1) Firmino’s all-round excellence is Liverpool’s trump card

Let’s call it the Denis Irwin rule, the dictum that when a player is described as underrated so often then it’s probably no longer valid to call him underrated. It’s starting to happen to Roberto Firmino, whose all-round excellence for Liverpool has been recognised much more in recent times. The 26-year-old’s range of skills defy stereotypes. His Brazilian flair was evident in his ingenious flick for Mo Salah’s goal at St Mary’s, Liverpool’s second in a routine victory, and he has a resting heart-rate when all is manic in the opposition penalty area. Yet Firmino is also one of Liverpool’s best defenders and shows a rare appetite for donkey work. He also scores and makes all kinds of goals – including the first early on against Southampton – is two-footed and subtle in his passing and movements. Firmino might not be underrated but he is certainly unique. Rob Smyth

• Match report: Southampton 0-2 Liverpool
• Stuart James: Van Dijk grins in the face of fans’ fury

2) Shelvey – Newcastle’s source of calm (sometimes)

What a strange player Jonjo Shelvey is. He lacks pace, of course, and at times self-control. And yet when the mood is with him he remains a supremely gifted footballer. It is not just his passing, impressive as it can be when he measures a deft seven iron over the top for Dwight Gayle. It is the sense of composure he, counter-intuitively, can offer. There were moments in the final 15 minutes or so at St James’ Park on Sunday when the game became frantic for Newcastle, when they could have allowed themselves to be overwhelmed. But every time the ball came to Shelvey it was as though the stadium breathed a sigh of relief. One floated chip to Kenedy, landed precisely between two defenders, was reminiscent of Phil Mickelson. There were even a couple of well-timed sliding blocks. Temperament and that lack of pace may stop him ascending the highest peaks but Shelvey remains an extremely useful player. Jonathan Wilson

• Match report: Newcastle United 1-0 Manchester United
• Benítez’s win was ‘a beautiful thing’, says Mourinho

3) Lacazette’s lack of confidence is European worry for Wenger

Arsène Wenger’s interpretation of Munch’s scream as Alexandre Lacazette dragged the chance of a last-minute equaliser wide spoke volumes. Then the camera panned in on the striker, who looked as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. This is a difficult period for Arsenal’s last-but-one record-signing striker, usurped for a starting berth by Pierre‑Emerick Aubameyang. Wenger admits Lacazette is struggling for confidence. “Certainly – but he is a good goalscorer. He has gone through difficult periods before. He works hard in training, works on his finishing. It can happen. It is a fraction of a second. Maybe the confidence is not at its highest because he has seen a competitor coming in for him.” Lacazette’s form is a worry as he is the main choice for the Europa League, with Aubameyang suspended. Wenger said: “He scored goals in his whole career. He will score again.” Amy Lawrence

• Match report: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Arsenal
• Amy Lawrence: Pochettino turns sights to Juventus

4) Allardyce believes Schneiderlin boos price worth paying

Morgan Schneiderlin came on to a chorus of boos in the comfortable win against Crystal Palace. Sam Allardyce said he was surprised by the reception but was not exactly overflowing with sympathy for the £22m midfielder. “What it says is that for whatever reason they think he should be doing better,” said the Everton manager, who asked the club’s press officer “to have a deeper look into why that happened”. But on social media many Everton fans claimed the boos were for Allardyce’s decision to introduce a defensive midfielder for the injured Idrissa Gueye and not the new £27m striker Cenk Tosun at 3-0. “How could I?” the manager responded. “Putting Tom Davies alongside Wayne Rooney might have meant they made it 3-2 and that would be the last thing we wanted. We had two players off injured in the first half and then another which meant we had to put Morgan on. Had we not had that we would have put those players on, particularly when 3-0 up. But once we got two injuries that was impossible for me to even consider.” Andy Hunter

• Match report: Everton 3-1 Crystal Palace

5) City’s timing for European restart appears perfect

When Manchester City drew Basel in the Champions League last‑16 during December Pep Guardiola stated that how his team fared would depend on the “moment” the tie arrived two months later. After this rout of Leicester his side are runaway league leaders so he was asked if this was the perfect time to resume the European Cup campaign. “We arrive good,” he said. “But we have to know the Champions League is another competition, completely different. The Champions League is about how you control the bad moments and the emotions. We scored six goals last season in the last 16 and were out [against Monaco]. If the 10 minutes that happen at Anfield [conceding three in 4-3 defeat], happen in the Champions League, we are out. The players have to understand we will concede chances and goals. The deal is not to look forward past the two games of last 16,” said the City manager. Jamie Jackson

• Match report: Manchester City 5-1 Leicester City
• Women’s Super League: Parris hits double to put Man City back on top

6) Jesé’s pace vital for Stoke’s survival, despite his antics

Stoke were a bit of a mess on Saturday. Such a level of performance, recreated over the rest of the season, will surely ensure relegation. There are still causes for hope. Xherdan Shaqiri remains focussed and scored another classy goal. Badou N’Diaye has brought energy to the midfield. Paul Lambert now has Jesé available for selection. Yes, Jesé, the former Real Madrid squad player who was disciplined by Mark Hughes for absconding after not being selected as a substitute, and who celebrated his first appearance under Lambert at the weekend by rowing with his team-mates over who should take a last-minute penalty. Jesé is challenging, no doubt, but he is also in possession of pace. His substitute appearance finally put Brighton on the back foot. Stoke are so short of attacking threat they must get the best out of every resource at their disposal. And that includes the Spaniard. Paul MacInnes

• Match report: Stoke City 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

7) FA Cup gives Huddersfield the confidence boost they needed

Huddersfield went into this game as the lowest scorers in the Premier League after five successive defeats. Their confidence was low too, a point made by David Wagner, after defeats by Liverpool and Manchester United, yet against a side unbeaten since Christmas they produced their biggest home win of the season. Bournemouth were a little disappointing, though the Terriers seem to have refound the bite that helped them get off to such a good start to the season. Huddersfield put more faith in their attacking ability than they have shown in recent weeks and that may be due to the confidence-boosting effect of a 4-1 FA Cup win at Birmingham. The Premier League can be a grind for teams near the bottom and it is not unknown for clubs in such situations to disdain the FA Cup to concentrate on survival. If Huddersfield have profited from doing the opposite good luck to them. Paul Wilson

• Match report: Huddersfield Town 4-1 Bournemouth

8) Burnley hope breather will revive feelgood factor

Two months ago Sean Dyche and his Burnley side were heralded as the best team outside of the monopoly. Dyche declared himself the “proudest man in Proudsville”; but fast-forward 11 winless matches – the latest of which was at Swansea on Saturday – and while the feelgood factor around Turf Moor has not evaporated it has naturally been winded a little. The numbers get more remarkable when considering that, in that time, the Clarets have not been budged off seventh place. They have a two-week break to be reinvigorated, including a warm-weather training camp in Portugal, before hosting Southampton on 24 February. “There’s no other thing to say other than we’ve got to stick at it,” Dyche said. “It’s our job to correct the run, mine as manager and the players, but within that the margins are so fine.” It would be a great shame for their strong start to go to waste. Ben Fisher

• Match report: Swansea City 1-0 Burnley

9) Arnautovic’s threat earns Moyes’ hard-won praise

Marko Arnautovic looked like he would be on his way out when David Moyes replaced Slaven Bilic as the West Ham United manager last November. The £24m forward had struggled since his move from Stoke City and the incoming Moyes was quick to tell him that he needed to work much harder. The 28-year-old Austrian was in danger of becoming a flop. Yet the tough-love approach has had a revitalising effect on Arnautovic and Moyes was delighted with him after he marked his return from a hamstring injury with a goal and a man-of-the-match display in West Ham’s 2-0 victory against Watford. “If you went back and read Leon Osman’s book, he will tell you it is very difficult to get praise at times,” Moyes, a former manager of Osman’s at Everton, said. “That was just my style. Marko is earning it because the threat he is at the moment is incredible.” Jacob Steinberg

• Match report: West Ham United 2-0 Watford
• Sullivan’s influence over transfers will be reduced, says Moyes

10) Dembélé’s dynamism could be crucial against Juventus

Harry Kane stole the headlines but it was Mousa Dembélé that was the best player on the pitch in the north London derby, with Mauricio Pochettino afterwards calling him “a genius.” Previously named in Kevin De Bruyne’s dream five-a-side-team and also previously described by Dele Alli as the best player at Tottenham, the 30-year-old seems to be hitting his considerable stride just in time for Tottenham’s Champions League tie against Juventus. Physically he’s a freak: there are only a handful of central Premier League midfielders that can combine his 6ft-plus frame, close control and passing range with the ability to glide past defenders: Paul Pogba is one, perhaps Yaya Touré of a few years ago is another. It is his rare ability to almost never lose the ball (96.6% passing accuracy against Arsenal) and beat opponents in central midfield – creating mini three-on-twos, two-on-ones, dragging and drawing others out of position – that make him such a force. Juventus’ central midfield of Sami Khedira, Miralem Pjanic and Claudio Marchisio is formidable but (without the injured Blaise Matuidi) lacks Dembélé’s dynamism – this could be tailor-made for another outstanding performance from the big Belgian. Michael Butler

• Alderweireld not included in Spurs squad to face Juventus

Pos	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Man City	27	59	72
2	Man Utd	27	32	56
3	Liverpool	27	30	54
4	Tottenham Hotspur	27	28	52
5	Chelsea	26	23	50
6	Arsenal	27	15	45
7	Burnley	27	-3	36
8	Leicester	27	-1	35
9	Everton	27	-14	34
10	AFC Bournemouth	27	-10	31
11	Watford	27	-10	30
12	West Ham	27	-12	30
13	Newcastle	27	-11	28
14	Brighton	27	-14	28
15	Crystal Palace	27	-17	27
16	Swansea	27	-17	27
17	Huddersfield	27	-24	27
18	Southampton	27	-12	26
19	Stoke	27	-26	25
20	West Brom	26	-16	20