Manchester: Manchester United are in need of a lift as they travel to Swansea, but must seek it without the presence of their manager Jose Mourinho on the touchline.
Mourinho must watch from the stand at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, having been given a one-match ban for confronting referee Mark Clattenburg at half-time during last weekend’s goalless draw with Burnley.
These are not happy times for the United manager, who was fined £8,000 ($10,000, 9,000 euros) for that incident, and ordered to pay another £50,000 for comments made about another referee, Anthony Taylor, before the goalless draw at Liverpool on October 17. Mourinho has become embroiled in controversies off the field as his team labour on it.
In the Premier League, United have dropped to eighth place after going four matches without a win and three without a goal. In the Europa League, they are in danger of being eliminated at the group stage, falling to third place in their section following Thursday’s 2-1 defeat by Fenerbahce in Istanbul.
The concern for United is that they are not scoring despite dominating the ball; they had 72 percent possession against Burnley, and 70 percent in Turkey. It does not help that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is going through one of the worst goalscoring spells of his career. He has gone six league matches without scoring for the first time since December 2007.
Swansea have not won since the opening day of the season, collecting just two points from their last nine matches, and sit next to bottom of the table. Buoyed by the return of Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur will look to arrest their current slump and improve their dismal record at the Emirates Stadium in derby against Arsenal. Though they remain the last unbeaten team in the Premier League, Tottenham have gone six games without victory in all competitions since their stunning 2-0 defeat of Manchester City a month ago.
Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen left them in third place in their Champions League group and manager Mauricio Pochettino concedes preparation for the 179th North London derby has not been ideal.
Pochettino is yet to lose a league game against Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, winning one and drawing three of their four encounters, although he did taste defeat against him in last season’s League Cup.
Foxes in the hunt for West Brom win
Leicester City can end a solid week in style with a victory over West Bromwich Albion that would send them into the Premier League’s international break on a high.
Yet for a club still making history and breaking down barriers, the Premier League champions had felt a little low heading into Sunday’s clash with the Baggies. A much-needed improved away performance brought a handy point in the league at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend before a creditable goalless draw in Copenhagen on Wednesday put them on the brink of the Champions League’s last 16 with a record of four group games without conceding a goal.
Yet a disjointed performance in Denmark, allied to a fractured hand that will keep goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel out for up to seven weeks, left a slightly sour taste to what should have been a pleasing run for manager Claudio Ranieri.
The Italian will now put his trust in German international Ron-Robert Zieler, who has played in the Premier League games against Swansea City, Burnley and Manchester United as well as the EFL Cup tie against Chelsea.
The 27-year-old has conceded eight goals in his last two games but he will now replace a man Ranieri rates among the best in the business. Albion manager Pulis will again be without striker Saido Berahino, whose career continues to stall following more fitness issues. The 23-year-old has now been sent to France for a four-day fitness camp that Pulis hopes will help him get back in shape to play.
