5 key talking points ahead of the weekend’s Premier League action

Week 4 of the Premier League season kicks off at 12:30 pm UK time on Saturday the 27th of August as Southampton host Manchester United.

Brentford vs Everton, Brighton vs Leeds, Chelsea vs Leicester, Liverpool vs Bournemouth and Manchester City vs Crystal Palace all then take place at 3 pm, with Arsenal vs Fulham rounding out the day’s action at 5:30.

There are then three Premier League games on Sunday – Aston Villa vs West Ham and Wolves Newcastle at 2, with Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham the late kick-off.

Here are five talking points ahead of the upcoming gameweek.

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Can Manchester City break their duck?

After drawing with Newcastle in gameweek three, Manchester City are no doubt keen to get back to winning ways this weekend.

However, whilst Crystal Palace seems like a fairly easy test for the Champions on paper, the Eagles have become something of a bogey team for Pep Guardiola and co.

Palace beat Manchester City and drew with them in their two meeting last term, joining Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton as the only teams to take points off City in got both home and away clashes in 2021/22. Will that poor run continue this weekend?

Liverpool search for first win

Liverpool are experiencing their worst start to a Premier League season for many years after failing to win their opening three matches.

Should that run continue beyond gameweek 4, then it is probably not too harsh to say that the Reds’ title hopes are all but over.

Liverpool play Bournemouth on Saturday, a team who have a frankly dismal record against the top sides and have already lost 4-0 and 3-0 vs Manchester City and Arsenal this campaign. If Liverpool cannot beat them even with some injury issues, then they truly are in crisis.

Arsenal continue to impress

What a difference a year – and some kinder fixtures – makes. After the first three games of 2021/22, Arsenal were heading into an international break without a single point or goal scored.

Fast forward to 2022/23 and they are the only Premier League team yet to drop a point.

That run is expected to continue this weekend vs Fulham.

The battle for Fofana

All eyes will be on Chelsea vs Leicester City this weekend for a number of reasons.

Firstly, both Leicester and Chelsea are experiencing a slight dip in form, which could quite easily turn into a serious issue for either side this weekend depending on who loses.

But it is mainly because Chelsea are still trying to sign Leicester defender, Wesley Fofana.

Unfortunately, Fofana is unlikely to play this weekend as he was not included in the Foxes’ last Premier League squad amid his ongoing transfer saga.

Can Manchester United improve?

Manchester United shocked many with their impressive win over bitter rivals Liverpool on Monday.

But whilst that display was great, the real test for Manchester United starts on Saturday when they are away from that lively Old Trafford crowd and will be facing a team who, unlike Liverpool in gameweek three, is actually capable of pressing a side.

We may also see a first start for United new boy Casemiro.

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