1. Can Manchester United recover from last week’s disaster?
ASTONISHINGLY, BEFORE THEIR most recent encounter with Leicester, the last time Manchester United let a two-goal lead slip was against Nottingham Forest in 1984 during the Ron Atkinson era.
The aforementioned fact alone illustrates the seriousness of the defeat, with Robin van Persie recently admitting that it “shouldn’t be possible” to lose in such circumstances.
With £150million of recently acquired talent at their disposal, it may seem like it should be a matter of time before United click, but against an in-form West Ham outfit who masterfully overcame Liverpool last week, it’s likely to be anything but straightforward.
Moreover, their problems at the back may well be exacerbated, with Marcos Rojo the only fit senior centre-back available, meaning inexperienced youngsters Tom Thorpe and Paddy McNair are both in contention to make their debuts
2. Will Daniel Sturridge return to down Everton?
The Tottenham match aside, Liverpool have this season looked unrecognisable from the vibrant team that took the league by storm last year.
There are a number of theories as to why they have so far failed to emulate the success of the 2013-14 campaign — the loss of Suarez, teams becoming more accustomed to their rapid counter-attacking style and injury to key players such as Daniel Sturridge, as well their continual failure to rectify problems at the back, have all surely played some role in their poor form.
Yet this weekend, the Reds face an Everton side who have been similarly inept, largely at the back — no team has conceded more goals than Roberto Martinez’s side since the start of the campaign, though only Chelsea have scored more goals than the Toffees.
However, while both sides have struggled to an extent since the season began, Liverpool are favourites for the encounter on account of their excellent past record in this game — Everton have failed to beat them in the past 15 consecutive Merseyside derbies at Anfield.
3. Is there any hope for Tottenham?
(Danny Welbeck impressed against Aston Villa last week)
After a promising start to the campaign, Spurs have gone three league matches without a win.
A less-than-convincing League Cup victory with what was a largely second-string team against Championship side Nottingham Forest will do little to inspire confidence, nor will the prospect of facing Arsenal, who they have beaten just once in 25 meetings away from home in recent years.
The Gunners, meanwhile, did manage to restore some confidence amid a 3-0 victory at Aston Villa last week, after being well beaten by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
So if Messrs Ozil, Welbeck and Cazorla can carry the level of their Villa performance into Saturday’s late kick-off, then it’s hard to imagine any outcome other than an Arsenal victory.
4. Can Manchester City kick start their season?
Already, Manchester City sit five points off league leaders Chelsea following the two sides’ draw last week, and it reflects what has been a sub-par start to the season from the reigning champions.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have looked largely uninspired, despite some decent results, and appear a pale shadow of the team that closed in on the title so emphatically last season.
They travel to face a Hull side who themselves have shown rather indifferent form of late, failing to pick up a victory since their opening day defeat of newly promoted QPR.
Anything other than three points will be a major setback for Pellegrini’s men and a considerable upset, but Stoke’s recent shock win at the Etihad will likely serve as the template for Steve Bruce and co.
5. Is stopping Costa the key to stopping Chelsea?
Chelsea are comfortably the highest-scoring team in the league this season with 16, and Diego Costa has been an integral part of their exceptional attack play, with a personal tally of seven goals.
Granted, the Spaniard has not been short of help, with Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard delivering a number of similarly influential displays.
Nonetheless, without Costa in the Champions League, Chelsea looked considerably weakened against Schalke the other week, so keeping a close eye on the striker (provided he is fit enough to play) is surely key to alleviating the Londoners’ threat.
Moreover, despite their loss to Arsenal last week, Aston Villa remain in third place after five games, and as their recent match with Liverpool illustrated, they know all about about stifling a side with ostensibly superior quality at their disposal.
Predictions (all games kick-off Saturday 3pm unless stated otherwise)
Liverpool 3-2 Everton (12.45pm)
Chelsea 3-1 Aston Villa
Crystal Palace 2-2 Leicester
Hull 1-3 Man City
Man United 3-1 West Ham
Southampton 2-0 QPR
Sunderland 1-1 Swansea
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham (5.30pm)
West Brom 1-1 Burnley (Sunday 4pm)
Stoke 2-1 Newcastle (Monday 8pm)
