1) September: the cruellest month?

Liverpool fans could be forgiven for thinking January would be a shoo-in for their most miserable month of 2017. September, however, has the potential to be equally bleak. Jürgen Klopp’s side have yet to win this month, and opportunities to change that sorry state of affairs are thin on the ground, with only away games at Leicester City and Spartak Moscow remaining. A second defeat in four days at the King Power is far from unthinkable – the Foxes have been a bogey team since the 1960s, while Klopp may be forced to pair Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez at the back – and could send their season into a negative spiral, with a tricky run of games to come in October, nearly all away from Anfield. On the flip side, it wouldn’t take much for Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho to click sweetly again as they did in pre-season, in which case Klopp’s side could regain their momentum in some style. It’ll be fascinating to see which Liverpool turns up; good luck calling it. SM

2) Agüero and Jesus recall Manchester City’s canniest transfers

The key lesson from his stints at Liverpool and England is that Roy Hodgson forgets what he is good at when he tries too hard to please (and then blames others). But that should not be a problem at Crystal Palace because Hodgson has taken over at the perfect time, with expectations low thanks to the Frank de Boer misadventure and the gruelling series of fixtures starting with Saturday’s trip to Manchester City. So all Hodgson has to do is concentrate on embedding a defensive shape, which he can do well. But City are so fearsome in attack that Sergio Agüero could still set a new scoring record for the club on Saturday. A hat-trick would take him past Eric Brook, who struck 177 goals for City before his career was halted by the second world war. Brook and his team-mate Fred Tilson were signed from Barnsley in 1928 for a combined fee of £6,000 and together fired City to promotion and then the top-flight title, totalling 310 goals between them in 726 matches. It has taken City nearly 90 years and many millions of pounds, but with Agüero and Gabriel Jesus, they have a duo worthy of Brook and Tilson. PD

3) Is Trippier set for another season playing second fiddle?

An excellent defensive performance by Swansea City left the Tottenham Hotspur attackers Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen frustrated last weekend, but they looked considerably more chipper upon the introduction of Serge Aurier in the right wing-back position, with Kieran Trippier swapping to the left. With his speed and impressive crossing from deep, the Ivorian made an immediate impact following an impressive debut against Borussia Dortmund a few days previously and ought to have had a penalty when he was tripped by Jordan Ayew on one marauding run into the penalty area. Signed on deadline day, Aurier seems to have quickly settled into life with Spurs and earlier this week, ahead of the trip to West Ham, Trippier praised the power, pace and good delivery of a player he described as a good character to have in the dressing room. He may have done so through gritted teeth – having spent most of last season playing second fiddle to the now departed Kyle Walker, Trippier must have thought his opportunity to make the Spurs right-back position his own had come. The manner in which Aurier has hit the ground in England running, literally and metaphorically, suggests that opportunity may have already passed by a talented English defender who would walk into most Premier League sides. BG

Kieran Trippier in action against Barnsley’s Jared Bird in the Carabao Cup but nailing down a regular league slot at right-back for Spurs may continue to elude him. Photograph: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

4) Striking options for Koeman

Last season, Everton battered Bournemouth 6-3 at Goodison, a result that should put them in a good humour going into this weekend’s repeat fixture. The only problem is, four of their goals that day were scored by Romelu Lukaku, a player since sold and not adequately replaced. Ronald Koeman – outrageously joint-favourite to be the next Premier League manager for the sack – has a decision to make. Everton’s only league goals this season have been scored by Wayne Rooney, but he has been part of an attack that has failed to find the net in four games. By contrast, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ademola Lookman and the much-maligned Oumar Niasse all impressed in the 3-0 League Cup win over Sunderland. Time for a shake-up, to prove there is life post-Lukaku? Even if it comes at the cost of a couple of bigger names? SM

5) A big test for Diouf and Zouma-less Stoke

If Antonio Conte is a genius for successfully converting Victor Moses into an excellent wing-back, then Mark Hughes must be some kind of god for doing something similar with Mame Biram Diouf. All right, that might be a touch over the top, because though the Senegalese has done well in the role, he has not quite mastered it – a fact that Marcos Alonso and some of Conte’s other players could expose on Saturday. Beyond that, Chelsea could also exploit a stipulation that should not exist: Stoke will be deprived of Kurt Zouma under the terms of his loan move from the London club. Zouma has been superb for Stoke so far this season and they will be allowed to use him against every other club, meaning Chelsea stand to gain an advantage from buying more players than they can use. That is is not right. Loanees should always be allowed to play against their parent clubs: rather than suffer a conflict of interest, their motivation to excel would surely grow. PD

6) Saints hope for a 90s throwback

Saints used to make a habit of turning Manchester United over at home. Think of those famous victories in the mid-1990s: the grey-strip fiasco, the 6-3 rout, the Kevin Davies inspired win that gave Arsenal hope in the 1997-98 title race. But the 90s are a long time ago, and Saints haven’t beaten United on their own patch since a late James Beattie goal stunned a side containing Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo in August 2003. On the face of it, United’s wonderful early-season form – 24 goals in eight matches – doesn’t suggest that 14-year sequence will come to an end this weekend. But Saints will take heart from a solid performance at Crystal Palace last week, the industry and upcoming talent of the midfielder Mario Lemina, and the expected return to serious action of Virgil van Dijk, who scored a header for the reserves midweek. United can expect a tough test, if not a 90s-style working over. SM

James Beattie celebrates scoring in Southampton’s last home victory against Manchester United, in August 2003. Photograph: Christopher Lee/Getty Images

7) Will Hughton be Krul to be kind to Brighton fans?

Having previously been ineligible under the terms of his loan agreement, Tim Krul is suddenly available for selection against his former club Newcastle United after Brighton offered him a permanent one-year deal earlier this week. While there is no guarantee the Dutchman will get the nod against his former club ahead of Mat Ryan, the timing of the deal does seem a little bit convenient. Krul made his debut for Brighton in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat at the hands of Bournemouth, while Ryan seems to have settled after an erratic start to his career at the Amex Stadium. “It’s not always easy to see the situation from my perspective when people are watching from the stands or on TV,” said Ryan in a chat with the local Argus earlier this week. Whether it is he or Krul who will be watching from the sidelines on Sunday remains to be seen. BG

8) Sanches to step it up?

Swansea City’s defensive display against Tottenham last weekend wasn’t perfect: Harry Kane hit the bar while Serge Aurier was saucily bundled over in the penalty area. But the Swans got away with it on both occasions, and you make your own luck: they were otherwise magnificently resilient, having been expected to roll over meekly. The preposterously maligned Renato Sanches – he’s just turned 20, for goodness sake – was impressive in both a destructive and creative sense at Wembley before he ran out of steam a little and was hooked. Having subsequently put in a fine 90 minutes in the League Cup at Reading, he appears to be winding himself up to make a few Premier League statements. Watford, confidence doubtless jiggered by that six-goal pasting by Manchester City, should be wary. SM

Renato Sanches had his moments for Swansea against Spurs but might get more opportunities to create against Watford. Photograph: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images

9) Huddersfield need midfielders such as Ince to start scoring

When Laurent Depoitre did last week what Steve Mounié had done on the opening day of the season – scoring on his first start for Huddersfield Town – it confirmed that the newly-promoted side recruited two useful centre-forwards during the summer, assets that they lacked last year. But converting pressure into penetration remains a problem because midfielders are not contributing enough goals (although Elias Kachunga might have had a winner to his name if his strike against Leicester City last week had not been wrongly disallowed for offside). Tom Ince, in particular, has the ability to finish neatly but, although he has generally played well, he has yet to find the scoring form in the Premier League that he showed at Derby County (where he scored 37 goals from 96 starts). If he, or another midfielder, shows more sharpness in front of goal on Saturday, then Huddersfield could become the second Yorkshire club in a week to win at Turf Moor even if Chris Wood scores again. PD

10) Krychowiak’s chance to impose himself on Arsenal midfield

It’s honours even between Arsenal and West Brom in the Premier League over the past two seasons, with each side having won two of their four encounters. Assuming he lines up in midfield, Gareth Barry will become the Premier League’s all-time record appearance maker with 633, a notable personal milestone, but it is his midfield partner Grzegorz Krychowiak who is likely to face his sternest top flight test to date on only his third. Acquiring the Polish midfielder on loan from Paris Saint-Germain was considered something of a coup for Tony Pulis and the 27-year-old has faced Arsenal on two previous occasions in the French club’s colours. He also featured on Arsène Wenger’s shopping list when he was still playing with Sevilla, but opted to move to PSG instead. Against a high-profile midfield not renowned for its surplus of backbone, a fully fit Krychowiak will have few better platforms platform on which to show exactly what it was that prompted the Sevilla director Ramón Rodríguez Monchi to buy him when the club’s then manager, Unai Emery, ordered “a beast” and “a physical prodigy with a decent passing accuracy”. He may have struggled for first team opportunities under Emery at PSG, but can leave a memorable Premier League calling card here. BG