1) Newcastle travel to Anfield without much hope …

Newcastle don’t have much of a record at Anfield. They’ve not won there since Steve Watson knocked Roy Evans’s side out of the League Cup in 1995; they’ve not tasted league victory there since Andrew Cole and Robert Lee secured a 2-0 win in 1994. It’s been mainly defeats ever since, though they did get a point three years ago against a starting XI featuring Alberto Moreno, Connor Randall and Kevin Stewart. The Magpies won’t be flying down the A1 with too much hope in their hearts, then. Liverpool are on a 13-match Premier League winning run, and Mo Salah and Sadio Mané have had their feet up during the international break. SM

2) … but their manager may have a workable plan

But here’s a sliver of historical hope for the Toon! Steve Bruce has masterminded six wins from 24 over Liverpool during his managerial career, not a bad return for a journeyman usually working with modest resources. His 25% success rate might not sound super-promising, but look at it this way: a one-in-four shout is a big improvement on the bookies’ odds of 14-1. It’s also exactly the same win ratio against the Reds achieved by a certain Rafa Benítez, and nobody would be writing off one of his sides completely. Some straw-clutching? Perhaps … but then no one thought Bruce’s Birmingham would win at Anfield in 2004 either, and look what happened there. SM

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Steve Bruce: Anfield miracle worker? Photograph: Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar

3) Attack remains best form of defence for Norwich

Manchester City’s visit to Carrow Road has the potential to make England 5-3 Kosovo feel like a study in catenaccio and the odds on another thriller can only have shortened in light of the Canaries’ injury woes. Christoph Zimmermann has joined Timm Klose on the sidelines while doubts over Grant Hanley’s fitness, leave them worryingly thin at centre-back. Max Aarons, the outstanding right-back, also looks likely to miss out after injuring his ankle on England Under-21 duty and the only blessing might be that defending hardly seems Norwich’s priority at the best of times. Matches such as Saturday’s assume free-hit status for Daniel Farke’s side and the expectation is that they will look to exploit any City weaknesses – occasionally suggested by Brighton a fortnight ago – by playing their usual front-footed game. The danger is that they risk the kind of hiding they took at Liverpool, and a team can only take so many if they are to retain their sparkle. Perhaps Farke might have looked to tighten things up given a clean bill of health; in the event Norwich probably have no choice but to pour forward again. NA

England and Kosovo thrill, Scotland slump and Marvin Sordell – Football Weekly Extra Read more

4) The first six-pointer of the season?

Is it too early for a relegation six-pointer? Hell, it’s never too early for a relegation six-pointer. Both Brighton and Burnley flew out of the traps on the opening day with three-goal wins, but since then it’s been a bit of a struggle. Six matches between them have produced two points and three goals. The Clarets can point to a few caveats: they fought hard at Arsenal, nearly ground out a win at Wolves, and nobody gets much from Liverpool right now. The Seagulls by comparison couldn’t be expected to get anything at Manchester City, it’s true, but a supine loss at home to a stuttering Southampton was more of a worry. This might not be a classic – three of the last four matches between these sides have ended 0-0, 0-0 and 1-0 – so remember to thank us for tempting fate when it ends 3-3. SM

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tom Davies is a regular for England’s under-21 side, but is struggling for game time at Everton. Photograph: Eddie Keogh for The FA/Shutterstock

5) Davies running out of chances at Everton?

Everton splashed out more than £115m this summer, signing three midfielders – André Gomes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Fabian Delph – and while new faces have undoubtedly helped reinvigorate his squad, it has created something of a roadblock for Tom Davies. Since 7 February the Liverpudlian, who joined the club as an 11-year-old, has played more minutes for the England Under-21s than he has Everton. On the face of it, the £30m sale of Idrissa Gueye to PSG seemed to play into Davies’s hands while Gbamin, a £25m recruit from Mainz, is expected to be out until November with a thigh injury. First-team chances have remained hard to come by, with Morgan Schneiderlin’s renaissance pushing him further down the pecking order. Another home-grown midfielder, Kieran Dowell, and the full-back Jonjoe Kenny departed on loan in search of game time and perhaps Davies will soon have to follow suit. BF

6) The Premier League crisis baton, part one

It’s way too early for any club to be in full-blown crisis mode. But you know how folk are, and a couple of slow-starting big clubs might find themselves under pressure should things not go their way this weekend. Unbeaten Leicester City are everyone’s tip to break up the Champions League cartel, and midfield maestro James Maddison has had a fortnight conserving his energy on England’s bench. The Foxes haven’t won at Old Trafford since Tony Cottee scored a first-half winner in 1998, and with Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side currently partying like it’s 1962, they might not have a better chance to end that barren run for a while. Should they frustrate the hosts, expect the wholly unreasonable noise around Manchester United – a team right at the start of a rebuild – to get a little louder. SM

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ole Gunnar Solskjær will be keen to avoid another defeat at Old Trafford, following the loss to Crystal Palace. Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images

7) The Premier League crisis baton, part two

Or perhaps it will be Tottenham who’ll feel the full force of some confected crisis instead. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are understandably suffering from a little post-Madrid hangover, the disappointment of coming so close in the Champions League still very real. They should have enough to see off Crystal Palace – they’ve won their past six league meetings, and were excellent while going two up at Arsenal a fortnight ago. On the other hand, they let that lead against the Gunners slip, went down in their last home match to Newcastle, and Palace are flying after their confidence-boosting smash-and-grab at Old Trafford three weeks ago. Should Palace take the lead – and remember how Spurs struggled in the main after falling behind against Aston Villa – Spurs could get a little agitated. Should Palace frustrate the hosts, here comes some more of that wholly unreasonable noise! SM

8) Welbeck gamble could give Flores a glorious return

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss? Well, up to a point. Watford being Watford, only six of the players Quique Sánchez Flores managed in his previous spell are still on the scene so it may take time before he is fully reacquainted with the place he describes as “my home”. It was no surprise Watford’s owners blinked at the first sign of trouble for Javi Gracia and it would take some bravery to predict Flores’s return lasting longer than his previous 11-and-a-half-month tenure. He has a tough job and, given Manchester City await after Arsenal, things may deteriorate before he can steady the ship. Even if he is not familiar with most of his new charges yet, one of them knows Sunday’s opponents especially well. Danny Welbeck was eased back by Gracia, having missed most of last season. But 90 minutes in last month’s League Cup win over Coventry boded well and a fortnight’s training over the international break cannot have hurt. Giving Welbeck his first start might be the early masterstroke Flores needs; if one ex has come back to help Watford, another could boost their cause by downing his former employers. NA

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9) Wolves hope to profit from return to Saturday action

Wolves are presented with what, these days, is a veritable rarity: a Saturday kick-off. This will be their first of the season and perhaps it is the occasion for a timely reset. Europa League football has brought a gruelling schedule that, while productive on the continental front, has contributed to a below-par start domestically. They remain winless but it is not all bad news: performance levels have been reasonable and, in Raúl Jiménez, they have a striker who cannot stop scoring. He will fancy his chances against a leaky Chelsea, exactly the kind of opponents Wolves have their eyes on leapfrogging before long. When the sides met last December, Jiménez was on target in a victory that kickstarted Wolves’ season while highlighting the flaws that would stall Chelsea’s campaign. They would overtake them with a win this time and add fuel to the idea that the London club’s claim to a top-six spot looks distinctly vulnerable. It looks a big game for both sides’ directions of travel and Wolves hope a lack of Thursday interruption will help them rediscover their old edge. NA

10) Wilder’s side must ignore ownership wrangle

Four years ago, on the pitch at Meadow Lane after Northampton Town won at Notts County, an exhausted and exasperated Chris Wilder made his frustration known. Internal politics and a protracted takeover threatened to endanger Wilder’s extraordinary work, with the team third in League Two despite staff having gone six weeks unpaid. “It’s tearing us all apart,” he said. The same cannot be said for the situation at Sheffield United but the dispute between the club’s co-owners is hardly helpful, with a High Court verdict looming on Monday. Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah, a member of the Saudi royal family, have been at loggerheads for almost two years with the pair, who each have a 50% stake, pushing for outright control. On the pitch Southampton, who released Wilder as a teenager, are next up. “We had a blockage in the system, so many players at the time, he didn’t make it,” Dave Merrington, Wilder’s former youth-team manager says. “But Chris was a good lad; he listened, applied himself. He was very switched on and I’m just delighted to see him go on and do so well.” BF