1
Bees susceptible to constant crossing.
Brentford have scored nine and conceded six in their last two Premier League home games. Their weak defense did not cost them victories over Wolves and Ipswich, but they were shown by Harry Wilson's injury-time double on Monday night at Fulham to suggest that things need to improve in defence. Both of Wilson's goals came off crosses. Brentford allowed Fulham to cross the ball 43 times, although Thomas Frank wasn't too worried about it and seemed surprisingly relaxed as it led to two goals. With Ethan Pinnock and Nathan Collins, they have centre-backs capable of dealing with most, but it is a dangerous game. Bournemouth will have taken note and their excellent wingers and full-backs will likely take advantage of the space they are offered. won't win
2
Kamada is the main man with Eze out of play
The news that Eddie Nketiah will be on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury in training this week may have given Oliver Glasner less of a headache over whether to prefer the £30million signing of his main striker, Jean-Philippe Mateta. but the Crystal Palace boss goes into Saturday's crucial home game against Fulham lacking firepower, with only three fit forwards to choose from. With Eberechi Eze still out with his own hamstring issue, the onus of providing creativity could fall on Daichi Kamada's shoulders after scoring the game-winning goal in the League Cup victory over Aston Villa last week. The Japanese striker, the club's highest-paid player, has taken time to settle in London despite playing with Glasner at Eintracht Frankfurt, but appears to have found his form in the last two games. Ed Aaron
3
Paquetá has been seriously shot
It is no coincidence that West Ham have improved after taking off Lucas Paquetá at half-time during their victory over Manchester United Two weeks ago. The Brazilian's decline has been dramatic, although not too surprising. Paqueta, once a goal for Manchester Cityhas been accused of breaching the Football Association's betting rules and risks a long-term suspension. Playing in those conditions can't be easy and the midfielder has often looked unfocused this season. However, West Ham need Paquetá to perform. He remains West Ham's most creative talent and must step up for the visit of Everton, assuming, of course, that he maintains his place in Julen Lopetegui's starting XI. Jacob Steinberg
4
Fernandes gives Saints a sporting opportunity
With each passing week, the signing of Mateus Fernandes is looking more and more like a good deal for Southampton, particularly the decision to tie him down to a five-year contract upon his arrival in August. The speedy central midfielder who played with Rúben Amorim at Sporting distributes the ball sensibly and has an impressive motor, as evidenced by his crucial role between defense and attack in last Saturday's match. beautiful victory over Everton. “The best talent, but nowhere near ready to play for anyone else. He needs a good couple of years here for us first,” joked Russell Martin about the 20-year-old’s form, which will no doubt attract attention from elsewhere. Aaron Ramsdale was also outstanding in goal for Southampton last weekend. The 19th takes on the 20th at Molineux and the Wolves, who are at the bottom, are naturally desperate for a win – their finishing will need to be calm and clinical. Lucas McLaughlin
5
Brighton looks to capitalize on City's fall
Brighton's record against Manchester City does not make for pleasant reading. Not since a 3-2 victory At the end of the 2020-21 season, they tasted victory over Pep Guardiola's team, when Dan Burn scored to cap a famous comeback from two goals down and end City's streak of 12 consecutive away wins. Fabian Hürzeler will have his first chance to take the biggest scalp in the top flight after failing to achieve anything in his consecutive games against Liverpool in the League Cup and Premier League. The 31-year-old will be excited about his team's chances against a City side who have suffered three consecutive defeats in all competitions. Brighton's array of attacking threats should make this afternoon a test for the visitors. EA
6
Will Díaz continue as a central forward?
Unai Emery must hope Aston Villa learn quickly his collapse at Tottenham last week given Liverpool's considerable and decisive second-half improvements against Bayer Leverkusen and Brighton. Arne Slot's deployment of Luis Diaz as a centre-forward against Leverkusen proved a resounding success and the Colombian recorded the first hat-trick of his Liverpool career. The decision was marked by the absences of Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa (who are likely to miss again on Saturday), Darwin Nunez's recent workload and Diaz's ability to trouble Leverkusen central defender Jonathan Tah with runs behind. The temptation to leave Díaz up will be strong, given that the 27-year-old scored more goals in one night than Núñez has scored all season. andy hunter
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7
Van Nistelrooy approaches Old Trafford farewell
Manchester United's match against Leicester serves as a farewell for Ruud van Nistelrooy (this is the last of his four games as interim manager) and the start, 24 hours later, of Rúben Amorim's tenure as the new permanent manager. Van Nistelrooy has stated on more than one occasion that he wants to remain in some way under the Portuguese's command, but it is not yet clear how valuable a victory over Leicester would be for his continuity at Old Trafford. A fourth league win in this difficult campaign for United would certainly help, against visitors who arrive with 10 points, just two points and two places behind their hosts. Jaime Jackson
8
Burning wood to increase heat in Howe
It seems silly to think things can get much better for Forest. They enter the weekend in third place in the table, eight places above Newcastle. One of the key factors in Forest's success is the impressive form of Chris Wood; Nobody would have expected him to score eight goals in 10 games, but the New Zealand striker has been clinical. After a slow start to his Forest career since joining from Sunday's visitors, Nuno Espírito Santo is helping Wood thrive by consistently having wingers who know where to find the man in the middle of the box. Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi are exciting and effective, while Jota Silva and Ramón Sosa come off the bench to keep things fresh. Wood will be keen to show Newcastle what happens when a team plays to its strength, having scored four in 35 league appearances for the club before being sold. Wood scored a hat-trick at St James' Park last season, so he knows how to hurt them. wu
9
Cantu ready to take the reins at Phillips
After two consecutive 4-1 home wins, Ange Postecoglou welcomes the second-worst defense in the league to north London. Kieran McKenna will need something resembling a shrewd plan if Ipswich are to claim their first win of the season on Sunday. The manager will have to make the decision on who to combine with in midfield after Kalvin Phillips was sacked in the draw against Leicester. Jens Cayud is the obvious choice to replace the Manchester City loanee and sit alongside Sam Morsy. The Swede has started twice and made the same number of appearances off the bench in the league since arriving from Napoli this season. Having made 71 career starts and 56 substitute appearances across four clubs, he will be desperate to find a place in the team under McKenna. Cayud has briefly shown promise and Phillips has yet to indicate he will return to his best, so this is a good opportunity for the 25-year-old to show he can be trusted. wu
10
Chelsea players must step up if Palmer is out
Chelsea may have another chance to prove they are not Cole Palmer FC this weekend. It was Mauricio Pochettino who coined the phraseand he did so when England's best creative player was absent on the trip to Arsenal last April. Pochettino wanted his players to shine without Palmer, but the strategy was unsuccessful. Chelsea was humiliated in a 5-0 defeat and they will hope to do better if Palmer is absent when Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The England international was lucky to escape serious injury after being brought down by United's Lisandro Martinez last Sunday and has not trained fully this week. He is a doubt and Pochettino's replacement, Enzo Maresca, may need Chelsea's other attacking midfielders to take more responsibility. Although Maresca has many options, many go through Palmer. js
