Skysports.com considers the best transfer options ahead of the weekend's fixtures.
Skysports.com considers the best transfer options ahead of the weekend's fixtures
Another blockbuster weekend of Premier League football looms large and there are some enthralling encounters in store as all 20 teams continue to jostle for position during the early part of the season.
Targets will already be getting reassessed depending on what has happened so far, with those sides that have struggled to pick up points now concentrating firstly on moving into a position of safety.
There have been some surprise packages whose ambitions may have suddenly become loftier, although the cream already appears to have risen to the top and there is a very familiar look about the first few places.
Fantasy Football enthusiasts will be more concerned with individual performances and are no doubt studying the fixture list mulling over transfer options.
Luckily, we at
skysports.com are here to help and hopefully steer you in the direction of three players who could prosper over the next few days.
Trio of tips
Careful consideration has been given after a mixed bag of predictions last time out, and our latest trio of tips are Fernando Torres, Samir Nasri and Scott Dann.
Torres is an expensive purchase at £7.8million and clearly has not been at his best over the past few weeks, but such a slump surely cannot last much longer.
Quality will eventually shine through and Torres, like all his Liverpool team-mates, will have a point to prove going into Saturday's clash against Sunderland.
Not many of the players who featured in the shock Carling Cup defeat to Northampton are likely to play at Anfield but such a result will hurt everyone at the club and the Black Cats, not known for their strong away form, should be wary of a Reds backlash.
Moving into midfield and our recommendation is Nasri of Arsenal, who can be expected to fill the playmaker role in the home game against West Brom.
The Gunners have been scintillating at Emirates Stadium this term and should enjoy playing against a West Brom side that prefer the beautiful game themselves rather than an overly physical approach.
Nasri is a key component of Arsene Wenger's line-up as his versatility allows him to occupy any of the central or wide midfield roles, and judging by the Carling Cup tie against Tottenham in midweek he has also taken on penalty duties in the absence of Cesc Fabregas.
There are no obvious contenders for a clean sheet this week but Birmingham look as good a bet as anyone, with a home match against Wigan on Saturday.
Alex McLeish's side have an impressive record at St Andrews where nobody has found it easy to break them down, and will be confident of shutting out a Wigan outfit currently languishing in the bottom three.
Dann is an assured centre-back who is good value at £3.6million, while he has already popped up with one goal this season and should provide a threat from set-pieces.
Injury news
Chelsea's clash with Manchester City is the stand-out game of the weekend and it will be intriguing to see how the leaders fare in undoubtedly their toughest test to date.
Yossi Benayoun and Salomon Kalou are set to miss out after picking up injuries against Newcastle in midweek, and the Carling Cup has taken its toll on a number of teams.
Fulham were left fuming by the challenge that forced Moussa Dembele to be stretchered off, giving manager Mark Hughes a selection dilemma up front for the meeting with Everton.
Sunderland have fresh concerns over Anton Ferdinand, Kieran Richardson and Asamoah Gyan, as well as John Mensah and Michael Turner.
Kieran Gibbs hobbled off with a foot injury against Tottenham and is set to miss out for Arsenal, even though scans later confirmed there was no fracture.
Gibbs joins Fabregas, Theo Walcott , Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner and Abou Diaby on the sidelines, although Thomas Vermaelen could return from an Achilles problem.
Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper (collarbone) and Birmingham forward James McFadden (knee) are facing lengthy spells out, while Bolton defender Gary Cahill serves the final instalment of his three-match suspension.
