Crystal Palace was arguably the biggest dark horse of last weekend, as they would go into Old Trafford and knock off Manchester United 3-1.
Wilfried Zaha came out like gangbusters, sending the Eagles up two-nil in the 74th minute. In the 80th minute, Donny van de Beek would give the Red Devils a sliver of hope, cutting the lead in half 2-1. However, it was only five minutes later that Zaha would get that goal back, putting the game away for good. So without much further ado, we turn the page on last week and turn our attentions to this upcoming slate of matches. In this article, we will break down some of the biggest contests from within the Premier League.
Burnley V Southampton (Saturday, 3:00 p.m. ET)
Burnley comes into this meeting, having come off a 4-2 loss to Leicester City. Burnley’s Chris Wood opened up the scoring in the 10th minute, however Leicester would answer with three straight goals to take a stranglehold of the match. They would not respond with another goal until the 73rd minute, when Jimmy Dunne headed in a long free kick. The goal would In fact hold some importance to Dunne, in that it came in his Premier league debut. Dunne has been an integral part of the defense in his limited time with the club, he currently leads all Burnley players in both clearances, and aerial battle wins.
Southampton enters this game coming off a rough performance against Tottenham Hotspur. Danny Ings would be one of the lone bright spots, as Ings would supply the clubs only goals in a 5-2 thrashing. It had in fact been reported that Tottenham was inquiring into the availability of Ings days before the match. James Ward Prowse has been a key cog in the clubs midfield during the early going, and that will need to continue if they want to make a dent against Burnley. Prowse currently ranks tied for first in created chances for Southampton.
Projected Starting Lineups
Burnley formation 4-4-2
Wood and Jay Rodriguez will be the lone forwards. Dwight McNeil, Josh Brownhill, Erik Pieters, and Ashley Westwood will cover the midfield. Dunne, Kevin Long, Charlie Taylor, and Phil Bardsley should start on the back end. Nick Pope is expected to get the start in net for Burnley.
Southampton formation 4-4-2
Ings and Che Adams will start upfront. Moussa Djenepo, Oriol Romeu, Prowse, and Stuart Armstrong will start in the midfield. On the defense Jan Bednarek, Kyle Walker-Peters, Ryan Bertrand, and Jack Stephens. Alex McCarthy will get the nod in goal for Southampton.
Predicted Score: Southampton 3-2
Wolverhampton V West Ham (Sunday, 2:00 p.m. ET)
The Wolves are coming off a 3-1 loss on Monday against recent rival Manchester City. The defeat snaps their two-game winning streak against City. Raul Jimenez would score the club’s lone goal as this extends his streak to two games. After scoring 13 goals in his first season with the Wolves, Jimenez would top it with a 17 goal showing during his sophomore campaign. Those 17 goals would tie him with Manchester United’s Anthony Martial for eighth in Premier League scoring. It will be very interesting to see if Jimenez can indeed improve upon his goal-scoring tally from a season ago.
After having lost Matt Doherty to Tottenham over the summer, the Wolves have hopefully managed to fill the hole left at right-back. After a bid of 34.2 million pounds, they were able to land former Barcelona right back Nelson Semedo. As well as having great speed and solid strength, Semedo is a superb dribbler.
West Ham has come out of the gate shaky, having lost their first pair of games. At the very least, they’ll be looking to earn themselves a draw in order to quell the bleeding. Michail Antonio leads the club in scoring, coming into the third week. Having gone down 1-0 to Arsenal, Antonio would equalize on a crossover pass from defender Ryan Fredericks with just a minute remaining until halftime.
Although they would end up losing that game, it was indeed a positive result for the Hammers leading goal scorer from last season. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that West Ham manager David Moyes, along with three of the team’s players had tested positive for COVID. This news came as they were getting set for their Carabao clash with Hull City.
Over the past four meetings between these two clubs, Wolverhampton has swept them all. West Ham is going to need Antonio to be at the top of his game if they expect to keep Wolverhampton from continuing on with their hot streak over them. Expect Jimenez to play a large part in attempting to get them back into the win column, as he just continues to get better and better over time.
Projected Starting Lineups
Wolverhampton formation: 5-3-2
Jimenez and Daniel Podence should start up front. Pedro Neto, Joao Moutinho, and Leander Dendoncker will cover the midfield. Ruben Vinagre, Adama Traore, Willy Boly, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss should start on the back end. Rui Patricio is expected to start in net for the Wolves.
West Ham formation: 5-4-1
Expected to be the lone attacker up front will be Antonio. Jarrod Bowen. Pablo Fornals, Tomas Soucek, and Declan Rice should cover the midfield. Fabian Balbuena, Aaron Cresswell, Arthur Masuaku, Fredericks, and Angelo Ogbonna should handle the back end. Lukasz_Fabianski will stay in at goalkeeper.
Predicted Score: Wolves 2-0
Liverpool V Arsenal (Monday, 3:15 p.m. ET)
Both clubs currently have spotless 2-0 records and sit tied for first in the premier league standings. It was in late August when these two clubs last met in the FA Community Shield, as Arsenal would win 5-4 on penalties. Expect this to be a tight-fisted affair, with neither team giving away to much. Liverpool in fact has the second-best time of possession percentage in the premier league.
Liverpool comes off a two-nil victory last Sunday, as Sadio Mane supplied the offense for Liverpool. Mane would kick off the scoring 50 minutes in, as he would head a perfectly placed ball into the far left corner. Just four minutes later a gaffe by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga would end up costing him big. Mane would pick off the fumbled pass and put it away for Liverpool’s second goal. Mohamed Salah has also gotten off to another strong start this season, as he currently sits second in premier league scoring with three goals and also leads all players in shots with 13 in total.
Arsenal returns to action after surviving a 2-1 victory over West Ham. Alexandre Lacazette would break the deadlock early in the first half. It came on a breakaway to the front of West Ham’s net, as Lacazette would smash a sweet cross from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang into the back of the mesh. Aubameyang will be with Arsenal for at least the next three years, having just re-signed with the club this past week. Rob Holding, Granit Xhaka, and Gabriel Magalhaes are all ranked among the top six in passes, so far combining for 541 in total. Expect the Gunners to try and control the time of possession, as they look to keep Salah and Mane from creating too many scoring opportunities.
Projected Starting Lineups
Liverpool formation: 4-3-3
Liverpool should have the trio of Roberto Firmino, Mane, and Salah up front against Arsenal. Naby Keita, Thiago Alcantara, and Georginio Wijnaldum in the midfield. At defense, it will be a combination of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Andrew Robertson, and Virgil van Dijk. Alisson is expected to start at goalkeeper.
Arsenal formation: 3-4-3
Lacazette, Aubameyang, and Willian are expected to get the start at forward. Bukayo Saka, Xhaka, GDani Ceballos, and Hector Bellerin at midfield. On defense, it will be Sead Kolasinac, Magalhaes, and Holding. Bernd Leno should get the opportunity between the posts for the Gunners.
Predicted Score: Liverpool 1-0
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