5 Things to look for in the Premier League
Plenty of talking points ahead of the first round of midweek Premier League action this season
The Premier League will have its first midweek round of fixtures of the season, and plenty of interest with the first ever M23 derby in the Premier League, the potential of Zlatan starting for Man United and the chance of Manchester City changing up the squad ahead of the Manchester Derby. We break down the moments that matter in our five things to look out for. You can watch all of the games here.
First ever M23 derby in the Premier League
One of the more obscure Premier League derbies takes place on Tuesday evening for the first ever time when Brighton take on Crystal Palace at the Amex. Dubbed the M23 derby after the road joining South London and Brighton, the rivalry came from the sides competing regularly during the 70’s along with the fact that for a long time Brighton was the closest local rivals to Palace.
Seagulls fans have been looking forward to their match against Palace since the season began, and will be hoping for a repeat result when the sides met in the Championship in March 2013. That time Brighton ran out 3-0 winners with a brace from current Leicester city striker Leonardo Ulloa. The match will also be of significant interest to Brighton striker Glen Murray, the veteran attacker has represented both sides a total of four times during his career.
Zlatan to start for United?
Manchester United head to an inform Watford side, knowing that they must maintain their form with tough big games against top four rivals Arsenal and league leaders Manchester City coming up. Jose Mourinho may elect to change his squad up with two big games coming up, and that could leave the door for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to start on Tuesday evening. The Swedish striker will be eager to get amongst the goals for United, having enjoyed late cameos against Newcastle and Brighton. I wouldn’t bet against him scoring if he was to start to cap off a remarkable return after suffering a serious knee injury last season.
Everton need a Koeman successor.
The board at Everton need to act quickly in naming a successor to Ronald Koeman, it’s now been 35 days since Koeman was sacked and Everton are no closer to finding a replacement. Failed pursuits for Marco Silva and Sam Allardyce have fallen flat, Bill Kenwright & Farhad Moshiri need to get a manager to stabilize a rapidly sinking ship. Reports in Merseyside have suggested that the club will turn to Sam Allardyce again for a second time, hoping that the former Crystal Palace manager can be convinced to take on the job. In the meanwhile, David Unsworth should lead the side for the visit of fellow strugglers West Ham. Having only won twice all season at home in the league, three points would be a real boost for the Toffees, especially if the win came against their former boss David Moyes.
Spurs must bounce back against resilient Leicester
Tottenham was left frustrated again at Wembley following their 1-1 draw against West Brom on Saturday. Whilst Spurs miserable weekend was further compounded when north London rivals Arsenal leapfrogged them into fourth place following their late 1-0 win over Burnley. Mauricio Pochettino will know that his side will have a tough test at the King Power against a Leicester side who have become harder to beat under new boss Claude Puel. The Foxes have only lost once in six Premier League games and will be looking to pick up their first home win against the top six this season.
Record-breaking City to shuffle the pack?
Man City showed plenty of grit coming from a goal down to beat a spirited Huddersfield side 2-1. The win also proved to be another Premier League record for Pep Guardiola’s side, who have now picked up 37 points from their opening 13 Premier League Games the best start ever to a league season.
City will take on a Southampton team that has only won once on the road this season and will be looking to build on their 4-1 win over Everton on Sunday. Pep Guardiola may also elect to rest some players ahead of the Manchester derby. The likes of Bernardo Silva and İlkay Gündoğan may get some much-needed game time against Southampton