EPL Week 3: Can Tottenham compound Mourinho’s woe?

…as Arsenal host West Ham in London derby

All eyes will be on Old Trafford as Manchester United will seek to respond to their defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion as they host a Spurs side that have made their best start for four years.
The Red Devils have been playing below expectations at the start of the season and they were totally outplayed by Brighton in their last league match.
Jose Mourinho’s troops are desperate to bounce back from the 3-2 loss to the Seagulls and we predict that they are going to fight tooth and nail against Tottenham. As expected, Spurs recorded a 3-1 win over Fulham in a small London derby, with Harry Kane scoring his first goal of the season.
The English attacker did well to open his goal-scoring account and, no doubt, he is going to pose a big threat for the opposition defenders in Monday’s football game at Old Trafford.
Taking everything into account, a close match is on the horizon, therefore, we predict the two teams are going to share the spoils on Matchday 3.
The last thing Mourinho needs when under the spotlight is a visit from a Spurs side coming off back-to-back wins. Tottenham’s latest victory was a 3-1 triumph over Fulham at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, during which striker Harry Kane ended his scoring drought in August.
Kane and Spurs can exploit United’s vulnerability early on, but the Red Devils have a strong recent record against the north London club. The Old Trafford side won this fixture last season, before beating Spurs in the FA Cup semi-final.
Expect Mourinho’s men to do enough to earn a draw, even if it won’t end the questions about his squad.
Meanwhile, City will get a firsthand look at rumoured transfer target Ruben Neves. The Citizens are reportedly keen on bidding for the Wolves playmaker in January.
The 21-year-old has the technical quality to fit among City’s midfielders. Along with fellow Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho, Neves can help Wolves assert themselves against the title favourites.
Of course, City’s players rarely find themselves without the ball for long. When they have it, Sergio Aguero is the focal point they will aim for.
The Argentina international helped himself to a hat-trick during Sunday’s 6-1 win over Huddersfield Town. Getting goals in threes has become a happy habit for City’s prolific No. 10:
Aguero’s threat has been increased by manager Pep Guardiola playing fellow striker Gabriel Jesus alongside him the way he did against the Terriers.
Neves will help Wolves cause some problems early on, but City have too much firepower to stay quiet for long.
Benitez guided Chelsea to their UEFA Europa League triumph in 2013, largely thanks to his knack for making teams solid defensively. The Spaniard has made the same trait a feature for the Magpies.
Newcastle conceded 47 goals last season and kept a clean sheet last time out against Cardiff City despite going down to 10 men after 66 minutes. Benitez will count on a back four led by the imposing Jamaal Lascelles to frustrate Chelsea’s attempts to play between the lines.
The Blues are adopting a slick and progressive brand of football under manager Maurizio Sarri. It’s an approach underpinned by former Napoli schemer Jorginho, who was effective during Saturday’s 3-2 win over Arsenal:
Jorginho will continue to pull the strings at St. James’ Park, but Sarri may be more concerned about his back line, after the Gunners scored twice and wasted four more golden chances.
Benitez is astute enough to find ways for his players to expose a suspect Chelsea defence, where Marcos Alonso appears lost as a natural full-back in a flat back four.
Chelsea will impress in patches, but the hosts will do enough to pinch a point.
Referee:
Craig Pawson
Assistants:
Eddie Smart, Richard West
Fourth official:
Jonathan Moss
Head-to-Head
Played (52) Draws (11)
Man Utd
Total Wins    33
Home        21
Away        12
Spurs
Total Wins    8
Home        6
Away        2

EPL
Wolvers        v    Man City
B’mouth    v    Everton
Arsenal        v    West Ham
H’field        v    Cardiff
S,Ampton    v    Leicester
Liverpool    v    Brighton
Watford        v    C/Palace
Fulham        v    Burnley
Newcastle    v    Chelsea
Man Utd    v    Tottenham
SERIE A
Juventus    v    Lazio
Napoli        v    Milan
Spal        v    Parma
Cagliari        v    Sassuolo
Fiorentina    v    Chievo
Frosinone    v    Bologna
Genoa        v    Empoli
Inter        v    Torino
Udinese        v    Sampdoria
Roma        v    Atalanta
LA LIGA
Getafe        v    Eibar
Leganes        v    Sociedad
Alaves        v    Real Betis
Atletico        v    Rayo
Valladolid    v    Barcelona
Espanyol    v    Valencia
Sevilla        v    Villarreal
Girona        v    Real Madrid
Levante        v    Celta Vigo
Athletic        v    Huesca
LIGUE 1
Lyon        v    Strasbourg
PSG        v    Angers
Amiens        v    Reims
Montpellier    v    St-Etienne
Nantes        v    Caen
Nice        v    Dijon
Toulouse    v    Nimes
Lille        v    Guingamp
Bordeaux    v    Monaco
Marseille    v    Rennes

DID YOU KNOW?
1.    Sadio Mané has scored six goals in his eight Premier League appearances against Crystal Palace, more than he has against any other side. Haunt.
2.    Aaron Wan-Bissaka is the youngest Crystal Palace player to be shown a red card in the Premier League (20 years, 267 days).
3.    James Milner is the first player to score eight consecutive Premier League goals from penalties.
4.    James Milner has scored 13 of the 15 penalties that he has taken in the Premier League, including 9 of his 10 for Liverpool in the competition.
5.    Crystal Palace have lost each of their last three home league games against Liverpool – it’s their longest losing home run against the Reds in league competition.
6.    In competitive games since the start of the 2018 World Cup, David de Gea has     conceded 10 goals from his last 14 shots on target faced for Manchester United and Spain combined.
7.    There were 16 goals scored in the @PremierLeague today – the most ever scored on a day with three games or fewer played.
8.    This is only the tenth time in Premier League history that Manchester United have conceded three first half goals in a game, and the first time since October 2015 v Arsenal.
9.    Romelu Lukaku has now scored against 18 of the current 20 Premier League teams, with Cardiff and Wolves the only teams he is yet to find the net against.
10.    There were just two minutes and 23 seconds between Glenn Murray opening the scoring, and Shane Duffy making it 2-0 to Brighton against Manchester United.
11.    Brighton have won their last two home league games against Manchester United, with these games being spaced almost 36 years apart (1-0 in November 1982, 1-0 in May 2018).
12.    Watford have won their opening two matches in a top-flight league season for only the second time – on the previous occasion (1982-83), they ended 2nd in the     league behind Liverpool.
13.    Sergio Aguero has now scored nine Premier League hat-tricks – only Alan Shearer (11) has scored more in the competition’s history.
14.    Three different English players have scored in a league match for Watford for the     first time since December 31st 2011 (vs Doncaster Rovers).
15.    Huddersfield Town didn’t commit a single foul in the first half against Manchester City.
16.    Ederson is the first Manchester City goalkeeper to assist a Premier League goal Creative.
17.    Sergio Aguero has now scored 13 goals in his last eight Premier League appearances at the Etihad Stadium.
18.    Sergio Aguero has scored 12 goals in his last eight Premier League appearances at the Etihad Stadium.
19.    After failing to score in their final 728 minutes of Premier League action away from home in 2017-18, it’s taken Watford only three minutes to score their first away goal this season.
20.    David Silva will today become the fourth Spaniard to play 250 Premier League games, after Cesc Fabregas, Jose Reina and Mikel Arteta.
21.    Manchester City have scored in 17 of their last 18 Premier League games (47 goals in total), failing only against Huddersfield in May.
22.    Alex Iwobi’s goal for @Arsenal yesterday ended a sequence of 19 passes and involved 10 of their players (all except Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang); the longest move for a goal so far in the 2018-19 Premier League.