Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

If Ange Postecoglou refuses to change his style, and Tottenham simply cannot change their culture, where does that leave both parties? Spurs are still some way off a crisis, but it’s an impasse that could cause combustion. “I didn’t get here by doing what everyone else is doing,” Postecoglou told Australian media this week, admitting that “sitting” on the Brighton loss – in which Spurs completely collapsed in the second half – has made for an agonising international break. Despite winning five on the bounce before the trip to the south coast, anything less than victory against West Ham will put further strain on the relationship between Tottenham’s manager and their supporters, which can increasingly lurch from one extreme to the other. Dominic Booth

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Not many wingers can make Kyle Walker eat dust. Then again, not many wingers are as quick or strong as Adama Traoré. However, the 28-year-old is still searching for an end product to match his coruscating speed. Getting into goalscoring positions is not the problem. Traoré had three clear opportunities during Fulham’s defeat by Manchester City earlier this month but was unable to produce a clinical finish on each occasion. It was frustrating to watch and Fulham will hope to see an improvement from the Spain international when they host Aston Villa. Traoré, who has one goal this season, has so much going for him. He would be devastating if he could find more composure. Jacob Steinberg

Eight games in and it’s already relegation six-pointer time. Ipswich in 17th are one of the Premier League’s four winless wonders. In beating Crystal Palace on 28 September Everton, 16th, exited that select club, and next held Newcastle to a draw thanks to Jordan Pickford saving a penalty from Anthony Gordon. Evertonians will hope for more of the same, rather than the chaotic performance Pickford delivered against Greece for England last week. Ipswich will seek to bounce back from their first poor performance of the season at West Ham, who drove a bus through Kieran McKenna’s adventurous tactics in winning 4-1, particularly during a ruinous second half full of poor defending. Axel Tuanzebe’s continued absence after cutting his hand in the depths of a washing-up bowl is a significant blow to Ipswich’s defence. Similarly, Everton have missed Jarrad Branthwaite, whose comeback in that Palace game visibly improved the team before he then tweaked a thigh muscle. He is back in training. John Brewin

All eyes on the executive box at Old Trafford to see if Sir Alex Ferguson, his lucrative ambassador stipend chopped by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, takes his seat. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag fights on, his employment prospects probably improved by Thomas Tuchel becoming England manager. United’s dour, forgettable draw at Aston Villa also becalmed the whirl of speculation if not the run of injuries that have plagued the Dutchman’s reign. The loss of Harry Maguire has added to selection issues, as have Noussair Mazraoui’s heart palpitations requiring minor corrective surgery. Manuel Ugarte is also reported to have a suffered a muscle problem while on Uruguay duty. The midfielder is an expensive signing supposed to anchor the midfield but has completed 90 minutes for United only once, his new manager seemingly reluctant to use him. Has something similar occurred with Matthijs de Ligt, who was dropped for the game against Villa? JB

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Yankuba Minteh makes his first return to Newcastle since joining Brighton for £33m in late June. In reality the 20-year-old Gambia right winger was very rarely on Tyneside after signing from Odense for just under £6m in the summer of 2023. Almost immediately after arriving at Newcastle, a purchase driven by the club’s former sporting director Dan Ashworth, Minteh went out on a season-long loan to Feyenoord. After starring under Arne Slot last term, Eddie Howe harboured high hopes for Minteh but, instead, PSR concerns prompted a rushed sale that some at St James’ Park fear will prove a huge mistake. So far this season Minteh has started five of Brighton’s seven league games, scoring his first goal for Fabian Hürzeler’s side in the 3-2 comeback win against Tottenham. The winger is said to have been extremely reluctant to leave Newcastle but now he threatens to show his former public, manager and teammates precisely what they are missing. Louise Taylor

Southampton seek to break their Premier League duck after a pair of very different 3-1 defeats. After losing at Bournemouth, Russell Martin laid into his players, “hurt by the lack of spirit and fight” while after Arsenal he had “taken a lot of heart, encouragement and belief from the performance”. Despite Saints’ results, a significant proportion of fans are supportive of Martin’s commitment to his style of football. The same may not be true of Leicester’s supporters for their manager. Perhaps it’s the Nottingham Forest connection, perhaps it’s that Steve Cooper’s pragmatism means Leicester no longer play in the adventurous fashion they did under Enzo Maresca. The win over Bournemouth last time out was Leicester’s first victory in the league. Cooper’s star man has been Facundo Buonanotte, the Brighton loanee. It is hoped his passage back from Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers is comfortable enough for him to be included. JB

The break was both a blessing and a curse for Mikel Arteta. He will have been buoyed by the sight of Mikel Merino turning out for Spain in their Nations League victories over Denmark and Serbia, the summer signing playing 90 minutes across the two fixtures. It will surely give Merino’s club manager the green light to unleash him alongside Declan Rice at Bournemouth in his preferred midfield pairing. Yet the break also brought pain for Arsenal as Bukayo Saka hobbled off in England’s Nations League nightmare against Greece. The winger’s injury may provide another hurdle for Arteta to clear in his quest to topple Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. The Gunners have been largely fortunate with injuries in the past two seasons as they’ve challenged for the title, but the modern schedule means that was unlikely to last for ever. DB

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Few players had a more bittersweet international break than James McAtee. The 21-year-old Manchester City midfielder scored three times for England Under-21s, including twice against Ukraine, the first of which was a rasping free-kick. After the game McAtee dedicated his double to George Baldock, whom he spent two years alongside while on loan at Sheffield United. “When I was there he welcomed me with open arms, he looked after me,” said McAtee, who celebrated by lifting his shirt to reveal a message which read: “GB 2 REST EASY BROTHER X.” McAtee, a fixture in City’s squads this season, is unlikely to start at Wolves on Sunday but, having scored on his last club appearance, in a 4-0 Champions League win against Slovan Bratislava at the start of this month, if required Pep Guardiola knows he can turn to a man in form. Ben Fisher

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Arne Slot and Enzo Maresca have benefited from relatively settled defences throughout their impressive starts to life at Liverpool and Chelsea, with the former boasting the best defensive record in the Premier League at present, but both face disruption to their backlines for what should be a revealing contest at Anfield. The visitors will be without the suspended Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella after each collected a fifth booking of the season in the feisty draw with Nottingham Forest before the international break. Mohamed Salah’s duel with Renato Veiga, Cucurella’s potential replacement at left-back, could be intriguing. Liverpool’s loss is limited to one, but a hugely influential one nonetheless, with Alisson sidelined until after November’s international break with his second hamstring injury of the campaign. Caoimhín Kelleher proved an able deputy in the wins over Bournemouth and West Ham, as the Republic of Ireland international usually does, and possesses the temperament to put Sunday’s mistake against Greece immediately behind him. Andy Hunter

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It’s a battle between two of the surprise packages under the Monday night lights. But while Nottingham Forest have defied most pre-season predictions by losing just once of their first seven games, Crystal Palace have confounded expectations for the wrong reasons. It’s too early to suggest Oliver Glasner’s job is in danger given the impact he had last season, but the fact Palace have failed to win a league game so far cannot simply be explained by the summer sale of Michael Olise. There’s been a bluntness to the Eagles, a lack of cohesion the Austrian must address, starting with this trip. With games against Tottenham and Aston Villa lurking around the corner, it won’t get any easier. The glimmer of hope for Glasner is Forest’s home form; they’ve not won at home in four attempts in all competitions this season. DB

Source: theguardian.com