Source: TheGuardian
Premier League and Carabao Cup final: 10 things to look out for this weekend
The first major English trophy of the season is up for grabs, a new era begins at Palace and Everton are in a holeForest are in trouble, four points above the relegation zone and with their only win in their past five games coming against West Ham, the league’s current crisis-club. So a visit to Villa Park is the last thing they need because, after a dodgy few weeks, the home side righted themselves at Fulham last weekend, focused on converting a fine season into a Champions League place. Forest do, though, know how to play these kinds of matches, having won at Newcastle and given Arsenal and Manchester United scares. In Morgan Gibbs-White, they have a ball-carrier of pace and aggression, while Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi bring tricky directness and Taiwo Awoniyi converts his chances at a better rate than any striker in the division. All of this means Forest are well-placed to exploit Villa’s high line, but only if they can get enough of the ball to make it happen while staying solid at the back – both of which are far easier said than done. Daniel HarrisAston Villa v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 3pm (all times GMT)Brighton v Everton, Saturday 3pmCrystal Palace v Burnley, Saturday 3pmManchester United v Fulham, Saturday 3pmBournemouth v Manchester City, Saturday 5.30pm Continue reading......read full article
