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A thrilling opening weekend in the Premier League saw Brentford surprise Arsenal in the opening game of the season. Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea registered comfortable wins while Tottenham Hotspur defeated reigning champions Manchester City on home soil. Leicester, Everton and West Ham also started their Premier League campaigns with a win.
The second gameweek of the Premier League opens with Liverpool taking on Burnley at Anfield while Manchester City face Norwich City at home. Manchester United travel to Southampton and Spurs take on Wolves at the Molineux Stadium.
The blockbuster fixture of the weekend sees struggling Arsenal take on high-flying Chelsea at the Emirates in what could prove to be a feisty London derby.
Premier League players to watch in Gameweek 2
While the likes of Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes and Mohamed Salah shone on the opening weekend, plenty of other players will look to make a mark on Matchday 2. Many new signings are expected to make their debuts this weekend, while others will look to make a bigger impact than they did during gameweek 1.
So let's take a look at the five Premier League players to watch out for at the weekend.
#5 Jack Grealish - Manchester City
Jack Grealish started in the opening day defeat against Spurs in the Premier League and was arguably Manchester City's best player on the pitch. He was deployed in the traditional number 10 role behind Ferran Torres. He was the most fouled player (5) on the pitch and looked good in his role. His performance was the only positive for City on a slightly disappointing day.
This week would have given Grealish a chance to settle more into the new surroundings. Guardiola would also have had the opportunity to introduce some more fundamentals to the new man.
With the return of Kevin De Bruyne, it will also be interesting to see whether Grealish stays in the number 10 role, or is moved to the wings. He can also be deployed further back in midfield.
Although the 25-year-old impressed in his side's recent defeat, Guardiola will expect more from the English international in upcoming games. With stiff competition for places in the City side, the onus is on Grealish to justify his price-tag by influencing games.
The Premier League fixture against Norwich on Saturday would be the perfect opportunity for the new signing to do just that.
#4 Raphael Varane - Manchester United
Raphael Varane finally signed his Manchester United contract last week, arriving from Real Madrid in a deal worth £40 million. He was later unveiled in front of an Old Trafford audience before the Premier League kick-off against Leeds United.
The former Real Madrid man was an integral part of the Spanish outfit's three consecutive Champions League trophies between 2016-2018. He was also a key member of France's World Cup winning team in 2018. Varane could form a great partnership alongside Harry Maguire at the heart of United's defense
The Frenchman is now in pole position to make his debut against Southampton on Sunday after he started training with the first team on Monday. However, it remains to be seen whether he will have a starting role in the Premier League fixture.
United won comprehensively against Leeds last weekend. Now their attention will be on Southampton and having a player of Varane's quality at the back will definitely boost their chances of winning their second game of the season.
#3 Jadon Sancho - Manchester United
Jadon Sancho featured in the last 15 minutes of Manchester United's Premier League win against Leeds last weekend. But like Raphael Varane, the 21-year-old could be in contention to start against Southampton on Sunday.
Sancho finally completed his move to Old Trafford this summer after coming close to joining them last summer. The winger joined first-team training later than usual owing to his international commitments with England at the Euros. As such he was only used as a substitute in the opening match against Leeds.
Ole Gunnar Solkjaer has had various players returning late to the squad due to international commitments. So United organized a friendly against Burnley behind-closed-doors to give some minutes on the pitch for the late arrivals. Sancho featured from the start as United ran out 3-1 winners with goals from Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Fred.
With some pre-season minutes in the bag, Sancho is definitely expected to start in Sunday's Premier League fixture and could help United carry on their form from the previous game.
#2 Romelu Lukaku - Chelsea
Chelsea finally got a striker as the club bought Romelu Lukaku from Inter last week. Lukaku returned to the Blues after a gap of seven years during which he has developed himself into one of the deadliest strikers in world football.
The Belgian has completed the mandatory isolation required and has started training with his new teammates. The 28-year-old also confirmed during a press-conference that he will be available for the Premier League fixture against Arsenal on Sunday.
Lukaku is expected to start against the Gunners. He doesn't have a fantastic record against Arsenal, scoring and assisting thrice in 17 appearances so far. But Lukaku has returned to the Premier League as a much improved forward. He will be confident of starting his second spell with Chelsea by getting his name on the scoresheet.
#1 Harry Kane - Tottenham Hotspur
Much of the news around Harry Kane has been his desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer. Manchester City are keen to sign the striker, but their opening bid of £100 million was firmly rejected by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
According to reports, Kane had a gentleman's agreement with Daniel Levy last season that if Spurs did not win anything he would be allowed to leave. That does not seem to be the case as Spurs have been firm on their stance to keep Harry Kane and have rejected the approach from Manchester City.
Kane has now returned to training at Tottenham, though reports state that he is still seeking a move away from the club.
Spurs managed to register a memorable 1-0 win against Manchester City on the opening weekend of the Premier League without Kane. Heung-min Son scored the winner for the north London side.
However, Kane might feature in Sunday's Premier League fixture against Wolves. It will be interesting to see whether he can perform as his usual self or will be distracted by all the transfer talk going on around him.
