English top flight: 10 things to watch for this weekend
Garnacho versus Walker poised for another clash
Another northwest showdown may be in the offing when Burnley's Kyle Walker confronts Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho at Turf Moor. The attacker has started to settle at Stamford Bridge after his off-season signing from Manchester United and demonstrated his skills against Wolves prior to the national team interval. His setup for Pedro Neto combined electric speed with a flawless grounded ball. His creation for Malo Gusto involved moving onto his right prior to lofting a cross to the back post. His celebration with Neto, echoing his earlier embrace with Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Højlund, served as a indication of how quickly circumstances change. The previous occasion Garnacho encountered Walker? Back when the youngster scored for United in the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
Burnley against Chelsea, Saturday 12:30 PM (start times GMT)
Antoine Semenyo vital to ending Bournemouth's slump
Antoine Semenyo is getting the complete rumour-mill attention following a claimed £65m buyout clause for a possible January departure, the gossip columns positioning him for graduation out of the Premier League's mid-table ranks. That is to be expected for a winger with a half-dozen strikes and three helpers and is pleasurable to watch. Nonetheless, his side find themselves in an tricky situation, experiencing a form flip: now it's the bottom-half team West Ham who arrive on back-to-back victories, while Bournemouth have been beaten seven to one combined over their past two matches following an impressive start to the campaign. Semenyo had his effort saved from the penalty spot by Emi Martínez in their heavy loss to Aston Villa but confronting a backline without a goalless game in the league since the start of the season may prove the best solution.
Bournemouth versus West Ham, Saturday afternoon 3pm
3. Welbeck a surprise choice for the national team
It proved intriguing to listen to Thomas Tuchel mention Danny Welbeck on more than one occasion during the fixture pause although the Brighton forward reaches 35 soon. “Without even having met him, I understand what he could offer me,” stated the England manager. “He could serve as a stand-in for Harry [Kane] as a quite orthodox centre-forward role.” Having won the last of his 42 caps back in 2018, it's quite plausible that Welbeck may be selected to the World Cup if he can maintain his goalscoring feats. Once of Manchester United and Arsenal forward has more goals compared to any English footballer in the top flight this season having six and will be eager to add to that count when Brighton entertain Brentford in Saturday's match.
Brighton vs Brentford, Saturday afternoon 3:00 PM
4. Sessegnon needed as playmaker and scorer
The narrative around Ryan Sessegnon has brought a degree of comfort to Fulham's uneven start. The former Tottenham man, who rejoined his youth team in 2024 after five difficult years with Spurs, has emerged as a consistent pick, operating on the left flank due to the injury of the sidelined Antonee Robinson. The issue? Having scored twice, he is their top goalscorer in the league alongside Harry Wilson. The Mexican striker, their leading man the previous campaign, has bagged once whereas Rodrigo Muniz is out for an extended period owing to hamstring surgery. Sessegnon must also being required to contribute in a creative role instead of Robinson, who supplied 10 assists last season. The Cottagers' next four matches feature three from the best five and Crystal Palace, who have conceded merely nine scores in the league this season. A threat emerges for the club that have developed a name for mid-table stability.
Fulham versus Sunderland, Saturday afternoon three o'clock
The occasion for Alexander Isak to deliver for the Merseyside club
The controversy regarding Virgil van Dijk's disallowed goal in the match with Manchester City did not camouflage Liverpool's shortcomings during the match as they lost to their seventh loss in 10 games. The manager's team need a consistent improvement to muscle into the title race from here, along with a significant upturn in results, and opportunity arises with seven from their following ten Premier League matches against teams at the moment in the bottom ten of the table. The risk is clear from Nottingham Forest, the sole side to hand a home league defeat to Liverpool in the last term, yet it isn't solely Liverpool's showing versus direct play and quick transitions that is under scrutiny. The moment has come that Alexander Isak to perform for Liverpool. The £125m striker has not featured for his club for a month following a groin problem while his second appearance in the lineup in four days in Europe triumph abroad. He reappeared from the bench in Sweden's defeat to Switzerland but missed the subsequent dead rubber with Slovenia to guarantee his fitness for next year's World Cup knockout rounds. A yellow card during the game would have suspended him. Isak may be short of|lacking|deficient