Tuesday 30 September 2014 11:48, UK
The latest round of Premier League games includes a Saturday Night Football contest between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, while Super Sunday sees West Bromwich Albion take on Burnley.
There is a host of other eye-catching fixtures, including the Merseyside derby, while Chelsea entertain Aston Villa, Manchester City travel to Hull City and Manchester United take on West Ham United.
High-flying Southampton face Queens Park Rangers, Sunderland host Swansea City and Leicester City will hope to follow up their stunning victory over Manchester United by winning at Crystal Palace.
Saturday evening’s entertainment comes from the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal and Tottenham battle it out for north London bragging rights. The Gunners won all three matches between the sides last season and kept up their unbeaten start to the new league campaign with an emphatic 3-0 success at Aston Villa last week, although they were then knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Southampton on Tuesday. Mauricio Pochettino, the 11th different permanent manager to take charge of Tottenham since Arsene Wenger came to Arsenal, is in need of a boost after three Premier League games without a win left them in ninth place and two points adrift of their great capital rivals.
West Brom’s clash with Burnley takes centre stage on Sunday, kicking off at 4pm and live on Sky Sports 1HD. Alan Irvine’s Baggies had been at the foot of the table prior to their game against Tottenham last weekend, but they registered their first win of the season as James Morrison’s header separated the teams at White Hart Lane. They will now be looking to push on against Burnley, who are still languishing in the bottom three after collecting just three points from five games. All of those points have come from a run of goalless draws in their past three games, and Sean Dyche will now hope to find more of a cutting edge without losing their defensive solidity.
The weekend’s action kicks off with the 223rd Merseyside derby as Liverpool welcome Everton to Anfield. Brendan Rodgers’ side crushed their city neighbours 4-0 in the corresponding fixture last term and the game at Goodison Park ended in a 3-3 thriller. Both sides have had difficult starts to this season but it is still early enough to turn things around, and Liverpool at least managed to stay in the Capital One Cup after an extraordinary 14-13 penalty shootout win against Middlesbrough. They have suffered three defeats out of five leagues games but are a point ahead of Everton, who were beaten 3-2 by Crystal Palace last weekend and then lost to Swansea in the League Cup.
There is a top-of-the-table encounter at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea seek to strengthen their position as leaders. The Blues have started off in blistering form but they were denied a fifth straight victory last weekend as former midfielder Frank Lampard came off the bench to secure a 1-1 draw for Manchester City. They remain three points clear at the summit, but Aston Villa have a chance to go level if they can produce an upset on Saturday afternoon. Paul Lambert’s men are midway through a tough run of fixtures, having edged out Liverpool 1-0 a fortnight ago before losing 3-0 at home to Arsenal, when their cause was not helped by a virus in the squad.
Manchester City will be determined to keep the pressure on Chelsea as they make the trip to the KC Stadium to take on Hull City. The champions are currently five points adrift of top spot after a stuttering start, and Manuel Pellegrini suggested after the draw with Chelsea that his side would struggle to defend their title because teams set out defensively against them. Man City had few problems in breaking down Sheffield Wednesday as they won 7-0 in the Capital One Cup in midweek, but Hull will hope to provide a stiffer challenge. The Tigers may have lost out to West Brom in the League Cup but there is still plenty of excitement about their prospects for the season as they strive to push on from a solid foundation.
A summer of heavy spending in the transfer window was also supposed to herald a bright new dawn at Manchester United, but Louis van Gaal was given a rude awakening as his men were shocked 5-3 by Leicester. United had previously impressed in a 4-0 victory over QPR but their latest loss left them in the bottom half and West Ham will fancy their chances at Old Trafford. Sam Allardyce’s side are fresh from a 3-1 triumph against Liverpool which moved them up to eighth in the table.
Southampton have emerged as the surprise package of the season so far after emphatically dispelling suggestions that they might struggle in the wake of so many summer departures. New boss Ronald Koeman and the players he signed have performed well to climb to second place in the standings, while confidence was further lifted by a 2-1 Capital One Cup victory at Arsenal in midweek. QPR, with their former Saints manager Harry Redknapp, are the visitors to St Mary’s this Saturday and they are in need of a good result after picking up just four points from five matches, although they did manage to grab a 2-2 draw against Stoke City thanks to Niko Kranjcar’s late free-kick.
Sunderland are one of three sides still waiting for their first win, and Gus Poyet will be anxious to find form soon to avoid another relegation battle. They have drawn four of their five games and displays have not been disheartening, but improvement will be required when Swansea visit the Stadium of Light. The Swans have suffered back-to-back league defeats since flying out of the blocks with three straight wins, but they remain fifth and overcame Everton 3-0 in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.
Crystal Palace take on Leicester at Selhurst Park in a clash between two teams who will be full of confidence after dramatic victories last weekend. Palace came from behind to see off Everton 3-2 and claim a first win under Neil Warnock, although they remain just a couple of points above the bottom. There was even more drama at Leicester as they hit back to beat United and rise to seventh in the table, which is quite a start considering the difficulty of their early fixtures.
Beyond the weekend, Monday Night Football will feature Stoke City’s home game against Newcastle United. The pressure is still on Magpies boss Alan Pardew as his team remain at the foot of the table, while Stoke are 13th.
