Opinion
Fans were treated to some free-flowing and entertaining action in Week 2 of the EPL.
Heading into the third week of the season, we have some intriguing matchups to look forward to.
Crystal Palace vs Everton: Sunday, 12:00 am (AEST)
These two teams come in unbeaten and have certainly looked impressive to start the season so far. Whoever can pick up the three points here will do wonders for their campaign.
This should be an entertaining game with both teams capable of playing counter-attacking football. In addition, these two teams aren’t afraid to go forward either.
Crystal Palace have set up in a 4-4-2 formation so far with Jordan Ayew up front while Jeffrey Schlupp and Andros Townsend and have done well to support the attack out wide.
Meanwhile, Everton have set up so far in 4-3-3 formation as their lethal front three of Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Rodriguez has been huge threats on goal.
The midfield will be an important battle. It will be interesting to see if both managers set up any different. You can argue that Everton may be more talented. However, if James McCarthy and James McArthur can hold their own in the midfield, Crystal Palace should have a chance to come away with points.
Burnley vs Southampton: Sunday, 5:00 am (AEST)
These teams finished tenth and 11th last season but they enter this match without any points so far. Southampton will be urgently looking to avoid losing their first three games.
The Saints repeatedly got burnt last week defensively as they maintained a high defensive line which Tottenham exploited. While Burnley won’t pose the same threat, Southampton needs to tighten up their defence as they were also fortunate not to concede more goals against Crystal Palace in Week 1.
On the bright side, Southampton looked decent in attack and were probably unfortunate not to score more goals against Spurs.
The main factor of the match will come down to which team can support their main strikers and produce more goals. While all eyes will be on strikers Danny Ings and Chris Wood, the team that can get meaningful contributions from the other players could come away with the victory.
Sheffield Utd vs Leeds: Sunday, 9:00 pm (AEST)
In a clear contrast of styles, we have the slow, methodical Sheffield Utd taking on the aggressive and expansive Leeds Utd.
Sheffield have not had a great start, being the only team yet to score a goal. Meanwhile, Leeds have brought nothing but goals to the Premier League and they look electric.
Patrick Bamford, Mateusz Klick and Helder Costa have starred for Leeds so far and they’ll be looking to attack a vulnerable Sheffield defence who will be without John Egan after being sent off last week.
While Sheffield usually are solid defensively, Leeds are more susceptible to conceding goals. However, it is very difficult to see how Sheffield’s offence will be able to generate enough goals required.
Overall, while it isn’t an amazing matchup on paper, it will be intriguing to see how the managers make adjustments as the styles of these two teams clash over the weekend.
Man City vs Leicester: Monday, 1:30 am (AEST)
Leicester will face their first tough test coming up against Manchester City who did not lose a beat last weekend. When these two teams met last season, City had won both contests.
(Photo by Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
City had a convincing win against a quality side in Wolves and they’ll be looking to make a statement against the Foxes.
One of the encouraging signs in Leicester’s win against Burnley was that all four goals did not involve Jamie Vardy. Leicester had only scored one goal against City last season which came from their main striker Vardy.
If Leicester are going to have a chance to come away with points, they’ll need to dig in defensively against a potent City attack while also aiding Vardy going forward.
Liverpool vs Arsenal: Tuesday, 5:00 am (AEST)
In another bout of unbeaten teams, the defending champions host Arsenal, who will face their first real challenge.
Arsenal have not won in Anfield since 2012 but heading into the game, there is some optimism that Arsenal can at least come away with a point.
Arsenal have not lost so far across all competitions and they will be hoping that left-back Kieran Tierney can return after suffering a minor injury. The Gunners persevered against West Ham to win late and their front three of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Willian seem to pose a threat to opposing defences.
This will be the game that Arsenal fans measure their team on.
With Thiago Alcantara making an excellent debut last week, it gives Jurgen Klopp a positive headache in team selection. Arsenal’s midfield will have to be on their A-game as Liverpool so far have been ruthless going forward. If Arsenal is not careful, Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane could be licking their lips.
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