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After a week away for the international break, the Premier League returns this week, and there is certainly a lot to look forward to.
On Sunday, leaders Liverpool travel to Old Trafford to play rivals Manchester United. A win for Liverpool will see them equal Manchester City’s Premier League record of 18 consecutive wins, and would surely pile more pressure on United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose side have won just two league games this season.
Elsewhere, Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from their shock defeat to Wolves when they head to London to take on Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. The champions are already eight points behind Liverpool, and can’t afford to drop much further back, even at this early stage.
At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, all eyes will be on Mauricio Pochettino after a series of disappointing results against Colchester United, Bayern Munich, and Brighton. Questions have been asked about the attitude of this Tottenham side, and whether Pochettino is still happy in North London.
Another manager coming under pressure is Everton’s Marco Silva, who has seen his team take just seven points from their opening eight games. They host West Ham on Saturday, as the Hammers look to fuel their bid for a top six finish.
As the ninth matchday of the season approaches, here are five men to watch in the Premier League this weekend.
#1 Anthony Martial (Manchester United)
There haven’t been too many positives for Manchester United going into this weekend’s game with Liverpool. The Red Devils haven’t won a Premier League game since September 14, and hardly looked like scoring when they played Newcastle United last time out. United also have a host of injuries, with David de Gea and Paul Pogba amongst those ruled out of the clash.
One man Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be able to call on is Anthony Martial, who hasn’t played since the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in August. United have struggled for goals this season, and have managed just five in the league since their 4-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day.
Martial impressed in that opening day win, playing as a central striker, and if he can reproduce that form this weekend, he could cause Liverpool some serious problems.
#2 Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea)
One thing that has really stood out at Chelsea so far this season is the performance of the young players who have come through the club’s academy. Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, who are all in their first season in the Chelsea first-team squad, were all included in Gareth Southgate’s most recent England team, whilst there has also been praise for Reece James and Billy Gilmour.
But perhaps the most exciting youngster in the squad is 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Hudson-Odoi had begun to establish himself in the Chelsea side towards the end of last season, but an Achilles injury picked up against Burnley meant he was ruled out for almost six months.
However, Hudson-Odoi is back fit now, and having scored two superb goals for the England U21s in midweek, he will be raring to go when the Blues face Newcastle United this weekend.
#3 John McGinn (Aston Villa)
It has been a fairly good start for Aston Villa on their return to the Premier League. The Villans went big on new players in the summer, with 12 senior players moving to Villa Park, for a combined fee of over £130 million.
We have seen the new players begin to adapt to Premier League football over the last few weeks, and this came to the fore in their 5-1 win over Norwich City.
One of their most impressive performers has been midfielder John McGinn, who has been linked with a move to Manchester United. The 24-year-old was a major part of Villa’s promotion campaign last season, and scored in the playoff final against Derby County.
McGinn also comes into this weekend’s game against Brighton in strong form, having netted his first career hat trick against San Marino last week. If Villa are to achieve anything this season, McGinn will be a big part of it.
#4 Alisson (Liverpool)
One of the most important things Jurgen Klopp has done since taking over at Liverpool was to bring in a new goalkeeper. Both Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius proved to be solid operators in goal, but neither of them were good enough to be part of a title winning side, as shown by Liverpool’s defeat to Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League Final, where Karius made two glaring errors.
However, since his £67 million switch from Roma, Alisson has had a massive impact on this Liverpool side, and was vital in their success last season. He has only featured for 40 minutes so far this season though, after picking up an injury against Norwich City on the opening day.
He will return to the Liverpool side when they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, and without a doubt, he will make this Reds side a lot stronger.
#5 James Maddison (Leicester City)
Leicester City are one of the most watchable teams in the Premier League at the moment. The Foxes are playing some superb football, and look like serious contenders to secure Champions League football at the end of the season.
One of the players who has impressed most for Brendan Rodgers’ side this season has been attacking midfielder James Maddison, but all eyes will be on him for different reasons when they host Burnley this weekend.
The 22-year-old was called up to the England squad to play Czech Republic and Bulgaria, but later pulled out due to illness. There was controversy though, as on the night of the Czech Republic game, Maddison was pictured in a casino.
There have been a number of questions asked over Maddison’s attitude and conduct off the pitch, even before this incident, and he will hope to silence those critics with his performance on the pitch.
