Premier League: ten highlights to watch for this weekend
Garnacho versus Walker ready for another encounter
A Manchester reunion might be in the offing when the Clarets' Kyle Walker confronts Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho on Burnley's turf. The wide man is adapting well with Chelsea after his close-season transfer from Manchester United and demonstrated his skills versus Wolverhampton prior to the fixture pause. His assist for Pedro Neto combined rapid acceleration with a perfect low cross. His build-up for Malo Gusto required shifting infield prior to dinking a cross toward the far post. His goal reaction with Neto, echoing his earlier celebration with Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Højlund, acted as a reminder of the pace with which circumstances change. The most recent instance Garnacho encountered Walker? Back when the youngster scored for United during their Wembley triumph over Manchester City.
Burnley against Chelsea, Saturday afternoon 12:30 PM (start times GMT)
Antoine Semenyo vital to ending Cherries' slump
Antoine Semenyo is attracting the entire transfer speculation focus following a alleged £65m buyout clause for a possible January departure, the gossip columns setting him up for graduation out of the Premier League's average tier. That is understandable for a attacker with six goals and three assists and is joyous to watch. Still, his side find themselves in an tricky spot, having undergone a role reversal: now it's the relegation battlers West Ham who enter on consecutive triumphs, whereas Bournemouth have lost seven-one combined in their past two fixtures after an promising start to the campaign. Semenyo had his effort saved from the penalty spot by Emi Martínez in their 4-0 defeat by Aston Villa however confronting a backline that hasn't kept a shutout for months could be the perfect tonic.
Bournemouth vs West Ham, Saturday three o'clock
3. Welbeck a left-field shout for the Three Lions
It proved notable to hear Thomas Tuchel name-drop Danny Welbeck repeatedly throughout the international break despite the fact that the Brighton striker reaches 35 next week. “Despite not knowing him, I understand what he is able to give me,” stated the England boss. “He can be a stand-in for Harry [Kane] playing a very conventional No 9 role.” Gaining the most recent of his 42 international appearances back in 2018, it's entirely possible that Welbeck could be in the squad to the World Cup assuming he can continue his scoring performances. Once of Manchester United and Arsenal striker has additional strikes over every other English player in the Premier League this campaign on six and remains keen to boost that count when Brighton host Brentford on Saturday.
Brighton versus Brentford, Saturday 3:00 PM
The full-back needed as creator and scorer
The narrative around Ryan Sessegnon has offered a degree of comfort to Fulham's inconsistent start. The left-sided player, who came back to his youth team recently following five difficult years at Tottenham, is now a consistent pick, operating on the left side due to the injury of the unavailable Antonee Robinson. The worry? Having scored twice, he's also their joint-top scorer in the league alongside Harry Wilson. Their main striker, their top scorer the previous campaign, has netted once while Rodrigo Muniz is unavailable for an extended period because of hamstring surgery. Sessegnon is also being required to contribute as a creator replacing Robinson, who provided 10 assists in the previous campaign. Fulham's upcoming four matches take in three among the top five and Crystal Palace, who have allowed merely nine goals this season to date. Danger looms for a side that have developed a name for consistency in the middle.
Fulham vs Sunderland, Saturday 3pm
The occasion for Isak to produce for Liverpool
The dispute surrounding Virgil van Dijk's disallowed goal against Manchester City failed to mask Liverpool's inferiority on the day as they succumbed to their seventh loss in 10 games. The coach's side need a sustained recovery to force their way into the title race from their current spot, along with a significant improvement in form, and a chance emerges as seven of their upcoming ten Premier League matches against teams at the moment in the bottom ten of the table. The risk is clear posed by Nottingham Forest, the single club to hand a defeat on their own turf to Liverpool the previous campaign, but it is not only Liverpool's performance when facing aerial passes and counterattacks that remains under the spotlight. The moment has come for Alexander Isak to perform in a Liverpool shirt. The expensive signing has not played for his club for a month following a groin injury during his second consecutive start over a short period in Europe triumph in Germany. He reappeared off the bench in the Swedish defeat against Switzerland but sat out Tuesday's inconsequential game versus Slovenia to guarantee his readiness for the World Cup knockout rounds. A yellow card during the game could have ruled him out. The striker could be short of|lacking|deficient
