kulusevski, Bergvall, Maddison, Son; Tel.
Substitutes: Kinsky, Udogie, Gray, Bissouma, Sarr, Moore, Odobert, Johnson, Scarlett.

First-half goals from Luis Díaz and Mohamed Salah restored Liverpool’s seven-point lead at the top of the table, though Matheus Cunha’s lovely strike had nerves jangling

So where is the game? I’m certain that Wolves, like every team facing Liverpool, will target the space in and around around and behind Alexander-Arnold who, for all his glorious passing and crossing, lack defensive nous and recovery pace. There could scarcely be a duo better-placed to exploit that than Ait-Nouri and Cunha while, on the other side, Semedo and Sarabia will also feel they can do something against the flagging Andy Robertson, especially on the counter.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will expect to outnumber Wolves in midfield, therefore dominating the ball, targeting the space behind the wing-backs with Jota scavenging in the box. And if all else fails, they can just give it Salah.

At 32 the striker is part of a new generation, powered by science and making a huge impact on the title race

It takes a team to win trophies but it is quite useful to have an individual enjoy the season of their life. Mohamed Salah is that for Liverpool. Highlighting his importance to his side’s success is not exactly controversial but any praise is merited after driving his team into pole position as the business end approaches.

Salah leads the Premier League scoring and creativity charts with 22 goals and 14 assists to put Liverpool clear at the top. On a difficult night at Goodison Park in midweek, he set up the opener before scoring in a game of few chances, the ninth time this season he has achieved such a feat. Sunday’s opponents Wolves will be well aware of his threat, although attempting to nullify him is more difficult.

Omar Marmoush arrived in the winter window as a 20-goal forward for Eintracht Frankfurt and against Newcastle emphatically showed why, via a scintillating 14-minute first-half hat-trick that tore the opposition apart. For the Egyptian and Manchester City, joy; for the visitors, despair, as they were sent home reeling, on the back of a 16th consecutive Premier League reverse here.

At the break, a home fan suggested it was “the best first 45 minutes I’ve seen all season”: he was not far wrong, because when City are performing like this you see how Pep Guardiola might revive his embattled champions.

Ten-man Ipswich hold Villa, Marmoush scores three, while Arsenal, Brentford, Bournemouth and Fulham also win

Southampton: Ramsdale, Bree, Bednarek, Wood-Gordon, Walker-Peters, Smallbone, Aribo, Welington, Fernandes, Onuachu, Sulemana.

Subs: McCarthy, Manning, Sugawara, Archer, Taylor, Ugochukwu, Gronbaek, Dibling, Bella-Kotchap.

Mikel Merino came off the bench to score two late goals and keep Arsenal’s title hopes alive

9 min Odegaard teases a chip over the defence towards Trossard, who flicks a volley that is saved to his right by Hermansen. He was offside so it wouldn’t have counted.

7 min Arsenal are settling into their passing rhythm. Still no openings to speak of, never mind chances.

• Former players recall incident from game in 2003
• Van Nistelrooy: ‘It was a good rivalry, wasn’t it?

Martin Keown has apologised to Ruud van Nistelrooy for the notorious clash between the pair at Old Trafford in 2003 after they renewed acquaintances at Leicester on Saturday.

The TNT Sports pundit Keown was at the King Power Stadium to cover Leicester’s Premier League home fixture with Arsenal and caught up with Foxes boss Van Nistelrooy before kick-off.