Nine BIG questions about this weekend’s games

Football writer Alex Keble analyzes where the weekend’s games could be won and lost, including:

– Whether Arsenal can cope without first team players
– Lopetegui uses Moyes tactics to beat Man Utd
– If Chelsea’s style will solve Newcastle’s goal problems
– Whether Hurzeler’s team can move into the top 4 race
– Whether Jimenez can achieve a goalscoring performance
– Brentford’s home form is too much for Ipswich
– Haaland ends the mini goal drought in the league
– Glasner avoids Palace’s longest winless start
– If the rotation can help Villa cope

Can Arsenal cope without star players?

A week is a long time in football.

Ahead of Saturday’s game at AFC Bournemouth, Arsenal – unbeaten in the Premier League and a point off the top – appeared well-placed to get past Liverpool, who have yet to play opponents in the top four under Arne Slot.

But in the last two meetings, a 2-0 loss at the Vitality Stadium and a low-energy 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League, Arsenal lost William Saliba to suspension and Riccardo Calafiori to injury, a continues to weaken The team is already coping without Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.

No Arsenal player has scored since Saka’s absence (the winner against Shakhtar was an own goal), which is worrying considering Liverpool concede the fewest goals at three and have the lowest expected goals against (xGA) at 6.2 has Premier League this season.

Yet Mikel Arteta’s side appear to be most vulnerable at the back.

Since Saliba’s debut in August 2022, Arsenal have a win rate of 75 percent with him and a win rate of 45 percent without him.

Add to that Calafiori’s injury and doubts over Jurrien Timber’s fitness, and Arsenal are on the verge of an injury crisis.

If the next opponent has the second-highest expected goals (xG) value in the league at 16.0, the timing could hardly be worse.

However, to win titles you have to overcome adversity.

This is undoubtedly a difficult moment for Arsenal. But get the three points and Arteta’s side will emerge with renewed belief in their own resilience.

Can Lopetegui channel the ‘inner Moyes’ to beat Man Utd?

The second-half collapse at Tottenham Hotspur was stark evidence of West Ham United’s fragility as they struggle to transition from David Moyes’ reactive football to a possession and pressing philosophy.

Too often the defense continues to backtrack while the strikers put pressure on; Too often the team is caught between a rock and a hard place, creating a stretched formation that opponents can easily break through.

In time, Julen Lopetegui will hope his football catches on, but for this weekend’s visit of Manchester United he would be better off tapping into his players’ “Moyesian” muscle memory.

West Ham have won their last two Premier League home games against Man Utd, both to nil. At every opportunity, Moyes did what Moyes does best: deploy a low block, concede the ball (65 percent in every game) and counterattack.

That should give Lopetegui an idea of ​​what strategy to choose, as should Crystal Palace’s strong performance in the 0-0 draw with Man Utd in September, when Oliver Glasner’s side had 33 percent possession.

To move forward, West Ham will need to temporarily take a step back.

Will Chelsea’s tactics solve Newcastle’s goal problems?

After taking 10 points from their first four games of the season, Newcastle United’s abrupt slowdown is a cause for concern. They have not won any of their last four Premier League games, drawing two and losing two, and have failed to score in their last two meetings.

Newcastle drew 0-0 with Everton and lost 1-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion, despite recording their two highest xG figures of the season, 2.1 and 2.0 respectively. Eddie Howe’s side would be in the top four if they could simply make the most of their chances.

A visit to Stamford Bridge should clear that up. Only five clubs – all in the bottom eight – have conceded more shots on goal than Chelsea’s 45, who have regularly taken part in end-to-end games despite their lofty position in the league.

Enzo Maresca’s powerful football leaves plenty of room for maneuver in transition – hence the ferocity of the 4-2 win over Brighton and 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers – and attacking quickly after the ball is Newcastle’s specialty.

Alexander Isak, who scored just one goal in six games, will relish the opportunity to stretch his legs, as will the explosive Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes.

Can Hurzeler’s team move into the top 4 race?

Brighton’s tally of 15 points from eight games is impressive, especially after Brighton have already played five of last season’s best eight games, and yet, counterintuitively, the bigger tests are yet to come.

At first glance, a home game against the bottom of the league is easy enough, but these were exactly the games that Brighton struggled to win in this early phase of the Fabian Hurzeler project.

Brighton have taken just six points from five Premier League games in which they had more than 50 percent possession and have won all three games in which they had less than 50 percent possession.

Brighton’s results are based on possession percentage

This is because a low block is harder to break through, whereas opponents coming at Brighton leave room for players like Kaoru Mitoma and Danny Welbeck to break through at high speed.

Wolves will be the former.

Gary O’Neil will be encouraged by his side’s tenacious performance in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, as a return to the back five helped Wolves defend their own penalty area. A similar approach at the Amex Stadium could bring Brighton down.

Can Jimenez produce a goal performance?

Raul Jimenez’s return to form has been the most heartwarming story in the Premier League this season. It deserves far more attention than it gets.

Back in the summer of 2020, after his 17 Premier League goals helped Wolves to a seventh-place finish, Jimenez was reportedly a transfer target for Man Utd and Juventus.

But in November of that year he suffered a serious head injury that kept him out for nine months, although in reality the effects were felt for much longer. Jimenez has never fully recovered from such a traumatic injury – until now.

Jimenez has shown great courage to rediscover his best form and this weekend he has the chance to become the first Fulham player in the Premier League era to score or assist in six consecutive games.

Only three players have ever achieved this feat at the age of 33 or older: Gus Poyet, Dennis Bergkamp and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

It won’t be easy at Goodison Park. Everton are unbeaten in four games and have kept two clean sheets in the Premier League.

But if anyone has the strength, the form and the mental toughness to do it, it’s Jimenez.

Will Brentford’s home form prove too much for Ipswich?

After four draws in a row, the consensus was that Ipswich Town were competitive enough to look forward to their first Premier League win with their heads held high.

That’s not so safe anymore. The 4-1 defeat at West Ham, followed by a 2-0 home defeat to Everton, may have shaken the confidence of Kieran McKenna’s players. As winter approaches, it becomes increasingly difficult to see where that first victory will come from.

Ipswich’s total of 75 shots, 23 shots on goal and 130 touches in the opposition penalty area are the fewest in the Premier League, while their xG of 6.3 is also the lowest.

In contrast, Brentford score for fun at home. No team has scored more home goals than 11, and Thomas Frank’s side also have the best home record in the competition with 10 points from their first four games.

Ipswich’s eight games without a win could soon be nine.

Will Haaland end his mini-goal drought?

For Erling Haaland, three Premier League games without a goal are practically a disaster.

His brace against Sparta Prague in midweek ensures there is nothing to worry about, but the low quality of Czech opposition means Man City fans may remain concerned about Haaland’s form.

The problem is certainly not Haaland’s shots. He has converted 70 percent of his big chances this season, by far his best record in England to date. However, the Norwegian hasn’t had a single big chance in the last three league games.

Haaland is being pushed aside by a deep defense and Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne are both struggling with injuries. This won’t last.

Southampton only knows one style of play and Russell Martin’s wide-open football certainly seems to be creating space in the box for Haaland.

Furthermore, Haaland loves games like this. He hopes to become the first player to score in seven consecutive starts against promoted teams since Sergio Aguero in November 2017.

Can Palace avoid their longest winless start ever?

Only once before have Palace failed to win any of their first eight Premier League games, and in 1992/93 they won the ninth, beating Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park.

Nevertheless, they were relegated in May.

Glasner won’t want to be the man associated with Palace’s longest winless start to a Premier League season ever, but it is a very real possibility: Spurs have won three of their last four games and are recovering from an indifferent one Start recovering and appear like themselves again.

Ange Postecoglou will be expecting a win, although that may require him to consider two defensive midfielders from the start.

Only after replacing James Maddison with Pape Sarr did Spurs prevail against West Ham last weekend after Jarrod Bowen dominated the right flank in the first half due to Destiny Udogie’s lack of midfield support.

If Glasner selects Ismaila Sarr or moves Eberechi Eze to the right, perhaps Palace can have some fun too.

Much more likely, however, is another difficult day for the Eagles.

Can rotation help Villa cope better?

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Villa’s 2-0 win over Bologna on Tuesday night was the seamless rotation of four players in the starting XI.

Unai Emery now has the squad depth to provide a breath of fresh air amid a busy European schedule, although Villa have struggled to maintain energy levels so far this season.

Four days after their first Champions League game at Young Boys, Villa were leading 1-0 against Wolves until a comeback in the 73rd minute. They looked tired, but not as tired as they did in the sluggish 0-0 draw with Man Utd, shortly after beating Bayern Munich at Villa Park.

Villa made just one change after the Young Boys win and three changes after the Bayern win. On Saturday, we can expect Emery to go one step further and bring at least four players back into the starting lineup.

Substituting a few key players during the week was a risk, but one that was well worth it given the recent continental hangover.

With a win on Saturday, Villa will prove they can juggle both competitions.