English top flight: ten key points to watch for this round of fixtures
1. Garnacho and Walker ready for a fresh battle
Another northwest showdown could be on the cards as the Clarets' Kyle Walker lines up against Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho on Burnley's turf. The wide man is finding his feet at Stamford Bridge after his summer move from the Red Devils and displayed his abilities in the Wolves match before the national team interval. His setup for Pedro Neto combined rapid acceleration with a perfect low cross. His creation for Malo Gusto involved cutting inside before chipping a cross across the goalmouth. His joyous moment with Neto, echoing his earlier embrace with Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Højlund, was a testament of how quickly situations evolve. The previous occasion Garnacho faced Walker? During the Argentine found the net for United in their FA Cup final victory against Manchester City.
Burnley vs Chelsea, Saturday afternoon 12.30pm (all times GMT)
2. Semenyo crucial to stopping Bournemouth's decline
Antoine Semenyo is getting the entire rumour-mill focus due to a claimed £65m buyout clause for his prospective January departure, the gossip columns preparing him for promotion from the Premier League's average tier. This is predictable from a winger who has six finishes and three helpers and remains pleasurable to watch. However, Bournemouth are in an difficult situation, having engaged in a form flip: now it's the bottom-half team West Ham who enter on successive wins, whereas Bournemouth have lost seven to one over two games in their previous two games following an impressive opening to the season. Semenyo was denied from the spot by Emi Martínez during the heavy loss by Aston Villa yet facing a defensive unit lacking a clean sheet in the league since the start of the season might be the perfect remedy.
Bournemouth versus West Ham, Saturday afternoon three o'clock
3. Welbeck a surprise option for the national team
It was intriguing to listen to Thomas Tuchel name-drop Danny Welbeck multiple times during the international break although the Brighton attacker reaches 35 in the coming days. “Even without knowing him, I know what he is able to offer me,” commented the England coach. “He could serve as a reserve for Harry [Kane] in a very traditional striker position.” Having won the final 42 international appearances in 2018, it's entirely possible that Welbeck could be on the plane for the World Cup assuming he is able to continue his goalscoring feats. The ex- Manchester United and Arsenal striker boasts additional strikes over every other English footballer in the top flight this season on six and will be eager to add to that count as Brighton welcome Brentford on Saturday.
Brighton vs Brentford, Saturday three o'clock
The full-back needed as assist provider and scorer
The narrative around Ryan Sessegnon has offered a degree of comfort to Fulham's bumpy beginning. The 25-year-old, who returned to his youth team last year after five difficult years with Spurs, has become a regular starter, driving down the left flank in the absence of the sidelined Antonee Robinson. The issue? Having scored twice, he's also their leading marksman this season together with Harry Wilson. Their main striker, their top scorer in the last term, has scored a single goal whereas Rodrigo Muniz is unavailable for an extended period due to a hamstring operation. Additionally, Sessegnon needing to deliver as a creator replacing Robinson, who supplied ten helpers last season. Fulham's following four fixtures take in three among the top five as well as Crystal Palace, who have allowed merely nine goals in the league so far. A threat emerges for the club that have built a name for consistency in the middle.
Fulham against Sunderland, Saturday 3pm
The moment for Isak to perform for the Merseyside club
The dispute surrounding Virgil van Dijk's disallowed goal versus Manchester City did not camouflage Liverpool's deficiencies in that game as they succumbed to their seventh loss in ten matches. The manager's squad need a sustained recovery to force their way into the championship chase from here, plus a dramatic upturn in results, and the possibility emerges as seven from their following ten league games against sides at the moment in the lower half in the standings. The risk is obvious posed by Nottingham Forest, the only team to deliver a defeat on their own turf on the champions in the last term, however it's not just Liverpool's performance versus long balls and counterattacks that remains in focus. Now is the occasion for Alexander Isak to deliver for Liverpool. The £125m striker has been absent for his club in a month after picking up a groin problem during his second appearance in the lineup in four days in continental competition triumph in Germany. The striker came back from the bench during Sweden's loss to Switzerland but missed the midweek meaningless match versus Slovenia to guarantee his readiness for next year's World Cup knockout rounds. A booking on Tuesday would have made him ineligible. Isak may be short of|lacking|deficient
