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The second week of Premier League football is already upon us. With TWO London derbies and exciting newly promoted sides set to play, the weekend promises to be one of brilliant football.
Here are four games to look forward to this coming weekend:
1. The new managers' London derby
The London derby this Saturday is the match to look out for this weekend. Not only is it a derby, but also one between two new managers as both clubs have two different heads in Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri. The two new managers will go head-to-head this weekend as Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
The game is likely to witness a few goals considering both teams have problems in defence and an impressive attacking line-up. Chelsea have a particular weakness down the wings as seen in their game against Huddersfield Town last week. This, however, is likely to be made up by the midfield prowess of N'Golo Kante.
Unai Emery has an incredibly talented attacking unit in his team and he will likely deploy his most trusted number 10 Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and of course Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to trouble Chelsea's defence. Whether he chooses to go with Petr Cech between the posts again is yet to be seen but new signing Bernd Leno definitely seems like the one who would be more suited to his approach.
While a loss for either team won't be much of a disappointment considering the time needed for each side to adjust to new tactics, Sarri will definitely be looking for his first home win while Emery will look to make sure his side does not end up with a second London loss.
2. Contenders Liverpool vs an impressive Crystal Palace side
Liverpool are clearly the favorites to win at Selhurst Park, having won four-straight matches there and having also been deemed as genuine contenders for the title.
Having said that, Liverpool will be facing a fairly meticulous Crystal Palace side. They impressed in their first game of the season beating Fulham 0-2 at Craven Cottage. Roy Hodgson’s side was clinical throughout - drawing Fulham out and then attacking them on the break earning themselves two goals by Jeffrey Schlupp and Wilfried Zaha.
Zaha, who much to the delight of fans stayed at Palace in the summer, will no doubt be the attacking threat in the game against Liverpool. His pace will prove to be fatal should the Merseyside team falter, as has been the case a number of times last season, against a mid-table or bottom-table side. Last season, Liverpool dropped 19 points against teams that finished in the bottom six.
Of course, the Merseyside team have a fearsome attacking force in Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino but Crystal Palace are unlikely to give them the kind of space West Ham allowed in the final third.
Of course, any win for Jurgen Klopp's side will help them in their journey towards that long-awaited trophy, and they cannot afford any kind of slip up if they're to be considered as genuine title contenders.
3.The other London derby and Kane's August goal drought
On to the next London derby over the weekend - West London's Fulham and North London's Tottenham Hotspur.
Newly promoted Fulham may be going into the derby after suffering a loss against Crystal Palace but they're also going into it with a ton of new signings made over the summer (a staggering £100 million worth). Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs, on the other hand, are going into the game having made no signings at all.
The spotlight will likely be on Spurs' Harry Kane. The English striker has scored zero goals in the month of August in past season. Spurs, however, still managed to pull off a 2-0 win over Newcastle last week even without their star striker's contribution. Goals from Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen helped the North London side cement a comparatively easy win despite not having performed well.
Fulham will be hoping that this barren run continues at least until Saturday. A stroke of luck would help the side who just came off a loss in their first game and whose defensive capabilities, even with the addition of Calum Chambers and Maxime Le Marchand, may not be as strong as manager Slaviša Jokanović hoped it would be. The game will prove to be a tough test for the Cottagers.
For Spurs, a win would be a much-needed three points while for Kane, a goal is all he needs to end his drought.
4. Leicester City face an exciting Wolverhampton Wanderers side
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves just got back to the Premier League and they have been deemed the most exciting of the promoted clubs from the onset. The team are set to face Claude Puel's Leicester City this Saturday in a game that will be their first meeting in the Premier League since February 28th, 2004.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers were more than active in the transfer market, having brought in some fantastic players to get themselves prepared for the big league. Their game against Everton was thrilling, to say the least. Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota proved to be dangerous in the midfield and the team were as thrilling to watch as they were in their winning season at the Championship.
Leicester City, on the other hand, did not end last season well and the opening weekend's defeat to Manchester United has put even more pressure on the manager. Despite the defeat, the Leicester side played a lot better and looked brighter than they did in the last few games of the previous season.
Puel's side will want to clinch their first home victory this season and the manager will hope to see a better adjustment to his style of play from his men. Wolves, on the other hand, will need the three points to complement the point they gained from last week's game with Everton. This game promises to be a good one.
