Dimitri Payet’s January exit may have left West Ham fans wondering who would conjure up the moments of magic that can change games, but Robert Snodgrass believes fellow midfielder Manuel Lanzini has stepped up to the plate.

The Hammers were forced to settle for a draw with West Brom on Saturday when Gareth McAuley notched a 94^th-minute equaliser, but Lanzini had spectacularly given them the lead with just four minutes remaining.

The Argentine playmaker fired in a swerving shot from distance and also played a crucial role in his side’s first goal – having his effort tipped on to the crossbar by Ben Foster, with Sofiane Feghouli netting the rebound from close-range.

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And Snodgrass, who joined the club from Hull in the January transfer window, believes the Hammers must keep feeding Lanzini.

“Lanzini is terrific and he’s a game changer,” said Snodgrass. “We need to always get him on the ball in those areas and let him do what he does best and that’s making those moments of magic like that.

“It’s great though and we fought and thought we worked really hard and deserved the three points against West Brom.

“We’re gutted, but as I say, the lads battled so hard to get ourselves in front and get the three points and it’s a devastating way to lose them.

“Personally, it was never going to be easy for me coming here, it’s tough and you have to work as hard as you possibly can to try and get in the team.

“I’ve managed to do that and the team are very unlucky not to have got six points from my two starts.”

Manager Mark Hughes is hoping some warm-weather training will give his Stoke City players the perfect opportunity to hit the ground running after absences from the side.

The 53-year-old is taking the Potters squad to the Middle East for three days next week, with the weekend’s FA Cup matches offering them a break after they exited the competition in the third round at the hands of Wolves.

The likes of Geoff Cameron and Xherdan Shaqiri are only just returning to full training following injury lay-offs, while new signing Saido Berahino is short of minutes.

And after Saturday’s 1-0 triumph over struggling Crystal Palace – Joe Allen’s second-half winner giving Stoke their first win in four Premier League matches – Hughes is relishing the opportunity to freshen his squad up.

“We will go away for a few days for some training and hopefully we will be able to get several players back and ready for the game at Tottenham in two weeks time,” he explained.

“Saido Berahino will benefit from the trip having only recently arrived here whilst guys like Geoff Cameron and Xherdan Shaqiri will also benefit from an extra week of training following their injuries.

“The break has come at a good time for us to be perfectly honest, so we will look forward to it, utilise it correctly and hopefully be in really good shape for the next game.”

Southampton boss Claude Puel believes new striker Manolo Gabbiadini has adapted perfectly to life in English football, after the Italian hit two goals in their triumph at Sunderland.

The Saints’ demolition job at the Stadium of Light saw them win 4-0, with Gabbiadini’s first-half double putting them in control.

He was substituted for Shane Long during the second half, with his replacement grabbing the fourth in time added on after Jason Denayer had turned the ball into his own net.

And after following up his debut goal against West Ham with two more against the Black Cats, Puel admits he could not be happier with the hitman’s transition after his January move from Napoli.

“It’s a good adaptation,” said Puel. “I said this when he came in, he is a good, technical player.

“He gives quality to the team, because he doesn’t lose the ball. We can find him between the lines, with good control, good passing.

“He can keep the ball and, after, he can give good solutions – good runs behind the defenders, and he has the ability to make the difference and to score.

“This is important for us, because since the beginning of the season we have had many chances, without being clinical, and this is important.

“I am happy also for Shane to score. All of this gives confidence to all the players, not just Gabbiadini.”

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho admits it was Anthony Martial’s own hard work in training that saw the Frenchman force his way back into his starting line-up for Saturday’s 2-0 win over Watford.

The Red Devils eased to three points at Old Trafford, with Martial setting up Juan Mata for the game’s opening goal before sealing the win himself in the second half.

The 21-year-old terrorised Craig Cathcart all afternoon, and Mourinho claims Martial’s application on the Carrington training ground got the Frenchman back into his good books.

“I’m happy with Anthony’s last two weeks of work,” he said. “The way he faced the work, hard work, with more concentration and more determination

“That’s why I gave him this gift, to start this game. Normally, after Leicester, I’d start with the same players and keep Marcus [Rashford] in the team.

“I just felt Marcus doesn’t need a boost because he’s playing all the time. Anthony was maybe feeling a little bit down and needed a gift. He answered in the best way.

“The Anthony Martial I want is the Martial of the last two weeks of training. If he trains the way he did in the past two weeks, he performs naturally the way he did against Watford – or better.

“I think he is still missing a bit of his confidence. I kept shouting at him to attack the defender and go to the one-on-one as he needs that confidence but he’s working very well.

“Anthony needs to feel that I am looking at him and that I know what he did in training and the effort he put in. So I gave him his chance and he played well. He had a good game for me.”

Despite a two-week break until their next fixture, Hull City boss Marco Silva has promised none of his players will be taking things easier.

The Tigers are without a fixture next weekend having been eliminated from The Emirates FA Cup at the fourth round stage.

Since then they have taken four points from Premier League games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

But with the division’s lowest goal scorers – second only to Middlesbrough – still in the bottom three, Silva intends to put in the hard yards on the training ground.

“We have time before our next game – time to rest and time to work on things for the next game,” said Silva, following a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal.

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“We caused Arsenal plenty of problems and I want the team to continue with the progress we are making.

“I saw some positive things in the game.

“I didn’t like the way we started but we reacted and I am happy that the team showed good things again.

“It was a very good second half for our team and we controlled the second half. Arsenal caused us a couple of problems with counter-attacks, but we had our chances to score and to change the result.

“We didn’t have a good day because our final decisions with those chances weren’t good.”

Willy Caballero insists he is loving life as Manchester City’s first-choice goalkeeper after replacing Claudio Bravo between the sticks.

Following Bravo’s arrival from Barcelona in the summer, Caballero was demoted to the bench, only to reclaim his place in the starting line-up in February.

The Argentine, who saved three penalties in last season’s League Cup victory at Wembley, has kept two clean sheets in City’s last three games, and hasn’t been dropped from Pep Guardiola’s first XI since.

City have won every league game this season in which Caballero has been involved, and the 35-year-old is determined to make sure that doesn’t change any time soon.

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“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I started the season playing but when Claudio arrived, I thought he was going to be number one. He played a lot of good games.

“Before the game with West Ham, I had a meeting with the manager and he told me he put me in the starting XI.

“It’s both exciting and scary. I feel my heart and skin when I receive a ball. Of course I’m excited and scared but those emotions make me feel alive.”

Liverpool may have cruised past title challengers Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday’s late kick-off, but captain Jordan Henderson insists the Reds must start beating lesser teams if they are to close the gap on league leaders Chelsea.

A Sadio Mane double ensured all three points stayed at Anfield in their clash with Mauricio Pochettino’s men, meaning Liverpool are now unbeaten in eight Premier League games against top six opposition.

But despite their fine form against the league’s high fliers, Jurgen Klopp’s side remain ten points adrift of Chelsea.

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Their next Premier League game sees them travel to the King Power stadium to face reigning champions – and relegation threatened – Leicester City, and Henderson insists these are the games that his side need to start winning.

“That needs to change, quickly,” he said. “We need to solve that issue.

“That’s the level set. We need to play like that every week. Tonight was a big win and a big performance.

“I thought we played well, even without the ball we were still in control.

“We were much better in terms of performance and the result. It’s a start in the right direction and we need to keep going like that until the end of the season.

“You could see a lot of good things in our play. We have been frustrated in recent games. It was nice to have a good performance.”

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is keen to reproach any comparisons between the Blues’ title charge this campaign and the unexpected title-winning journey of his former club Leicester City last season.

Kante, who has missed just one league game due to injury in the last four seasons, confirms there is greater expectancy at his new club due to the calibre of players in the squad.

The Frenchman said: “It’s totally different. Last season, we were top at this stage, but we didn’t expect to be there. We just wanted to keep our position for the longest possible time.  We did not know if we were going to do it because there were a lot of teams behind us.

“Here at Chelsea it’s different. It’s a club of champions. We want to win everything and always be at the top. It’s nothing special, we just try to win every game.

“At Chelsea I think about 80 or 90 per cent of the team have won something, either at Chelsea or elsewhere. You can see people are not getting carried away because nothing is done yet.”

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Kante’s Chelsea are comfortably clear at the top of the Premier league but he is fully focused on improving off the pitch to help his new side’s cause.

“I think there are some things you can control and some other things you can’t,” Kante said.

“Me, I just try to work on my ‘invisible training’, as we call it in French – things away from the pitch and the training ground. I try to sleep very well, to eat very well and to do the best for my health and my body.

“Sometimes you are more tired, but this is football. We play often, we sometimes have three games a week, and you have to manage your fitness well.”

Nathan Dyer lifted the Premier League title while on loan with Leicester City last season, but now the midfielder hopes victory over their relegation rivals will help his Swansea side away from the drop zone.

The Swans and Leicester find themselves level on points perilously close to the drop zone heading into the weekend, and Dyer is expecting a close encounter when his current and former team go head to head.

But the Swans have noticed plenty of improvement since Paul Clement’s appointment, winning three of their last five matches, and Dyer believes they have the ability to progress up the Premier League – even with the sympathy he has for his old side.

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He said: “This season has been a tough one for them. When you’re the champions, everyone raises their game and wants to beat you.
“They are not where they want to be, but it’s the same with us.

“It was an amazing story to be a part of last season at Leicester – winning the Premier League was something no one predicted.

“It was a great experience and everyone who was part of it will forever cherish those memories.

“We have the quality to be higher up the table, and a win on Sunday would be massive for us.

“We’ve made a great start under the new gaffer and despite losing late on at Manchester City last week, we are building momentum with performances.

“He has given us direction and a platform to work from. We are going in a new direction under him, and we feel as though we can rise the table with a good run of results.”

A catastrophic collapse saw Bournemouth on the wrong end of a 6-3 hammering at the hands of Everton last week, but Eddie Howe insists his side are tough enough to bounce back.

The Cherries quickly found themselves 3-0 at Goodison Park before launching a fightback to get within one goal, eventually succumbing to a four-goal blitz from Romelu Lukaku.

It continued what has been a downward spiral since the New Year, winless in their last five Premier League outings and hurtling rapidly towards the relegation zone.

But for Howe, the situation is nothing new. His side’s first season in the Championship three years ago also provided some humiliating results, with 6-1 and 5-1 defeats at Watford and Huddersfield respectively opening their campaign.

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

But having watched his Cherries battle their way back to finish tenth in that particular season, the 39-year-old is in no doubt his side can come back from whatever the top flight throws at them.

“I don’t think worry is the right word, we know we need to pick up points and we’re aware that the table is not as good as it once was,” he said.

“The challenge for us is to get the points we need as quickly as possible.

“Nothing changes for us in terms of the lasting impact, the players are strong and we’ve been in this position before. It’s nothing new to us.

“When we first came into the Championship we took some heavy blows and we responded with the only way we could, which was to improve, and we’ll do the same again.”