Manchester City look to bounce back from defeat against Newcastle United, while Chelsea travel to Brighton & Hove Albion to navigate a tricky fixture.
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea
The big talking point: Chelsea were taken all the way to penalties in the FA Cup on Wednesday night, playing an extra half-hour that they definitely didn’t need ahead of this early kick-off. What will the effect be?
What will happen: Alvaro Morata and Pedro are both suspended following their red cards in midweek, so Antonio Conte will have to construct an unfamiliar forward line. Michy Batshuayi isn’t trusted to lead the line, so expect to see Eden Hazard pushed into a false-nine role.
What won’t happen: Brighton have a clean bill of health but, beyond their suspensions, Chelsea will also be without Cesc Fabregas and Gary Cahill.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
The big talking point: Life after Alexis Sanchez. It didn’t look terribly clever last weekend, so Arsene Wenger will be hoping to reclaim some momentum in what appears to be – appears to be – an easier fixture.
What will happen: Palace won’t die easy. The last time they lost a Premier League game may have been against Arsenal (at Selhurst Park on December 28) but that is their only defeat in twelve and they’ve become a tough nut to crack under Roy Hodgson. If Arsenal are as ponderous in possession and as careless with the ball as they were last Sunday, they can expect a rough ride from Wilfried Zaha & Co. on the counter-attack.
What won’t happen: No Sanchez obviously, but also no Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny or Nacho Monreal. This is an excellent time for Hodgson to travel to the Emirates, even without the injured Andros Townsend and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Look out for Bakary Sako, who is in the form of his life at the moment and equipped to cause Arsenal problems.
Burnley vs Manchester United
The big talking point: Burnley is in a slump, having been beaten by Crystal Palace last time out and now without a victory in seven games.
What will happen: Georges-Kevin N’Koudou impressed Sean Dyche in the defeat at Selhurst Park, so he could come in on the left of midfield. N’Koudou remains raw and inexperienced, but the Spurs loanee can add dynamism that Burnley haven’t boasted so far this season. He won’t grab many headlines but he could prove to be an important signing.
What won’t happen: At the time of writing, Alexis Sanchez remains an Arsenal player, so the chances of him being signed in time to feature here are remote. Eric Bailly remains out for United, while Dyche continues to be without Tom Heaton, Chris Wood and Scott Arfield.
Everton vs West Bromwich Albion
The big talking point: Following the humiliating defeat to Tottenham last weekend, Sam Allardyce promised to become “more boring” in his approach and that’s something to get excited about.
What will happen: Cenk Tosun will make his home debut and the Turkish forward showed enough at Wembley for that to be of interest. He is rugged – a real menace at the top of the formation – and showed an array of neat touches. Whether he proves to be worth Everton’s sizeable investment is another matter, but he should certainly add some teeth to Allardyce’s attack. On a similar note, Theo Walcott’s transfer has been completed, the player registered, and he will go straight into the matchday squad.
What won’t happen: Encouraged by their first win under Alan Pardew, West Brom could well prove to be a stubborn, emboldened opponent. They’ll be content to take a point from the first whistle here too, so Allardyce might need to be more proactive than he’d like.
Leicester City vs Watford
The big talking point: With the assistance of VAR, Kelechi Iheanacho scored a smart double in midweek, so he can potentially put himself back in the selection frame.
What will happen: Goals, you would think. Eight of the last 10 games between these two at the King Power have produced three goals or more, while six of Watford’s last seven games has seen them concede two goals. That’s a damning indictment of their defensive standards, but it should make for an entertaining game.
What won’t happen: A whole host of players will be absent through injury – Danny Simpson, Robert Huth and Wes Morgan for the hosts while Will Hughes, Nathaniel Chalobah, Tom Cleverley and Miguel Britos misses out for the visitors.
Stoke City vs Huddersfield Town
The big talking point: Hello again, Paul Lambert! Now there’s an appointment to get pulses racing in the Potteries.
What will happen: Remember Aston Villa pre-Tim Sherwood? That’s what Peter Coates evidently wants his team to become. Expect Stoke to evolve – evolve? – into a counter-attacking unit, prioritising defensive security and hoping that their gifted attacking midfielders (basically Xherdan Shaqiri) can make hay in isolation.
What won’t happen: Ryan Shawcross and Erik Pieters are both still out, but Bruno Martins Indi and Kevin Wimmer are both fit again and should drop back into the first XI.
West Ham United vs Bournemouth
The big talking point: Bournemouth’s win over Arsenal. It wasn’t spectacular and it certainly owed something to their opponents’ failings, but Eddie Howe is managing an improving team who won’t be a walk-over here.
What will happen: David Moyes has reinvented Marko Arnautovic as a lone forward and, surprisingly given how meek the Austrian’s start to the season was, it’s been a roaring success. He’ll continue to lead the line here.
What won’t happen: Still no Winston Reid, Jose Fonte or Michail Antonio for Moyes, though, as he continues to make do with an understrength defence and midfield. Jermain Defoe is still not ready to return from injury for Bournemouth.
Manchester City vs Newcastle United
The big talking point: The streak is over. Potentially, that’s terrifying news for Newcastle, who will play the sacrificial lamb this weekend. Those City players will be very keen to re-establish their reputation as the division’s elite team. Good luck, Rafa Benitez.
What will happen: Fabian Delph is now unavailable, meaning that Danilo will start at left-back. It’s a problem: Danilo is a fine player but his involvement – on that side of the pitch at least – creates a weird imbalance in City’s play. Something to look out for.
What won’t happen: A Newcastle foothold: City have been winning at half-time and full-time in eight of their last 10 home games, so a fast start seems likely – particularly under the circumstances. Pep Guardiola will demand a retaliation to the Anfield defeat and the smart money is obviously on him getting one.
Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur
The big talking point: Tottenham’s midweek jaunt. Spurs, as has become tradition, have spent the last couple of days warm-weather training in Barcelona, so should emerge refreshed for this one. Bad news potentially for Mauricio Pellegrino, who is hanging on by a thread at Southampton.
What will happen: Southampton are winless in their last 10 games. A slightly skewed statistic, given that Abdoulaye Doucoure’s equaliser for Watford should never have counted last weekend. Nevertheless, this is a fragile team that is set to collide with one who looks right at the top of their form. Spurs look fluid and confident and they are equipped to exploit Southampton’s defensive issues (five clean sheets all season), this should be their sixth win in succession.
What won’t happen: Maya Yoshida and Charlie Austin are both still out, creating two big holes at opposite ends of the pitch. Austin in particular, with his movement off the ball, is crucial to Southampton’s ability to create chances and you would think – in this game and obviously beyond – Pellegrino either needs to get him healthy more regularly or find a player who is.
Swansea City vs Liverpool
The big talking point: One of the great Liverpool weaknesses in recent times has been their failure to back up an impressive win over a big side with an adequate performance against a relative minnow. All eyes on this one, then, with Jurgen Klopp’s team travelling to an improving Swansea.
What will happen: The Welsh side will be competitive. Carlos Carvalhal hasn’t managed to haul his new team off the bottom of the table, but they have improved. Watford were beaten, Tottenham were challenged in atrocious conditions and Newcastle were held at home. It doesn’t represent a seismic shift in form and Liverpool are an entirely different proposition, but Swansea aren’t as helpless as they once were.
What won’t happen: Renato Sanches, Mike van der Hoorn and Tammy Abraham are all unlikely to feature, while Klopp will travel to south Wales without Jordan Henderson and potentially new signing Virgil van Dijk.
