1) Iheanacho has his chance to impress against Liverpool
Despite not dropping a point or conceding a goal, Liverpool have yet to really hit their stride in the current campaign. West Ham took very little beating in their opener, while subsequent victories over Crystal Palace and Brighton were a mite laboured. An away trip to Leicester on Saturday lunchtime should provide another reasonably stiff test ahead of what is likely to be a more challenging trip to Tottenham Hotspur after the international break. Leicester clearly missed the searing pace of the suspended Jamie Vardy against Southampton and Kelechi Iheanacho struggled to impress in his role as replacement. The striker got off the mark for the season against Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday and with Vardy sitting out the last instalment of a three-match ban , he needs a big performance against the – thus far – impregnable two-man portcullis that is Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, if he is to stake any sort of claim for keeping Vardy out upon his return.
2) Wolves might be able to overrun West Ham in midfield
West Ham are feeling a bit better about life after their Carabao Cup win over the 10 men of AFC Wimbledon, but it will not be easy for them to back up their first competitive victory under Manuel Pellegrini when Wolves visit the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon. While Wolves only have two points from their first three games, they earned plaudits for their brave approach in last week’s home draw with Manchester City, and the newly promoted side could earn their first league win if Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho undermine Pellegrini’s suggestion that Jack Wilshere could become the East End’s answer to Andrea Pirlo. West Ham have suffered in midfield so far and a fourth consecutive defeat would see them equal their wretched start under Avram Grant in 2010. They finished bottom that season.
3) Can Burnley take advantage of United’s shambolic defence?
Amid all the ongoing hoop-la surrounding Manchester United’s defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur and José Mourinho’s subsequent post-match meltdown, it is easy to forget that for long periods of the game Manchester United actually played quite well. Their players created chances and moved with a sense of speed and urgency that was conspicuous by its absence in what was an embarrassingly sluggish performance in defeat against Brighton.
There is, however, little or no getting away from the fact that their defence is a shambles and that Mourinho’s first choice rearguard is comprised mainly of defenders playing for other teams. Of those he has at his disposal, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville could scarcely have been blunter in their assessment of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof on Monday Night Football, while the sight of Ander Herrera in a back three left them and everyone else – including, possibly, Herrera – totally flabbergasted.
4) Will Emery find space for Özil against Cardiff?
The Fiver: the Guardian’s take on the world of football Read more Advertisement The official line from Arsenal was that Mesut Özil was absent because of illness when they secured their first win of the Unai Emery era by beating West Ham. Yet that was accompanied by whispers of Emery clashing with Özil before the West Ham game and it will be fascinating to see if Arsenal’s manager finds space for the German in his starting 11 against Cardiff City on Sunday. The sense that Emery will not indulge the midfielder as much as Arsène Wenger did will grow if Özil, who signed a three-and-a-half year contract worth £350,000 a week in February, finds himself on the bench at the Cardiff City Stadium.
5) It’s Pereyra vs Lucas Moura at Vicarage Road
Tottenham will have to beware Roberto Pereyra’s flashes of brilliance when they visit Vicarage Road on Sunday. Pereyra has scored three goals in Watford’s first two home games and the improving Argentinian, who has struggled for consistency and fitness since leaving Juventus in 2016, has played a major role in his side’s immaculate start to the season. Yet Tottenham have also started with three wins and they will pose Javi Gracia’s side their toughest test so far, not least because Mauricio Pochettino has his own bewitching South American to call upon. Outstanding in the 3-0 win at Old Trafford, Lucas Moura has given Pochettino’s attack an even sharper edge.