Brentford have scored nine and conceded six in their past two Premier League home games. Their leaky defence did not cost them in victories over Wolves and Ipswich but they were shown up by Harry Wilson’s injury-time double on Monday night at Fulham to suggest things need to improve at the back. Wilson’s goals both came from crosses. Brentford allowed Fulham to cross the ball 43 times, although Thomas Frank was not too worried about it and was surprisingly relaxed that they led to two goals. With Ethan Pinnock and Nathan Collins, he does have centre-backs capable of dealing with the majority but it is a dangerous game to play. Bournemouth will have taken note and their fine wingers and full-backs will probably target the space afforded out wide. Will Unwin
2
Kamada the main man with Eze sidelined
The news that Eddie Nketiah is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up a hamstring injury in training this week may have given Oliver Glasner less of a headache over whether to prefer the £30m signing to his main striker, Jean-Philippe Mateta, but the the Crystal Palace manager goes into Saturday’s crucial home game against Fulham short of firepower, with only three fit forwards to choose from. With Eberechi Eze still out with his own hamstring problem, the responsibility to provide creativity could fall on the shoulders of Daichi Kamada after he scored the winner in the League Cup win over Aston Villa last week. The Japan forward – the club’s highest-paid player – has taken time to settle in London despite playing under Glasner at Eintracht Frankfurt but appears to have found his form in the last two matches. Ed Aarons
3
Paquetá has badly gone off the boil
It is not a coincidence that West Ham improved after taking off Lucas Paquetá at half-time during their win over Manchester United two weeks ago. The Brazilian’s decline has been dramatic, albeit not too surprising. Paquetá, once a target for Manchester City, has been charged with a breach of the Football Association’s betting regulations and is at risk of a lengthy ban. Playing under those conditions cannot be easy and the midfielder has often looked unfocused this season. Yet West Ham need Paquetá performing. He remains West Ham’s most creative talent and must step up for the visit of Everton – assuming, that is, he keeps his spot in Julen Lopetegui’s starting XI. Jacob Steinberg
4
Fernandes gives Saints a sporting chance
With each passing week the signing of Mateus Fernandes looks increasingly good business for Southampton, particularly the decision to tie him to a five-year contract on his arrival in August. The fleet-footed central midfielder who played under Rúben Amorim at Sporting distributes the ball sensibly and has an impressive engine, evidenced by a crucial role linking defence and attack in last Saturday’s precious victory over Everton. “Top talent, but nowhere near ready to play for anyone else. He needs a good couple of years here for us first,” quipped Russell Martin of the 20-year-old’s form, which will doubtless attract attention from elsewhere. Aaron Ramsdale was also outstanding in goal for Southampton last weekend. Nineteenth meets 20th at Molineux and rock-bottom Wolves are naturally desperate for a win: their finishing will need to be calm and clinical. Luke McLaughlin
5
Brighton look to capitalise on City’s slump
Brighton’s record against Manchester City does not make happy reading. Not since a 3-2 victory at the end of the 2020-21 season have they tasted victory over Pep Guardiola’s side, when Dan Burn scored to cap a famous comeback victory from two goals down and end City’s winning 12-match away run. Fabian Hürzeler will have his first opportunity to take the biggest scalp in the top flight after failing to get anything out of their back-to-back games against Liverpool in the League Cup and the Premier League. The 31-year-old will fancy his side’s chances against a City side that have suffered three successive defeats in all competitions. Brighton’s array of attacking threats should make it a testing afternoon for the visitors. EA
6
Díaz to continue as a central striker?
Unai Emery must hope Aston Villa learn fast from their collapse at Tottenham last week given Liverpool’s considerable and decisive second-half improvements against Bayer Leverkusen and Brighton. Arne Slot’s deployment of Luis Díaz as a central striker against Leverkusen proved a resounding success with the Colombian registering the first hat-trick of his Liverpool career. The decision was shaped by the absences of Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa (both of whom are likely to miss out again on Saturday), Darwin Núñez’s recent workload and Díaz’s ability to unsettle the Leverkusen central defender Jonathan Tah with runs in behind. The temptation to leave Díaz up top will be strong, given the 27-year-old scored more goals in one night than Núñez has delivered all season. Andy Hunter
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7
Van Nistelrooy nears Old Trafford farewell
Manchester United’s game against Leicester serves as a farewell to Ruud van Nistelrooy – this being the last of his four-match interim manager spell – and the start, 24 hours afterwards, of Rúben Amorim’s tenure as the new permanent manager. Van Nistelrooy has stated on more than one occasion he wishes to stay on in some capacity under the Portuguese but it remains unclear how valuable a win over Leicester would be to his continued employment at Old Trafford. A fourth league victory of this troubled campaign for United would certainly help, against visitors who arrive on 10 points, just two points and two places below their hosts. Jamie Jackson
8
Wood burning to turn up heat on Howe
It seems foolish to think that things can get much better for Forest. They head into the weekend sitting third in the table, a whopping eight places above Newcastle. One of the key factors in Forest’s success is the impressive form of Chris Wood; no one would have expected him to have eight goals in 10 games but the New Zealand striker has been clinical. After a slow start to his Forest career since joining from Sunday’s visitors, Nuno Espírito Santo is helping Wood flourish by constantly having wingers who know where to find the man in the middle of the box. Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi are exciting and effective, while Jota Silva and Ramón Sosa come off the bench to keep things fresh. Wood will be extremely eager to show Newcastle what happens when a team plays to his strength, having scored four in 35 league appearances for the club before being sold on. Wood hit a hat-trick at St James’ Park last season, so knows how to hurt them. WU
9
Cajuste ready to take reins from Phillips
After two straight 4-1 home victories, Ange Postecoglou welcomes the league’s second worst defence to north London. Kieran McKenna will need something akin to a cunning plan if Ipswich are to secure a first victory of the season on Sunday. The manager will have a decision to make over who to combine in midfield after Kalvin Phillips was dismissed in the draw against Leicester. Jens Cajuste is the obvious choice to replace the Manchester City loanee and sit alongside Sam Morsy. The Swede has started twice and made the same amount of appearances off the bench in the league since arriving for the season from Napoli. Having made 71 career starts and 56 outings as a substitute across four clubs, he will be desperate to get a run in the team under McKenna. Cajuste has shown brief promise and Phillips is yet to indicate a return to his best, so this is a fine opportunity for the 25-year-old to prove he can be relied upon. WU
10
Chelsea players must step up if Palmer is out
Chelsea may get another opportunity to prove they are not Cole Palmer FC this weekend. It was Mauricio Pochettino who coined the phrase, doing so when the best creative player in England was absent for the trip to Arsenal last April. Pochettino wanted his players to shine without Palmer, but the ploy was unsuccessful. Chelsea were humiliated in a 5-0 defeat and will hope they fare better if Palmer is absent when Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The England international was fortunate to escape serious injury after being chopped down by United’s Lisandro Martínez last Sunday and has not trained fully this week. He is a doubt and Pochettino’s replacement, Enzo Maresca, could need Chelsea’s other attacking midfielders to take on more responsibility. Although Maresca has plenty of options, so much goes through Palmer. JS
