Liverpool’s stuttering league campaign took another turn for the worse as they were beaten at home by Nottingham Forest in Week 12. Forest have already changed managers twice this season, but the third one in the hot seat- Sean Dyche, orchestrated a stunning 3-0 away win for the visitors.
For Liverpool, things have continued to go pear-sharped since Week 5, and this 3-0 reverse represents their heaviest home defeat under Arne Slot. The Reds had 75% of possession and 20 total shots, but it all amounted to nothing on the scorecard as goals from Murillo, Savona and Gibbs-White gave Forest a famous victory and pulled the visitors out of the drop zone.
What’s more, this defeat, coupled with Everton’s stunning win at Old Trafford against Ruben Amorim’s United, means that the Toffees are now above their famous rivals in the standings. That’s certainly not what many folks would’ve expected roughly a third into the season!
Everton won a somewhat bizarre game. They had Idrissa Gueye red carded for slapping his own team mate, had only 30% possession and mustered only two shots in the entire fixture. Yet, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s fine 29th minute strike was enough for the ten man Toffees to emerge from Old Trafford with all three points. United keeper Senne Lammens would’ve however felt that he could’ve done better to stop Dewsbury Hall’s effort.
Arsenal maintained their position at the top with a 4-1 demolition of rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Summer signing Eberechi Eze wrote himself into the history books with a hat trick for the Gunners. Richarlison scored a stunning long-range goal for Spurs as well.
At this stage of the season, the Parimatch betting odds have the Gunners as favourites for the league title, and it’s hard not to feel that this might indeed be Mikel Arteta’s year- Liverpool have faded away, Chelsea are inexperienced and this Man City side isn’t as good as previous ones under Pep Guardiola.
City suffered their fourth league defeat of the campaign as they went down to Newcastle, with Harvey Barnes scoring both goals for Eddie Howe’s Magpies. City are third in the league but have lost more games than any of the teams in the top 8 currently (see table above). Pep Guardiola’s were also beaten midweek in the Champions League at home by Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal’s next fixture in Week 13 is against Chelsea, and this is a No.1 vs No.2 side in the standings. Enzo Maresca has come in for a lot of criticism for his tactics at Stamford Bridge this season, but has still managed to keep his side within touching distance of the league leaders. The Blues emerged 2-0 winners at Burnley in GW12, and followed it up with an impressive midweek result against Barcelona in the Champions League.
Estevao and Liam Delap were among the scorers as CFC humbled mighty Barca at the Bridge. This weekend’s fixture between the Blues and the Gunners is shaping to be a hugely important one- a six pointer in a way. If Arsenal win, they’ll go nine points clear of their London neighbours.
Liverpool will face West Ham this weekend. The Hammers are a team the Red have dominated in recent times, but the former have had an excellent November, beating Newcastle and Burnley and drawing with Bournemouth, and will be keen to end the month on a high.