Liverpool's Slot faces first test at Man Utd, 'world-class' Arsenal host Brighton
Liverpool boss Arne Slot faces his first major test
with a trip to Manchester United, while Newcastle and Tottenham also face off
on Sunday hoping to dispel early season doubts over their credentials for a
top-four finish.
Citizen Digital looks at the best of this weekend's
action in the Premier League:
Slot has made a perfect start to the daunting task
of succeeding Jurgen Klopp with two wins from his opening two Premier League
games without conceding.
His first chance to seriously impress the Liverpool
support comes at one of Klopp's least favourite grounds as English football's
two most successful clubs face off at Old Trafford.
Despite Liverpool largely enjoying the superior
league position during Klopp's near nine-year reign, he won just two of his 11
away games to United.
That run included a 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final exit
and 2-2 Premier League draw last season that precipitated a Liverpool collapse
in his final few months in charge.
Yet the pressure is arguably even more on the Dutch
manager in the other dugout.
Erik ten Hag was backed by those at the top of
United's new sporting structure at the end of last season despite finishing
eighth - the club's worst ever Premier League performance.
Hope of a new dawn for the Red Devils has been
diminished in the opening weeks of the new campaign.
Joshua Zirkzee's late winner on his debut at least
ensured a winning start against Fulham, but a 2-1 defeat to Brighton last weekend
had many of the same hallmarks that have seen United struggle previously under
Ten Hag.
Another damaging defeat at home to fierce rivals
will put the former Ajax boss' future back on the agenda just three games into
the new season.
Tottenham's last two trips to St James' Park have
resulted in 6-1 and 4-0 thrashings by the Magpies.
Both sides have four points from their opening two
games but have a point to prove to further their ambitions of returning to the
Champions League next season.
Newcastle battled past newly-promoted Southampton
1-0 with 10 men on the opening weekend but were lucky to emerge with a point
from a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe's men also needed penalties to get past
Nottingham Forest in the League Cup in midweek and there is frustration on
Tyneside at their inability to strengthen in the transfer market.
Newcastle have the financial might of the Saudi
sovereign wealth fund behind them but have been restricted by the need to meet
profit and sustainability rules.
Tottenham cruised past Everton 4-0 last weekend but
a 1-1 draw at Leicester exposed familiar vulnerabilities for Ange Postecoglou's
men on the road as a combination of missed chances and careless defending cost
them all three points.
Two of the four sides still with a perfect record
meet at the Emirates as Arsenal host Brighton.
The Seagulls have become accustomed to having their
best talents picked off by richer rivals in recent years but this time it is
Brighton who have been one of the biggest spenders in the division.
New boss Fabian Hurzeler has been backed with a near
£200 million ($264 million) spending spree on eight new signings.
That investment has been met with an immediate
reward in wins over Everton and United, but 31-year-old Hurzeler is aware of
the step up in class his side face on Saturday.
"They're one of the best teams in the world at
the moment," said the youngest manager in Premier League history.
"They don't have a lot of weaknesses, they have
quality and solutions for all phases.
"We're going to need a really good day. We'll
need individual performances, a great togetherness. We go there to win because
my squad has the potential."
Saturday
Arsenal v Brighton (1430), Brentford v Southampton,
Everton v Bournemouth, Ipswich v Fulham, Leicester v Aston Villa, Nottingham
Forest v Wolves (all 1700), West Ham v Man City (1930)
Chelsea v Crystal Palace, Newcastle v Tottenham (both 1530), Man Utd v Liverpool (1800)
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