Premier League: 10 things to keep an eye on this matchday
Walker faces Garnacho poised for another clash
A Manchester reunion might be in the offing when the Clarets' Kyle Walker faces Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho in Lancashire. The wide man has started to settle in west London after his off-season signing from Old Trafford and showcased his talents against Wolves before the international break. His key pass for Pedro Neto blended blistering pace with a ideal grounded ball. His build-up for Malo Gusto entailed cutting inside before dinking a delivery toward the far post. His celebration with Neto, echoing his previous hug with Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Højlund, was a testament of the speed at which things transform. The most recent instance Garnacho took on Walker? During the youngster netted for United in the FA Cup final victory against Manchester City.
Burnley versus Chelsea, Saturday afternoon half past twelve (kick-offs GMT)
The winger vital to halting Bournemouth's slide
Antoine Semenyo is receiving the complete gossip column focus due to a reported £65m escape clause for his prospective January departure, the gossip columns setting him up for promotion from the Premier League's middle class. That is to be expected for a attacker who has six goals and three setups who is delightful to watch. Still, Bournemouth are in an awkward spot, having engaged in a role reversal: now it's the bottom-half team West Ham who come in with consecutive triumphs, whereas Bournemouth have been beaten 7-1 combined over their previous two matches after an strong start to the campaign. Semenyo had his effort saved from the spot by Emi Martínez in the heavy loss to Aston Villa but confronting a backline without a clean sheet in the league since the start of the season could be the ideal solution.
Bournemouth against West Ham, Saturday afternoon 3pm
The striker a left-field choice for England
It seemed intriguing to listen to Thomas Tuchel reference Danny Welbeck on more than one occasion throughout the international break despite the fact that the Brighton forward celebrates 35 in the coming days. “Even without having met him, I understand what he could provide,” commented the England boss. “He could serve as a back-up for Harry [Kane] in a quite orthodox centre-forward position.” Having won the most recent of his 42 international appearances several years ago, there is every chance that Welbeck may be in the squad to the World Cup if he is able to sustain his goal-getting exploits. The former Manchester United and Arsenal attacker has more goals than any other English player in the Premier League this season on six and remains eager to boost that total when Brighton welcome Brentford this weekend.
Brighton vs Brentford, Saturday afternoon three o'clock
4. Sessegnon needed as assist provider and goalscorer
The narrative around Ryan Sessegnon has provided a degree of positivity to Fulham's inconsistent opening. The former Tottenham man, who rejoined his former side recently after five difficult years with Spurs, is now a consistent pick, operating on the left flank in the absence of the unavailable Antonee Robinson. The issue? On two goals, he's also their top goalscorer in the league alongside Harry Wilson. Raúl Jiménez, their primary attacker the previous campaign, has bagged a single goal whereas Rodrigo Muniz is out for an extended period because of hamstring surgery. Additionally, Sessegnon having to step up as a creator instead of Robinson, who registered ten helpers in the previous campaign. Fulham's upcoming four fixtures include three among the best five as well as Crystal Palace, who have conceded merely nine goals in the Premier League this season. A threat emerges for the club that have developed a reputation for mid-table stability.
Fulham against Sunderland, Saturday three o'clock
The occasion for Isak to deliver for Liverpool
The dispute surrounding Virgil van Dijk's disallowed goal in the match with Manchester City failed to mask Liverpool's shortcomings during the match as they fell to their seventh loss in 10 games. The manager's team require a consistent improvement to muscle into the title race from here, along with a major upturn in results, and a chance presents itself as seven of their following ten league games versus sides currently in the bottom ten in the standings. The risk is obvious posed by Nottingham Forest, the single club to inflict a defeat on their own turf to the title holders the previous campaign, yet it isn't solely Liverpool's performance when facing aerial passes and counterattacks that will be in focus. It is time that Alexander Isak to deliver in a Liverpool shirt. The big-money forward has not featured in domestic action over four weeks having sustained a groin problem during his second consecutive start in quick succession in the Champions League triumph at Eintracht Frankfurt. The striker came back from the bench during Sweden's defeat to Switzerland but sat out Tuesday's dead rubber against Slovenia to ensure his fitness for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. A booking on Tuesday would have made him ineligible. He might be short of|lacking|deficient
