Tuesday 23 September 2014 16:13, UK
Super Sunday features Manchester City’s blockbuster clash against Chelsea and Manchester United’s trip to Leicester City, while West Ham United face Liverpool in Saturday Night Football.
Aston Villa have a chance to go top, at least temporarily, as they host Arsenal, while Swansea take on Southampton in a battle between two teams who have started the season strongly.
Alan Pardew is a man under pressure ahead of Newcastle United’s home match against Hull City, Queens Park Rangers meet Stoke City, Burnley entertain Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur tackle West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace visit Everton.
There is no doubt about the standout fixture of the weekend, as champions Manchester City welcome Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium for a game which can be seen live on Sky Sports 1HD at 4pm. City, who could include former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard in their side, have yet to click into top gear in the Premier League and are already five points behind Jose Mourinho’s men after losing to Stoke City and drawing 2-2 with Arsenal. It is Chelsea who have so far looked like the team to beat, with Diego Costa netting seven goals in four matches which have all been won in some style. Whether the Blues adopt such an open approach against City will be fascinating to observe, as Mourinho may look back to the corresponding fixture last season when his team produced a counter-attacking master-class to triumph 1-0.
The first part of Super Sunday sees Manchester United make the journey to Leicester for a game between two teams who will be in high spirits after wins last weekend. Nigel Pearson’s men overcame Stoke 1-0 away from home to claim their first victory back in the top flight and continue an encouraging start. United, meanwhile, turned in their best performance for some time to crush Queens Park Rangers 4-0 at Old Trafford and move into the top half. There were a host of new signings on show and they breathed life into Louis van Gaal’s side, with Angel di Maria in particular earning plaudits for his pace and creativity.
United are now just a point behind Liverpool, who face the added challenge this season of juggling their domestic demands with a UEFA Champions League campaign. They returned to Europe’s top table with a game against Ludogorets in midweek and must now try to bounce back from a Premier League defeat by Aston Villa. Mario Balotelli is sure to attract a lot of attention as he adjusts to life back in the Premier League, but West Ham also have a new-look strike-force and will fancy their chances on home soil on Saturday evening. Enner Valencia scored a wonderful goal from distance as the Hammers twice came from behind to hold Hull City to a 2-2 draw on Monday, and Sam Allardyce has challenged his squad to prove they have improved since last term.
Aston Villa have shown signs of significant progress in the first few weeks of the season and are just two points adrift of leaders Chelsea at the top of the table. The success has been built on a solid defence and they have conceded just one goal in four matches, with Liverpool’s attack made to look blunt in a 1-0 victory at Anfield last week. Villa face Chelsea and Manchester City next but must first focus on Arsenal, who are the only other unbeaten team in the league apart from the top two. The Gunners have drawn three in a row, though, and will be desperate to get back to winning ways on their return to Premier League duty after a demoralising European defeat by Borussia Dortmund.
Third meets fourth at the Liberty Stadium as Swansea lock horns with Southampton. Garry Monk’s side had set the early pace with three straight wins and they acquitted themselves well against Chelsea on Saturday before slipping to a 4-2 loss. Another stern test lies in store on Saturday afternoon against a Southampton team who hammered Newcastle 4-0 last week to further fuel belief that they can enjoy another fine season, with new recruits impressively filling the void left by a worrying early-summer exodus.
Southampton’s victory over Newcastle increased the scrutiny on beleaguered Magpies boss Pardew, who branded the performance ‘unacceptable’ and admitted protests against him were fair. Controversial owner Mike Ashley is set to give Pardew the chance to turn things around at St James’ Park, with Newcastle bottom of the table on two points. Hull City are the visitors to Tyneside and their boss Steve Bruce, who has been linked to the Newcastle job, believes his side are on the up after making some exciting signings in the transfer window.
Burnley and Sunderland are both still waiting for their first league win of the season ahead of their encounter at Turf Moor. Sean Dyche’s newly-promoted team came close to breaking their duck against Crystal Palace but were denied all three points when Julian Speroni saved Scott Arfield’s late penalty, making it two 0-0 draws in a row following a stalemate at home to Manchester United. Sunderland have drawn three of their opening four fixtures, although Gus Poyet admitted it felt like a victory to hold Tottenham 2-2 last weekend after coming from behind twice.
The weekend’s action kicks off with another two teams in need of a boost as QPR take on Stoke. Apart from a 1-0 win over Sunderland, QPR have made a miserable start to the season and were put to the sword by Manchester United last week as Rio Ferdinand endured an unhappy return to Old Trafford. Stoke have also struggled for consistency, following up a fantastic 1-0 victory away to Manchester City with a 1-0 loss at home to Leicester to remain in the bottom half.
Fresh from a trip to Belgrade to play FK Partizan in the Europa League, Tottenham welcome West Brom to White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon. Spurs shone at times against Sunderland but Mauricio Pochettino was frustrated at having to settle for a point and will hope a similar performance translates to a victory this weekend to keep his team among the leading pack. West Brom are languishing in the bottom three after collecting just two draws so far, and they have lost to Everton and Swansea in their past couple of games.
Everton have also been on Europa League duty this week but their main focus remains the Premier League and they will hope to build on the 2-0 victory over West Brom which gave them their first win of the season. Crystal Palace are the visitors to Goodison Park on Sunday and are currently level on two points with the bottom three clubs after drawing their first two games under new boss Neil Warnock.
