Another weekend of Premier League football beckons, and Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal at Anfield catches the eye even for the neutrals.
It was a nervy but ultimately successful weekend for the Reds last time around, with Sadio Mane‘s second-half strike earning a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Elsewhere, Chelsea bounced back from opening day defeat to stun Tottenham at Wembley, while London rivals Arsenal were beaten at Stoke City.
Man United kept up their 100 per cent record with a win over Swansea City, Man City and Everton drew 1-1 at the Etihad, and newcomers Huddersfield Town were victorious again.
Ten more top flight matches await us this weekend before the tedium of an international break – here’s the best of the action to look out for.
Anfield clash the pick of the action
The heavyweight sporting contest of the weekend takes place at Anfield, far more entertaining than Conor McGregor’s fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Liverpool host Arsenal, in what should be an end-to-end match full of attacking football, with neither top-six rival wanting a defeat heading into the internationals.
Both teams are unpredictable and defensively shaky, and the victor is likely to be decided by which attack clicks most.
Arsenal‘s loss at Stoke has once again heaped pressure on Arsene Wenger, and this represents a wonderful chance for the Reds to inflict more damage on the north Londoners.
There have been 20 goals in the last four games at Anfield in this fixture – expect more of the same this weekend.
Time for United to drop points?
It has been an ominous start to the season by Man United, even if they have come up against two insipid sides in West Ham and Swansea.
Jose Mourinho has a strong record in his second season at clubs, winning the league title every time, and his United outfit look far stronger than last year.
Saturday’s visit of Leicester will be their sternest test yet, with the Foxes looking a strong unit – one who were unfortunate to lose at Arsenal on the opening weekend.
Three wins out of three still looks likely for United, however, with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan starting the campaign in depressingly impressive fashion.
It is ridiculously early to be making any kind of judgement, but their rivals won’t want them pulling clear as we head towards the autumn. Once a Mourinho team goes top they are hard to catch, as much as we don’t want to hear that.
Another stern test of Everton’s credentials
Everton came so close to winning at Man City on Monday night, but a negative approach again cost them away to a top club.
Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals had a man extra for much of the second-half, but a late strike from former Red Raheem Sterling salvaged a point for the hosts.
Next up for Ronald Koeman’s men is a trip to Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, in what is a horrible run of fixtures for the Blues that also includes back-to-back clashes with Spurs and United.
Chelsea will be buoyed by their 2-1 win at Wembley last weekend, and after the horrors of their defeat to Burnley a fortnight ago, they will be keen to give the home crowd a much-improved performance.
Everton showed signs against City that they will be better against the title-chasing teams this season – this will be another test to see how far they have come.
Pressure on newly-promoted pair to get off the mark
There’s nothing worse than a slow start to life in the Premier League, and while Huddersfield have hit the ground running, Newcastle and Brighton are still looking for their first points.
In fairness to the Seagulls, matches against City and Leicester have not been easy, while Newcastle had 10 men for much of their opener against Spurs.
That said, both newly-promoted sides must get off the mark sooner rather than later, especially Newcastle, whose supporters are growing increasingly disgruntled by a lack of transfer activity.
This weekend, Brighton head to Watford and the Magpies host West Ham, both of which have to be considered very winnable games.
If the pair are on zero points after three matches, concern will start to grow among their respective fanbases.
Fixtures, UK TV Info & Predictions
Saturday
Bournemouth vs. Man City – 12:30pm, Sky Sports Main Event
Prediction: 1-3
Crystal Palace vs. Swansea – 3pm
Prediction: 2-1
Huddersfield vs. Southampton – 3pm
Prediction: 1-1
Newcastle vs. West Ham – 3pm
Prediction: 2-1
Watford vs. Brighton – 3pm
Prediction: 2-0
Man United vs. Leicester – 5:30pm, BT Sport 1
Prediction: 2-0
Sunday
Chelsea vs. Everton – 1:30pm
Prediction: 2-1
West Brom vs. Stoke – 1:30pm, Sky Sports Main Event
Prediction: 1-1
Liverpool vs. Arsenal – 4pm, Sky Sports Main Event
Prediction: 3-2
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