Defending the Premier League

In a special edition of the Essential Football Podcast after a seismic 48 hours in the Premier League, Alice Piper is joined by Sky Sports News’ north-west reporter Ben Ransom, plus Sky Sports features editor Pete Smith and writer Nick Wright to reflect - and look forward - on events at Manchester United as well as the rest of the division.

PART 1 | Was the writing on the wall for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? What went wrong, what problems remain at Old Trafford and are they in a better position than when he came in? Did Cristiano Ronaldo prove a kiss of death after all?

PART 2 | Who should replace Solskjaer in the hotseat? The runners and riders are discussed, and questions asked about the club’s plans to introduce an ‘interim’ interim manager to follow Michael Carrick until the end of the season.

PART 3 | Senior football journalist Gerard Brand joins the team to discuss Tottenham’s turnaround against Leeds and Antonio Conte’s passion, Steven Gerrard’s winning start at Aston Villa plus the first glimpse of Norwich and Newcastle under new management - and Manchester City ‘going under the radar’ despite another fine win over Everton.