While the Week 10 set of fixtures won’t conclude until later tonight, we’d still suggest that we have enough information to put together our list of big winners and big losers over the course of the last few days. This is a new weekly piece on Soccer Times and, based on the name, you probably already have a pretty good idea of what this is all about.
We’re about to take a look at the two biggest winners and two biggest losers of the weekend, and after you’d read through it, perhaps you’ll consider heading on over to the betting page.
Big winners
Tottenham
It seems bizarre to suggest that Spurs are big winners when they didn’t even beat Chelsea, but there’s a method to our madness. In addition to proving that they can keep out a team as talented at the Blues going forward, we also saw Liverpool drop points to ensure Spurs remain top of the table. Plus, Jose Mourinho said that his players weren’t happy in the changing room after the game which, weirdly enough, also leads us to believe that they’re starting to develop the mentality they need to go after trophies again.
Manchester City
While there’s still a decent chance that they won’t be able to wrestle back control of the Premier League title this season, Manchester City will just be happy to know that there’s a clear direction for their future. Pep Guardiola has committed to staying at the Etihad, they’re in with a chance of signing Lionel Messi next summer, and their 5-0 win over Burnley at the weekend proved that they are still able to blow teams out of the water when it matters most.
Big losers
Sheffield United
With just one point from their first ten games, Sheffield United are starting to look like the team that could break Derby County’s record low points total of 11 from the 2007-08 Premier League campaign. They would’ve come into the match at The Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion with some confidence, if only because the Baggies have also been poor so far this season. Alas, they once again suffered a big defeat, and now they face the very real possibility of being relegated thanks to a big dose of second season syndrome.
Arsenal
After what happened between David Luiz and Raul Jimenez it felt as if the Arsenal vs Wolves game had an eerie atmosphere surrounding it, and for whatever reason, that benefitted Wolverhampton Wanderers moreso than the Gunners. Wolves just seemed to be focused on the task at hand whereas Mikel Arteta’s men just couldn’t really get going. There was a whole load of confidence within the Emirates heading into this season because most supporters thought that the Spaniard was going to bring the kind of consistency they needed to challenge for the top four again. Instead, there are ongoing discussions about whether or not he’s going to remain as manager, which is a big departure from their FA Cup triumph just a matter of months ago.
