Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend

Sport360 staff 01:12 20/03/2017
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  • The Premier League weekend saw Chelsea extend their lead at the top while Manchester United moved into the top five.

    Here, we look at five things we learned.

    Share with us your thoughts by commenting below, using #360fans on Twitter, or getting in touch via Facebook.

    Will he push for a move?

    Willian made only his 13th Premier League start of the season against Stoke on Saturday, scoring the opening goal. That represents just 46 per cent of Chelsea’s games which, for a player of his supreme quality, surely has to rankle a bit.

    The Brazilian turns 29 in August and may start to feel, with good reason, that his future would be better served away from Stamford Bridge. He’s Champions League-level and will know he won’t be short of offers.

    Ndidi was a clever buy

    Paying £17m for a 20-year-old who has only played in the Belgian top-flight may have raised a few eyebrows in January but Leicester’s acquisition of Wilfred Ndidi may prove an astute purchase in the short and long term. He’s yet to really have a bad game for the Foxes and was a dominating presence in the midfield against West Ham on Saturday.

    The search for N’Golo Kante MkII goes on but the Nigerian is the closest they’ve come to finding his successor. Expect his value to skyrocket over the next year.

    Spotlight starts to fall on Bilic

    Slaven Bilic’s strange season has escaped criticism as other managers have failed more obviously while West Ham’s relocation to the London Stadium seems to have bought him some time, but the Hammers are in a rut.

    Three straight defeats have all-but ruled out any chance of European football next season while, defensively, their 52 goals conceded puts them in the four worst teams in the league. It’s difficult to know what kind of a team they are with no real identity or path to success at present.

    Allardyce builds around Sakho

    Sam Allardyce just knows how to grind it out and after a serious wobble at the start of the year, three consecutive wins has moved the Eagles out of the relegation zone.

    Central to that has been the tried-and-trusted method of defensive organisation and January signing Mamadou Sakho has been nothing short of excellent. His inconsistency in possession meant he was never going to last under Jurgen Klopp but with Allardyce he can focus on the basics: heading, tackling, blocking and reading the play.

    Watford in freefall

    The Hornets have lost their sting and a pair of wins against Arsenal and Burnley represent six of their nine points in 2017. They are slipping down the standings and with Palace and Leicester improving and Swansea picking up some points, Watford are in danger of being sucked right into the relegation mix.

    It’s been seven games now since a clean sheet and that was against Middlesbrough.

    Walter Mazzarri has reason to be a worried man.

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