1. Can Guardiola make Premier League history with Manchester City?
Barrington Coombs
Barrington Coombs
TOTTENHAM AND MANCHESTER City meet on Sunday as the two only unbeaten sides left in the league. And it promises to be a cracker.
But the two teams come into this game without a couple of their key players.
City will travel to White Hart Lane without Vincent Kompany and the influential Kevin de Bruyne, while forward Nolito serves the final game of his domestic ban.
Pochettino on the other hand, will definitely be without Harry Kane with doubts remaining over the fitness of the quartet Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Moussa Sissoko and Mousa Dembele. Unlike City, they can’t afford to be missing a handful of their star men.
Spurs under Pochettino are at their best when they are pressing high up the pitch, and as Celtic showed in the Champions League during the week, if you can make a positive start and put City under pressure, they could become vulnerable.
That said, under Guardiola, the City players look more assured and confident in the tactics deployed by their new manager than they have ever done since the arrival of Sheikh Mansour. Under Manuel Pellegrini they may have lost at Parkhead.
A win on Sunday means Guardiola becomes the first manager to win his first seven Premier League matches. It probably won’t be the only record he’ll aim to break in England.
2. Will Wayne Rooney remain on the Manchester United bench?
United have won five of the last seven Premier League matches that Wayne Rooney hasn’t started, and there will be few calls for his inclusion against Stoke on Sunday – despite having an impact in his cameo appearance in the Europa League.
The game against Zorya was reminiscent of the van Gaal reign – with United lacking adventure, purpose and intensity in their play. The inclusion of Rooney into the starting XI is unlikely to change that.
Advertisement
Mourinho has stated he doesn’t want to be in the Europa League, but performances like the one given on Thursday can’t be a regular occurrence – no matter what the competition is.
There was no comparison to the opening 45 minutes against Leicester last weekend, and that is what United fans still expect when they come to Old Trafford.
Only Stoke and fellow strugglers Sunderland have yet to secure a Premier League win so far this season, and just like the Foxes, they have struggled to adapt to the new defensive laws implemented from set-pieces, and it surely will be an area Mourinho will be targeting again.
If the Potters were to lose their fifth league game of the season on Sunday, you couldn’t help but wonder how many more games Mark Hughes can afford to lose before his position comes under question.
3. Can Hendrick impress against one of the league’s big boys?
Nigel French
Nigel French
Jeff Hendrick, one of Ireland’s standout players during Euro 2016, netted the first Premier League goal of his career on Monday night against Watford. And he hasn’t looked out of place in the top flight.
But tomorrow, the 24-year-old gets to face one of the league’s big boys for the first time as the Clarets host a resurgent Arsenal.
Hendrick as we saw in France, has the potential to be the complete midfielder with good passing range, dribbling ability and physical strength but still with room to improve for club and country in the coming years.
The Dubliner and his teammates welcome an Arsenal side that has added some much-needed steel to the backline with the arrivals of Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi to the Emirates.
The addition of the defensive-minded duo came as a welcome relief to Arsenal fans after Liverpool scored four past Petr Cech on the opening day against Liverpool.
Since that 4-3 loss, for a myriad of reasons Arsenal have only conceded four goals in the following seven games, and if they were to improve on the weakest aspect of their game from the past couple of seasons, then Arsenal could be in contention for silverware at the end of the season.
4. Will Slaven Bilic end West Ham’s early season hangover?
Matt Dunham
Matt Dunham
Four consecutive league defeats for West Ham has ensured a disappointing start to the campaign for the Hammers.
The new season looked to be the start of a new dawn for the club, but the side have taken time to adjust to their new home at London Stadium.
It’s not just the intense atmosphere of Upton Park they are missing but key players such as Aaron Cresswell, Andy Carroll, Andre Ayew and Diafra Sakho.
Having lost five of their opening six league games for the first time in the club’s history, Bilic will be hoping the team bonding session, which resulted in claims that Andy Carroll and Darren Randolph were drunk on Tuesday afternoon, will unite a team that looked completely disorientated against Southampton last weekend.
A home game against Middlesbrough looks like one of the more kinder fixtures that West Ham could have hoped for to end their poor run of form, but having shipped 14 goals in their last four league games, the Hammers may need to show a more disciplined approach that frustrated their fans under Big Sam.
5. Will Liverpool increase the pressure on under-fire Francesco Guidolin?
Dave Howarth
Dave Howarth
Are Liverpool title contenders?
Well, Jurgen Klopp’s side have scored 11 goals in their last three Premier League outings in the impressive victories over Leicester City, Chelsea and Hull.
The cohesion shown in the team and fluidity of the attack suggests that it could be a promising season at Anfield, with the team not relying on goals from one source with Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Sadio Mané and James Milner all netting three times so far in the league this season.
Swansea on the other hand, have not won since the opening day, and have picked up just one point from their last five matches as they hover over the bottom three with their manager’s job reportedly on the line, as Ryan Giggs looks on with interest.
Liverpool have yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this season, and with a makeshift full-back in Milner and new goalkeeper Loris Karius still adjusting to the Premier League, Swansea may look to take the game to the visitors.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
Pep facing toughest battle so far, managers under pressure and other Premier League talking points
1. Can Guardiola make Premier League history with Manchester City?
TOTTENHAM AND MANCHESTER City meet on Sunday as the two only unbeaten sides left in the league. And it promises to be a cracker.
But the two teams come into this game without a couple of their key players.
City will travel to White Hart Lane without Vincent Kompany and the influential Kevin de Bruyne, while forward Nolito serves the final game of his domestic ban.
Pochettino on the other hand, will definitely be without Harry Kane with doubts remaining over the fitness of the quartet Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Moussa Sissoko and Mousa Dembele. Unlike City, they can’t afford to be missing a handful of their star men.
Spurs under Pochettino are at their best when they are pressing high up the pitch, and as Celtic showed in the Champions League during the week, if you can make a positive start and put City under pressure, they could become vulnerable.
That said, under Guardiola, the City players look more assured and confident in the tactics deployed by their new manager than they have ever done since the arrival of Sheikh Mansour. Under Manuel Pellegrini they may have lost at Parkhead.
A win on Sunday means Guardiola becomes the first manager to win his first seven Premier League matches. It probably won’t be the only record he’ll aim to break in England.
2. Will Wayne Rooney remain on the Manchester United bench?
United have won five of the last seven Premier League matches that Wayne Rooney hasn’t started, and there will be few calls for his inclusion against Stoke on Sunday – despite having an impact in his cameo appearance in the Europa League.
The game against Zorya was reminiscent of the van Gaal reign – with United lacking adventure, purpose and intensity in their play. The inclusion of Rooney into the starting XI is unlikely to change that.
Mourinho has stated he doesn’t want to be in the Europa League, but performances like the one given on Thursday can’t be a regular occurrence – no matter what the competition is.
There was no comparison to the opening 45 minutes against Leicester last weekend, and that is what United fans still expect when they come to Old Trafford.
Only Stoke and fellow strugglers Sunderland have yet to secure a Premier League win so far this season, and just like the Foxes, they have struggled to adapt to the new defensive laws implemented from set-pieces, and it surely will be an area Mourinho will be targeting again.
If the Potters were to lose their fifth league game of the season on Sunday, you couldn’t help but wonder how many more games Mark Hughes can afford to lose before his position comes under question.
3. Can Hendrick impress against one of the league’s big boys?
Jeff Hendrick, one of Ireland’s standout players during Euro 2016, netted the first Premier League goal of his career on Monday night against Watford. And he hasn’t looked out of place in the top flight.
But tomorrow, the 24-year-old gets to face one of the league’s big boys for the first time as the Clarets host a resurgent Arsenal.
Hendrick as we saw in France, has the potential to be the complete midfielder with good passing range, dribbling ability and physical strength but still with room to improve for club and country in the coming years.
The Dubliner and his teammates welcome an Arsenal side that has added some much-needed steel to the backline with the arrivals of Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi to the Emirates.
The addition of the defensive-minded duo came as a welcome relief to Arsenal fans after Liverpool scored four past Petr Cech on the opening day against Liverpool.
Since that 4-3 loss, for a myriad of reasons Arsenal have only conceded four goals in the following seven games, and if they were to improve on the weakest aspect of their game from the past couple of seasons, then Arsenal could be in contention for silverware at the end of the season.
4. Will Slaven Bilic end West Ham’s early season hangover?
Four consecutive league defeats for West Ham has ensured a disappointing start to the campaign for the Hammers.
The new season looked to be the start of a new dawn for the club, but the side have taken time to adjust to their new home at London Stadium.
It’s not just the intense atmosphere of Upton Park they are missing but key players such as Aaron Cresswell, Andy Carroll, Andre Ayew and Diafra Sakho.
Having lost five of their opening six league games for the first time in the club’s history, Bilic will be hoping the team bonding session, which resulted in claims that Andy Carroll and Darren Randolph were drunk on Tuesday afternoon, will unite a team that looked completely disorientated against Southampton last weekend.
A home game against Middlesbrough looks like one of the more kinder fixtures that West Ham could have hoped for to end their poor run of form, but having shipped 14 goals in their last four league games, the Hammers may need to show a more disciplined approach that frustrated their fans under Big Sam.
5. Will Liverpool increase the pressure on under-fire Francesco Guidolin?
Are Liverpool title contenders?
Well, Jurgen Klopp’s side have scored 11 goals in their last three Premier League outings in the impressive victories over Leicester City, Chelsea and Hull.
The cohesion shown in the team and fluidity of the attack suggests that it could be a promising season at Anfield, with the team not relying on goals from one source with Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Sadio Mané and James Milner all netting three times so far in the league this season.
Swansea on the other hand, have not won since the opening day, and have picked up just one point from their last five matches as they hover over the bottom three with their manager’s job reportedly on the line, as Ryan Giggs looks on with interest.
Liverpool have yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this season, and with a makeshift full-back in Milner and new goalkeeper Loris Karius still adjusting to the Premier League, Swansea may look to take the game to the visitors.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
Dundalk earned more last night than they would winning three league titles
Brendan Rodgers believes Celtic could be a top-four club in England
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Analysis Premier League Soccer Talking Points