Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

1) Mourinho’s men may have to adapt

José Mourinho was a man out of touch when he took his team to Old Trafford last season and played for a 0-0 draw, failing to appreciate that Manchester United were no longer worthy of such deference. He is unlikely to make that mistake this time, not with Chelsea in a creative groove and United still a rabble at the back. Having said that, Chelsea’s ability to fully exploit United’s doggedness may be compromised by a lack of strikers, depending on whether Diego Costa and/or Loïc Rémy is fit. Didier Drogba does not look capable of posing even United’s defence problem’s for 90 minutes and André Schürrle suggested last season that, while he may be one of the finest finishers in the Premier League, he is not a centre forward. Might Cesc Fàbregas find himself deployed as a false nine? Chelsea’s imperious start to the season has led many to rashly proclaim them as champions already but, if Costa and Rémy are unavailable, Mourinho’s men will have to demonstrate their ability to adapt. United may yet be relevant to the title race. Paul Doyle

2) Van Persie must seize chance if he starts

It remains to be seen just how mighty Manchester United’s firepower really is. Not all the glitzy names still deserve to be in lights. Wayne Rooney is manifestly in decline and, of course, still suspended for this weekend. And Robin van Persie is worse, his performances having long been lamentably short of the ones one produced when inspiring United to the title in his first season at the club. Being grief-stricken by the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson is certainly not an acceptable excuse, especially not now that another manager he admires is in charge. But Louis van Gaal must be starting to contemplate dropping Van Persie, who does not currently look more deserving of a start than Radamel Falcao, who began on the bench against West Bromwich Albion on Monday, nor Rooney once he returns from suspension. If Van Persie starts against Chelsea he needs to seize his chance because he must be running out of them by now. PD

3) Lambert deserves another go at Liverpool

Mario Balotelli needs to go. Not permanently, of course, but for this game at the very least. And that has nothing to do with this nonsense over the swapping shirts with Pepe; for that is all that was, nonsense. It is all down to footballing reasons. Re-watch Liverpool’s opening goal against QPR last Sunday. You’ll see Raheem Sterling go to ground and earn the free-kick. Immediately alert to the snoozing of the home defence, you’ll see him pop back up and set Glen Johnson free. At this stage, in the middle of the box, you’ll see Balotelli with his back to the ball and walking away. By the time he reacts, Richard Dunne is doing his job for him and afterwards, Balotelli does not even bother to celebrate with his team-mates. That wasn’t his most unforgivable sin at Loftus Road – we all know what that was – but it does sum up his time with Liverpool so far: uninterested and ineffective. That same point was reinforced with his performance against Real Madrid where once again he lacked movement, lacked menace and lacked a goal – that’s 10 games gone and just one to his name. It is time Brendan Rodgers looked elsewhere and gave Rickie Lambert his second chance. The former Southampton striker has only had one league start this season, in the home win over West Bromwich Albion, and the worst that can be said of him was that he was a touch too exuberant. (Given that he grew up on Merseyside supporting Liverpool, that is understandable.) Many portray Lambert as a lump of a player but he is not like that. He works hard, he is intelligent on the ball, he passes well, he brings others into the game and he had a pretty decent scoring rate last season. He also put in some good performances against Hull for Southampton, both home and away, and right now, he might just be Rodgers’ best option up front. Ian McCourt

4) How will Sunderland react after slaughtering?

Flagellation and electrotherapy would have been prescribed by some lunatics in the wake of Sunderland’s rank showing at Southampton last weekend but word would probably have got out by now if Gus Poyet had resorted to such techniques in training this week. So we have to assume that the manager confined his preparation for the visit of Arsenal to lots of careful drills and some very strong words. It will be fascinating to see how his players react. Indeed, it will be fascinating to see which players he trusts to produce the desired reaction: how many of those who fell to their knees at St Mary’s will be given a chance to atone, and how many will be deemed to be beyond redemption? And are wobbly Arsenal ideal opponents in this context? PD

5) Will Allardyce revert back to old ways or let his players play?

Sam Allardyce has quite the noodle-scratcher ahead of Manchester City’s visit to east London. Does he stick with the new-fangled, easy-on-the-eye attacking approach that has seen his side average almost two goals a game, earn them 13 points and place them fourth in the table ahead of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United? Or, does he revert to type, mass the ranks behind the ball and instruct his players to hoof anything anywhere? Since City are one of the league’s premier attacking sides (especially with Sergio Agüero in stellar form) and that West Ham’s major problem this season has been in defence – at the same stage last year, the Hammers had kept four clean sheets; so far this season it is just one; and even last weekend against Burnley, the league’s joint-lowest scorers, they were lucky to let in just one – the latter would seem to be the sensible option. Except, when Allardyce and West Ham tried those tactics last season, they failed. At least when they attacked – as they did in the home fixture, especially after Ricardo Vaz Tê’s goal – they made a game of it. Given that West Ham’s attack has improved (Diafra Sakho is only the second player in Premier League history to score in each of his first five starts) and that City’s defence, with Eliaquim Mangala still finding his way in his new side and Vincent Kompany a touch off form, is not as robust as it once was, maybe Allardyce should just let his players play. IMC

6) Leicester must find a way to stop Sigurdsson

Never go back? Tell that to Gylfi Sigurdsson, who is enjoying a wonderful second coming at Swansea so far. The Icelander has orchestrated play beautifully to help feed Nathan Dyer, Wilfried Bony and Wayne Routledge, in addition to scoring himself. If Leicester City do not find a way to subdue Sigurdsson, then chances are that Swansea will end their streak of five matches without a win unless they suffer a recurrence of the needless red cards they incurred against Sunderland and Southampton or the bad finishing and bad luck they suffered against Stoke. PD

7) Irvine needs to use his head when using subs

When Daley Blind swept in Manchester United’s equaliser, the West Bromwich Albion faithful could not have been surprised, disappointed certainly, but not surprised. They had already seen the same thing happen against Sunderland on the opening day of the season; against Oxford in the Capital One Cup; and a host of times last season (Stoke at home; Tottenham at home; Cardiff at home; and Chelsea away, to name but a few. Alan Irvine cannot be fingered for those results but those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it.) Against Oxford, they got away with it and won on penalties but with Sunderland and United the late goals cost them two victories and four points. After the draw, Irvine pronounced himself “bitterly disappointed”. To avoid feelings like this against Crystal Palace, he would be wise to trust in his subs a bit more. It was obvious to even the most casual observer that his side were flagging and in need of fresh legs and yet he only brought on one replacement and that was with just four minutes to go. A more rested player might have got to Blind before he got to the shot and the Baggies would have bagged a famous win. IMC

8) Vertonghen may start casting his eyes elsewhere

Jan Vertonghen chose to join Tottenham Hotspur instead of Arsenal two years ago and that decision is currently looking about as wise as Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to use the Belgian only sporadically this season (even if Vertonghen has explained that he rejected Arsenal because Arsène Wenger intended using him in midfield). If Vertonghen is left out of the starting lineup for the game against Newcastle after Spurs’ inept defending at Manchester City last week, then talk of a January departure will increase. If he is available, Arsenal could, and probably will, do worse than try to sign him again, this time as a centre-back. PD

9) Benteke can bring en end to Aston Villa’s drought

So far it has been a season of two halves for Aston Villa. The first four games saw them beat Stoke, draw with Newcastle, and record wins over Hull and Liverpool. That last victory placed them in second spot. “They have become men,” purred Paul Lambert afterwards but the transformation did not last long. Since that win at Anfield, they have played four, lost four, conceded 14 and scored none. Admittedly, those defeats have come against four of last season’s top five sides, but the lack of goals and forward thrust must be a major worry for Lambert. All of their wins this season have been by a one-goal margin and, against Everton, Villa had a mere two shots on target. (Their total for the season stands at 12 – Agüero, Diego Costa and Graziano Pèlle have all had more than that). But all that might be about to change. Last Saturday, Lambert welcomed back Christian Benteke. The Belgian had a quiet game but that is to be expected of a player up against a rejuvenated Everton and who is starting a game for the first time since March. QPR should be more willing opponents. The west London side are, on average, letting in two goals a game and even though they played well against Liverpool, they were something of a shambles at the back, especially in the middle. Benteke, with his muscle and might will relish playing against whichever pairing Harry Redknapp opts for in there and if Villa can service him properly, that goal drought and that win drought should come to an end. IMC

10) More bloodlust needed from Southampton

The most heartening thing about Southampton last weekend was their bloodlust. Even with Sunderland limply flying the white flag, the Saints continued to torment the visitors, with Ronald Koeman roaring from the bench to make sure that the players’ minds remained unadulterated by the concept of mercy, which has no place in sport, at least not in the context of one slick and exuberant team against a band of dizzy wimps. Southampton will need to be just as aggressive again on Saturday, as Stoke will not be the pushovers that Sunderland proved, Victor Moses’ unfortunate trouble with staying upright notwithstanding. Stoke can be expected to defend diligently but there is a pleasing diversity to Southampton’s attacking these days so it is likely that the visitors will have to score if they are to escape from St Mary’s with even a point. Peter Crouch could present the Premier League’s meanest defence with the kind of test they have yet to face. PD