We’re three games in the Premier League season – or two for some – and the current picture of how the season will go is about as clear as Manchester United’s transfer schedule on signing Jadon Sancho.
In less than a week before the transfer window, expect a lot of panic buying, selling, and every emotion from fans, from joy to anger to frustration.
And there are a lot of teams that need to make calls based on the last weekend and need to strengthen themselves.
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Werner packs for the blues first
0:52
IS SOMEONE GOING TO POT LIVERPOOL?
It’s an odd question, especially when you consider that Manchester City have only played the two games so far, but it’s already difficult to see anyone chasing Jurgen Klopp’s relentless winning machine.
The 3-1 win against Arsenal was dominant. The Gunners only goal was due to a mistake by Andy Robertson, which he corrected at the other end not long later. That win confirmed a win over Chelsea and that wasn’t a competition either.
So far, Manchester City looks clueless, Chelsea are badly out of whack, Arsenal keep growing, Manchester United is messed up and Tottenham … well, Tottenham.
If Pep Guardiola can’t put his squad together – or a city in Leicester or an Everton can bring a big surprise – this could be a long season for anyone not wearing Liverpool’s shiny new Nike kit.
CITY OF STUMBLE AND FALL
Since conceding five – yes, FIVE – goals against Leicester City over the weekend, Manchester City has brought in £ 62million to another defender who hopefully knows that letting Jamie Vardy get between you and the ball in the penalty area is no good to arrive idea.
Ruben Diaz will join Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Nathan Ake to fill Vincent Kompany’s gap. But that’s not the only problem.
City looked overrun at times and tried to crush Leicester’s stubborn defenses which would not help either Gabriel Jesus or Sergio Aguero for the next month or so.
Will Guardiola be looking for another striker before Monday? A midfielder is unlikely to be a more likely target. But realistically, this is now the squad Guardiola has to face against Liverpool this season and it will be a real test of his coaching to make that happen.
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THE PERFECT RESULT FOR OLE
Manchester United have been terrible so far this season, to be clear. Crystal Palace dampened them with the ease of a Liverpool team … well, everyone and Brighton were just fine.
The seagulls were unlucky enough to lose after the final whistle, especially considering they hit the woodwork an amazing five – yes, five – times. Bruno Fernandes saved her again, as he was last season and as you suspect it will be this season.
It’s still three points for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and winning with such a bad game is the perfect result when there is still a week in the transfer window.
It will put pressure on the board to sanction further signatures, with only Donny van de Beek arriving so far. This week there was talk of another push for Jadon Sancho and while United still falls short of Borussia Dortmund’s rating, performances like this will only help Solskjaer’s cause.
Whether it is enough or not, we just have to wait and see.
Jose chases you in the toilet!
0:45
JOSES TOTTENHAM DILEMMA
Not much is clear about Tottenham and how they will develop under Jose Mourinho this season. The five goals against Southampton were very positive and an example of how destructive they can be without the soon-to-be-returning Gareth Bale.
But both sides of that result were a 1-0 loss to Everton and an equally bad 1-1 draw with Newcastle.
You can be sure that Mourinho will make sure that the Southampton team shows up at Old Trafford this weekend.
You can’t be sure if Dele Alli will still be a Spurs player by then or not. Anyone who’s watched the Amazon documentary on Spurs last season will have noticed Mourinho’s constant reference to Alli’s poor work rate – and Alli’s subsequent giggles like it was a big joke.
As it turned out, it wasn’t.
Will he be kicked out before the window closes? Heung-min Son’s injury has now cast this into doubt, but it’s clear Alli is likely to be out if Bale is fit.
ARE LEEDS THE REAL OFFER?
Leeds United started this season by pushing Liverpool as far as they could before pressureing Fulham in yet another thriller. The image of Marcelo Bielsa’s team was drawn: brave, carefree, entertaining, attacking, defensively weak.
But now the picture is being redrawn.
The way they sparked a late 1-0 win over Sheffield United and Patrick Bamford suddenly became the Premier League striker everyone believed would be, showed that there was real substance behind the style plugged.
It’s hard to say if Leeds will stay up as they may still be able to ride the wave of ascension, but they have given the right signs that their return after 16 long years won’t be short.
It’s getting tougher, the goals will dry up, Bielsa’s unorthodox coaching is being questioned and can sometimes backfire. However, this is only the first stage in Leeds’ revitalization. Survival is the main goal this season, everything else will come after that.
So far they have been mighty impressive.
Bozza reviews PL Match Day 3
5:42
EVERTON AND WOLVES ‘CONTRAST
Everton is a new team. You finally have a manager who has his own contracts and you are jammed from the start. In James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure they have a beautifully balanced midfield, and under Carlo Ancelotti Dominic Calvert-Lewin has prevailed.
You could still handle a center-back, but the fact is that Everton are one of only four teams to have set a 100 percent record so far this season and Ancelotti could finally have a team battling for European places again could.
Wolves, on the other hand, went in the opposite direction. They lost some key players in Matt Doherty and Diogo Jota and have had a season that lasted more than a year.
A slow start was inevitable, but the manner in which it lost to West Ham was alarming.
Everton now looks like the designated squad, and Wolves look like they urgently need to be reshuffled after looking the opposite for so long.
VILLA’S HEADSTART IN THE RELEGATION RACE
Two games, two wins. And booting extremely well in both. Things don’t get much better for Aston Villa after last season’s nervous end when they were ultimately saved from returning to the championship by a 9,000 Hawkeye mistake.
How invaluable will those six points be at the end of the season? A quick start is a huge plus and with Fulham and West Brom’s performances so far (despite Chelsea’s result) suggesting they will be here for a good time rather than long, there may be just one place left to avoid.
Villa have done well and keeping Jack Grealish could be the difference between them surviving this season.
But it goes so far, so good.
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