The first week of the English Premier League was full of drama as the league has come to be known. Manchester United was the biggest winner of the weekend as they put 5 past Leeds United in the derby of the Roses.
Defending Champions Manchester United got off to a faltering start as they were beaten in London by Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tottenham Hotspurs thanks to a goal from Son.
Title contenders Chelsea and Liverpool also got off to winning ways after collecting all 3 points from their games against Crystal Palace and Norwich City respectively.
What Premier League games are coming up this weekend?
Liverpool Vs Burnley
2019-2020 Premier League winners Liverpool who won their opening game of the weekend will take on Burnley.
Burnley lost their opening game of the season to Brighton Albion and are tipped to be the beating boys of the season.
Liverpool forwards Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have had contrasting forms against Burnley. Mo Salah has managed 1 goal in 8 matches while Sadio Mane has scored 4 goals in 6 games against Burnley.
West Ham United vs Leicester City
4th placed West Ham are hosts to Brendan Rogers’ 9th place Leicester City a game that pits two managers with a love for old fashioned English football that is about attacking and defending.
The two sides picked up wins in their first games of the season with West Ham winning 4-2 against Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United while Leicester City laboured for a 1-0 win over stubborn Wolves.
West Ham is buoyant with the presence of Antonio who is continuing to break records for the London outfit while Leicester City will be hoping that James Madison, Jamie Vardy can get firing to keep their season on the positive end.
Southampton vs Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer has assembled a fantastic team for the 2021/22 season and that was on the cards for all to see when they beat old rivals Leeds United in their season opener while Southampton comes into this game looking for a spark to kickstart their season after that faltering weekend against Everton after losing 3-1.
Southampton won’t have to worry about losing their best player in Ward-Prowse after he signed a new contract.
Jadon Sancho could be slated to start his first game for Manchester United this weekend after he made a brief appearance in their 5-star performance. Edison Cavani trained this week with the first team and looks set to make an appearance but all eyes will be on hatrick goal scorer Bruno Fernandez and 4 assister Paul Pogba for this game. New signing Rafael Varane could also make his appearance this weekend.
Wolves vs Tottenham Hotspurs
Wolves got beat in their opening game of the season at the hands of Leicester City and players like Raul Jimenez, Nevez and the rest of the team know that they can’t risk losing 2 games in a row and so will be looking to inflict some pain on former manager Nuno Espirito’s side today.
Tottenham Hotspurs won their opening game against 2020/21 champions Manchester City but suffered at the hands of Pacos de Ferreira in the UEFA Europa Conference League playoff.
This game pits two sides who are both looking for redemption. Spurs come into this game with transfer news still hovering over their captain Harry Kane.
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Out of ideas, Arsenal suffered a humiliating defeat to the newly promoted Brentford on the opening night and they come up against title favourites Chelsea who comfortably won their opening game. Brentford was playing their first-ever football in the Premier League and first at top-flight in 74 years.
Arsenal in their opening game was without captain Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Lacazette and Thomas Partey but the good news is that the Gabon international Aubameyang could make his appearance this weekend.
Arsenal made two signings this week in Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale but the Norwegian midfielder won’t make his appearance this weekend due to work permit issues.
Chelsea on the other hand will be without American forward Pulisic who reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 but should be ready to entertain new signing forward Romelu Lukaku who returned to Stamford Bridge after he was signed from Inter Milan.
Arsenal won a double against Chelsea last season for the first time since the 2004 season and Mikel Arteta knows that a win against Chelsea this weekend could lessen the pressure that is mounting on his job.
For Thomas Tuchel, it is about grabbing every single point available to him all season if he is to compete against Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United for the premier league title. This game is definitely going to live up to the big billing.
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Author: Moses Echodu
Moses is an avid Sports and Tech enthusiast. He loves to keep up to date with all the latest information and research on some of the most compelling stories.
