Premier League Round 7: Man City debuts super quartet
With the return of David Silva, Man City can field their four best attacking stars for the first time in the key match against Tottenham to consolidate their top position.
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Tottenham - Man City (6:45 p.m. Saturday, September 26, live on VnExpress):Fantastic Four Last week, due to David Silva's injury during the warm-up, Man City fans missed the chance to see the super quartet of David Silva - Kevin De Bruyne - Raheem Sterling - Sergio Aguero play together. This week, it is very likely that the above expectations will be met. On the home side, they also have excellent attacking players. Young talent Delle Alli is in the stage of showing, Son Heung-min seems to be a valuable contract, Christian Eriksen is gradually regaining his peak form. This will be a very interesting match between the two teams' attackers. |
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| Mauricio Pochettino's headache comes from the fact that he is unlikely to help his student Harry Kane regain the form that helped him finish second in the race for the Golden Boot last season, behind only Aguero. The England striker is going through a difficult time, being scrutinized by experts and ridiculed by fans. Recently, Pochettino had to speak up and ask people to stop talking about Kane. In his last 14 appearances in the Premier League, Kane has only scored two goals, in stark contrast to the "lucky" image he sowed in the hearts of many at White Hart Lane last year. This weekend, Man City will be without the service of "rock" Vincent Kompany. But even so, scoring goals is probably still a luxury for Harry Kane. |
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Leicester - Arsenal (9pm Saturday 9/26): Another painful moment The defeat in the last round against Chelsea was a pain for Arsenal. They lost to their rivals without scoring a single goal, even had two players sent off, including a red card for Gabriel Paulista, which somewhat upset the Gunners. This week, Arsene Wenger and his team will face a team that is likely to disappoint them again. |
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Leicester are fourth in the table, a position more familiar to Arsenal than to Claudio Ranieri's men. Leicester have what Arsenal crave. The team that was long considered a top relegation candidate last season is the only team yet to taste defeat in the Premier League this year. Leicester have an unyielding fighting spirit that saved them last season and looks to have carried over into the early part of this season. At the King Power Stadium this weekend, the hosts will be determined not to let their visitors overtake them in the table. Arsenal will struggle if they cannot find a weakness in Leicester's system, but they must not forget that the hosts' attack, spearheaded by Riyad Mahrez (pictured), has scored 13 goals in six games, while Wenger's attacking-minded side have only managed five. |
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Liverpool - Aston Villa (9pm Saturday, September 26): Gloomy Anfield Neither Liverpool nor Villa are in good form at the moment. Liverpool have gone four Premier League games without a win, while Villa are just one point above the relegation zone, having failed to win since the start of the season. The sale of Christian Benteke (pictured, in black) to Liverpool may have weakened Villa's attack, but it is worth noting that the visitors have scored two more goals than their main striker so far. Benteke will miss this game against his former club due to a hamstring injury, but his mentor, Brendan Rodgers, cannot escape the pressure. Villa have not lost at Anfield since December 2012, regardless of whether they were managed by former manager Paul Lambert or current manager Tim Sherwood. That will be a difficult problem for Rodgers to solve. |
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| In this match, the home fans will be waiting for Danny Ings (pictured) to score. The promising new signing scored his first goal for the Anfield team last weekend against Norwich and is expected to continue to shine. |
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Man Utd - Sunderland (9pm Saturday, September 26): Rooney needs to make his mark Louis Van Gaal may be struggling with how to use Wayne Rooney (pictured). Whether in the centre-forward position or playing deep, the Man Utd captain has been disappointing in recent times. But Rooney needs to start against Sunderland. Because no one knows how long new signing Anthony Martial will continue his sublime days. Rooney, the heart of the "Red Devils", needs to be kept warm both physically and mentally to be able to make his mark at the right time. Since April, Rooney has not scored a goal in the Premier League and the match against Sunderland will be an opportunity for him to end his sad days. |
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| In this match, Man Utd have a problem at left-back. With both Marcos Rojo and Paddy McNair injured, Louis Van Gaal was forced to use Ashley Young (red shirt, pictured) at left-back against Ipswich and this is likely to be repeated. Another option for the Dutch strategist is to play Matteo Darmian at left-back and Antonio Valencia will take over at right-back. Daley Blind can also play well on the wing but Van Gaal prefers that one of his two centre-backs must be left-footed. |
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Southampton - Swansea (9pm Saturday, September 26): Swansea and the thirst for goals This is a match for Swansea to demonstrate their ambition to improve their position each season. Before this season, and even after the first few matches, Gary Monk's team still looked like a safe bet for those betting on a place higher up the table. But in recent weeks, culminating in the defeat to Hull City in the League Cup on 23 September, the Welsh team's attack has begun to show serious problems. Jefferson Montero has not scored since his first goal at the start of the season, Gylfi Sigurdsson is still without a goal, and Swansea are too reliant on Bafetimbi Gomis (pictured). To improve on last season, Swansea need to knock out the teams above them, and Southampton are one of them. Ronald Koeman's side are in good spirits after a thumping 6-0 win over MK Dons. Graziano Pelle, Sadio Mane, Dusan Tadic and Shane Long are all in good form, so Swansea need goals to earn points. That task will be made more difficult if the home side have left-back Ryan Bertrand available. |
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Stoke - Bournemouth (9pm Saturday, September 26): Wilson dreams of being selected for the national team Charlie Austin earned an England call-up last season after maintaining his goalscoring form in the top flight. Callum Wilson is dreaming the same dream. Although Eddie Howe has revealed that Roy Hodgson has never seen Wilson in person, this weekend's game could be a chance for the England manager to see the Bournemouth striker's pace, power and agility. Stoke, without Ryan Shawcross, will certainly be vulnerable at the back, with the hosts yet to find a way to fill the void left by their mainstay centre-back. |
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West Ham - Norwich (9pm Saturday, September 26): Looking for stability West Ham, proud to be the ones who ended Man City's winning streak when they defeated the reigning runners-up 2-1 last weekend, are third, a position worthy of celebration, and Slaven Bilic's side (pictured, left) are in third place. But assessing West Ham's current form is no easy task. They lost to Leicester in the League Cup on 23 September, a defeat that even former manager Sam Allardyce, if he were still in charge, would not have accepted easily. West Ham fans who once booed Allardyce's cautious tactics were inspired by Bilic's aggressive attacking philosophy. His bravery helped West Ham to unexpected victories over Arsenal, City and Liverpool. But fans will also remember the defeats to Bournemouth and Leicester at Upton Park. West Ham's problem is that they need to find consistency. Norwich could be a gentle lamb if the home side can produce the performance that helped them demolish Man City, but it could also be a nightmare if a West Ham side let Bournemouth lead 0-5 in the first half. |
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Newcastle - Chelsea (11:30 p.m. Saturday, September 26): Chance for Remy Diego Costa has been banned for three games. Chelsea will be without their main striker for the trip to St James' Park. But that gives Loic Remy (pictured, right) a chance to face his former club. Jose Mourinho seems to prefer the Frenchman over Radamel Falcao. Remy's chances at Stamford Bridge are limited because Costa has been in such good form, although the former Newcastle man was selected to start against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League. However, Remy is a skilled striker, quick, skillful and sharp. Newcastle defenders are no strangers to him and will have to keep an eye on this explosive striker for the visitors. Given the way Watford's Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo destroyed Newcastle's defence, the next match could very well see Loic Remy shine. |
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Watford - Crystal Palace (10pm Sunday, September 27): Allan Nyom Wall Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney have provided a bright start to Watford's attack in their early games back in the Premier League. But Allan Nyom (pictured, left) has also been integral to Watford's fine start to the season. The Cameroonian defender spent six years in Spain with Granada and Nyom's solidity on his English debut has helped Watford keep a clean sheet at home so far. If Palace are to break Watford down, Nyom's right flank will be a difficult place to exploit. |
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West Brom - Everton (2am Tuesday, September 29): Waiting for Lukaku to shine Romelu Lukaku is a fantastic striker. He is strong, he has been bought for a lot of money, sometimes people forget he is only 22. The Belgian can shine, as he did in the 3-0 win over Southampton, but he can also disappear behind the defence. The worry is that Everton do not have a reliable replacement for Lukaku. Roberto Martinez may give Gerard Deulofeu, who was good against Reading in midweek, his first start for Everton when he returns to The Hawthorns this weekend. Deulofeu could share the load with Lukaku, something Arouna Kone cannot do. |
According to VNE
