The Carabao Cup took place this week and again we witnessed Premier League sides resting talent and basically putting out a second string team. Liverpool did this and lost 3-0 at home to Crystal Palace which cannot feel like a shock. But it is another loss for the Reds who have won just once in their last 7 games including 4 defeats in a row in the Premier League. Manager Arne Slot has come in for some criticism, but why? Liverpool are in poor form and that includes their strongest and best players. They play one of the most in-form sides in the league as their next game is against Aston Villa. This is quickly followed up next week by a meeting with Real Madrid in the Champions League. Liverpool's ambitions this season are to win back to back leagues and try for the Champions League, this is it. The Carabao Cup is an exercise in playing younger players, just ask Arsenal. The Gunners made 10 changes in their game with Brighton and it paid off with a 2-0 home win. Palace though are not Brighton and once anyone saw the Liverpool team sheet there was only going to be one winner. It's not that Slot doesn't want to win the Carabao Cup, it's that for them there is bigger fish to fry. It's the opposite for their rivals Everton and any bottom half of the table club. They shouldn't be making changes, the cup offers silverware and Europe.
These teams have different ambitions, but they seem to get caught up in the notion that in cup games you should use your squad. No, you go out to win the competition that has to be the mindset for clubs who have won zero in over 30 years. For Liverpool the situation is quite different. Imagine for example Slot had put out his strongest side against Palace and they had won but then lost to Aston Villa in the league. The isolated cup win, much like their victory in the Champions League against Eintracht Frankfurt means little when you continue to lose games in the league. There has been talk that Arne Slot could lose his job if the poor form continues. One threat is that former great Jurgen Klopp has not ruled out a return to Anfield but you sense that Liverpool will not act like Nottingham Forest and start to chop and change at the slightest hint of poor form. Let's remember that Klopp himself amid all of his successes at the club had a couple of terrible runs with them and one would think that Slot is safe for now.
Arsenal keep on winning games and they have reached the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup and will be one of the favourites to win it. Of course the main course for any Arsenal fan will be the league title, something that they haven't won by next year for 22 years. The Gunners look complete and they look like the best team in the league. Finally it is difficult to look at Arsenal and see a weakness. Still their fans will be cautious as they have seen how other seasons have imploded in March and April but keep this up and the Gunners may well be able to afford a dip in form. Currently in the Premier League Mikel Arteta's side have a 4 point lead to Bournemouth who alongside Sunderland have surprised many so far. But Arsenal importantly have a 6 point lead over a proposed nearest rival in Manchester City and a seven point lead over Liverpool. Arsenal are also not conceding goals with just 3 let in since August and have only shipped 1 goal from open play via Erling Haaland. Yes it is early days but Arsenal really do look like the real deal this season.
To win the Carabao Cup: Arsenal 3.25, Manchester City 3.50, Chelsea 4.50, Newcastle 5.50, Crystal Palace 13.00
The traditional 3pm kick off is 98 years old and is not going strong almost a century later. Granted it's still in existence but with so much television influence now the games schedules continue to change. We're all happy if we get 5 games at 3pm now and you would be lying to yourself if you were not filled with nostalgia on the final day of the season when all games have the 3pm kick off. It's important that we can keep some traditions in the league after all England invented the modern game and that should not be forgotten. TV money is king of course but we should be wary of UEFA's influence on English football which due to recent European competition saw just 2 3pm kick offs last weekend. Talking of traditions we all love to see Boxing Day football but that looks set to take a kick in the proverbials this season with just 1 match scheduled because the day falls on a Friday. This may be a one off but caution should be taken in after a whole host of foreign managers not used to working on Boxing Day have criticised it. Pep Guardiola clearly does not want it but at the same time dances around the subject and seems to understand the tradition behind it. At the end of the day we need a tougher stance from the English FA if they sleep on this, schedules will be changed by outside influences.
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