1) Spurs must improve in derby

When did Tottenham last play well in a league game? Arguably not since their Boxing Day thrashing of Bournemouth, a win they followed up with a drab home defeat to Wolves three days later. The latter display became far too commonplace as the campaign rolled on, with a light squad wearied by the run to the Champions League final and possibly distracted by Mauricio Pochettino’s grumbling in public. Pochettino has seemed unsettled for a while and last weekend’s defeat by Newcastle means Tottenham have lost 15 league games in 2019.

A massive improvement is required for the trip to Arsenal, though that will probably only be achievable if Pochettino restores Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen to the starting lineup. The threat posed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in Arsenal’s attack means that Vertonghen should replace the jittery Davinson Sánchez in defence, while Tottenham’s creative struggles against Newcastle were a reminder of what they would be losing if Eriksen is sold before the European transfer window shuts on 2 September. JS

2) Lingard feels the heat

Despite his public claims to the contrary, Ole Gunnar Solskjær must be concerned about the poor form of Jesse Lingard. The Manchester United midfielder has provided no assists and just one goal in his past 20 appearances, a worrying return from exactly 22 hours spent on the pitch.

While Solskjær says Lingard has “been a big part of our team and will continue being an important part”, he had no compunction in replacing the 26-year-old with Mason Greenwood after 55 minutes of United’s match against Crystal Palace last weekend. At Southampton, the 17-year-old is likely to start in place of the injured Anthony Martial and with Alexis Sánchez gone on loan to Inter, it will be no surprise to see the berth behind Greenwood occupied by Juan Mata. BG

Bury, Carabao upsets and the Alexis Sánchez mystery – Football Weekly Extra Read more

3) Hornets require lift-off

The only team not to collect a Premier League point, Watford are rock bottom of the table and will play a Newcastle side buoyed by last weekend’s win at Spurs. A 3-0 Carabao Cup win for Watford against Coventry in midweek was expected but it did also provide a ray of hope for the Hornets going forward, in the form of their record £30m signing Ismaïla Sarr, who made his full debut after missing pre-season due to international commitments. The Senegalese winger is outrageously talented but also looks as though he’s got the mental fortitude to thrive in the English game, dealing with some ugly early challenges before going on to score. “Their full-back hit him a couple of times,” said Adrian Mariappa. “I think it was a, ‘Hello, welcome to England’ sort of thing. He got up, dusted himself down and showed what a player he is.” Without the injured Troy Deeney, Javi Gracia will surely be desperate to get Sarr into the XI for the trip to St James’ Park. MB

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ismaïla Sarr (right) was on fine form against Coventry City. Photograph: Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images

4) British youngsters can shine at the King Power

Most of the focus will be on the wonderful James Maddison when Leicester host Bournemouth, but the midfielder will not be the only young British talent hoping to catch the eye at the King Power Stadium. For Leicester, Hamza Choudhury will hope to continue his impressive start to the season in central midfield and Harvey Barnes will hope he has done enough to earn a rare start after coming off the bench to score the winner against Sheffield United. As for Bournemouth, a couple of Welsh youngsters have caught the eye, with Chris Mepham making two starts in central defence and the on-loan Liverpool midfielder Harry Wilson scoring a spectacular free-kick against Manchester City last week. With Brendan Rodgers at Leicester and Eddie Howe at Bournemouth, youngsters at both clubs should continue to flourish. JS

5) Morrison edges closer for Blades

Chris Wilder was grumpy after his team’s defeat at the hands of Leicester and his mood will hardly have been improved by his decision not to bother going to Headingley the next day despite having a ticket for what turned out to be a quite remarkable day of Ashes cricket. A midweek Carabao Cup win over Blackburn will have put the smile back on his face, not least because Ravel Morrison excelled in a Sheffield United lineup featuring 10 changes. “There’s still a little way for him to go,” said Wilder, upon being asked about Morrison’s fitness. “But he’s within touching distance of it now and he’ll bring a lot to the table for us.” Whether the brooding, enigmatic midfielder starts against Chelsea remains to be seen, but he seems sure to play some part. Aged 26 and already at his 10th club in five different countries, this once precocious talent needs to prove that he has not left a great future behind him. BG

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ravel Morrison impressed in the Carabao Cup. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images via Reuters

6) Liverpool need to be ready for robust challenge

Plenty of teams come away from Turf Moor with three points, but none of them truly enjoy the experience. Burnley’s fibrous, streetwise approach make them the closest the modern footballer will get to playing Wimbledon at Plough Lane. Liverpool were beaten in 2016-17, needed an injury-time winner from Ragnar Klavan in 2017-18 and came from behind to win last season. That match is best remembered for Joe Gomez suffering a fractured leg after a strong but fair tackle from Ben Mee. After the match there was a full and frank exchange of views between Sean Dyche and Jürgen Klopp, who criticised Burnley’s “dangerous” approach. Dyche also accused Daniel Sturridge of diving during that game, and it’s not hard to imagine a scenario whereby both teams ascend the moral high ground once again. Liverpool will doubtless highlight Burnley’s robust approach, while Dyche’s recent comments on diving will reappear should Mohamed Salah have any gravitational issues. RS

Tyrone Mings call-up by England makes up for early series of rejections Read more

7) Everton need forwards to deliver …

Everton have only scored once in their first three league games, a poor return for a side hoping to break into the top six this season. Despite another impressive outlay in the summer they still lack a clinical finisher and although Marco Silva has plenty of options in the forward positions, this squad’s edge remains blunted by the sale of Romelu Lukaku to United two years ago. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has not scored since March and Moise Kean will need time to settle in England after his move from Juventus. Not that it is just down to the strikers. If Silva’s attack is malfunctioning, then the creative players also need to accept some of the blame. After all Gylfi Sigurdsson has only passed to Calvert-Lewin three times this season and Alex Iwobi, a £34m summer signing from Arsenal, often flattered to deceive in the final third for his previous club. Everyone needs to step up against Wolves. JS

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Moise Kean arrived from Juventus during the summer. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

8) … and so do Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace are crying out for a striker that is even remotely prolific and in Christian Benteke, Connor Wickham and Jordan Ayew don’t appear to have one that readily fits the bill. Benteke’s struggles in front of goal have been well documented, the injury-plagued Wickham has never particularly convinced in the top flight, and Ayew has just two Premier League goals to his name in a little over a season at Palace. The Ghanaian international got off the mark for this season at Old Trafford but will need to chip in with plenty more if he is to justify the faith that prompted Roy Hodgson to offer him a three-year deal this summer. Bagging his second in two games against his former club Aston Villa would go some way towards doing so. BG

Champions League group-by-group guide: predictions and star players Read more

9) Norwich defence can still improve

The league table never lies. But sometimes, especially early in the season, it can be economical with the truth. Norwich are 17th in the table, roughly where most people expect them to be at Easter, yet they have been one of the more eye-catching teams of this burgeoning Premier League season. The intrepid charm of their football and the expert finishing of Teemu Pukki have made a virtue of defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea. Norwich should be great to watch all season but they will need to improve in defence if they are to avoid relegation. The influential Christoph Zimmermann returned after injury in the Carabao Cup at Crawley and, though he suffered a fresh back problem, he should be fit to make his Premier League debut at West Ham. At 26, Zimmermann is a relative veteran; Norwich’s first-choice back four has an average age of just under 22. They are all highly talented but with such a young defence comes an inevitable naivety that can be costly, especially away from home. Any team can concede four at Liverpool. Norwich’s performance at West Ham should give us a better idea of where they will be when the league table reveals the full truth at the end of the season. RS

The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.

10) Brighton need to be bold

Let’s face it, Manchester City are probably going to beat Brighton. But the last time Graham Potter managed a team that was this much of an underdog (City currently 1/12 on) he was in charge of Östersund, who shocked Arsenal at the Emirates in the Europa League, winning 2-1 in 2018, by playing expansive, exciting – and risky – football. Three-nil down from the first leg, the Swedish minnows went for broke, pressing Arsenal into tactical and individual errors from the off and showed ruthlessness in front of goal. This was no smash and grab, Östersund played Arsenal off the park. Nobody is suggesting that Brighton are going to do that on Saturday, but a similar approach is Potter’s best hope of getting something out of the game. City have lost just one home league match defeat to non “Big Six” opposition in over three years (Crystal Palace last season) – put simply, the low-block almost never works. Be brave, Brighton. MB