1. Can Liverpool show the consistency to challenge for the top four?
JURGEN KLOPP’S SIDE have hit the ground running this season by picking up 10 points out of 12 against Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester City and Chelsea – with seven of those points being won on the road, after they beat the Premier League champions at Anfield last week.
The only loss so far came against newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor, but should Liverpool translate their good form against the league’s leading sides to those in the bottom-half, then there is no reason why they can’t be in the Champions League next season.
However, with Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal among the teams to make a positive start to the season, Liverpool will need to be more clinical in the games they are expected to win, to return to Europe’s elite club competition.
EMPICS Sport
EMPICS Sport
2. How far can Ronald Koeman take Everton?
The arrivals of Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte to the Premier League, on top of Jose Mourinho taking his dream job at Manchester United, resulted in Everton’s recruitment of Ronald Koeman not attracting as many headlines as the other management appointments this summer.
But yesterday’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough ensured Everton have now made their best start to a season in 38 years.
The Toffees, who also brought in Leicester City’s highly-regarded head of recruitment Steve Walsh in the summer, paid £5 million in compensation to bring Koeman to Everton from Southampton. The former Valencia manager had guided Southampton to two of their best-ever Premier League finishes – seventh in his first season, and a sixth place finish in his final year with the Saints.
And he could be the signing of the summer.
The arrivals of centre-back Ashley Williams and midfielder Idrissa Gueye will bring an extra layer of solidity to the Everton backline, while the highly-skillful Yannick Bolasie will be hoping he can take his game to the next level at Goodison Park.
Former manager Roberto Martinez underachieved during his final season with Everton, but it seems that Koeman may have the tools at his disposal, and the know-how to ensure Merseyside can rival Manchester at the top of the Premier League table.
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Pete Byrne
Pete Byrne
3. Is Kevin de Bruyne the best player in the Premier League right now?
Two goals and three assists from his first five Premier League matches, only tells half of the story of Kevin de Bruyne’s season so far.
The Belgium international has been the central figure as Pep Guardiola implements his tactical system at City, and he continually demonstrates he is the key player to link the play between the midfield and attack, after starring for his side in their dominant first-half display against Manchester United last weekend.
Physically strong, de Bruyne is as quick-thinking with his head, as he is with the ball at his feet and showed his intelligence and sheer audacity when he put his free-kick under the wall to score in CIty’s 4-0 win over Bournemouth yesterday.
The 25-year-old enjoyed an impressive debut season at City, but it seems the former Chelsea midfielder will get even better under Guardiola.
Martin Rickett
Martin Rickett
4. Why hasn’t Jose Mourinho improved Manchester United?
If you were to be generous to the new Manchester United manager, you would say he has only been in the Old Trafford hotseat for a couple of months, but having said that, there has been no obvious sign of improvement of the team since his arrival.
Three defeats in just over a week for United is a worry, but a bigger cause for concern is the manner of the losses.
Mourinho’s side were outclassed and dominated by Manchester City in the derby last weekend, and were fortunate to only lose 2-1, while they were convincingly beaten by a well-drilled, but ordinary Watford side this afternoon.
If you didn’t know better, those displays could have been from a Louis van Gaal side.
Defeat to Feyenoord in the Europa League may not be important to the former Chelsea manager’s long-term prospects, but at this particular moment in his United career, it doesn’t seem wise for him to trivialise any match, or indeed, any competition.
Although Mourinho hasn’t been helped by the immediate impact that Guardiola has had on the blue side of Manchester, big decisions are needed by the Portuguese manager in terms of personeel and tactics in the coming weeks.
And the outcome of those choices will show whether or not he was the right man for the job all along.
Tim Ireland
Tim Ireland
5. Is Shay Given too old to be playing in the Premier League?
Since Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland picked up an ankle injury playing for England against Germany in a friendly in March, the Potters have failed to keep a single clean sheet in the league – picking up just one win in the process.
Shay Given took over from Butland, after a disastrous couple of games in goal for Jakob Haugaard at the end of last season, but has been far from impressive.
The 40-year-old has conceded 26 goals in his last 10 league games – conceding nearly three goals on average during his time in the Stoke goal.
It would be unfair to solely blame the former Irish international for Stoke’s current crisis, but it is clear to see his reactions and mobility are not as good as they were in his prime.
PA Wire / Press Association Images
PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
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Mourinho's struggles, Given well past his best and more Premier League talking points
1. Can Liverpool show the consistency to challenge for the top four?
JURGEN KLOPP’S SIDE have hit the ground running this season by picking up 10 points out of 12 against Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester City and Chelsea – with seven of those points being won on the road, after they beat the Premier League champions at Anfield last week.
The only loss so far came against newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor, but should Liverpool translate their good form against the league’s leading sides to those in the bottom-half, then there is no reason why they can’t be in the Champions League next season.
However, with Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal among the teams to make a positive start to the season, Liverpool will need to be more clinical in the games they are expected to win, to return to Europe’s elite club competition.
2. How far can Ronald Koeman take Everton?
The arrivals of Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte to the Premier League, on top of Jose Mourinho taking his dream job at Manchester United, resulted in Everton’s recruitment of Ronald Koeman not attracting as many headlines as the other management appointments this summer.
But yesterday’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough ensured Everton have now made their best start to a season in 38 years.
The Toffees, who also brought in Leicester City’s highly-regarded head of recruitment Steve Walsh in the summer, paid £5 million in compensation to bring Koeman to Everton from Southampton. The former Valencia manager had guided Southampton to two of their best-ever Premier League finishes – seventh in his first season, and a sixth place finish in his final year with the Saints.
And he could be the signing of the summer.
The arrivals of centre-back Ashley Williams and midfielder Idrissa Gueye will bring an extra layer of solidity to the Everton backline, while the highly-skillful Yannick Bolasie will be hoping he can take his game to the next level at Goodison Park.
Former manager Roberto Martinez underachieved during his final season with Everton, but it seems that Koeman may have the tools at his disposal, and the know-how to ensure Merseyside can rival Manchester at the top of the Premier League table.
3. Is Kevin de Bruyne the best player in the Premier League right now?
Two goals and three assists from his first five Premier League matches, only tells half of the story of Kevin de Bruyne’s season so far.
The Belgium international has been the central figure as Pep Guardiola implements his tactical system at City, and he continually demonstrates he is the key player to link the play between the midfield and attack, after starring for his side in their dominant first-half display against Manchester United last weekend.
Physically strong, de Bruyne is as quick-thinking with his head, as he is with the ball at his feet and showed his intelligence and sheer audacity when he put his free-kick under the wall to score in CIty’s 4-0 win over Bournemouth yesterday.
The 25-year-old enjoyed an impressive debut season at City, but it seems the former Chelsea midfielder will get even better under Guardiola.
4. Why hasn’t Jose Mourinho improved Manchester United?
If you were to be generous to the new Manchester United manager, you would say he has only been in the Old Trafford hotseat for a couple of months, but having said that, there has been no obvious sign of improvement of the team since his arrival.
Three defeats in just over a week for United is a worry, but a bigger cause for concern is the manner of the losses.
Mourinho’s side were outclassed and dominated by Manchester City in the derby last weekend, and were fortunate to only lose 2-1, while they were convincingly beaten by a well-drilled, but ordinary Watford side this afternoon.
If you didn’t know better, those displays could have been from a Louis van Gaal side.
Defeat to Feyenoord in the Europa League may not be important to the former Chelsea manager’s long-term prospects, but at this particular moment in his United career, it doesn’t seem wise for him to trivialise any match, or indeed, any competition.
Although Mourinho hasn’t been helped by the immediate impact that Guardiola has had on the blue side of Manchester, big decisions are needed by the Portuguese manager in terms of personeel and tactics in the coming weeks.
And the outcome of those choices will show whether or not he was the right man for the job all along.
5. Is Shay Given too old to be playing in the Premier League?
Since Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland picked up an ankle injury playing for England against Germany in a friendly in March, the Potters have failed to keep a single clean sheet in the league – picking up just one win in the process.
Shay Given took over from Butland, after a disastrous couple of games in goal for Jakob Haugaard at the end of last season, but has been far from impressive.
The 40-year-old has conceded 26 goals in his last 10 league games – conceding nearly three goals on average during his time in the Stoke goal.
It would be unfair to solely blame the former Irish international for Stoke’s current crisis, but it is clear to see his reactions and mobility are not as good as they were in his prime.
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