Stottie

That's true. It also fits perfectly into the narrative of our season. Our backup keeper actually nursing a training injury when our number one goes down. On the subject of narratives, we could get Keylor Navas in for Wednesday to see if he can go further in the competition than his old mates at PSG. If Dubs is injured, it means Karius playing in the CL for the first time since that final.

I'd prefer de Gea to Lloris. That one where Lloris bounced off Wilson and Wilson lobbed him. Getting back to Dubs, but the other question is how did he get injured if his only game prior to this week was Man U in the Carabao?

Still doing well on the whole, very well considering the luck with tough draws and injuries, but I'm a bit concerned now for Top 4/5 with Dubravka. We're built on defensively solidity and I don't see it with him on what he's showed this week. Dubravka played more than Pope in preseason and against Man U in the Carabao, so Howe's not neglected him.

Bad Wilson miss, so it should have finished 4-2. A fairer reflection than 4-1. We were shit, but made them look better than they are. Swap keepers and who knows.... If that's our rival for fifth, I can't say I'm too concerned. There are lots of games left to play and we'll get better in them.

Wilson keeping up that crazy goal-or-assist per minute played stat.

Nice one Beg Jow!

A save!

Seems very weak.

They look like they need an attacking focal point. Just passing it around the edge of the box.

Luton score!

It's gonna be hot and wet. That's nice if you're with a lady, but it ain't no good if you're in the jungle.

Raining currently at the Luton match, but dry later? Wet and heavy isn't what you want for a knackered team without few usable subs.

Nunez challenge on a yellow against Sheff Utd 100x worse than Ayew's too.

They beat Fulham last week with a clear barge for the winner.

I think we're still doing well. Even our away form looks a lot rosier if you add a 3-0 win at Man U, a draw at AC Milan, and what should have been 1-0 at PSG. The underlying numbers for chance creation, shots, xG etc. all suggest we're still playing in a way likely to win games. Possession is also up on last year. It then comes down to finishing, goalkeeping, and random and semi-random factors like luck, the bounce of the ball, and, decisions. Last 8 in the league, we've been doing better than Tottenham, our next opponents, who famously do not have Europe to contend with. Tonali was a body blow, but Barnes and Wilson should be back soon. I expect Barnes to put up the same numbers as at Leicester, which is a goal or assist every 180 minutes. I could understand the doubts when we bought Gordon, but Barnes is as league proven as they come. For all his limitations, Wilson has become the best moocher in the league, basically a goal magnet.

Got a 6.2 rating on Sofascore, higher than Miguel Almiron's 6.1. Nothing to see here.

Meh, even game we threw away with basic errors. Lads look knackered, so don't be too hard on them. Popey's going to be a big miss.

Weak from dubs, didn't make himself very big for their first either

A bad set of results for us, but that just means its up to us to win our game. Win it and we'll be top of the 11 game form table, third top if we draw, fourth top if we lose. Man U now fifth bottom in expected goals against. They're really riding their luck, especially since they've only scored 18 in 15 games, not the normal recipe for winning 9 out of 15. Tottenham are also bottom half in expected goals against.

Impressive win from Villa. They looked very poor defensively against Spurs and Bournemouth, so I expected City to do more against them. Two shots all game! Bournemouth had 16. For us, just keeping winning and stay in it. There's a long way to go. We've been there and did it last time against a Liverpool team that had a late charge, and that experience will stand us in good stead.

Yes, that up and coming French tactician Alain Pardeu.

Robbies are great analysts.

This season man. It just doesn't stop.

Yes, our league away games this season are a weird small sample that do not feel reflective of what we are capable of. We have better away form in the CL and Carabao (Old Trafford) P4 W1 D2 L1 than in the league P6 W1 D2 L3. We were outplayed but still clearly robbed in Paris, so that should be P4 W2 D1 L1, mostly in the CL "group of death". PSG and Inter aren't supposed to go out at the group stage. With so many injuries, "undone by fatigue" remains a geniune concern in matches, but yeah, hopefully we'll get to see more "normal" away games in the next couple of weeks, starting with this one.

Just on Nut's point, but Bruno's missed one game this season, Bournemouth away. It was our worst performance of the season. Some late goals on Sunday meant this wasn't quite as good a weekend as it could have been, but it's still a step forward for us. We're now P8 W7 D0 L1 at SJP with five clean sheets, no problems there, but have only played six away games, against a generally hard set of opponents. P6 W1 D2 L3 so far, so plenty of room for improvement in the remaining 13 games. Everton have lost five out of seven at home, so a fine opportunity for us to get a second away win.