1) Day of possible destiny for Pardew
By common consent Alan Pardew is knee-deep in trouble and sinking fast, with many reports published over the past week suggesting that should Newcastle lose this weekend he will be sacked, and furthermore that if this is the case the very man whose heft finally submerged him, the Hull manager Steve Bruce, will be appointed in his stead. “I find it very, very disrespectful that I’m linked with somebody else’s job when he’s still in a job,” sniffed Bruce, who has previously admitted his regret at turning down an approach from Newcastle a decade ago. Pardew is unlikely to remember either of last season’s games against Hull fondly. In the first, Sone Aluko scored a superb winner for the visitors at St James’ Park, and though Newcastle avenged that result with a 4-1 win in the reverse fixture, their manager was sent off for headbutting David Meyler. Newcastle were eighth at the end of that match, having won 46.4% of their 28 league games. They won two of 10 thereafter, and have no wins from four this season. Having apparently had a hand in starting his decline, now Hull could force Pardew to fall. SB
2) More awkwardness from Leicester
Manchester United are up and running after thrashing Queens Park Rangers but they should be given a more thorough test by Leicester City, who will surely not be as generous in defence as Harry Redknapp’s side. Leicester have coped well so far, despite a difficult start to the season. Persistence helped them fight back for draws against Everton and Arsenal, they considered themselves unfortunate to lose at Chelsea – what might have been if David Nugent had put away a chance when it was 0-0 in the second half? – and they grabbed an impressive win at Stoke thanks to Leonardo Ulloa’s third goal of the season. Leicester have been strong in defence, diligent in midfield, dangerous on the flanks, and Ulloa has settled quickly after his £7m move from Brighton. It promises to be an awkward afternoon for United at the King Power Stadium. They enjoyed themselves against QPR but it looks as if a lot of sides are going to enjoy themselves against Redknapp’s men. Breaking down Leicester could be a tougher proposition for that all-star attack, and Nigel Pearson will hope that his players operate with enough belief to exploit the holes that still exist in United’s defence. JS
3) Chelsea ready to pounce on any Euro hangover at City
Chelsea’s arrival this weekend completes something of a set for City, who seem prone to playing key home games after their first European matches of a season. Though in 2011-12 they travelled to Fulham, drawing 2-2, in the other four seasons since they last failed to qualify for Europe they have hosted Liverpool (2010, won 3-0), Arsenal (2012, drew 1-1), Manchester United (2013, won 4-1) and now Chelsea. While City didn’t suffer terribly from Champions League hangovers last season, winning 75% of eight games played and losing the other two, Chelsea were nearly impeccable, playing 12 times, winning 10 and drawing twice, with a 2-1 home win over City and the 6-0 thrashing of Arsenal among these fixtures. José Mourinho’s decision to start Diego Costa and his hamstring on the bench for Chelsea’s match against Schalke on Wednesday night suggests he intends to continue this impressive run on Sunday. SB
4) Will Arsenal bounce back?
What a miserable performance that was from Arsenal against Borussia Dortmund. In the end, they were just grateful it was only 2-0. Once again Arsenal were taken apart away from home by a big side, allowing Dortmund to walk through them at will and swarm a defence that was crying out for more protection from their midfield. It was reminiscent of the shambles against Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City last season and it beggars belief that Arsène Wenger did not see fit to sign extra defensive cover or a commanding central midfielder during the summer. Why so stubborn? Already Arsenal have put themselves under pressure. They have not played well in the league for a sustained period yet this season, and badly need a win against high-flying Aston Villa. Yet another examination of their mental strength awaits. JS
5) Liverpool need Balotelli to fire again
Adapting to life without Luis Suárez was never going to be a smooth process for Liverpool and there have already been a couple of stutters. They were rather let off the hook by Southampton in their opening match, collapsed in the second half against Manchester City, endured what is fast becoming a stuttering Anfield tradition against Aston Villa and rode their luck against Ludogorets. Yet there have been positives – finding a way to sneak late wins against both Southampton and Ludogorets, the demolition job against Tottenham at White Hart Lane – and Liverpool should be stronger once new players have settled in properly.
They cannot afford too many more slip-ups at this early stage, however, and Brendan Rodgers knows that opponents are looking at his side differently. They are not quite as intimidated now that Suárez is gone – but they are also wary of Liverpool’s speed on the break, particularly when Raheem Sterling is on the run, and have adjusted accordingly; Liverpool are going to have to accept that a lot of teams will sit deep against them, play on the break and seeking to exploit their defensive weaknesses, especially from set-pieces.
Which brings us to Liverpool’s trip to West Ham. Although Sam Allardyce’s side played some neat football in their draw with Hull City, it is unlikely that they will set out to be so open on Saturday and they take heart from the way that they defended against Liverpool at Upton Park last season. That was a cagey afternoon and although two Steven Gerrard penalties settled the match in Liverpool’s favour, it was a close-run thing. Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho will fancy their chances against Liverpool’s wobbly defence but Allardyce will want West Ham to be tight and compact. Liverpool may need to be patient, especially without the injured Daniel Sturridge, and they will look to Mario Balotelli to impose himself against West Ham’s defence. His muscularity and skill against Ludogorets helped him open his Liverpool account. Rodgers will pray that was just the start. JS
6) Baggies bid to prove they’re no duffers
This may look like the most certain home win of the weekend, with West Brom hapless and winless so far this season and Spurs largely impressive (except for the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in their last home game), but there is perhaps inspiration to be had from the last time the Baggies won at White Hart Lane, a few weeks short of 30 years ago. “West Bromwich might not be the duffest team in the First Division,” the Observer reported the following day, “but their recent away record has been so appalling that you wouldn’t have backed them to survive the pre-match kickabout let alone 90 minutes against an attack like Spurs.” To be fair they didn’t entirely survive the 90 minutes, given that they conceded twice. But they scored three, the last from Steve MacKenzie (who had scored tasty goals against Spurs before) being, according to The Guardian’s report, “an imperious chip shot over Ray Clemence worthy of Rummenigge at his best”.
At the time West Brom were probably more successful at White Hart Lane than they were at the Hawthorns or anywhere else. They left north London in November 1984 with a record of one defeat and six wins in nine league games (and four wins with no defeats in five). Since then there have been five defeats and four draws. The presence of Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela on the bench for much of Thursday’s goalless draw at Partizan in Belgrade suggests that this Spurs team won’t make the same mistake as the 1984 vintage – who brought Glenn Hoddle on as a second-half substitute – by leaving out their most creative players. But if West Brom aren’t the duffest team in the Premier League it might be a good time to prove it. SB
7) Third versus fourth at the Liberty Stadium
There is no point getting too excited after four games but … ah, to hell with that, Swansea City and Southampton might as well make the most of this while it lasts. Both sides find themselves in the Champions League positions and although they are unlikely to remain there for much longer, there has been plenty for their supporters to enjoy. For Swansea, Garry Monk continues to make a favourable impression, while Southampton somehow appear to have survived being terminated as a club during the summer. Both sides play attractive football, so while this match might not mean much come the end of the season, it should be easy on the eye. JS
8) Hughes returns with a vengeance
“Bar Mark Hughes, I have a great relationship with all my former managers,” the QPR chairman, Tony Fernandes, said after his side won promotion back to the Premier League in May. “We will play Stoke next season and I’m really looking forward to that game!” And so it arrives. The return of Hughes lends an extra frisson to what would anyway be a key game in QPR’s season. An unshiftable stink of doom has retrospectively settled over Sparky’s spell as Rangers manager, not entirely deservedly. In his first half-season at Loftus Road Hughes had a more than decent home record, with six of nine games won – London’s third-best home record over the period, better than Tottenham and Arsenal but not quite as good as Chelsea and Fulham (who were both a single point better off). But the first 12 games of the following season were monstrously dismal, bringing as they did no wins and just four points.
“When you have a situation like that, it’s something that stays with you for a long time,” he told The Telegraph earlier this year. “Three weeks ago it was my 300th game as a Premier League manager, but for a long time yet at Stoke I will continue to be judged on the basis of 12 games at the start of last season for QPR. Twelve games out of 300 – it’s a little bit hard to take, because I feel I do understand what it takes to win at this level. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, we couldn’t get the right dynamic at QPR. A lot of people put a great deal of effort and finance into it, but it didn’t work. It was very difficult, but thankfully the owners at Stoke looked beyond this, to what I had done at my previous clubs. They didn’t see only those 12 games.” Fernandes, clearly, still does, and he’ll surely feel even more bitter if the man he continues to associate with and blame for a period of dismal failure, despite his own massive investment in transfers and wages, pops back to inflict fresh misery. Whatever happens on the pitch, the goings-on in the directors’ box should be fascinating, whether those within it are gloating or squirming. SB
9) Will anyone score at Turf Moor?
Bunley versus Sunderland features two of the five teams yet to win in the Premier League this season, and whose strikers have yet to score at all. Nobody in Burnley colours has scored since the opening day of the season and they will be without both of last season’s primary goalhunters, Sam Vokes and Danny Ings, through injury. How they would like to have a proven top-flight scorer of the calibre of Steven Fletcher, who was not considered good enough for Sunderland’s last squad. Fletcher remains the Clarets’ record signing, having moved from Hibernian for £3m in 2009 before leaving to join Wolves for about double that sum a year later, and is unlikely to be given much of a chance to remind his former fans what they are missing, given the good form of Connor Wickham.
This is the last time for a month that Sunderland will play a team whose name does not start with the letter S. Their next four games are against Stoke, Swansea, Stoke again and Southampton, after which they are not due to play an alliterative fixture until February. SB
10) Everton’s first post-Europa League test
Roberto Martínez is determined to savour every moment of Everton’s Europa League adventure this season but at what cost? Many sides have suffered in the past from those Thursday night matches because of the strain it places on players, both mentally and physically, and Everton will have to be careful to guard against that despite the high of their 4-1 win over Wolfsburg. Crystal Palace, who won at Goodison Park in April, may feel this is a good time to visit Martínez’s side. JS
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion