1. Title run-in all about ‘little details’
Pep Guardiola has told his Manchester City players their pursuit of honours in the final three months of the season will depend on their “brains and minds”.
City, who remain in contention for four trophies, meet title rivals Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and Newcastle in the fifth-round of the FA Cup next month, as well as Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.
In the Premier League, they are five points behind Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal with a game in hand. City have had no midweek games for two weeks and – after the visit to Leeds on Saturday – Guardiola has given his players Sunday to Tuesday off as he believes the challenge in the defining part of the campaign is more mental than technical.
“There are still things that we should train and practise more, but I prioritised rest,” Guardiola said. “With three months left, there are many things that the team have improved in and still some things that the team has to improve, but now it is the little details.
“Now it is how it is in your brains and your minds that will make the difference. Maybe for the new players it is new, but we have talked a lot in many meetings for many years that, when you arrive in the last three months, competing in all competitions, everything is here [points to his head].” Jamie Jackson
2. Howe urges Gordon to ignore Arsenal links
Eddie Howe has urged Anthony Gordon not to be distracted by reports linking him with a summer move to Arsenal amid speculation that the 25-year-old winger will be a target for the title-chasing Gunners.
Howe, who is still dealing with the fallout from Alexander Isak’s defection to Liverpool last summer, could do without a repeat of that saga, but the Newcastle manager admits there is little he can do to prevent it.
Newcastle face Gordon’s former cub Everton in the Premier League on Saturday and Howe said: “I’m not sure there’s a lot I can do about that. I’ve not seen the story, so it’s news to me. But we’re mid-season, we’re in the middle of some of the biggest games of his career and who knows what’s going to happen internationally with him in the summer as well?
“He’s got no time to look left or right, he’s got to be fully focused on straight ahead and the next game and trying to be as good as he can be.”
Gordon, who earlier this month dismissed rumours he was on the way out of the club where he signed a new contract in October 2024, will hope to continue his good run of form to secure a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup finals and Howe is hopeful he will not be unsettled by talk over his future.
“It comes with the territory of being a top player and playing at this level, that there’s going to be speculation,” said Howe. “You’ve just got to put it out of your brain and you’ve got to focus on the football because as we know with our schedule, there’s so many games, there’s no time for distractions. We have to be fully focused on each match.” PA Media
3. Moyes blames referees for corner ‘dark arts’
David Moyes has claimed corner-kick routines are turning into wrestling contests because referees have ignored “the dark arts” for too long.
Moyes’s Everton team were criticised for crowding the Manchester United goalkeeper, Senne Lammens, at several corners during their 1-0 defeat at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday. Ahead of Saturday’s game at Newcastle, the Everton manager insisted that went against his gameplan but he, and other managers, would seek any advantage that the laws of the game offer. However, he also believes referees should take a harder line to try to eradicate jostling at set-pieces.
“Truthfully, it wasn’t the plan for our corner kicks to end up like that. But I think there’s a bigger issue with it,” Moyes said. “It has been allowed to let go, whether it be blocking of goalkeepers or blocking of defenders, and you get the feeling now that referees really don’t want to get involved in any of it. It is nearly wrestling to an extent, which it shouldn’t be. It should never have got to this situation, but I think it’s been really poor that they’ve not tried to deal with it well enough and stop it.
“You are now allowed lots of blocking, for example. In my day, if you blocked someone it would have been a free-kick. But blocking has become a big part of it. Let’s be fair, the best at it – but with style – would be Arsenal: good delivery, good style, but ultimately there’s a lot of dark arts in it such as blocking the goalkeeper from the back or the front, blocking defenders and making it difficult for them to be your key headers of the ball.
“It is a big thing in football, but I do think the level of refereeing has let that part of the game drop. And managers, if we see somebody else doing it and not getting punished for it, then we are all on it.”
Ironically, Moyes felt Everton’s approach in the closing stages against United worked against his team. He wanted more variety from Everton’s corners but claimed: “It was very difficult to get the message on.”
Moyes admitted: “The plan was not to deliver the corners in the fashion we did the other night. They shouldn’t have been delivered as close to the goalkeeper. They should have been delivered into different areas at different times according to what we had worked on. It became a bit of a wrestling match and I didn’t think it showed enough quality or enough thought.” Andy Hunter
4. Glasner wary of United’s Carrick bounce
Oliver Glasner credits Michael Carrick for imbuing Manchester United with a “great spirit” and “clear structure” since his appointment last month. No team has picked up more Premier League points in 2026 than United, with Carrick winning five of his six games in charge since replacing Ruben Amorim.
Palace have been a thorn in United’s side in recent years, winning three of their five last encounters, but Glasner expects Carrick’s side to be in fine form on Sunday when the Eagles head to Old Trafford.
“Of course, when Man United plays at home against Crystal Palace, everybody there is expecting now a win,” said Glasner. “They are a very good team now. They gave a very good balance between, it’s a very experienced team, with really, very experienced Premier League players, and very young players with huge talent.
“It’s a good mix they have now, but I think the most important thing for them is they are consistently playing with their team and have a clear structure in the way they are playing. This is what I could see against Everton. They have a great spirit right now. It was really impressive seeing Matheus Cunha celebrating winning a duel in their own box. This, I think, is what Michael Carrick brought into this team.” PA Media
5. Andrews hopes sceptical fans won over
Keith Andrews admits he understood the “scepticism” surrounding his summer appointment but says he loves being at Brentford after a good start to life as head coach. Earlier this week, Andrews signed a new six-year deal at the Gtech Community Stadium having guided Brentford to seventh with 11 games to go.
Brentford was Andrews’s first job as head coach and he admits he knew he had to earn the fans’ belief. “I love being at this club, I love the challenges that it brings, the level that we are at, and what we need to do to strive and not just survive at this level. It’s right up my street,” he said. “I don’t necessarily doubt myself, I don’t feel like I’ve ever suffered with that. That’s not being overconfident or arrogant. I always try to take a step forward and, when I don’t, I learn from my mistakes.
“When I said I wanted to earn my stripes it was aligned to the fans and my relationship with them, I felt like I needed to earn their belief in me, fundamentally, and scepticism around my appointment in the summer which I understood at the time. I did want to grasp that opportunity with both hands so, hopefully, I’ve done that.”
Brentford travel to Burnley on Saturday where a win could take them closer to a place in Europe next season, and they could have long-throw specialist Michael Kayode back in the side. Andrews added: “Michael is back in training; we’ll see how he is tomorrow. I think he should be in and around it. He just picked up a little knock, and it wasn’t quite right to have him involved last weekend.” PA Media
