English top flight: ten highlights to look out for this round of fixtures
Walker faces Garnacho ready for a new battle
A Mancunian rematch could be on the cards as the Clarets' Kyle Walker lines up against Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho in Lancashire. The attacker has started to settle in west London following his off-season signing from Manchester United and demonstrated his skills versus Wolverhampton before the national team interval. His setup for Pedro Neto mixed electric speed with a ideal low cross. His contribution for Malo Gusto involved moving onto his right prior to chipping a cross toward the far post. His celebration with Neto, mirroring his earlier embrace with Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Højlund, served as a reminder of the speed at which circumstances change. The last time Garnacho faced Walker? During the former found the net for United in the cup final win against Manchester City.
Burnley vs Chelsea, Saturday 12.30pm (kick-offs GMT)
The winger key to stopping Cherries' slide
Antoine Semenyo is receiving the complete rumour-mill focus following a alleged £65m buyout clause for his possible winter exit, the media setting him up for advancement out of the Premier League's mid-table ranks. This is to be expected for a attacker with six finishes and three assists and is pleasurable to watch. Still, Bournemouth occupy an tricky position, having undergone a body swap: now it's the relegation battlers West Ham who come in on successive wins, while Bournemouth are down seven-one on aggregate over their last two fixtures following an impressive start to the campaign. Semenyo had his effort saved from the spot by Emi Martínez during the 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa yet confronting a defence that hasn't kept a goalless game in the league since the start of the season may prove the ideal tonic.
Bournemouth vs West Ham, Saturday three o'clock
3. Welbeck an outside choice for England
It was intriguing to hear Thomas Tuchel name-drop Danny Welbeck on more than one occasion during the national team window although the Brighton forward turns 35 next week. “Even without knowing him, I know what he could provide,” commented the England boss. “He might act as a stand-in for Harry [Kane] as a quite conventional No 9 role.” Gaining the last of his 42 international appearances back in 2018, it's quite plausible that Welbeck might be on the plane for the World Cup assuming he manages to sustain his goal-getting feats. Once of Manchester United and Arsenal attacker can claim additional strikes over every other English player in England's top division this term having six and remains anxious to increase that total when Brighton welcome Brentford on Saturday.
Brighton vs Brentford, Saturday afternoon 3:00 PM
The full-back required as assist provider and scorer
Sessegnon's story has provided a degree of positivity to Fulham's uneven start. The 25-year-old, who rejoined his youth team recently after five challenging years with Spurs, is now a consistent pick, pushing forward on the left side with the sidelined Antonee Robinson. The concern? On two goals, he's also their joint-top scorer in the Premier League alongside Harry Wilson. Their main striker, their top scorer the previous campaign, has netted once while Rodrigo Muniz is unavailable until 2026 because of hamstring surgery. Sessegnon must also having to step up in a creative role instead of Robinson, who provided ten setups in the previous campaign. Fulham's following four matches take in three of the top five as well as Crystal Palace, who have conceded only nine goals in the league so far. A threat emerges for a side that have developed a standing for consistency in the middle.
Fulham versus Sunderland, Saturday afternoon three o'clock
The occasion for Alexander Isak to produce for Liverpool
The controversy regarding Virgil van Dijk's ruled-out strike in the match with Manchester City failed to mask Liverpool's shortcomings on the day as they lost to a seventh defeat over ten fixtures. The coach's team require a consistent improvement to muscle into the title race from their current spot, along with a dramatic boost in performance, and opportunity arises as seven out of their upcoming ten league games against clubs at the moment in the bottom half of the table. The risk is clear posed by Nottingham Forest, the only team to inflict a loss at Anfield to Liverpool in the last term, yet it isn't solely Liverpool's performance when facing long balls and quick transitions that is under scrutiny. Now is the occasion for Alexander Isak to deliver wearing red. The £125m striker has been absent for his club over four weeks having sustained a muscle issue when making his second start in quick succession in continental competition victory at Eintracht Frankfurt. The striker came back as a substitute in the Swedish defeat by Switzerland but missed Tuesday's inconsequential game with Slovenia to ensure his fitness for the upcoming World Cup knockout rounds. A yellow card on Tuesday might have suspended him. The striker could be short of|lacking|deficient
