Premier division: ten highlights to keep an eye on this weekend
1. Garnacho and Walker set for another battle
A Mancunian rematch could be in the offing as the Clarets' Kyle Walker lines up against the Blues' Alejandro Garnacho on Burnley's turf. The attacker has started to settle in west London after his off-season signing from Manchester United and demonstrated his talents in the Wolves match before the fixture pause. His setup for Pedro Neto combined blistering pace with a perfect low cross. His build-up for Malo Gusto entailed moving onto his right prior to lofting a ball to the back post. His goal reaction with Neto, echoing his prior embrace with Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Højlund, was a testament of the pace with which circumstances change. The previous occasion Garnacho faced Walker? Back when the youngster scored for United in the cup final win against Manchester City.
Burnley versus Chelsea, Saturday 12.30pm (kick-offs GMT)
The winger key to ending Bournemouth's slide
Antoine Semenyo is attracting the full gossip column treatment due to a reported £65m escape clause for a potential January departure, the media preparing him for graduation from the Premier League's average tier. That is predictable for a attacker with six goals plus three helpers and remains joyous to watch. Still, his team are in an difficult situation, having undergone a form flip: it is the bottom-half team West Ham who arrive on back-to-back victories, while Bournemouth are down seven to one on aggregate over their previous two fixtures following an strong start to the campaign. Semenyo was denied from the spot by Emi Martínez in their heavy loss to Aston Villa but facing a backline without a goalless game in the league since the start of the season could be the perfect tonic.
Bournemouth against West Ham, Saturday afternoon 3pm
The striker an outside shout for the Three Lions
It seemed intriguing to hear Thomas Tuchel mention Danny Welbeck repeatedly throughout the fixture pause despite the fact that the Brighton striker reaches 35 soon. “Without even having met him, I am aware what he can offer me,” said the England manager. “He might act as a reserve for Harry [Kane] in a very traditional No 9 position.” Gaining the most recent of his 42 caps several years ago, it's entirely possible that Welbeck might be selected to the World Cup if he can sustain his goalscoring feats. Once of Manchester United and Arsenal forward can claim more goals compared to any English footballer in England's top division this campaign on six and remains eager to boost that total when Brighton host Brentford on Saturday.
Brighton versus Brentford, Saturday 3:00 PM
The full-back crucial as assist provider and finisher
Sessegnon's story has brought a measure of positivity to Fulham's uneven start. The 25-year-old, who came back to his boyhood club last year after five challenging years at Tottenham, has become a regular starter, pushing forward on the left flank due to the injury of the sidelined Antonee Robinson. The issue? On two goals, he's also their top goalscorer this season together with Harry Wilson. The Mexican striker, their top scorer the previous campaign, has netted once whereas Rodrigo Muniz is unavailable for the long term because of a hamstring operation. Sessegnon must also having to step up in a creative role in place of Robinson, who supplied 10 assists in the previous campaign. Fulham's following four fixtures take in three from the leading five as well as Crystal Palace, who have let in only nine scores in the Premier League so far. Danger looms for a team that have built a reputation for mid-table stability.
Fulham against Sunderland, Saturday afternoon 3:00 PM
5. Time for Isak to perform for Liverpool
The debate about Virgil van Dijk's chalked-off effort against Manchester City could not hide Liverpool's inferiority on the day as they fell to a seventh defeat over ten fixtures. The manager's squad need a prolonged upturn to muscle into the title race from here, plus a major improvement in form, and a chance emerges with seven out of their next 10 top-flight fixtures versus sides at the moment in the bottom ten in the standings. The risk is evident from Nottingham Forest, the only team to hand a home league defeat to the title holders the previous campaign, but it is not only Liverpool's display against long balls and fast breaks that remains under scrutiny. Now is the occasion for Alexander Isak to show up in a Liverpool shirt. The big-money forward has been absent at club level in a month after picking up a muscle issue while his second start over a short period in the Champions League victory at Eintracht Frankfurt. The striker came back from the bench in the Swedish loss to Switzerland but was rested the midweek meaningless match against Slovenia to guarantee his fitness for the upcoming World Cup playoffs. A yellow card in that match might have suspended him. The striker could be short of|lacking|deficient
