Manchester City are gunning for a third consecutive Premier League title and kicked off the 2019/20 season with a heavy victory over West Ham.
Pep Guardiola’s men have already clinched the Community Shield this season, beating Liverpool on penalties at Wembley.
It will be interesting to see how Manchester City respond to the growing threat of the Reds, particularly now that legendary captain Vincent Kompany has departed.
City spent big this summer and also have the Champions League in mind for the campaign.
Manchester City and Tottenham will both look to put down an early Premier League title marker when they meet in Saturday’s late kick-off.
Pep Guardiola’s champions got their title defence underway in perfect fashion with a 5-0 thrashing of West Ham in east London, taking top stop in the table – a position they will not easily relinquish.
As for Tottenham, a late Harry Kane double sealed a nervy 3-1 home victory over Aston Villa – but that win will already give Mauricio Pochettino’s men self-belief as they head into what will almost certainly be their toughest away test of the season.
Benjamin Mendy (knee) is out for City along with Leroy Sane, who will be missing for the next six or seven months with an ACL injury.
ยฃ60million summer signing Joao Cancelo could be considered for selection but is unlikely to start, while Fernandinho is lacking match fitness.
Heung-min Son is still suspended for Spurs which should see Lucas Moura start once again.
Dele Alli (thigh) and Juan Foyth (ankle) are both out, but Ben Davies is working on a return to full fitness.
Christian Eriksen came off the bench to change the game vs Aston Villa, but it remains to be seen whether the Danish playmaker – still seeking a move away from the club – will start, or again be used as an impact sub.
Other tough contest in the week two of EPL includes:
Arsenal vs Burnley
The opening fixture of the gameweek takes us to the Emirates, as Arsenal play host to Burnley and with both teams coming into this clash having picked up opening weekend wins, someone’s one hundred percent record will fall by the wayside come 2.30pm.
The Gunners weren’t at their blistering best on Sunday, but Unai Emery will take a lot of solace from the fact that his side kept a clean sheet and did not display a soft defensive underbelly at Newcastle.
Brighton vs West Ham
If Aston Villa were denied the biggest shock, then Brighton were certainly responsible of it taking place and Graham Potter’s start to his new managerial appointment could not have gone any better, as the Seagulls beat Watford 3-0 at Vicarage Road.
If Brighton’s start could not be any better, West Ham’s could not be any worse and Manuel Pellegrini’s men will undoubtedly be licking their wounds after a 5-0 defeat at home to Man City.
Everton vs Watford
Marco Silva leads his current employers into battle against his former ones, as Watford make the long trip up to Goodison Park and after a miserable showing against Brighton on the opening weekend, the Hornets will be looking to rediscover their sting on Merseyside.
Everton came unstuck in front of goal against Crystal Palace last Saturday, as they were held to a bore draw at Selhurst Park and they will be hoping to be a lot sharper this time around.
Norwich vs Newcastle
It’s fair to say that Norwich’s first half offering against Liverpool last Friday was nothing short of naรฏve and if they are to have any hope of survival this season, they are going to have to defend a whole lot better.
Opponents Newcastle did defend well against Arsenal, but it was one single lapse in concentration that cost Steve Bruce from opening his account at what was a less than usually full St James’ Park.
Southampton vs Liverpool
The Saints had a poor start to their season after suffering a 3-0 away defeat to Burnley and life gets no easier this week, as they play host to a Liverpool side who made light work of Norwich on the opening evening of the season.
Jurgen Klopp may have lost Alisson to injury but even with the fearsome Brazilian not between the sticks, you do get the feeling that the Reds will be too hot to handle on the South Coast.
Chelsea vs Leicester
All Frank Lampard can do is put the trip to Old Trafford behind him and for all intents and purposes, his and Chelsea’s season starts on Sunday. The Blues were masters of their downfall against Manchester United and they cannot afford those same lapses against Leicester.
The Foxes were unable to breach the opposition’s defence last Sunday, but manager Brendan Rodgers will at least take comfort in keeping a first clean sheet in the post Harry Maguire era.
Wolves vs Manchester United
Wolves will once again be looking to test their top six aspirations this weekend, when they play host to a Manchester United side who turned in a four-star performance against Chelsea at Old Trafford last Sunday.
For the Red Devils, this is the kind of game that will decide whether they finish in or out of the top four and they will look for revenge after suffering league and F.A. Cup defeat here last season.
Possible Man City XI: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko, Rodri, De Buryne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Sterling
Possible Tottenham XI: Lloris, Walker-Peters, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose, Ndombele, Winks, Sissoko, Lamela, Lucas, Kane.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Teams Manchester City and Tottenham have played 43 matches.
Manchester City won 17 direct matches. Tottenham won 20 matches, while 6 matches ended in a draw. On average in direct matches both teams scored a 3.00goals per Match.
Manchester City in actual season average scored 3.60goals per match. In 1 (100.00%) matches played so far at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 1 (100.00%) matches in season 2019 played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
Tottenham average scored 1.83 goals per match in season 2019. In 1 (50.00%) matches played away was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 1 (50.00%) matches played away team was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals
FIXTURES
EPL
Arsenal vs Burnley
Aston Villa vs Bournemouth
Brighton vs West Ham
Everton vs Watford
Norwich vs Newcastle Utd
S’ampton vs Liverpool
Man City vs Tottenham
Sheffield vs Crystal Palace
Chelsea vs Leicester City
Wolves vs Man Utd
LIGUE 1
Lyon vs Angers
Nantes vs Marseille
Amiens vs Lille
Bordeaux vs Montpellier
Metz vs Monaco
Nimes vs Nice
Toulouse vs Dijon
St Etienne vs Brest
Reims vs Strasbourg
Rennes vs PSG
BUNDESLIGA
Bayern vs Hertha Berlin
Leverkusen vs Paderborn
Dortmund vs Augsburg
SC Freiburg vs Mainz
Bremen vs Dรผsseldorf
Wolfsburg vs Cologne
M’gladbach vs Schalke
Frankfurt vs Hoffenheim
Union Berlin vs RB Leipzig
LA LIGA
Bilbao vs Barcelona
Celta Vigo vs Madrid
Valencia vs Sociedad
Mallorca vs Eibar
Leganes vs Osasuna
Villarreal vs Granada
Alaves vs Levante
Espanyol vs Sevilla
Real Betis vs Valladolid
Atletico vs Getafe
