So, with the Premier League braced for 2 rounds of fixtures within the subsequent seven days, listed here are seven scorching takes which the ‘consultants’ would possibly wish to revisit earlier than they're colder than a penny pincher’s boiler.
The take: Manchester United are unhealthy
When United have been unhealthy – that deflating opening-day defeat to Brighton, the 4-0 thrashing at Brentford and a humiliating derby loss at Manchester Metropolis – they've been very unhealthy, however these lows have been few and much between.
The true story is United go into this week’s video games with Newcastle and Tottenham having gained 5 out of their final six and sitting only a level exterior the highest 4.
Erik ten Hag has efficiently built-in new signings – Antony has three objectives in three begins, Lisandro Martinez is approaching cult standing and Casemiro was borderline imperious at occasions in opposition to Everton – whereas largely diffusing the psychodramas surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire.
There have been false dawns earlier than however Manchester United, with an uncommon sheen of competence and uncommon lack of drama, should not unhealthy in any respect.
The take: Liverpool might win the quadruple
Pipped for the title by one level final season and runners-up within the Champions League, Liverpool needed to accept ‘solely’ successful the FA Cup and League Cup final season.
Once they downed Manchester Metropolis within the Neighborhood Defend it felt vital, however that was a sport during which Trent Alexander-Arnold excelled and Erling Haaland struggled. First impressions could be deceiving.
Liverpool now languish in tenth, the damage sidelining Alexander-Arnold appears like blessed reduction for the right-back – and he's removed from the one participant beneath his greatest.
Confidence will lifted by the 7-1 thrashing of Rangers however when Liverpool host Metropolis on Sunday, perception and expectation in each camps are more likely to be a world away from the place they had been after they final shook arms.
The take: Arsenal aren’t for actual
This one hurts. For some, together with this author, the jury will stay out on Arsenal till the street closures are introduced for the open-top bus parade.
However even I’m obliged to confess the Gunners’ quick begin has gone past the flash-in-the-pan part. Younger, vibrant and fearless, Arteta’s Arsenal look sturdy in each place and whereas they lack expertise, back-to-back wins over Tottenham and Liverpool have given them justifiable perception of their new-found standing as potential title challengers.
Sunday’s journey up the M1 to the febrile ambiance of Elland Highway is the type of go to that usually led to tears beneath Arsene Wenger, however this incarnation of Arsenal are made from sterner stuff.
The take: Aleksandar Mitrovic can’t do it within the Premier League
Come on, all of us took this stale take out of the fridge over the summer time, gave it a sniff and caught it within the microwave for a reheat.
Bother is, by the point you heard the pings the massive Serb had snaffled six objectives in his first six Premier League video games – twice as many as he had managed in your complete 2020-21 season, the final time Fulham had graced the highest flight.
Following a 26-goal haul within the Championship in 2019-20, that modest return fuelled the assumption Mitro was a flat-track bully who couldn’t do it on the prime stage, a idea which survived even after he banged an unbelievable 43 objectives in 44 league video games final season.
However dosed up on perception and an enormous serving to of front-foot soccer beneath Marco Silva, Mitrovic has sustained the tempo and can hope to shake off an ankle damage when Bournemouth go to tomorrow.
The take: Everton will likely be relegation contenders
The Toffees scraped survival with one sport to spare final season, then raided relegated Burnley to plug the gaps of their squad. Inauspicious.
With Frank Lampard but to persuade in his third managerial posting, optimism was not ample on the blue half of Merseyside, notably after one level from three video games.
However Everton rallied with a six-game unbeaten run earlier than operating into Manchester United final Sunday.
James Tarkowski and Conor Coady have introduced invaluable Premier League nous to the backline, Alex Iwobi has been reincarnated as a satisfactory impression of Lampard in his pomp and marquee signing Amadou Onana provides off sturdy Patrick Vieira vibes.
There's some introspection wanted in Liverpool however, for as soon as, it’s not at Goodison Park. Very bizarre.
The take: Bournemouth are doomed
A spending spree on January deadline-day helped propel the Cherries again to the Premier League however an absence of comparable summer time funding left most of us assuming they wouldn’t keep there. We weren’t alone.
A 9-0 defeat at Liverpool in late August left Bournemouth and not using a level from 4 video games with no objectives scored and 18 conceded.
Within the aftermath boss Scott Parker mentioned ‘we're ill-equipped at this stage’ and, when it got here to the supervisor, proprietor Maxim Demin agreed, sacking him 4 days later.
We might should revisit our evaluation, with caretaker boss Gary O’Neil on a five-match unbeaten run forward of winnable video games with Fulham and Southampton.
Both O’Neil, a person with no senior administration expertise, is the brand new Pep Guardiola or these Cherries may have some juice in any case.
The take: Haaland will discover the Premier League a troublesome step up
No person critically thought Erling Haaland can be the Romelu Lukaku of final season, however amid the hype that accompanied his arrival from Dortmund there was loads of scepticism.
Timo Werner had proven being a prolific Bundesliga scorer was not a assure of Premier League success, whereas Haaland’s previous club-mate Jadon Sancho has struggled at Manchester United.
Then there was a nasty miss in that Neighborhood Defend defeat.
Effectively, since then the Norwegian annihilator has scored 15 objectives in 9 league video games for Manchester Metropolis – together with hat-tricks in three consecutive dwelling video games.
His omnipotence is such that, when left on the bench for the match in opposition to Copenhagen in midweek, you continue to half anticipated him to bag a pair.
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