1) City to target Liverpool’s heavy legs

“It’s a game of small margins,” said Vincent Kompany of the season’s standout fixture to date between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. If the teams are as closely matched in quality as Kompany thinks then he can only have been heartened by the weary look of many of Liverpool’s players as they struggled with Napoli’s intensity in their 1-0 defeat on Wednesday. Jürgen Klopp’s midfielders create chances by harassing opponents out of possession and shuffling the ball forwards quickly but in Naples they looked heavy-legged. Liverpool’s past three fixtures read: Chelsea, Chelsea, Napoli; high-profile, energy-sapping games. City, meanwhile, have played Oxford, Brighton and Hoffenheim, and though they were made to work hard in Germany, they have not had to dig as deep as Liverpool’s players. If they are not 100% fit, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum (Liverpool’s likely midfield starters if there is a lingering concern over Naby Keïta) do not have an awful lot of guile to lean on. Unless the Melwood ice-baths are particularly effective, Liverpool’s most pressing concern will be how to reach the supreme zesty levels that helped them defeat City three times last season. GB

2) Can Benítez add to Mourinho’s mounting problems?

United by name but currently anything but behind the scenes, the teams managed by José Mourinho and Rafael Benítez meet at Old Trafford in a match that’s difficult to call. Manchester United’s performances at home this season have been unimpressive and if they cannot rouse themselves to beat a Newcastle side in a similar – albeit near permanent – state of disarray calls for Mourinho’s head are bound increase. Newcastle’s approach will be intriguing, given their hosts’ current lethargic performances and it will be fascinating to see if Benítez throws caution to the wind and takes the game to his old and once bitter rival’s side like so many other teams have done at Old Trafford this season. BG

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3) Winks to make most of Spurs’ injury crisis

While Harry Winks has shown promise since breaking into Tottenham’s first team two years ago, the young midfielder is still finding his best form after recovering from an injury that forced him to have ankle surgery in May. However the 22-year-old must have picked up some valuable lessons during Wednesday’s 4-2 defeat by Barcelona at Wembley and he is likely to start again when Tottenham host Cardiff City. With Dele Alli, Mousa Dembélé and Christian Eriksen injured, Winks has a chance to nail down a place in the side after his England recall. It is a year since he made his international debut and he looked like he had a great chance of going to the World Cup after using his excellent passing range to help Tottenham beat Real Madrid last season. His luck has been out since then but Tottenham’s injury crisis has come at a good time for Winks, who has an opportunity to show that Mauricio Pochettino can build his midfield around him. JS

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Harry Winks attempts to regain possession off Lionel Messi at Wembley on Wednesday. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

4) Seagulls may need Izquierdo to get them flying

Winless since beating Manchester United in August, Brighton & Hove Albion will be under pressure when they host West Ham. Chris Hughton’s side can struggle to assert themselves at times and needed to fight back from 2-0 down to earn draws with Fulham and Southampton last month. Yet perhaps their attack will have more spark now that José Izquierdo, who made his first appearance of the season as a late substitute against Manchester City last week, is fit again. The Colombian winger scored stunners in both of Brighton’s wins over West Ham last season and although he is probably not ready to start yet, he will be a useful option to bring off the bench to run at Pablo Zabaleta. JS

5) Giroud to rediscover his scoring touch?

Olivier Giroud was the hero when Chelsea recovered from 2-0 down to beat Southampton at St Mary’s last season. The former Arsenal striker scored twice as the west Londoners snatched a 3-2 win and he also grabbed the opening goal when Chelsea beat Southampton in their FA Cup semi-final in April. Giroud has scored once in the league since then and he drew another blank against Liverpool last week. But after drawing their last two league games, Chelsea could do with the Frenchman rediscovering his goalscoring touch this weekend. Maurizio Sarri will not want to keep relying on Eden Hazard. JS

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6) Bernard to make an impact against Leicester?

Having taken only two minutes to set up Gylfi Sigurdsson’s second goal in Everton’s 3-0 win against Fulham, Bernard showed that even when given extremely limited time, he can make an impact. The 5ft 4in playmaker has yet to start a league game for Marco Silva’s side since his summer move from Shakhtar, but in his first full 90 minutes for the club against Southampton in the Carabao Cup, he showed enough creativity to give Silva a selection headache. Everton are not short of physical options in midfield, butthey are not overflowing with clever passers. Bernard’s inventive distribution would surely be appreciated by an effervescent and mobile forward such as Richarlison. Even if Silva opts for a more perfunctory midfield at Leicester, Bernard will likely be the first player he plucks from the bench should he need to unlock the home side’s defence. GB

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bernard impressed for Everton against Southampton. Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images



7) Who can break Burnley-Huddersfield deadlock?

An early contender for bottom billing on Match of the Day before a ball has been kicked, it hardly bodes well that in their only two previous Premier League meetings Burnley and Huddersfield have failed to muster a goal between them. Both matches ended with Sean Dyche seething over penalty box tumbles: a Rajiv van La Parra dive that was spotted by the referee in the first game, followed by a Jonas Lössl foul on Jeff Hendrick that wasn’t in the second. After going 10 games without a win, Burnley recorded back-to-back victories in the Premier League for the first time since April last weekend and will fancy their chances of three on the spin against a Huddersfield side with three goals and two points on the Premier League board. Having lost defenders Terence Kongolo and Christopher Schindler to injury (the latter may be fit for Saturday) in defeat last weekend against Tottenham Hotspur, David Wagner has concerns at both ends of the pitch as the need for points becomes more pressing with each passing game. BG

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8) Can Bettinelli justify his England call-up?

It’s been an interesting few months for Marcus Bettinelli. In the summer Fulham bought two new goalkeepers, Fabri and Sergio Rico, so at the very least it looked like he had a scrap on his hands for his place. Even more so when Fabri started the first two games between the sticks, but Bettinelli was reinstalled for the third, has played every game since and was named in the most recent England squad. All of this despite conceding 11 goals in five games, contributing to what is the joint-worst defensive record in the Premier League. Some of the blame for that lies with the inconsistency in front of him, Slavisa Jokanovic having not named/been able to name the same defence twice so far. But Bettinelli’s international call-up remains a little curious, particularly with Joe Hart returning to form at Burnley. A clean sheet against Arsenal on Sunday would be helpful for everyone concerned. NM

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fulham’s Marcus Bettinelli makes a save. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters

9) Palace should embrace their reliance on Zaha

Roy Hodgson knows what’s coming when a journalist starts asking a question about Wilfried Zaha. It will be some variant on the idea that Crystal Palace are over-reliant on their best player, which the manager will wearily entertain and try to play down, but while it might be irritating to constantly hear, why not make a virtue of it? Last season, Palace dropped only four points in their final six games, elevating them from the vague threat of relegation to nearly cracking the top half of the table. In all of those games, Zaha essentially played up front on his own, a tactical choice initially made out of necessity, but nonetheless one that worked: Zaha scored five goals in those six games. This season Hodgson has tried a few different striking partners without much success, Christian Beneteke, Alexander Sorloth and Andrew Ayew not managing to summon a goal between them – so why not return to last spring and make Zaha their focal point again? NM

10) Can Lerma keep himself out of trouble?

Jefferson Lerma was always going to be good value. The Colombian international has proved a fine signing for Bournemouth so far, so much so that he and Dan Gosling kept Lewis Cook out of the side until their last game. His all-round play has been excellent, but it must be of concern to Eddie Howe that Lerma might become s much a liability as an asset. The man at the heart of the Colombia team described by John Stones as the “dirtiest I’ve ever played against” during the World Cup has already lived up to his disciplinary billing since arriving on the south coast. Lerma, who was booked a whopping 19 times in 29 games for Levante last season already has three yellow cards in four games to his name, the latest coming after being at the centre of a last-minute scrap against Crystal Palace on Monday. A little physicality is always welcome in the Premier League, but Lerma isn’t much use to Howe if he’s suspended, which he will be frequently if he carries on like this. NM