LAURA WOODS: CHELSEA NOW CHALLENGERS & SOUNESS IS WRONG ON RICE
DERBY WIN COULD BE TRANSFORMATIVE FOR CARRICK
I think Michael Carrick would benefit more from winning the Manchester Derby than Enzo Maresca would.
Maresca has started pretty perfectly at Manchester City – the Community Shield isn’t important now.
And even if they lose the derby at Old Trafford, he’s still a new manager, with new players, at a hostile ground. That’s always a difficult place for City to go and it’s also very early in the season. City will be judged over 38 games and in Europe.
But, for Carrick, it could be genuinely transformative.
Manchester United have had a much more mixed start. They lost to Hull, conceded twice at Everton and there are defensive questions already… so beating this City side would immediately give credibility to what he’s building.
WATCH: Laura blind ranks UK football derbies
I actually asked Carrick what he was most pleased with after the Champions League win over Sabah on Thursday and he said ‘keeping a clean sheet’.
If they can beat City with that leaky defence, it’ll be massive for him.
That’s especially true because of the psychological element of this being the first Manchester Derby of the post-Pep Guardiola era.
It’s an opportunity for United to lay down a marker. For years City were the benchmark and United were trying to catch them.
Carrick winning the first one against Pep’s successor would be symbolically enormous, even if City have bigger fish to fry this season.
Man Utd to beat Man City is 2/1 with BetMGM
SOUNESS’ RICE COMMENTS WIDE OF THE MARK
I wasn’t a fan of Graeme Souness’ comments about Declan Rice.
There’s no need to compare Rice to a Souness or a Steven Gerrard. The elite midfielders we see today operate in a completely different environment.
Sometimes what looks conservative is actually exactly what Mikel Arteta is probably demanding.
There’s no way Rice hides or takes the easy ball or doesn’t impose himself enough creatively – and remember we’ve seen him as a centre-back too. He’d be wasted there.
Just because he’s brilliant defensively doesn’t mean he should just play at centre-back. He’s just very versatile, which shows how good he actually is.
We’ve seen him as a six, an eight, carrying the ball, making those incredible galloping runs of his, winning it back, driving Arsenal up the pitch… and scoring very important goals and taking set-pieces.
He’s also just played almost 70 times in one season for Arsenal and England, so physically he’s got to manage himself at times too.
He probably isn’t a Gerrard or a Souness – but I don’t think that’s what’s being asked of him.
Rice to have most assists in the league is 25/1 with BetMGM
MARTINEZ CAN MAKE CHELSEA CHALLENGERS
I have a love-hate relationship with Emi Martinez – I loved him at Arsenal, but hate him against us for club and country. And I find him irritating because he’s arrogant on the pitch and has the talent to back it up.
I thought he went to Chelsea cheap and will be a big signing for them, even at 34. He’s got the personality, the experience and the authority. He’s a World Cup winner.
WATCH: Laura blind ranks Premier League goalkeepers
A lot of Chelsea’s side are very talented but not very experienced – now they’ve got his presence and confidence behind them, which will massively help as they’re still developing individually and as a team.
The game against Arsenal was tough for both sides but I thought it showed that we are a step ahead of them; we’re more experienced and rounded now, the more complete team.
I don’t think Emi makes Chelsea anywhere near favourites but, with him, they can certainly challenge for the title in my opinion.
Chelsea to win the Premier League is 8/1 with BetMGM
WHY HULL COULD DO A SUNDERLAND
Hull have had an amazing start to the season – and that is massive for them.
Seven points from three matches, unbeaten, with zero goals conceded? For a newly promoted team tipped to go straight back down (including by me!), that is exceptional.
It’s a very long season, though, and the Premier League is brutal. Collecting early points like this could be vital towards the end of the campaign so they’re giving themselves breathing space, a bit of a cushion.
The clean sheet element is something that top teams concern themselves with, look at United, who Hull put two past.
United’s biggest concern is their defence. Arsenal, meanwhile, won the league with a brilliant defence. If you can make yourself hard to beat and not concede, you’ve got a massive chance as a team that’s just come up.
I do think their results haven’t been flukes too… they’re not just hanging in there. They got good results at home against United as well as away to Coventry – who would have fancied it against a fellow newbie – and they held their own with Aston Villa.
We saw what Sunderland did last season with confidence and momentum. I think Hull could replicate that.
Hull to be relegated is 1/2 with BetMGM
MY GOLDEN GOALS MATCHDAY 4 SELECTIONS
Here are my picks for this week’s Golden Goals, BetMGM’s free-to-play correct score predictor game with up to £250,000 up for grabs:
- Aston Villa 1-1 Nott’m Forest
- Liverpool 3-0 Fulham
- Tottenham 0-1 Everton
- Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
- Coventry 1-2 Brighton
- Man Utd 1-2 Man City
Even getting as few as two correct scores right could land you a prize, from Free Bets to a share of £5,000!
Fancy it? Get your own entries in here or, if you need a hand deciding, take a look at BetMGM’s expert analysis for all six games here first.
LITTLER’S AN ANOMALY… BUT NOT THE BEST YET
Luke Littler’s talent is just absurd – 30 PDC titles at 19 is a monster number. It’s not normal.
He’s already won the World Championship again as well as the BetMGM Premier League this year and he’s chasing the clean sweep of majors. Next up is the World Series Finals in Amsterdam.
Of course, he’s beatable, we’ve seen that. Luke Humphries is the most obvious one [who can beat him] but Michael van Gerwen is still a huge threat on the big stage and can go blow for blow.
But Littler is growing in confidence – even when he’s not playing his best game he can still do it. That’s quite scary.
I never like to commit to questions comparing to the best too much – because longevity is so important when you look at the greats in the world of sport and Littler hasn’t had that time yet – but what I will commit to is that he is an anomaly.
He’s 19, not even at his peak yet. Phil Taylor was older when he retired so Luke has decades to continue to do the damage he’s doing now and he’s only going to get better.
I just wonder if there’s another wonderkid or two on their way onto the circuit in the near future that will challenge him… he’ll certainly be inspiring the next generation already.
He hasn’t produced the greatest season in darts quite yet – Taylor and MVG in their prime were both as unstoppable – so we’ll have to wait and see.
Littler to win the World Series Finals is 1/2 with BetMGM
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change. Please note: This week's Golden Goals deadline is Saturday 12th September 15:00. Opt-in is required and you can find out more here.
Golden Goals Terms & Conditions
Opt in & predict 6 correct scores (see game lobby for weekly tournament cut-off time) to win up to £250k jackpot. Predict 2+ correct scores and win a prize (ranging from Free Bets to £5k Prizepool). Winnings shared evenly in case of multiple winners. Each prize subject to its own terms. Void if 1 or more matches postponed/abandoned or not completed. Verification procedures apply. 18+. T&Cs and exclusions apply.
