1. Will big names return for Chelsea?
AFTER THE PHONEY war of Maccabi Haifa during the week, Chelsea face a much greater test in Saturday’s early kick-off as they take on Arsenal.
Several high-profile stars, including John Terry and Nemanja Matic, were absent for the midweek win, yet Chelsea’s starting XI tomorrow will tell us whether these players were genuinely dropped or simply rested.
The likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Baba Rahman admittedly didn’t do too badly in the absence of bigger names.
However, despite their poor recent form that has seen the Blues drop to 17th in the league, it would be a big surprise if they don’t revert to a more familiar-looking starting XI on Saturday.
2. Can Wes Hoolahan silence Anfield?
Wes Hoolahan gave an attacking masterclass as Norwich defeated Bournemouth 3-1 last week.
The 33-year-old Irish international has been in fine form since the beginning of the season, registering four assists and scoring his first goal to boot during the win at Carrow Road on Saturday.
However, Bournemouth at home is a far different prospect than Liverpool away.
That said, Hoolahan and co will take heart from the masterful display West Ham produced to secure their first win at the venue since 1963 last month.
Nevertheless, the Canaries will be less confident owing to the fact that they have failed to win any of the last 10 league matches between the sides, losing nine of those encounters.
3. Van Gaal and United face another stern test
Until recently, Southampton were the type of team that you’d always strongly expect Man United to beat.
However, it says much about both sides’ fortunes in the past two or three seasons that the gap in quality between the two teams is nowhere near as wide as it once was.
United are coming off a frustrating midweek Champions League defeat against PSV in which first-choice left-back and former Saints man Luke Shaw suffered a horrific long-term injury.
It’s been far from straightforward start to the season for Southampton either though, after their largely excellent campaign last year.
In all, Southampton have won just two of their last 11 games, but five points in their previous three games and three consecutive clean sheets suggests they are improving of late.
4. West Ham can’t be written off
Even with just five games played, many pundits are already picking Man City as clear title favourites.
Every team that’s played Manuel Pellegrini’s side in the Premier League so far has come away empty handed, hence they are the only top-flight side to have retained a 100% record since the season began.
Yet the league leaders are coming off a gruelling and arguably undeserved midweek loss to Juventus in the Champions League.
Moreover, West Ham have already punched above their weight during this campaign, earning surprise wins over Liverpool and Arsenal, and genuinely excelling more often than not.
5. Battle of overachievers past and present
Many expected Everton to push on after a highly promising first campaign with Roberto Martinez as manager, in which the Toffees finished an impressive fifth.
Yet their form deserted them for large parts of last season, and consequently, they invariably failed to replicate their impressive performances from 2013-14, before a slight improvement this season currently sees them in seventh position in the table.
Supporters remain frustrated at the lack of investment at the club, though last weekend’s convincing 3-1 defeat of reigning champions Chelsea gave a glimpse of what the side are still capable of when in top form.
Swansea, by contrast, are very much the new pretenders to the so-called overachievers’ throne.
Some pundits have even suggested the Welsh club are genuine top-four contenders this season, though last week’s surprise defeat by Watford quietened these claims considerably.
– First published 16.37, 18 Sept
