London: With two teams in flux, Chelsea’s derby with Arsenal — the pick of the fixtures this weekend in the Premier League — is a meeting that promises goals. Both sides are vulnerable in defence and dangerous in attack. Although beaten comfortably in the end, Huddersfield exposed Chelsea’s weakness to attacks down the wings last week and Arsenal may aim to do likewise, while David Luiz, in particular, will likely struggle to keep up with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the middle. But Chelsea’s midfield thrusters — who could include Eden Hazard from the start as well as N’Golo Kante in all-new roving role — could wreak havoc at the other end, especially if certain Arsenal midfielders remain dozy when it comes to defensive duties. That is something Unai Emery needs to change and he could start by picking Lucas Torreira instead of Granit Xhaka. Or he might consider deploying both in a midfield trio with Matteo Guendouzi. But even that would probably not be enough to keep Chelsea at bay so Emery will most likely err on the side of adventure and start Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey in a difficult away assignment. Petr Cech is likely to start in goal at Stamford Bridge but how long can the manager persevere with a keeper less suited to his approach than the new signing Bernd Leno?
Huddersfield look for repeat
Every fantasy league manager in the world will have a Manchester City attacker as their captain this weekend but you know what David Wagner will be pointing out to his players: Huddersfield shut out Man City at the Etihad last season, limiting them to only two shots on target despite conceding 80 per cent possession. Belgian star Kevin De Bruyne, a pivotal figure in Manchester City’s title-winning campaign, will be out of action for three months because of a knee injury, furger giving Huddersfield hope.
The 27-year-old midfielder will not have to undergo surgery on the injury which he suffered in training on Wednesday.
Huddersfield will have to defend as defiantly again on Sunday if they are to achieve a similar result and maybe — just maybe — this may be the match in which to introduce the rapid new winger Adama Diakhaby to nick a goal on the counterattack.
The end of Liverpool’s largesse?
Away from home against a meticulously well-drilled Crystal Palace side, Liverpool’s pacey forwards are unlikely to be given the freedom of the final third that West Ham so generously bestowed upon them by playing such a high defensive line last Sunday. Touted by many as the only side with enough about them to prevent another Manchester City procession to the title, Liverpool need to avoid stuttering against mid- to lower-end Premier League sides if they are to put any sort of dent in the 25-point gap that separated the sides at the end of least season. Jurgen Klopp’s men dropped 19 points against teams that finished in the bottom six last season, nine of them against the three teams who went on to be relegated. They can ill-afford such profligacy this time round if they are to mount anything resembling a vaguely serious title challenge and the manner of their performance away from home against a Crystal Palace side that made short work of much-vaunted Fulham last weekend could provide a portent of things to come for fans who remember last season.
Touchline tension in Cardiff
Neil Warnock and Rafael Benitez have a fractious relationship that dates back to 2007, when Warnock’s Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League and their manager criticised the then Liverpool manager for fielding a below-strength side that lost against the Blades’ fellow relegation strugglers Fulham in their penultimate match of the season, a full 18 days before their Champions League final against Milan. Warnock’s comments about what he perceived to be a lack of sportsmanship prompted a threat of legal action and the Cardiff City manager later said he would “never forgive Benitez for playing what wasn’t even a reserve team”. Three subsequent matches with the pair in adjacent technical areas have passed off without incident, but Warnock has a notoriously long memory. In the event of any perceived injustices being visited upon either Cardiff or Newcastle in south Wales on Saturday, an entertaining feud could be reignited.
Early midfield malaise for Pellegrini
The ease with which Liverpool ran through West Ham’s plodding midfield was hugely concerning for Manuel Pellegrini, who could yet rue failing to buy a top defensive midfielder this summer. The inexperienced Declan Rice was taken off at half-time at Anfield but it could just as easily have been Mark Noble or Jack Wilshere who joined Pellegrini on the bench for the second half. It was a disheartening way to start the season and West Ham will need to improve in the centre of the park when Bournemouth visit the London Stadium on Saturday. Pellegrini wants to play on the front foot and is not short of attacking firepower, but perhaps his first tweak should be to ask Pedro Obiang to sit in front of the defence. JS
Will Hughton turn to summer signings?
Chris Hughton was at a loss to explain Brighton & Hove Albion’s lifeless display against Watford last weekend and there will have to be a vast improvement when Manchester United visit the Amex Stadium on Sunday. United will be out for revenge after losing this fixture last season and Hughton is likely to make changes in a bid to get rid of any lingering pre-season rust, which could mean that there will be full debuts for Yves Bissouma and Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Bissouma had an impressive cameo against Watford and could give Brighton’s midfield greater presence, while Jahanbakhsh has the potential to sharpen up Hughton’s misfiring attack.
Fixtures
Saturday (all UAE times)
Cardiff City v Newcastle United (3.30pm), Everton v Southampton, Leicester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham. West Ham v Bournemouth (all 6pm), Chelsea v Arsenal (8.30pm)
Sunday
Burnley v Watford (4.30pm), Manchester City v Huddersfield Town (4.30pm), Brighton v Manchester United (7pm)
Monday
Crystal Palace v Liverpool (11pm)
