Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend | Premier League

1) United must play on the front foot in Manchester derby

For all Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s talk of tradition, he tends to pick negative options when under pressure. This was understandable in the first half of last season because he had no midfield to speak of, but that is no longer so. Nevertheless, he still went into Tuesday’s match against RB Leipzig with two holding players in front of three centre-backs, against opposition playing without a traditional centre-forward – cowardly naivety that was deservedly punished. He is right to mistrust his team’s defending – though he signed three of those responsible for it – but the best way of combating that is to get the ball down the other end, not deliberately invite pressure. Should Solskjær try that against City, things could get embarrassingly messy, and looking longer-term – though he has done a decent job in repairing the mess that he found – it’s hard not to wonder how his team would do with the best possible manager. DH

2) James Rodríguez to rediscover his Everton mojo?

In the form table for the past seven Premier League games, Everton are fourth-bottom, with only West Brom, Arsenal and Sheffield United below them. It’s an alarming slump for a team that started the season like a prize greyhound bursting from the traps. Everton’s woes coincided with the dwindling contributions from James Rodríguez following his excellent start, but the Colombian showed signs of a return to form at Turf Moor last weekend, suggesting his previous listlessness may well have been down to a gruelling travel schedule across two international breaks rather than any lack of inclination or enthusiasm. Saturday night’s performance against Chelsea should provide Everton fans with a better idea of what to expect from their marquee summer signing in the coming months. BG

3) Balogun and Nketiah should make Arteta think again

At what point does the B-team become the A-team? It must feel awkward behind closed doors if the reserves beat the first team in training, or in public when expensive strikers can’t hit a barn door but their academy understudies make scoring look easy. Nobody should get too carried away by a 4-2 win over Dundalk, particularly given Arsenal’s defending. But the performances of Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun should put pressure on Mikel Arteta’s first-choice forwards, particularly Alexandre Lacazette. Nketiah is the club’s top scorer in all competitions with five goals, but has played just 161 league minutes this season. Balogun has never played in the Premier League but the striker has two goals in just 61 Europa League minutes. Balogun impressed from the bench against Dundalk with his well-taken strike and his hold-up play to set up Joe Willock. At 19, he looks ready to take the plunge against Burnley. MB

4) Spurs be warned: Palace’s attack is no joke

No team in the division has a better defensive record than Spurs, who have conceded just nine goals in 11 games. On the face of things, their usual back four – the impetuous Serge Aurier, the ageing Toby Alderweireld, the unreliable Eric Dier and the callow Sergio Reguilón – looks like a weakness. But through discipline and weight of numbers – midfielders Moussa Sissoko and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg fill the gaps at times to make a back six – it has become a strength. Crystal Palace, though, are no joke. The decline of Christian Benteke has been as hard to watch as to explain, but following two goals in last week’s 5-1 win over West Brom, he will finally be full of confidence. Alongside him is Wilfried Zaha, who also scored twice at the Hawthorns and whose jinking directness is a perennial threat, while Eberechi Eze poses a similar danger. That back four – and Aurier in particular – will need to be bang at it in order to keep a fifth consecutive Premier League clean sheet. DH

5) Phillips v Rice the key battle as West Ham travel to Leeds

Watching West Ham this season, they look exactly like a David Moyes team and in the best possible way. Full of impressive athletes, they are physically tough, mentally resilient, and excellent at set-pieces whether attacking or defending. While their 4-5-1 formation means they are set up to contain, their manager sends them out to attack, with their two most likely match-winners, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, a handful for any side. But their key man is Declan Rice, whose midfield contest with Kalvin Phillips should be fascinating; Rice is more brutal, Phillips more cerebral. They may not spend much time battling one-on-one, but each will be trying to set his team’s tempo. Whoever does it better is likely to finish on the winning side, with the pair also competing for a spot at the base of Gareth Southgate’s England midfield. DH

6) Wolves attackers must fill void left by Jiménez

Aston Villa have been excellent on their travels this season, even in their unfortunate defeat to West Ham before last weekend’s unexpected rest when their game against Newcastle was called off. Dean Smith’s attack-minded team will aim to test a Wolves defence that has undergone unprecedented change under Nuno Espírito Santo this season, shifting between a back three and a back four. Wolves can ill-afford another sluggish start but the Villa defence can also be got at, especially if Nuno can come up with a way of coping with the loss of their best attacker. In the absence of Raúl Jiménez, players like Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto and Adama Traoré need to add more goals to their often wonderful attacking play, while midfielders such as Rúben Neves need to develop greater forward thrust. PD

7) More pressing concerns for Sheffield United

There’s good and bad news for Sheffield United fans before their side’s trip to Southampton this weekend. The bad: Ralph Hassenhüttl’s side are among the best in the Premier League at pinning opponents back and forcing them to surrender possession with their high press, a tactic employed successfully by Leicester when they beat the Blades last weekend. And the good? In the top flight, only West Ham have thrown away more points from winning positions (34) than Southampton (25) since the start of last season – a statistic that suggests Hassenhüttl’s men find his approach extremely draining. United may well find themselves on top in the last half-hour of Sunday’s game at St Mary’s but will have to prevent their opponents from putting the game beyond them in the opening hour. BG

8) Trip to Newcastle could be the last for Bilic

There are doughty mayflies who have lived longer than the feelgood factor spawned by West Brom’s win over Sheffield United two weeks ago. The ramshackle, VAR-triggered defeat against Crystal Palace lowered the mood at the Hawthorns so much that Slaven Bilic is now said to be just one more flop away from being given the heave-ho. Some Newcastle fans might wish Steve Bruce were in a similar position and there will be uproar if West Brom gain their first away win of the season on Saturday. Especially if United take an excessively cautious approach against a side who tend to concede a lot of goals and are missing their most creative player, Matheus Pereira, through suspension. PD

9) Klopp opts not to rest his best before visit to Fulham

A record that went under the radar this week: with the opener against Midtjylland, Mohamed Salah became Liverpool’s highest Champions League goalscorer with 22 goals, surpassing Steven Gerrard. For a manager that has spoken at length about fixtures, substitutions and injuries, it was a surprise to see Jürgen Klopp have the Egyptian play 90 minutes in Denmark considering the Reds had already qualified as group winners. Klopp explained that Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold were more in need of game time than rest, but there seemed little reason to bring on Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Andy Robertson and Sadio Mané from the bench. Luckily no damage was done, but it will be interesting to see if he again mentions fatigue this weekend after choosing not to rest his most important players in midweek. MB

10) Brighton must be careful not to fall into Leicester’s trap

There are few Premier League teams more enjoyable to watch than Brighton. But for all their virtues they sit 16th in the table with just two wins all season, and a trip to Leicester is exactly what they don’t need. That said, West Ham, Aston Villa and Fulham have all won at the King Power Stadium this season – maybe because Brendan Rodgers’s team have become accustomed to sitting back in order to spring the pace and precision of Jamie Vardy, a tactic that works better on the road. Graham Potter has a decision to make: does he do what he usually does – attack – even though it’s exactly what Leicester want him to do, or does he come up with something different? Similarly, Rodgers must decide whether his current approach is sustainable, and whether Wilfred Ndidi’s return from injury might allow him to deploy a more expansive style. DH