THIS WEEKEND IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE- EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The English Premier League competition has begun to gather pace and a lot of unlikely and unforeseen results have come our way ever since the season has started. Everton have found themselves at the top of the league table by playing some brilliant football while reigning champions Liverpool have struggled to get going.

Manchester United are only just beginning to find their feet while Chelsea and Arsenal have blown hot and cold. This season of the top-flight English football competition promises to be very closely contested and we anticipate a flurry of goals from most games. Here is everything you need to know about the matches in the Premier League this weekend:

West Ham United vs Manchester City, London Stadium — 24 October 2020

Pep Guardiola’s Citizens make the trip to London to take on the Hammers at the eponymous London Stadium on Saturday. The home team West Ham United, who are managed by former Everton and Manchester United boss David Moyes, come into this game on the back of a stunning revival that they undertook against their bitter cross-town foes Tottenham Hotspur last week. After having been down 0–3 at half time, the Hammers played exceedingly well to come from behind and draw the game 3–3.

The highlight of the match came in its dying minutes when super substitute Manuel Lanzini latched across to a ball from about thirty yards out and scored to equalise.

They will be welcoming the arrival of Pep Guardiola’s men, who were no less brilliant themselves in their last game in this competition, which they won 1–0 against former assistant coach Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. This should be a real cracker given the kind of form that both these teams are in at the moment. Manchester City appear to be the favourites to win this.

Manchester United vs Chelsea, Old Trafford — 24 October 2020

This clash between Manchester United and Chelsea will be the 32nd time that these two sides face off against each other in the Premier League. The home team will be extremely confident given that they come into it on the back of a surprising 2–1 win over heavyweights Paris Saint Germain in the UEFA Champions League midweek.

Calls for a complete revival of the team ever since they were given a sound thrashing by Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur before the international break has been taken up, as could be seen from their renewed vigour in the 4–1 win over Newcastle United last weekend. Manchester United, therefore, look the favourites to win this match.

Frank Lampard’s Chelsea drew their previous match in this competition, which was against Southampton, in a game which see-sawed until the very end. The Blues would like to bring some certainty to their campaign and an in-form duo of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz should serve their cause well. Undoubtedly, this is the match to watch this weekend in the Premier League.

Liverpool vs Sheffield United, Anfield — 24 October 2020

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, still reeling under the loss of star centre back Virgil van Dijk due to an unfortunate clash with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in last weekend’s Merseyside derby, will want to quell all doubts of theirs being a one-off in winning the Premier League last season. This game against Sheffield United, who stunningly came from behind to draw against Fulham in their previous match, should allow Liverpool to try out their best combinations.

It will also help in giving manager Klopp some freedom to choose. They narrowly edged out Ajax in their Champions League clash midweek and they desperately need a strong win at Anfield to impress their legion of fans spread wide across the world. Sheffield United, who have had an indifferent start to this season, would want to hit Liverpool where it hurts the most, that is, their crumbling defence. There is little doubt that the Reds will not be able to win this.

Southampton vs Everton, St Mary’s Stadium — 25 October 2020

The blue team from Liverpool, who are the league leaders at the moment, take on high-flying Southampton at the St Mary’s Stadium in the southern coast of England on Sunday. Everton have won four and drawn just the one game so far this season and we expect their good run to continue. The Toffees have found a new rhythm of playing this year under their new manager Carlo Ancelotti.

New signings James Rodrguez, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan have all settled well into the club’s atmosphere, with the former having had a massive impact ever since his arrival from Real Madrid. Southampton, who are managed by Austrian Ralph Hassenhutl, rely heavily on their talismanic striker Danny Ings and the former Liverpool man will have to channel his inner Red to do well against Everton on Sunday at the St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton. The league leaders, however, should have a comfortable win.

Arsenal vs Leicester City, Emirates Stadium — 25 October 2020

Another big game to watch out for this weekend is this one between Arsenal and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium in London. The home team were given a masterclass by their coach Mikel Arteta’s former boss Pep Guardiola in the last game that they played in this competition.

This would only spur the Gunners to come out on Sunday and start things afresh. The visitors Leicester City, who are managed by former Liverpool and Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, have been highly inconsistent this season and back to back losses in their last two matches in the Premier League (against West Ham United and Aston Villa) has only compounded their worries.

There are a few injury concerns for Rodgers, with him forced to pair young signing Wesley Fofana with Jonny Evans at the heart of their defence, but the Foxes should come out of this struggle strong enough. Arsenal have had their share of off-field worries with the Mesut Ozil situation, but they need to be calm enough to do the job at the Emirates on Sunday. Calling this game will be very difficult given that both the sides are so well matched.

Burnley vs Tottenham Hotspur, Turf Moor — 26 October 2020

Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur, who seem to be on a goal-scoring run at the moment, travel to Turf Moor to take on Sean Dyche’s Burnley, who have been quite indifferent and looked poor this season. Spurs have found a deadly combination in Harry Kane and Heung Min Son in their attack and although their defence looks a bit shaky at the moment, they hold all the aces in this clash on Monday.

Manager Mourinho has called upon loanee Gareth Bale to action already and one feels that the same might happen this time around too. New signing Sergio Reguillon has settled in well at the club and we can expect him to put up a stellar showing on Monday as well. Burnle have found scoring goals difficult this season, with both strikers Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood not having hit their straps yet. Therefore, Tottenham appear well placed to win this.