Given the blow of losing Kevin De Bruyne for three months owing to a knee injury Pep Guardiola will want Manchester City to respond to Huddersfield as they did when travelling to Chelsea last September. Then Sergio Agüero was unavailable after a car ac…
Liverpool have won their past four trips to Selhurst Park in all competitions, though they will still consider this a distinctly awkward fixture. Crystal Palace have been buoyed by the contracts signed by Roy Hodgson and Wilfried Zaha and have not lost…
The omens favour Brighton, who have won their past two home games against Manchester United, 1-0 at the Amex in May to secure their Premier League status and by the same margin, thanks to Peter Ward, in November 1982. The odds, however, remain very muc…
Burnley are continuing to fight on two fronts just to get into the Europa League proper, and though they won through to a final play-off round against Istanbul Basaksehir on Thursday the tie once again went to extra time. Sean Dyche is attempting squad…
Cardiff and Newcastle will be looking to bounce back from opening defeats but neither will have been distraught by their performances. Rafael Benítez’s side have won their past 10 successive league matches against Cardiff so the omens are not brilliant…
Tottenham wave goodbye to Son Heung-min who will be competing at the Asian Games until September with South Korea’s Under-23 side as one of their three senior players. Tottenham are counting on the favourites prevailing as a gold medal will mean Son is…
Rúben Neves will have had fantasy football nerds in virtual ecstasy after the Wolves midfielder’s goal and assist against Everton proved their scouting ability. Leicester need to take an even closer look at Neves in order to atone for their disappointi…
There was an immediate improvement from last season in Everton’s forward play and work rate in the Premier League opener at Wolves and Goodison Park craves more of the same in Marco Silva’s first home league match having endured Sam Allardyce’s soul-de…
Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery are still feeling their way into a new league. Yet this derby may provide a far better gauge of their capabilities than Chelsea’s walkover at Huddersfield, or Arsenal’s toils against Manchester City. Sarri, who is consider…
Manuel Pellegrini wants West Ham to brighten the mood at the London Stadium with attacking football, although his team will need to sharpen up at the back after last week’s 4-0 defeat to Liverpool. West Ham conceded 68 goals last season and Bournemouth…
Can Unai Emery transform Arsenal this season? Is this the perfect time to play Manchester City? Will Lucas Torreira be the midfield battering ram the Emirates has been without for so long? Hope has returned with the arrival of Arsène Wenger’s replaceme…
Summer changes fuel optimism at both clubs but Manuel Pellegrini faces a daunting task in his first league game as the West Ham manager. Liverpool won both meetings 4-1 last season and were unbeaten at home throughout. Since then they have been the big…
Mauricio Pochettino has become the first Premier League manager to blame Brexit for an underwhelming transfer window – Pochettino claims it has added to the cost of the club’s new ground – and Newcastle fans are planning protests against the owner, Mik…
Wolverhampton Wanderers are back in the Premier League after a six-year break and a brief dip into League One. The rather unlikely Portuguese influence on the Black County will be under the microscope from the off as fresh from Russia, Rui Patrício and…
Despite a modest summer of spending, Southampton must push on from last season when they narrowly avoided relegation. Burnley are already well into their rhythm owing to Europa League commitments. Sean Dyche is relieved the transfer deadline has passed…
Brighton face Watford, who made a healthy £24m profit this summer to the consternation of some among their fans. Javi Gracia’s side finished one place above Brighton, who have spent more freely this summer. Record signing Alireza Jahanbakhsh (good luck…
Fulham welcome Crystal Palace for a derby match after a four-year absence from the Premier League. Slavisa Jokanovic will have to get to grips with management again, having seemingly done nothing other than splurge on new talent recently. Fulham’s tota…
It is all change for Chelsea, whose manager, Maurizio Sarri, goes into his first Premier League games trying to introduce a new style and integrate new players. The Italian has said he does not know how long that process will take. Huddersfield hope it…
Cardiff travel to the south coast with a stash of new signings, but Harry Arter, loaned in from opponents Bournemouth, is not eligible to feature. Neil Warnock could hand £10m recruit Bobby Reid his Premier League debut though, while Eddie Howe’s major…
Claude Puel’s attempted joke regarding Harry Maguire’s future at Old Trafford being limited to a few hours will probably not have tickled José Mourinho. Maguire remains a Leicester player despite United’s considerable interest. Mourinho, petty as he ma…
