Premier League

It might not be Baseball, but there is little denying numbers play a prominent role in soccer today. Sunday’s clash between Tottenham and Manchester City at White Hart Lane will be one of those matches where numbers go a long way in explaining what the outcome might be.

The Premier League-leading goal machine that is Manchester City’s attack will have to find a way to breach the wall Mauricio Pochettino set up so far in Tottenham’s defense. 

Standing at 6’3’’ and built like brick s***houses, Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku both share a distinct ability to absolutely boss center-backs. Both are charged with doing as much for their club sides, Everton and Crystal Palace.

On Friday night, the two players went head to head in a match surely watched by Belgium manager Roberto Martinez and his assistant Thierry Henry. While the two strikers share some qualities, they’re incredibly different in their approach play.

Although Celtic is coached by ex-Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, no stranger to his Manchester City opponents, the Pep Guardiola led Citizens should have easily pulled out a win against the Scottish champions. However, yesterday's result showed that maybe the rise of Kevin De Bruyne and not the acquisition of Guardiola is the reason behind Manchester City’s place at the top of the Premier League table.

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If you have not seen Jurgen Klopp's appearance on Monday Night Football (the British one), we urge you do do so. It is a delight, and also enlightening, even if you are not a Liverpool fan.

Klopp talks tactics, his journey to management, Liverpool's current form and many other things, and Jamie Carragher eats it all up with a spoon.

Your girl will never look at you, the way Jamie Carragher looks at Jurgen Klopp. pic.twitter.com/4E65bhhsVl

If Burnley Football Club was a food, it would be a potato.

There's not a lot of flavor here, but there is a lot of starch. The Clarets are a lumpy soccer team. The defenders lump long balls forward and the forwards lump those long balls toward the goals and when the other team is on the attack Burnley's midfielders lump them really hard and if they get past the midfield the defense lumps them even harder.

What a week for 23-year-old Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard. The Manchester United youth academy product put in his best performance of the Premier League season on Saturday in United’s 4-1 victory over Leicester City.

Starting the match and playing for 78 minutes, Lingard played a vital part in United’s second goal by registering a classy assist for Juana Mata’s 37th minute goal. 

Juan Mata's goal. Great team goal! pic.twitter.com/1bFu5A6TqK

While we rang the Manchester United death knell and witnessed as the club bore the skeletons of their proverbial dead (Wayne Rooney taking a spot on the bench for this match), the Red Devils conspired to play out 20 minutes of sensational football — the likes of which haven’t been seen at Old Trafford since the Alex Ferguson days.

Paul Pogba was imperial. Marcus Rashford continued his blistering start to the season and Wayne Rooney’s demotion was entirely vindicated. The champions were simply outclassed.

Jose Mourinho's fractious relationship with the media came to a head on Wednesday when he labeled those who attacked himself and Manchester United after a three-game losing streak as “football Einsteins”.

Mourinho's barb was certainly tongue in cheek, using the platform of United’s 3-1 victory over Northampton Town to fire back at those who’ve already begun to question his ability to handle the Old Trafford hot seat: 

The decline of Wayne Rooney as a footballing force isn’t confined to this season; his form has been in freefall for at least three years now. While he may be England’s all-time leading scorer, and just three shy of holding the same record for Manchester United, Wayne Rooney is a shadow of the manchild who arrived at Old Trafford back in 2004.