Opinion

Jurgen Klopp has always been a brilliant attacking coach, although that is not to say he hasn’t had his bad days. His departure from Mainz was less than celebratory. After retiring as a player at the German club, he was appointed as the manager in 2001 and he had a brilliant start.

Brighton have a golden opportunity to move to the top of the Championship when they face Cardiff at the Falmer Stadium on Tuesday night.

Crystal Palace’s recent poor form continued on Saturday afternoon with a 1-0 home defeat against Everton. The defeat coupled with Swansea’s win at Liverpool meant the Eagles dropped into the relegation zone.

Having allowed a lead to slip late in the game at Old Trafford last weekend, Liverpool needed to win their match against Swansea City on Saturday to keep the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table.

The first half of the 2016/17 season was a disappointing one for Wolfsburg, who produced just two wins in their first 14 game in the Bundesliga. However, with 2016 now behind them, the struggling club appears to be back on track.

Ligue 1 has hardly offered much in terms of competition over the last few years, with oil-rich Paris Saint-Germain buying their way to four consecutive league titles. However, their period of dominance appears to be coming to an end, with the reemergence of former heavyweights Monaco and up-and-coming side OGC Nice providing PSG with a much needed challenge in the 2016/17 title race.

Middlesbrough have enjoyed a solid return to the Premier League this season for a newly promoted team. The north east side currently sit 16th in the table and five points above the drop zone.

The immediate past Manchester United manager made a retirement announcement on 16th January, citing family reasons. The Dutch tactician whose full name is Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal’s last job was at Old Trafford where he spent two years and won the FA cup after enduring a difficult last six months.

In the week Juventus unveiled their new club logo, the Serie A title race opened up and the pressure is beginning to mount at the top of the table.

This season Chelsea seem to be running away with the Premier League title. The Blues are currently seven points clear of second-place Tottenham. Even without the services of star striker Diego Costa, Antonio Conte’s side hammered champions Leicester 3-0 on home soil on Saturday.

Manchester United vs Liverpool is always one of the biggest club matches in the Premier League and Europe.  This season, the fixture took on extra significance as Liverpool hoped to stay in touch with Chelsea at the top of the table and Manchester United were looking to take advantage of Manchester City’s heavy defeat at Everton.  However, the match finished 1-1, with the points shared, leaving both managers with the feeling of an opportunity missed.

Manchester City headed to Merseyside on Sunday to face Everton in confident mood. The Citizens had recorded four wins in their previous five games. In their last outing against West Ham, Pep Guardiola’s side recorded an emphatic 5-0 win.

On Friday night the news broke that Chelsea’s star striker Diego Costa had a blazing row with Blues coaching staff on the club's training row. The Spanish international is believed to have clashed with a fitness coach and is reported to have been told by boss Antonio Conte to ‘Go to China then!’ during the incident.

Arsenal travel to relegation threatened Swansea this weekend in the Premier League, knowing they cannot afford to drop any more points on the road, if they are to stay in the title race.  With Manchester United and Liverpool playing each other, Arsene Wenger knows this is a good opportunity to pull away from the former, or close the gap on the latter.

Without doubt, Liverpool have played some of the best football in the English top flight this season.  They have pressed teams high up the pitch from the first whistle and it has been entertaining to watch them go about their business.  The top goal scorers in the Premier League, Liverpool have recorded some impressive results, especially at home. However, Jurgen Klopp’s team went down 1-0 to Southampton in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final this week, in what was a worrying performance for Reds fans.

Media reports suggest that French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is having a medical at Everton ahead of a £22million switch from Manchester United. The French international midfielder has endured mixed fortunes at Old Trafford.

Having played 17 games in La Liga this season, Barcelona find themselves in third place, 5 points off the leaders Real Madrid, who have a game in hand.  If Real Madrid win their game in hand, which seems extremely likely given their form this season, the lead will be 8 points and this will be very difficult to overturn, especially when the Champions League resumes in mid-February.

When Liverpool signed Senegalese winger Sadio Mane from Southampton in the summer for £34million some people questioned his signing. Critics questioned if the winger was worth the money after an inconsistent end to last season with the Saints.

The reason why so many people love football is the unpredictable nature of the sport.  Having struggled under the guidance of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, Manchester United were in danger of being cut adrift of the top Premier League clubs.  However, things have changed in recent months and if Manchester United can maintain their current form, a title challenge is not out of the question.

Chelsea have decided to recall young defender Nathan Ake from his season-long loan deal at Bournemouth. The 21-year-old had become a regular starter for the Cherries in recent months and impressed at the heart of the Bournemouth defence.