Premier League game week 10 preview
Premier League game week 10 preview featuring Spurs vs Man Utd
By Tom Masters
After a goal-filled game week of Premier League football last weekend, the next set of fixtures are just as compelling, with potential relegation six-pointers, tricky ties for the title favourites and managers’ jobs on the line.
Last week saw 40 goals across the ten matches, with Chelsea putting seven past Norwich, Liverpool scoring five against Manchester United, Watford beating Everton 5-2 and Manchester City netting a comparatively small amount to beat Brighton and Hove Albion 4-1.
If this week’s set of fixtures can deliver anywhere near as much excitement as last week, we are in for a treat.
United looking for redemption at Tottenham
Manchester United were appalling in their 5-0 loss to Liverpool at Old Trafford last week, and many have called for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to lose his job, which the United board are rumoured to be considered.
It is no surprise then that this fixture has been dubbed ‘el Sackico’, with both Solskjaer and Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo under immense pressure after rocky starts.
Things cannot get any worse for United after a defeat as heavy as that against their bitter rivals in front of their own fans, so the feeling must be that the only way is up.
Spurs themselves have struggled in the early rounds, scoring just nine goals from their opening nine matches.
The 3-1 defeat at the Emirates has made fans uneasy about Nuno and with just two victories from their last six matches, Spurs themselves are in need of a win.
Neither Harry Kane nor Cristiano Ronaldo have been able to assert themselves on their teams’ respective struggles, with Kane scoring just one Premier League goal so far this season and Ronaldo not bagging since the 2-1 victory over West Ham in September.
Both are big name players however and neither side can boast a particularly strong defence, suggesting that this game could have goals with the struggling star strikers looking to end their ruts.
This is certainly one of the games of the weekend and one that will attract a lot of attention world-wide, as two of world football’s biggest clubs go head-to-head to try and save their seasons.
Liverpool hoping to continue dominant run
Fresh from their demolition of the Red Devils last week, Liverpool are in imperious form and are the only unbeaten club in the Premier League.
Back-to-back 5-0 wins against United and Watford see the Anfield side with the highest goal difference in the league at +23, and firmly in the runaway trio at the top of the table.
Liverpool are second, a point behind Chelsea, whilst Manchester City are just one point behind Liverpool as the Premier League looks set to have a proper title race for the first time since the 2018/19 season.
This weekend, Liverpool take on a Brighton side who have been difficult to beat all season.
In fact, until their 4-1 defeat to City last weekend, Brighton had only conceded five goals in nine matches as their excellent start to the season continued.
But this weekend they will face another tough challenge in the form of Mo Salah.
Salah is in the form of his life and is arguably the best player in the world at the moment, scoring ten goals in the opening nine Premier League fixtures, including a hat-trick against United at Old Trafford.
In doing so, he became the first opposition player to score a treble at Old Trafford since original Ronaldo in April 2003.
If Brighton are to get anything out of their game against the Merseyside club, they will have to stop Salah in his tracks.
Arsenal hoping to carry on unbeaten run whilst City and Chelsea face potential banana skins
The Gunners have recovered from their poor start after losing their opening three matches and are now on a six-match unbeaten run, winning four of those games.
They face a difficult challenge against Leicester this weekend, who themselves appear to have recovered from a tough start, defeating United and Brentford in the past two game weeks.
Both sides will have top six ambitions at the very least, making Saturday’s early kick-off a vital game for both of their seasons.
Meanwhile, Manchester City face a Crystal Palace side who have only lost twice this season.
Palace, under new boss Patrick Vieira, have only suffered defeat against Chelsea and Liverpool, whilst their 3-0 triumph over Tottenham shows they pack a punch.
The Eagles will not be afraid of the Etihad Stadium either after triumphing 3-2 in December 2018.
Chelsea themselves head to a ground where they have a notably poor record.
They’re off to St James’ Park where they face a Newcastle side who have yet to win a game this season.
But Chelsea have previously struggled in Newcastle, losing in 2013 twice, 2014, 2018 and 2020 and drawing in 2015, although they did win last season.
It is Newcastle’s first game without Steve Bruce, as the new owners decide who will eventually take the reins as the new boss.
Relegation six pointers and Hammers going for three in a row
There are two clashes that could be described as relegation six-pointers already, with Norwich hosting Leeds and Watford playing Southampton.
The Canaries are rooted to the bottom of the table, and have only managed to score twice this season, whilst Leeds have only managed one win this term.
Watford are fresh from their impressive 5-2 win over Everton and the Hornets host a Southampton side whose only win this season was came against fellow strugglers Leeds.
Burnley are another side who are yet to win a game and they face a Brentford side who have started Premier League life well, but consecutive defeats have seen them drop down the table.
Meanwhile, in the final two games of the season, West Ham visit Aston Villa, whilst Wolves host Everton at Molineux.
West Ham are fourth in the Premier League table after their impressive win over Spurs last week, whilst Villa are 13th following a topsy-turvy start to the season.
Wolves have won four and lost four of their opening nine games, whilst Everton started the season well, but are on a two-match losing streak following that 5-2 disaster against Watford.
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