5️⃣ big questions ahead of the Premier League weekend | OneFootball

After a brief EFL Cup excursion, the Premier League is back this weekend with some mouth-watering encounters for us to look forward to.

Here’s five questions were asking ahead of another great round of fixtures.

Who will win the battle of the midfields?

Arguably the game of weekend comes from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Liverpool travelling to north London to take on Spurs.

Ange Postecoglou’s side played out a thrilling north London derby last time out where Heung-min Son was the star of the show with two goals in a captain’s performance.

But it’s in the middle of the park where this weekend’s game looks like it will be won and lost.

Jürgen Klopp’s side have flourished with a new batch of midfielders so far this season with Alexis Mac Allister, and especially Dominic Szoboszlai, flying out of the blocks.

Can the newly-arrived duo get the better of James Maddison, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma? It’s going to be fascinating contest.

Will Fulham upset their west London neighbours?

There’s arguably not been a better time to face Chelsea in the Premier League than right now.

The Blues are still very much a work-in-progress under Mauricio Pochettino and are still waiting for their first goal since the victory over Luton in August.

Nicolas Jackson, who has been leading the line up to now, is suspended for this match having received his fifth booking against Aston Villa.

But that may be no bad thing with Armando Broja potentially being given the chance to show what he can do.

Howber, with confidence at a low, Fulham will fancy their chances, although Marco Silva’s side are currently going through their own striking crisis.

The Cottagers have only scored two in their previous three games themselves with new signing Raúl Jiménez struggling so far.

Despite a lack of goals, this west London derby has all the ingredients to be the tightest and most tense in years.

Can Man Utd build on their EFL Cup win?

A second-string Manchester United side beat a much-changed Crystal Palace outfit in the EFL Cup this week.

And the two sides will meet again at Old Trafford this weekend.

Erik ten Hag had been under pressure earlier this month after an historically bad run of defeats left his side in eighth place and barely clinging on to the coattails of the top four.

But a narrow win over Burnley last weekend salved those wounds a little before the Red Devils dispatched Palace with ease on Tuesday.

The big question for Ten Hag now is whether his side can build on those two wins and repeat the same trick again against Roy Hodgson’s men.

United could well be without 13 players following a sickness bug in the camp but indications are that Sofyan Amrabat will keep his place in the side after an impressive debut in midweek.

Have Everton turned a corner?

They may only have one win to their name in the Premier League but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Everton are finally clicking into gear under Sean Dyche.

It was confirmed last week that Farhad Moshiri was selling his majority stake in the club to American firm 777 Partners.

And although 777 don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to their other footballing interests (ask Hertha Berlin or Vasco da Gama fans), for Everton the prospect of Moshiri’s departure seems to have galvanised things.

The victory over Brentford last weekend was arguably the most surprising of the campaign so far and then the Toffees backed that up with progression against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup.

A particular boon for Dyche’s men is the return to form for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who scored in both of those games and seems to be thriving with Beto as competition in attack.

Everton host Luton this weekend and with the Hatters having failed to win so far, three wins on the bounce doesn’t look so far away for the Toffees.

How will Arsenal cope without Bukayo Saka?

It’s a question that hasn’t been asked since May 9 2021.

But just how will Arsenal cope without Bukayo Saka?

The 22-year-old has been on a frankly ludicrous run of successive games for the Gunners, starting in 87 over two and a half years.

But Mikel Arteta’s side will likely have to do without the England international on Saturday when they take on Bournemouth.

Saka was sidelined for their EFL Cup win over Brentford in midweek but Arteta will be cursing the winger’s absence far more this week as they travel to the south coast.

The north London outfit are coming off the back of their draw with Tottenham last time out in the league and could also be without Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli.

This will be a real test of Arsenal’s squad depth and title credentials.