Premier League MD7 Preview: Are Spurs ready for Liverpool?
This weekend’s Premier League action is almost exclusively concentrated on Saturday so that’s where we’ll be focusing our mini previews. Here goes.
Both sides have scored in 5 of the last 6 H2Hs hosted in Birmingham. The same could well transpire again here, considering Brighton’s superb goalscoring prowess and Villa’s great recent form. The Seagulls are the division’s top scorers with 18 goals, while the Villans have won 4 of their last 5 in the league. This is a cracking way to start another footballing weekend.
The Gunners will feel deflated after twice leading against Spurs in the North London Derby but failing to take all 3 points. That was the supremely talented Bukayo Saka’s 86th Premier League appearance in a row and he will make it 87 against the Cherries if he shrugs off a heel problem. Bournemouth are winless in the league while Arsenal are unbeaten.
Mikel Arteta’s men won last season’s corresponding fixture 3-0 with a stunning left-footed strike from William Saliba a standout moment. When the sides met again at Emirates Stadium, Reiss Nelson notched a breathtaking 97th-minute winner.
Newcomers Luton are becoming acquainted with the ridiculous difficulty of top-flight football in England. A few days ago, they may have relished a meeting with strugglers Everton, but the Toffees produced a highly impressive display to beat Brentford last time out, largely thanks to the goalscoring form of midfield dynamo Abdoulaye Doucouré. The visitors need to start picking up results quickly. Despite Everton’s fine performance away to The Bees, they remain in trouble near the foot of the table and nothing can be taken for granted.
Following 3 defeats on the bounce across all competitions, United have now chalked up consecutive wins against Burnley in the Premier League and Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup. They face Palace again hoping to add some consistency to a season which has been anything but. 3 league wins and 3 defeats perfectly sum up United’s mixed start, while The Eagles have a similarly symmetrical 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats.
The last thing Burnley need is a clash against a team that just hit promoted opponents for 8. The Magpies did exactly that against a shell-shocked Sheffield United last weekend, and now Eddie Howe’s men are back in league action at St James’ Park in high spirits. The Clarets don’t share that mood, languishing in the relegation zone with just 1 point after 5 matches.
8 different players scored for Newcastle last weekend so Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has plenty of problems to ponder on Saturday. This includes flying full-back Kieran Trippier, a former favourite at Turf Moor. He assisted 3 headed strikes against the Blades.
Paul Heckingbottom’s Blades need a response after their drubbing at Newcastle. A trip to London to face West Ham looks anything but straightforward. A crumb of comfort for them will be the fact that David Moyes’ Hammers have lost their last 2 league fixtures, but those were both by 3-1 scorelines against defending champions Man City and 2020 champions Liverpool. Life back in the BIG time isn’t easy.
City find a way to win football matches more often than not. Against Nottingham Forest, they got the job done despite being down to 10 men from the 46th minute, and defensive midfield maestro Rodri will not be available at Molineux as a result. Wolves will hope to exploit his significant absence. They are winless in their last 4 matches, however, and fell out of the EFL Cup to Ipswich Town after only managing a 1-1 draw with struggling Luton in their last league match. Now isn’t a great time to face last season’s treble winners.
With both sides unbeaten in the Premier League, this is arguably the match of the weekend. Spurs skipper Son Heung-min bagged a brace against Arsenal last time out, bringing up his 150th goal for the club. Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, continues to churn out goal contributions for the Reds, scoring or assisting in every single EPL match so far this term. These 2 talismanic global superstars should decorate an entertaining occasion in the capital.
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