Graham Potter is optimistic Todd Boehly will not prove as trigger-happy as Roman Abramovich while Chelsea fight to save their season.

Just one win from their last eight Premier League games has seen the Blues sink into mid-table, now 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.

Hopes of reaching the Champions League qualifying places are fading, while Manchester City have already dumped them out of the EFL Cup, beaten them in the league, and could repeat the treatment in the FA Cup third round at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Chelsea have a Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund still to look forward to, but emerging from their present slump is paramount, especially for Potter's future as head coach.

He was prised away from Brighton and Hove Albion in September after owner Boehly ditched Champions League-winning boss Thomas Tuchel, in a move that had echoes of the ruthlessness of the Abramovich era.

Chelsea have been busy in the transfer market however, a sign they are prepared to invest heavily to bring results, with Potter the man responsible for getting the wins.

He is surprised there is intense scrutiny on him, saying it is "maybe different for me for some reason" as he pointed out how Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp needed time to build their teams at City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Comparing Chelsea now to the 19-year period when Abramovich called the shots, Potter said: "There's a completely different ownership than there was.

"This is hard for people to also get their head around because Chelsea for 20 years has been one thing, and now all of a sudden, it's different.

"But they still think back to what previously happened for 20 years. The reason for me to take the job was because you've got a chance to shape a club that's in a massive transitional period."

Potter said Chelsea have offered "fantastic" support and quipped that billionaire Boehly was "smarter than me, that's for sure".

"They understand the challenges that we have, and the direction we want to go in. I've been here four months, and five, six weeks of that have been lost to international football," he added.

"I think Pep was there a year before they won anything. And then obviously Mikel and Jurgen took a bit of time. But obviously it's maybe different for me for some reason."

Potter explained he shows anger at times and stressed he was not "some robot", while jokingly describing some reporters' questions as "stupid".

Addressing those reporters, Potter added: "There'll always be people that doubt. There will be people in here that will doubt, that's for sure. But I'm certainly not here to convince anybody. I'm here to do my work. And then if that convinces, then that's fine.

"I'm more confident now that we can achieve things than I was when I started the job because I understand the club and understand the players and understand what's needed. But obviously, with the past of Chelsea and the change of management, you can see why the questions are there."

Asked whether he recognised he was under pressure, Potter said: "I don't know, I don't read the newspapers, I stay away from social media."

He knows there is flak flying around though, and that some will never see the nuance.

"We've had a massive transition," Potter said. "Problems in terms of injuries don't make it easy to be stable. But it's sort of blah, blah, blah. You know people want to see results, and [they would say] 'Shut up Graham, what are you talking about, we need to win'."

Pep Guardiola is confident Kalvin Phillips is back to full fitness, having described the midfielder as 'overweight' following his return to Manchester City from the World Cup.

Phillips played twice for England in Qatar, coming on as a substitute against Wales and Senegal, but Guardiola was not entirely satisfied with his condition upon his return.

Having struggled with a shoulder injury during the first part of the season, which limited him to just one Premier League appearance, Phillips had to endure an extended wait to return for his second involvement in the league.

That came in Thursday's 1-0 Premier League triumph over Chelsea, where he was introduced off the bench in the 86th minute, and he is now pushing to make his first City start in the FA Cup against the Blues on Sunday.

While Guardiola is unsure whether he will be handed that opportunity, he believes Phillips is back in his best shape.

"I don't know whether Kalvin will play, on Sunday we will see. I had a good feeling last week, that he's back," he told reporters.

"He wanted to change our mind with the way he's going to play, maybe it will be a good lesson for him in the future.

"I have the feeling that a football player, for 12 months, has to be perfect, even on holiday. You can enjoy and do what you want but you must be ready because this game is so demanding.

"Last season with Leeds, for long parts he was injured, he came and couldn't train, he struggled with his shoulder. He fought to go to the World Cup, he got it.

"It was a long period without playing, without rhythm that was not there for five or six years. We need Kalvin, we need all the players."

Having beaten Chelsea in the Premier League, Guardiola is aware the Blues could change their approach for the FA Cup tie – particularly having been ravaged by injury issues, losing both Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic in the early stages of Thursday's game.

"It is better for us to play Chelsea at home with our fans, after a victory it is much better," he added.

"It will be a different game, maybe Graham [Potter] will change his shape, I know they are struggling with injuries. We have three days to think about it."

Arsenal and Tottenham are reportedly trying to pry centre-back Evan Ndicka away from Eintracht Frankfurt this month.

Ndicka, 23, arrived at the Bundesliga club in 2018, racking up 162 appearances since. He has played every minute of their 15 Bundesliga fixtures this season, helping them to reach the German mid-season break in fourth position.

Standing at an imposing 192cm tall with pace to burn, he fits the bill as a centre-back who can handle the physical demands of the Premier League, and his impressive traits are exactly why Frankfurt have been desperate to retain his services.


TOP STORY – PREMIER LEAGUE RIVALS BATTLE IT OUT FOR EXCITING CENTRE-BACK

Currently in the final year of his five-year contract, this will be the last opportunity Frankfurt get to cash in on their young talent, and they reportedly see the writing on the wall despite their desire to extend Ndicka's stay.

According to German publication FR, Ndicka's agents have been reaching out to Europe's elite clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Barcelona, but are said to have driven some away with their lucrative contract demands.

Previous reporting from Football London has claimed Arsenal had agreed to personal terms with Ndicka for a free move before Frankfurt's most recent improved contract offer, while Tottenham remain in the hunt.

Interested parties prepared to wait another six months could scoop him up on a free, but a transfer fee in January with so little time remaining on his contract could end up surprisingly affordable.

ROUND-UP

– Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea are all closely monitoring 19-year-old PAOK winger Giannis Konstantelias, who is believed to be worth in the range of £10million, per the Evening Standard.

– Foot Mercato is reporting Saudi Arabia side Al-Nassr are working on acquiring Eden Hazard to reunite him with former Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

– According to Sport, Juventus have enquired about 33-year-old Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba as he enters the final six months of his contract.

– Napoli have submitted a €19m offer for 22-year-old Angers and Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, per Foot Mercato.

– Sport is reporting 28-year-old Barcelona forward Memphis Depay would like to return to former club Manchester United.

Jack Grealish admits adapting to Manchester City's style of play has been "much more difficult" than he imagined it would be.

Having joined City for a Premier League record £100million fee in 2021, Grealish has largely struggled to replicate the displays he produced for Aston Villa, though he made a decisive impact in Thursday's 1-0 win at Chelsea.

Grealish's fine ball across the six-yard box teed up Riyad Mahrez for City's winner just three minutes and 43 seconds after the pair were introduced as second-half substitutes.

That represented Grealish's third assist in his last three Premier League games – the same amount as he managed in his first 34 league appearances for City, and the England international acknowledges he struggled on his arrival at the Etihad Stadium.

"When I came here, I'll be honest with you, it was so much more difficult than I thought," Grealish told Sky Sports.

"In my head I thought I was going to the team sitting top of the league and I was going to get so many goals and assists and obviously it isn't the case. 

"A lot of teams tend to sit in against us and that wasn't the case at Villa.

"[Former Villa boss] Dean Smith would tell me to go and find the weak link in the defence, whether that was on the right, the middle or whether I wanted to hug the touchline, and at Villa, I always had an overlapping full-back.

"I came to City, having been at Villa my whole life, and I've never had to change [before]. I've always been used to that. I didn't realise how hard it is to adapt to a different team and manager."

City's victory at Stamford Bridge was their fourth in a row against Chelsea in all competitions, and Grealish believes the Blues' willingness to attack the champions played into their hands.

"We've had games this season – against Everton and Brentford recently for example – where they've had a back five and they've sat in against us," Grealish said.

"Against a back four today it just felt so much more open, and we were desperate to come on."

Pep Guardiola joked he is a "genius" and took advice from a journalist for the pivotal substitutions that helped Manchester City to a 1-0 win at Chelsea.

Jack Grealish teed up fellow sub Riyad Mahrez just three minutes after entering the fray in the second half at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Guardiola had earlier shaken things up at the break with Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji replacing Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo after a lacklustre first-half showing from his side.

Asked about the inspired changes, Guardiola quipped: "I'm a genius! 

"In the last press conference it was [journalist] Jamie Jackson, and he said 'why did I make a substitution on 81 minutes against Everton?' And I took notes and I thought about him at half-time and I changed it at half-time."

Expanding on his thought process, Guardiola explained: "The first half was sloppy. We didn't create much, our pressing was so poor we were not well organised and in the second half especially with Manuel and Rico we were better.

"All managers try to make subs to improve the team. Sometimes the team are losing, but you are playing well. So why should I change when I have the feeling they are doing well? Why should I do it? 

"Today, after 20 minutes, because you have to give the game a little bit of time, I realise I don't like what I'm seeing. Why do you have to wait? 

"Everyone saw it, from the first minute of the second half it was a completely different Manchester City."

It was an important win for City, who have trimmed the gap to leaders Arsenal back to five points after the Gunners were held to a goalless draw by Newcastle United on Tuesday.

Guardiola is content with the position he finds his side in, stressing the difficulty of motivating a team that has won four titles in the previous five seasons.

"We could lose here, but now we have a five-point gap. We have three less points to play for," he added.

"It means a lot, but we have to prove ourselves because it is normal to be in this position after four Premier Leagues in five years.

"We have the mindset that in November the people believe we are already champions, and this is impossible.

"Other teams that don't have this pressure because people say in September that City are going to win.

"After four Premier Leagues in five years it is not easy to push them again. That is why I am satisfied after what happened in recent years.

"We'd prefer to be closer but with the way Arsenal play they deserve to better. For us it was so important, especially in the second half, to be aware that we can do it again and again and again."

Paris Saint-Germain are regularly a topic of transfer speculation, with plenty of discussion around Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi recently.

But Neymar is another who has been linked with a move away from Parc des Princes in the past, having been with PSG since 2017.

The former Barcelona forward signed a contract extension in 2021 after originally joining on a five-year deal.

TOP STORY – PSG OPEN TO OFFERS FOR NEYMAR IN JANUARY

Paris Saint-Germain have put Brazil superstar Neymar up for sale, according to Fichajes.

The French champions are willing to listen to offers for the 30-year-old, who is contracted until 2025.

The report claims PSG have lowered their price to €50million, which may attract the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester City.

ROUND-UP

– The Mail reports Manchester United have opened talks with Monaco defender Axel Disasi, although the 24-year-old is also being tracked by a few other Premier League clubs.

– Manchester United target Mohammed Kudus has had a £40m price tag slapped on him by his Dutch club Ajax, claims The Star. The 22-year-old Ghana midfielder impressed at the World Cup.

– Real Madrid are bullish about their prospects of beating Liverpool in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, claims Marca.

– Calciomercato reports Madrid will rival Juventus in the chase to sign 18-year-old right-back Ivan Fresneda from Real Valladolid.

– Sevilla are circling to sign Sergio Ramos once his PSG contract expires at the end of this season, claims Fichajes, although he will need to take a pay cut for the move to transpire.

– Fabrizio Romano reports struggling Premier League club Southampton have agreed to a £6m deal to sign Croatia international Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb.

– Mykhaylo Mudryk has informed Shakhtar Donetsk that he wants to join Arsenal amid talk of interest from Chelsea, reports 90min.

Pep Guardiola highlighted 18-year-old Rico Lewis' introduction as the turning point in Manchester City's 1-0 win at Chelsea on Thursday.

City were poor in the first half and somewhat fortunate to be level at the break, with Carney Chukwuemeka hitting the post for Chelsea.

But teenager Lewis, who had started each of City's two previous Premier League games, was introduced at half-time as Guardiola reverted to a back four.

Lewis slotted in at right-back but once again looked comfortable operating in central midfield areas, as Guardiola likes his full-backs to do, completing all of his 27 passes as City suddenly enjoyed much greater control – he was the only player with more than 16 pass attempts to record 100 per cent accuracy.

Riyad Mahrez scored the winner in the 63rd minute after a wonderful pass from fellow substitute Jack Grealish, but it was Lewis whom Guardiola singled out as being decisive.

"In the last games, Rico has the ability to make his team-mates play better," Guardiola told Sky Sports.

"So, there are players who play for themselves really well, but [Lewis] has the ability to make the whole team play better because every movement he does, he knows exactly what he has to do.

"He's playing the level he was playing against Chelsea in the EFL Cup, against Leeds, Liverpool. He changed the game."

For many, though, John Stones was the standout performer.

Not only was he typically assured on the ball – aside from one heavy first touch in the second half that invited pressure from Conor Gallagher – but he was solid defensively as well.

Stones tallied the most touches (102) and successful passes (85) of anyone on the pitch, meanwhile no one bettered his duels success (77.8 per cent – minimum two duels contested) and only Thiago Silva (five) recorded more than his four clearances.

It was not so long ago that Stones' City future was looking uncertain, but Guardiola believes the England international is playing the best football of his time at the club.

"He played extraordinary in the World Cup," Guardiola said. "He can adapt perfectly in the build-up with three [at the back], [playing] wider. He has the calmness, the composure.

"He is playing at the best level, maybe for the first time in seven years since we arrived together.

"When he is stable here [pointing to his head], when his mood is good, he is a fantastic, fantastic player."

Thursday's result reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal to five points, which certainly does not look unassailable for a squad as deep as City's with 21 games left.

Guardiola was keen to give Arsenal their due credit, however, adamant the Gunners have even been impressive in the few games they failed to win.

"Well, it could have been seven points, or 10 or eight, but now the gap is five points," Guardiola said.

"We have to look at ourselves, but I have to admit, the way they are playing, Arsenal deserve to be there.

"It's not just about the points, the way they are playing. Even when they lost against [Manchester] United and drew with Newcastle, the quality and the level they are playing is so good."

John Stones hailed the defensive shift Manchester City put in against Chelsea to secure a valuable 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Riyad Mahrez's goal in the 63rd minute moved Pep Guardiola's side five points behind leaders Arsenal, with City bouncing back after a disappointing 1-1 draw against Everton on New Year's Eve.

While there has been an abundance of praise for City's attacking play this season, and the devastating form of Erling Haaland, it was at the other end where the defending champions had to make their mark.

The display from Stones was an integral part of Thursday's performance as he made a number of crucial interventions, and the England international revealed defence has been an area of focus in recent training sessions.

"It's a big three points for us. After the other day, the overriding feeling from the game was that we'd dropped two points and we should have got more out of the game," Stones told Sky Sports.

"We wanted to put it right today and how we played in the second half especially was brilliant. To come away with three points is just what we needed.

"We rushed a lot of our play in the first half, we had too many crucial passes that got cut out, and we didn't retain the ball as well as we usually do.

"We spoke at half-time, we knew we had to use the ball better and wait for spaces to open. Credit to Chelsea, they played really compact, we couldn't get too many balls through the lines, we had to play wider, and it all came together in the second half.

"There were a few big moments, blocks and defending that we've been working on in training, and it came off today."

Pep Guardiola has frequently been accused of overthinking during his time as Manchester City manager, with some even putting their continued failure to win the Champions League down to this reason.

As a case in point, City lost to Chelsea in the 2021 final of that competition when Guardiola decided against fielding a naturally defensive midfielder.

Perhaps it has been a fair criticism at times, but by extension it highlights the self-belief that he can outmanoeuvre opponents before they've even set foot on the pitch.

He might even be accused of having overcomplicated plans for Thursday's trip to Stamford Bridge.

Yet Guardiola also inspired the 1-0 win over Chelsea with his own apparent recognition that he got his initial line-up wrong, his second-half changes proving key as City returned to winning ways after that disappointing 1-1 draw with Everton on New Year's Eve.

It took a while for victory to look likely, though, even with a patched-up Chelsea enduring an injury nightmare.

There was unmistakably a sense of bewilderment around the stadium as Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic sustained knocks that forced their withdrawal.

Only 22 minutes had been played. The double blow continued Chelsea's remarkably bad luck on the fitness front of late, with those two taking their injury list to 10 players having also lost Mason Mount in the previous 24 hours.

And if there's any team primed to capitalise on such misfortune, it's City.

Or, it usually is.

Despite Chelsea's predicament, they were the better team in the first half – quite comfortably so, some fans might even suggest.

Pulisic looked destined to score when John Stones produced the forceful – but clean – last-ditch tackle that ultimately forced the American's substitution.

Bernardo Silva made a similarly important intervention to block an attempt from Pulisic's replacement, Carney Chukwuemeka, who looked lively off the bench.

While it may not have been a case of City struggling to stay afloat, their lack of invention and control was curious, even against a team like Chelsea.

It was nothing like the City we've come to expect.

Still, though, Chelsea deserved credit. For all their problems and poor recent form, they looked sharp, up for a fight, and went agonisingly close just before the break as Chukwuemeka hit the post at the end of a rapid breakaway.

It was in moments like that, when the game was stretched, that Chelsea looked their most threatening – perhaps, then, it was no surprise to see Guardiola make changes at the interval.

City reverted to a back four. Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo were withdrawn; Manuel Akanji went to centre-back; Rodri moved back into midfield, and Rico Lewis came on as a right-back-cum-central-midfielder.

Almost instantly City had the greater control they'd desired. Suddenly Chelsea were struggling to keep their heads above water as the visitors relentlessly poured men forward and snuffed out any counter attempts.

Chelsea survived in the 52nd minute when Nathan Ake's header hit the post and Phil Foden saw a follow-up blocked; Kevin De Bruyne then drilled wide from inside the box a few minutes later.

But while Guardiola's half-time adjustments undoubtedly played a role in altering the course of the match, it was his additional tinkering on the hour that was truly decisive.

Foden's restoration to the starting XI would have been popular among the army of supporters calling for his return, but he was largely anonymous here – the impact of his replacement will have surely drawn a smug grin from Guardiola.

Jack Grealish, with his first major involvement three minutes after coming on, played the ball across the face of goal to put it on a plate for Riyad Mahrez.

He was left with a simple tap-in, opening the scoring with what was also Mahrez's first proper involvement as he got in behind Marc Cucurella.

It had been that area of the pitch where most of City's joy had previously come from, with Bernardo's substitution for Mahrez almost surprising at the time given the Portugal midfielder had been giving Cucurella the run-around in the first 14 minutes of the second period.

Yet Guardiola's decisiveness was crucial. He went back to the wide pairing that had become his favoured option lately, and they showed why that'd been the case in one simple move – and just a few moments after being introduced.

Chelsea's attempts to claw back the slender deficit were valiant, spirited, their young substitutes battling away encouragingly. It was ultimately beyond them, but there is only so much you can expect given the Blues' list of absentees.

No, this was all down to City and Guardiola.

Maybe Guardiola did overcomplicate things for himself, but if you don't have anyone good enough to play chess against, sometimes you've just got to play yourself.

Riyad Mahrez made the difference as Manchester City cut Arsenal's lead in the Premier League to five points with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners' goalless draw with Newcastle United on Tuesday opened the door for Pep Guardiola's side to take advantage, though the defending champions were far from their best in the opening period.

Carney Chukwuemeka and Nathan Ake struck the frame of the goal either side of the break, with clear-cut opportunities limited for both sides throughout.

Coming off the bench, Mahrez changed the picture with a 63rd-minute close-range finish that will leave Arsenal looking over their shoulders ahead of what is set to be a significant month.

Chelsea's injury issues were compounded in the opening 20 minutes, losing Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic. The latter's issue came after the Blues' first real sight of goal, with the American forward halted by an inch-perfect tackle by John Stones.

Substitute Chukwuemeka had the best opportunity in what was a subdued first half, cutting onto his right foot outside the box and beating Ederson with a low drive that bounced back off the left post.

City boss Guardiola shuffled his deck at the break, introducing Manuel Akanji and Rico Lewis in place of Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker, which sparked life into the defending champions with Ake heading against the post and Kevin De Bruyne forcing a low save from Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Bernardo Silva's fine footwork crafted another opening, teeing up De Bruyne to fire wide, before further changes followed on the hour mark with the introduction of Jack Grealish and Mahrez.

That pair combined three minutes later, Grealish drilling a pass across the face of goal from the left for Mahrez to tap home with ease.

City held on to secure what could be a valuable win in the title race, while Chelsea were left 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United in the hunt for Champions League football.

Chelsea were hit by early injuries to Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic in their Premier League clash with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Sterling came on as a substitute in Chelsea's EFL Cup meeting with City earlier in the season but the 28-year-old was named in Graham Potter's starting XI against his former side on Thursday.

The England international appeared to be starting in a central role behind Kai Havertz, with Mason Mount out of action due to an injury sustained in training on Wednesday.

Yet Sterling went down inside the opening three minutes, seemingly after tweaking his hamstring during a challenge with John Stones.

Sterling attempted to run off the problem down the touchline, but failed to do so and was swiftly replaced by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The injury woes for Potter were compounded 16 minutes later, with Pulisic picking up an issue after a decisive tackle from Stones to deny his charge into the box, with Carney Chukwuemeka his replacement.

Chelsea's cause has not been helped by injuries this term, with Reece James, Ben Chilwell and N'Golo Kante having been long-term absentees prior to the World Cup. Indeed, James suffered an injury on his return to action last week and has been ruled out for around a month.

The losses of Mount, Pulisic and Sterling could potentially further damage Chelsea's hopes of pushing for a top-four finish, and perhaps indicate they might push harder to sign Benfica's Enzo Fernandez, who starred at the World Cup for Argentina.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta believes a revamped version of the European Super League could launch as soon as 2025, without any Premier League clubs taking part.

Barca, along with Real Madrid and Juventus, remained committed to the Super League project in the aftermath of a failed launch in April 2021, though the other nine founding clubs quickly withdrew their support.

In October, it was revealed that plans were afoot to revive the competition, with A22 Sports Management chief executive Bernd Reichart promising an "open format" as he sought support for the proposal.

UEFA called the Super League's supporters "greedy" after meeting with Reichart the following month, while European Union Court of Justice [CJUE] advocate general Athanasios Rantos dealt a blow to the proposed competition by stating UEFA and FIFA could lawfully sanction participating clubs. 

However, Laporta remains optimistic regarding the Super League project, with the remaining clubs hopeful the CJUE will rule any UEFA sanctions are incompatible with EU competition law.

"In March or April we will have the CJUE ruling. It will be a very important sentence and I think it will benefit the clubs," Laporta told Cadena SER on Thursday.

"The Super League will be an open competition. I would not have entered this project if the competition was not open. 

"We want the governance to belong to the clubs. I hope that UEFA will occupy one more chair at the governance table. If the resolution is favourable, I think the Super League will be a reality in 2025."

All six of the Premier League clubs originally involved in the Super League – Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool – withdrew their support following a fierce public and media backlash to the plans in 2021.

Laporta does not expect any English sides to participate in the first edition of any future Super League, though he believes they will eventually join the competition if it succeeds.

"We will have a European competition that competes with the Premier League," he said. "I believe that the English teams will not enter at first. 

"We'd love for them to come in, but my opinion is that initially, they won't. I believe that everything will end with a merger later."

One feature of Laporta's tenure as Barca president has been his poor relationship with LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who he believes is not doing enough to ensure Spanish clubs can compete with their English counterparts.

"Our personal relationship has never been bad, but it has been tense. Tebas is a complicated person," he said. "He should be more concerned with recovering subscribers to football on television, increasing the income of Spanish football.

"We are defenders of financial control, but if you make a comparison between the Premier and the Spanish league... it is up to us to make them look at it."

Marcus Rashford joined Erling Haaland in being nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Month award for November and December after a strong run of form for Manchester United.

With the 2022 World Cup necessitating a seven-week break for elite club football, performances from either side of the tournament contributed towards the nominations.

Having scored three times during England's campaign in Qatar, Rashford hit the ground running on his return to club football by claiming a goal and an assist against Nottingham Forest before netting the winner at Wolves in United's final game of 2022.

Rashford – who was named Player of the Month in September – will face fierce competition for the award from Haaland, who scored four goals in four games for rivals Manchester City either side of the World Cup break.

Casemiro joins his United team-mate Rashford on the shortlist after helping Erik ten Hag's resurgent side win three of their four games throughout November and December.

Meanwhile, leaders Arsenal have strong representation from two nominees, with captain Martin Odegaard on the shortlist after recording six goal contributions (three goals, three assists) during this period – the most of any Premier League player.

Bukayo Saka is also in contention after netting in the Gunners' crucial victories against West Ham and Brighton and Hove Albion over the festive period.

Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier, Brentford defender Ben Mee and Fulham's Joao Palhinha complete the eight-man shortlist for the prize, which will be awarded next week.

Erling Haaland needs to "play with passion" against defenders who attempt to unsettle him, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Haaland scored his 21st Premier League goal since arriving from Borussia Dortmund during the 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday.

But images emerged after the game of the Norway international arguing with Toffees centre-back Ben Godfrey, while James Tarkowski and Conor Coady were also involved in confrontations with the striker.

Guardiola was pleased with how the 22-year-old Haaland handled himself against three experienced Premier League defenders trying to wind him up, although he stressed he had to draw a line somewhere.

"I like it," Guardiola told reporters ahead of City's league visit to Chelsea on Thursday. "He just needs to limit his behaviour, not him [but] everyone.

"The decisions, you have to use here [points to head] but play with this passion. It is necessary. I prefer that than to be flat.

"Strikers have to handle tough central defenders. Tomorrow he'll have a battle with [Kalidou] Koulibaly, Thiago Silva. That's why the Premier League is so special."

Haaland has taken the Premier League by storm since joining City in June, becoming the fastest player to score 20 goals in the competition, doing so in just 14 games, seven fewer than previous record-holder Kevin Phillips.

However, Guardiola feels Haaland can become even better, saying: "A lot of things he has to improve.

"As much as he continues scoring goals, he still has margin to improve on many things. Of course, he's young, and he'll be better in the future."

Guardiola left it until the 87th minute against Everton before making a change, with substitutes Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and returning World Cup winner Julian Alvarez unable to steal three points late on.

Asked whether this was an error looking back, Guardiola replied: "Yes, definitely. What was the result? Yeah, a mistake.

"But even with substitutions 15 minutes earlier, maybe we would've lost. Maybe I should've done it earlier, but in that moment I took a decision."

Arsenal took advantage of City's draw with Everton by beating Brighton and Hove Albion to extend their lead at the Premier League summit to seven points, although a goalless draw at home to Newcastle United on Tuesday means Guardiola's men can close the gap to five points with victory at Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners may have missed the opportunity to momentarily open a 10-point gap, but Guardiola was still impressed with their performance – albeit he is also pleased with how his team have played since returning from the World Cup.

"The way they [Arsenal] played yesterday impressed me a lot," Guardiola added. "They dropped two points, but not in the quality they played.

"The way we played the last games, the feeling is good. My target always as a manager is try to do better than the opposition. First of all, be yourself, [but] if it doesn't happen, it's football.

"What I want to see is we still want to fight. We don't give up, until the last chance we can fight and win the Premier League."

Manchester City must be "almost perfect" between now and the end of the season if they are to catch Premier League leaders Arsenal, according to manager Pep Guardiola.

Arsenal dropped points for just the third time this season in Tuesday's goalless home draw with Newcastle United, but they are still eight points clear of second-placed City.

The reigning champions play their game in hand away at Chelsea on Thursday, though Guardiola accepts Arsenal may well be uncatchable on current form.

"The way you have to reduce the gap is to play good and win games," Guardiola said at Wednesday's pre-match press conference.

"They have an average and they're going to do 100 points or more if they carry on, and we won't catch them. We will have to be almost perfect. 

"We'd expect from here to the end of the season they'd drop a little bit in terms of their performances, but they were excellent against Newcastle, so we'll see what happens."

City were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton on Saturday and have taken only four points from the past nine on offer either side of the World Cup break.

However, Guardiola's side have won their past three games against Chelsea without conceding a goal, including a 2-0 win in November's EFL Cup third-round tie.

"It is always difficult when you travel to Stamford Bridge," Guardiola said. "It is a tough game against a tough side who are well managed.

"It doesn't matter the position you are when you travel there – it's always difficult. At the same time, we're looking forward to it and the next few weeks in different competitions."

City face Chelsea twice in the space of three days, first in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge and then at the Etihad Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

Guardiola confirmed Ruben Dias remains absent for at least the first of those games, while a late decision will be made on fellow centre-back Aymeric Laporte.

Bernardo Silva is line to retain his place in attack, despite again suggesting this week that his future lies away from City beyond this season.

Asked about Silva's latest comments, Guardiola insisted the Portugal international – under contract until June 2025 – remains an important part of his plans.

"He's a key player, so important on and off the pitch," said Guardiola, who has lost just seven of his 34 Premier League games in London, three of those against Chelsea.

"He's a guy who can talk, always with a nice conversation and always you learn about his humanity, his vision for the club and the league. 

"He's an incredible player against top sides, in decisive games he's always there. Nothing has changed about his future."

City have won their first Premier League game in each of the past 10 calendar years, stretching back to a 1-0 loss at Sunderland in 2012.