Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
AMOR-I'M IN TROUBLE: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim during the Premier League match at the Gtech Community Stadium. Pic: Adam Davy/PA Wire.
Unbeaten in the league since their Friday night opener at Anfield, Bournemouth’s early momentum has been stalled by consecutive draws: at home to Newcastle and at Leeds last week.
Fulham visit the Vitality Stadium on Friday, offering Andoni Iraola’s side a presentable chance of recapturing winning ways and going second in the table.
After a turbulent summer, Iraola has sought consistency in his team selection. Trailing 2-1 at Leeds, the Bournemouth manager made a triple change to restore three usual starters – David Brooks, Alex Scott and Marcus Tavernier – to his XI and was rewarded with a late leveller.
Bournemouth have also maintained defensive stability, conceding just once in four games between the trips to Liverpool and Leeds. Marcos Senesi, often playing in an otherwise brand-new back five, has been key to the team’s continuity.
The centre-back earned praise from Iraola for his defensive work and threat at attacking set pieces – as evidenced by his headed assist for Eli Junior Kroupi’s equaliser at Elland Road.
If Leeds are to survive and maybe even thrive this season they will need to continue taking mean dead balls. Three of the six league goals Daniel Farke’s side have scored since returning to the top tier have derived from set pieces and they could do with further examples – or at least an example – arriving at Tottenham’s expense at Elland Road on Saturday.
Farke has deployed Sean Longstaff as his principal corner taker and, so far, the former Newcastle midfielder is proving highly adept and, crucially, consistent at the art. This reassignment of on-field duties has also liberated his fellow midfielder Anton Stach to get into the penalty area at set plays and hurl his towering frame at the ball.
Back on Tyneside, Longstaff also possessed a knack for making late, almost Frank Lampardesque dashes into the box and scored a few goals from open play. Now Farke could do with rekindling that instinct in a player who lost his way a little at St James’ Park last season but is looking encouragingly renascent.
With a trip to Anfield looming after the international break, a home game against promoted opponents is, in theory, an opportunity for Ruben Amorim to lift the suffocating gloom around Manchester United.
In reality, it could be another very difficult afternoon at Old Trafford against an impressive Sunderland side with two core attributes their hosts are sorely lacking: identity and adaptability.
Asked how he has been able to build such a cohesive unit from a long list of summer signings, Régis Le Bris, the Sunderland manager, said: “The new lads bring a new energy and style of play … [but] we don’t start from scratch – the identity of the club is already there.”
While Amorim remains mired in his own stubborn inflexibility, Le Bris has shown he is willing to adapt. Heading into last season’s Championship playoffs on the back of five straight defeats, he switched to a more reactive style and built the foundation for success in the Premier League.
All of this has been achieved while Amorim has essentially taken his United team nowhere, and few would be truly shocked if Sunderland were to push him closer to the exit door this weekend.
After ending their hoodoos away at Newcastle and at home to Olympiakos in the last two games, next up for Arsenal is a chance to banish memories of two successive defeats by West Ham at the Emirates Stadium.
Both ended up damaging their hopes of winning the Premier League, with the 1-0 reverse in February one of the few occasions when Graham Potter had something to celebrate during his ill-fated spell in charge of the Hammers.
A promising draw in his first match against Everton will have helped Nuno Espírito Santo settle into his new surroundings and the former Nottingham Forest manager will be keen to build on that on Saturday, having not tasted success against Arsenal since he was in charge of Wolves in 2021.
Roméo Lavia was excellent when Chelsea beat Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in May. The Belgium midfielder offers elegance on the ball and a fine ability to beat the press.
But while he often makes Enzo Maresca’s system look smoother, Lavia’s fitness record remains a problem. The former Southampton midfielder was injured when Chelsea beat Benfica in the last 16 of the Club World Cup in June and has only just returned. Ideally Maresca would be able to ease Lavia back in and give him time to build his fitness.
Chelsea, though, are struggling with injuries. Andrey Santos and Dário Essugo will be missing when Maresca’s side host Liverpool on Saturday, heaping the pressure on Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo in midfield. Options to rotate are slim. Caicedo and Fernández could do with a rest but are both playing through niggles.
It is probably too soon for Lavia to start – he has made only one brief substitute appearance this season – but he will be a useful option on the bench.
David Moyes was particularly touchy on the subject of his struggling strikers when the trials of Beto and Thierno Barry cropped up before West Ham’s visit.
“I’m not daft enough to think everything is going to be hunky dory,” he said. “We are still rebuilding.”
That is true, but his mood will not have improved after another anonymous showing from the pair in Monday’s disappointing draw. There are echoes of Moyes’s first spell in charge of Everton, with a good unit lacking the high-calibre striker necessary to make a difference.
Creativity is not a problem for a team with Jack Grealish, Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall but, aside from a crucial purple patch of five goals in four league games in February, Beto has not convinced.
His recent body language has not impressed either. Everton felt Barry was one for the future when paying £27m for the 22-year-old this summer but would have expected more from a forward who is yet to open his account.
In-form Crystal Palace, having set a club record of 19 matches unbeaten in all competitions, can prey on Everton’s glaring weakness.
Is it too early for a relegation six-pointer? Are these teams really capable of juggling their domestic and European commitments? Tactically speaking, is Ange Postecoglou going about silencing his critics in the right way? Will Forest’s Chris Wood score against his old club? Or will Eddie Howe’s star signing, Nick Woltemade, win the battle of the centre-forwards?
Could this be the match where Newcastle’s £55m summer signing from Forest, Anthony Elanga, really comes alive down the right wing? There are so many unanswered questions and the responses will determine whether Howe or Postecoglou will need to brace themselves for “crisis” headlines.
Both managers, like their teams, desperately need a restorative win.
“You sold the team, now sell the club.” Wolves fans could not have been clearer about their feelings during the recent defeat by promoted Leeds at Molineux.
There are a couple of things for Vítor Pereira to cling to, though, despite the obvious weakening of his squad by high-profile summer departures: a point at Tottenham that could so easily have been three and the Carabao Cup win over Everton that was a step towards placating growing anger in the stands.
Despite João Palhinha’s stoppage-time equaliser in north London, Pereira pointed to the spirit of his players, and his old-school methods, including bonding trips to the boozer, appear to be keeping the dressing-room mood upbeat.
Pereira’s preferred tipple is Stella Artois but, with a relegation scrap looming, it remains to be seen whether any of his summer reinforcements prove to be reassuringly expensive.
If succeeding Arsène Wenger was an impossible job for Unai Emery at Arsenal, stepping into Steven Gerrard’s shoes at Villa Park was considerably easier.
“I’m not here to waste my time” – Emery’s internal mission statement on arrival in 2022 – was one of the more memorable lines from a Premier League manager in recent times.
Villa’s improvement since is attributable to appointing a smart tactician and capable motivator whose managerial career path has been an unusual mix. A flat start this season has been the first significant bump in the road during his Villa tenure and the mood has been downbeat; still, Emery’s side were undefeated in 90 minutes across five matches in September, finishing with wins against Bologna and Fulham.
Form is a funny thing – just ask Morgan Rogers. But after another encouraging win, at Feyenoord, Emery’s solid methods and self-belief are likely to steer Villa through a challenging time.
After six league games Manchester City’s second-highest scorer is Maxime Estevé, the unfortunate Burnley centre-back who notched two own goals at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday.
It’s not a huge problem with Erling Haaland in such ruthless form, having scored 11 goals in all competitions and eight in the league, double any other player’s tally and more than 11 of the 19 other top-flight teams.
There was, though, a hint of frustration in Haaland’s post-match interview after defensive lapses cancelled out his two goals in Monaco. “Not good enough,” was his concise verdict on City’s overall display, and Brentford’s set-piece muscle will surely test the visitors’ soft centre again on Sunday.
If City cannot keep clean sheets, Haaland will need more help from his attacking teammates. Phil Foden certainly has form at the Gtech, having scored every one of City’s six goals at the venue since 2021.
If Foden can add firepower to his improved form, Pep Guardiola’s side might begin to look truly formidable again.
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