1) Will Tottenham’s press disrupt City?
Given that the tactic of trying to absorb pressure had not worked for any of Manchester City’s opponents, it made sense for Swansea to try something different last weekend, as the Welsh side attempted to disrupt the league leaders’ momentum by squeezing their centre-backs when they had the ball. It did not work, of course, because City were still too sharp in attack. Yet Tottenham Hotspur’s feverish high press could yield greater rewards at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Both sides are without key attacking players – Harry Kane for Spurs, Kevin De Bruyne for City – but a match between the league’s top two promises to be fascinating from a tactical perspective. Will Tottenham’s favoured approach fluster City? Or will Pep Guardiola’s side simply play around them and take advantage of the space further up the pitch? JS
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2) Under-pressure Guidolin to target Liverpool’s soft spot
No pressure, Francesco. Rumoured to have been given only two matches to save his job after three defeats and one draw in four Premier League matches, Francesco Guidolin must have looked at the fixture list with foreboding. The first of the two games ended in defeat against rampant Manchester City, but as he sets about the onerous task of plotting victory against a Liverpool side who are almost as impressive as City going forward, Swansea’s Italian manager can at least take heart in his team’s decent performance in defeat against the league leaders. For all their attacking nous, Liverpool have yet to keep a clean sheet this season and the manner in which Guidolin sets about exposing the vulnerability of their back four could have a major say in his future – or lack of it – in south Wales. There are weaknesses to exploit: Liverpool have a new goalkeeper who has yet to make a save despite playing two matches, a central defensive partnership that, in the possible absence of Dejan Lovren, has played only two games together and a slow stand-in left-back who seems more comfortable on the front foot. Against Manchester City, Swansea played a high-tempo pressing game in which Gylfi Sigurdsson linked up with well with Fernando Llorente. Should the duo play as well again, they are likely to pose no end of problems for Liverpool’s defence, while the speedy Modou Barrow is likely to provide an extremely stern test of James Milner’s defensive qualities. BG
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3) Mourinho should stick with experience of Blind
Having missed Manchester United’s wins over Northampton and Leicester City with a groin injury, Luke Shaw did not feature in Manchester United’s Europa League tie against Zorya Luhansk after being sent home from training on Wednesday with a sore throat, temperature and fever. If he has recovered in time for Sunday’s appointment with Stoke City, it will be interesting to see if he is selected following Daley Blind’s excellent performance at full-back against the champions last weekend. Blind arrived at Manchester United as a left-back or defensive midfielder, but was moved into the heart of defence out of necessity by Louis van Gaal, where he has more or less remained ever since. In an interview with Dutch broadcasting service NOS earlier this year, he said: “I think I can sill play at left-back and in midfield, but right now I feel good at centre-back”, but against Leicester he showed he has lost none of his ability in his old position. Shaw is a fine player, but has yet to play as well for Manchester United as Blind did – helping create three of United’s four goals last weekend. While the speedier Englishman represents the future, on current form José Mourinho may prefer to stick with the slower, more experienced Dutch hand. BG
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4) Will Walcott continue to flourish?
While Olivier Giroud has his merits, it cannot be a coincidence that many of Arsenal’s most incisive performances in the past 18 months have featured Theo Walcott in attack. Indeed it is a year since they tore through Manchester United at the Emirates, with Walcott’s movement troubling Louis van Gaal’s stuttering defence, and that victory was reminiscent of the way that Arsenal ripped Chelsea to shreds last weekend, tormenting Antonio Conte’s creaking defence with their flair, speed and quality of movement. Walcott’s goal maintained his promising start to the season and, bearing in mind how the forward’s meandering end to last season led to his omission from England’s Euro 2016 squad, it demonstrated how hard work usually pays off in the end. Instead of sulking when he fell down the pecking order for club and country, Walcott recognised that he needed to intensify his efforts and his decision to bring in a personal trainer to help him improve his fitness was a sign of a more mature mindset. Whether he can sustain this level depends on whether he can steer clear of the injuries and sudden losses of form that have held him back in the past. The heights that Walcott can reach are why his inability to maximise his potential is felt so keenly, especially when it is clear that Arsenal, who will look to build on the win over Chelsea when they travel to Burnley on Sunday, are a more fluid side with him in the attack instead of Giroud. JS
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5) Everton need to get back on track
Briefly tipped as unlikely title contenders, Everton have had a deflating couple of weeks since beating Middlesbrough on 10 September, following up their exit from the EFL Cup at the hands of Norwich City by losing at Bournemouth last weekend. Ronald Koeman was deeply unimpressed with his team’s performance in the 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth and, for now, Everton’s task is to show their new manager that they can live up to expectations on a consistent basis. Players such as Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley have so much more to offer and Koeman will demand a response when Crystal Palace, energised by Christian Benteke’s goals, come to town on Friday night. JS
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6) Traoré could be Hammers’ next tormentor
Having masterminded seven Premier League defeats out of seven between them in recent weeks, both Slaven Bilic and Aitor Karanka are in urgent need of a win from this fixture. Given the atrociousness of much of West Ham’s defending and their failure to settle into their new home, the Hammers’ odds of 11-10 favourites could scarcely be more unappealing. Middlesbrough have problems of their own: in defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, Boro offered little and looked ponderous in midfield until the introduction of Adama Traoré just before the hour. His injection of much-needed pace kept Spurs on their toes when, up to that point, the only real fight Boro had shown came in the form of an altercation between Víctor Valdés and Adam Clayton. Traoré has played just over half an hour of football for Boro since his arrival from Aston Villa on transfer deadline day, but has already made a strong case for his inclusion from the start to a manager whose overly defensive tactics are failing to yield dividends. BG
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7) Which Watford will turn up against Bournemouth?
Since Watford turned a half-time score of 1-1 into a 6-1 win over Bournemouth at Vicarage Road three years ago these teams have been unusually well matched, drawing four of their five league games (the other, a 2-0 Bournemouth win, was skewed by the Hornets defender Gabriele Angella getting sent off after 28 seconds). In the last two seasons the sides have been separated by one and three points. But if their results have been similar, the methodology has not: since that 6-1 win Watford have changed manager six times, Bournemouth not at all; nine of the Cherries’ starting XI in August 2013 are still at the club, while Watford continue to employ only one member of that 18-man matchday squad. A week ago, as Bournemouth came to terms with an embarrassing home defeat by Preston in the EFL Cup while Watford enjoyed the fall-out from successive wins over West Ham and Manchester United – both of whom have already beaten the Cherries this season – it appeared that Walter Mazzarri’s side would have a considerably more comfortable season than Eddie Howe’s. What a difference a week makes: Bournemouth played superbly in beating Everton 1-0 while Watford seem to be in trouble, desperately short of fight, wit and general clue at Burnley on Monday. They also conceded two more from crosses, the source of a remarkable 64% of the 11 goals they have let in this season – a statistic that suggests that Mazzarri’s wing-backs are yet to totally nail the “back” bit of their job description. SB
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8) Young upstart Leko to add to Sunderland’s pain?
The timing of a flurry of bets placed on Tony Pulis to become the first Premier League manager this season to lose his job on Thursday seemed strange, as if they were prompted by West Brom’s on-field performances. Pulis’s fractious relationship with his employers has been well documented, but four points from two games have rewarded a significant upturn in his side’s performances since their opening day win over Crystal Palace. Admittedly, West Ham and Stoke City might not have presented the stoutest test of his team’s abilities and a benevolent fixture generator has dealt Pulis a third consecutive kind hand in the form of basement dwellers Sunderland, whose capitulation against Crystal Palace last weekend could scarcely have been more slapstick. Having scored in both of West Brom’s past two games, Salomón Rondón will be relishing the prospect of another one or two goals to his tally against an often inept Sunderland defence before heading off on international duty with Venezuela. With Nacer Chadli operating behind him and James McClean and the in-form Matt Phillips providing ammunition from the flanks, he has every reason to be optimistic. Jonathan Leko may also add to the 43 minutes of football he has played this season across four appearances. Aged only 17, Leko has the potential to wreak havoc on the ground where he made his debut last April. The first footballer born in 1999 to play in the Premier League, Leko got his first assist of the season during a two-minute cameo against Stoke. He has yet to start a game this season, but Saturday seems as good a day as any for him to get a decent run out. BG
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9) Phelan’s side cannot afford another red card
Hull City managed to hold their own despite starting the season with 13 fit senior players, so it was worth seeing how they would do with only 10 for a couple of matches. But enough is enough. Mike Phelan’s side probably would have lost to Arsenal and Liverpool even if Jake Livermore and Ahmed Elmohamady had not been sent off for handling goalbound shots in the first halves of both matches, while it is not particularly earth-shattering to point out that teams tend to fare better when they don’t have to play with a man down for more than a half. Still, though, let’s hope that Phelan has told his defenders to keep their hands down against Chelsea. With 11 on the pitch, they could surprise the visitors. JS
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10) Could the curse of Atkinson strike again for Leicester?
Leicester boast one of only four 100% records in this season’s Champions League, and of that select club only they and Atlético Madrid have kept two clean sheets. This is particularly curious given that they have conceded eight times in their past two domestic matches (though two of Chelsea’s four against them in the EFL Cup came in extra time), and 12 in their last four, with just two clean sheets in eight non-European games so far. “We are very solid, it’s difficult to score a goal against us, but today is very, very strange,” Claudio Ranieri said last week, when his side let in three goals from corners against Manchester United. This is the first time that Martin Atkinson has officiated a Leicester game since their visit to Arsenal in February, when he sent off Danny Simpson before Danny Welbeck scored a winner in the sixth of four minutes’ additional time – Ranieri declared himself “very angry” with the official’s performance. Of their last 10 matches refereed by Atkinson Leicester have lost five and won one. Interestingly, of their last 10 matches refereed by Atkinson Southampton, Leicester’s opponents on Sunday, have won seven and lost two, both the defeats coming at home to Chelsea. SB
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| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 6 | 13 | 18 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | 7 | 14 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 6 | 8 | 13 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| 5 | Everton | 6 | 6 | 13 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 6 | 5 | 12 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| 9 | Southampton | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 10 | West Brom | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 11 | Watford | 6 | -1 | 7 |
| 12 | Leicester | 6 | -3 | 7 |
| 13 | Burnley | 6 | -3 | 7 |
| 14 | Hull | 6 | -5 | 7 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 6 | -5 | 7 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 6 | -3 | 5 |
| 17 | Swansea | 6 | -5 | 4 |
| 18 | West Ham | 6 | -9 | 3 |
| 19 | Stoke | 6 | -11 | 2 |
| 20 | Sunderland | 6 | -7 | 1 |
