Cole Palmer was relatively subdued during Chelsea's win against Bournemouth last weekend. Bournemouth closely monitored the playmaker's movements, and when they couldn't stop him legally, they didn't hesitate to foul him. However, Chelsea's ability to secure victory suggests they might no longer be solely reliant on Cole Palmer. Enzo Maresca has a variety of attacking options at his disposal, and it was heartening to see two of his substitutes combine for the winning goal on the south coast; Christopher Nkunku finishing well after receiving a pass from Jadon Sancho. "If we want to support Cole, we don't need to place all the pressure on his shoulders," Maresca stated last week, and this message seems to have been embraced. Other players are stepping up, and the concern for West Ham is that stopping Palmer alone may not be sufficient to halt Chelsea's progress.
It's not the Midlands derby, but it's a Midlands derby nonetheless, and Wolves' visit to Aston Villa promises to be intense. Villa has made a robust start to the season, handling the glamour of the Champions League with ease, while Wolves desperately need a boost after earning just one point from their first four matches. The trip to Villa Park holds extra significance for Halesowen-born Morgan Rogers, who was nurtured at their fierce rivals West Brom, and Jacob Ramsey, a lifelong Villa fan from Great Barr. "I grew up playing for West Brom, and Wolves weren't a team I supported," Rogers said tactfully after Villa's 3-0 victory over Young Boys on Tuesday. "It's no different now. I want to beat them as much as anyone. Myself and Jacob, being from the area, it's a big game for us. We're going to have to regroup and go again."
Fulham made a smart move by acquiring Emile Smith Rowe in the summer. The midfielder had a challenging couple of years at Arsenal, with injuries stunting his growth, but he appears to be regaining his form at Craven Cottage. Regular playing time and the freedom to express himself under Marco Silva's management are aiding his resurgence. Silva is an attacking-minded coach and wants Smith Rowe to flourish. Although it's early days, the initial signs are promising. The 24-year-old, nicknamed the Croydon De Bruyne, scored against Leicester last month and provided an assist for Raúl Jiménez in the recent draw with West Ham. He will aim to build on this against Newcastle. Silva believes that Smith Rowe will improve and become more consistent as he gains more sharpness.
In mid-August, the analysts at Opta calculated that of all the 20 Premier League teams, Everton had the easiest initial 10 fixtures (Wolves had the hardest, if you're curious). Yet, after four matches, Everton finds itself at the bottom of the table, having lost all four games to Brighton, Tottenham, Bournemouth, and Villa. After experiencing their worst start to a season since 1958-59, Saturday's trip to Leicester feels like a pivotal match in their battle against relegation, which remains a financially disastrous scenario and the worst way to bid farewell to Goodison Park. Everton faces all three promoted sides in their next six matches and must start accumulating points before the tougher fixtures arrive.
The defeat to Nottingham Forest in their latest Premier League match left Arne Slot and his team frustrated because Liverpool simply weren't up to par on the day. They responded in Milan, making a couple of changes from their previous three matches, including Kostas Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo. Slot seems keen to field his strongest lineup as often as possible but is quickly realizing that the pace of English football and the demands of the calendar will limit his ability to stick with his preferred options. Darwin Núñez made his fourth substitute appearance of the season in Italy but will aim to demonstrate to Slot that he can start as the No 9 and could get two games in a week with West Ham visiting in the Carabao Cup next Wednesday. The Uruguayan is the type of player who thrives on consistent minutes, rather than frequently coming off the bench. He performs best when he can establish a rhythm in his game, and finding that rhythm could be mutually beneficial for both Núñez and Slot.
Few memorable moments were created at Goodison Park on Tuesday night as Southampton stumbled through to the next round of the Carabao Cup on penalties. Russell Martin made 10 changes to the team that lost to Manchester United three days earlier, aiming to satisfy the majority of a bloated squad. Taylor Harwood-Bellis was given the captain's armband, repaying the faith with an equaliser and a successful spot-kick in the shootout. The centre-back has impressed in recent years in the Championship, and making his move from Manchester City permanent this summer seemed an ideal option for both clubs and the player. Harwood-Bellis started the first three defeats but was substituted after 56 minutes at Brentford and left out on Saturday. Despite the blow to his confidence, he performed well against Everton, facing Beto. It's natural for a player to feel anxious having finally reached the Premier League, and Harwood-Bellis's performance at Goodison Park should enable him to replace the suspended Jack Stephens this weekend.
Many Tottenham players struggled in the fortunate Carabao Cup win over Coventry City, failing to make a strong case for starting against Brentford on Saturday. While Ange Postecoglou will be thankful for the more established names who came off the bench to rescue the game for Tottenham, two players making their first starts for the club, teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, did make an impression. "They were both very, very good," said Postecoglou. "They are going to play a big part in our season." Based on other performances, the duo could find themselves back in the Australian's starting XI sooner than expected as Spurs face an excellent and efficient Brentford side that caused Manchester City all sorts of problems on the road last weekend.
It's only been 134 days since Manchester United's last visit to south London, but it already feels like a distant memory for Crystal Palace fans. The memorable 4-0 victory at Selhurst Park in the first week of May was a highlight in Palace's purple patch at the end of last season, which also included victories over Liverpool and Aston Villa. However, with Oliver Glasner's side now missing the influential Michael Olise and still searching for their first league win of the new season, Palace may not pose the same threat this weekend as their summer signings continue to settle in. A first goal for Eddie Nketiah in the Carabao Cup win over QPR in midweek marked a promising start to his Palace career after being deployed in a deeper role than he was accustomed to at Arsenal. Glasner will hope he can provide the spark when United visit again on Saturday.
Unbeaten Nottingham Forest excelled in their win over Liverpool at Anfield, maintaining a tight defense before making match-winning substitutions off the bench. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga were influential as Nuno Espírito Santo added width to stretch the play in the second half. It was reminiscent of rugby, where a coach has starters and finishers, with the wingers, in this case, being the specialists among the replacements. This strategy worked last weekend, but how long Hudson-Odoi and Elanga can be convinced that waiting their turn is best for the team remains to be seen. They will both want to start at Brighton. Nuno is a shrewd coach, making his players extremely eager for success, but it might be challenging to resist seeing the two wingers take off from the start.
Phil Foden could step in for Kevin De Bruyne as Manchester City's primary creator against Arsenal if the latter is sidelined with the groin injury sustained during Wednesday's draw with Inter. There are echoes of last season when Foden thrived after De Bruyne suffered a serious hamstring injury in the opening game at Burnley. Once again, we witness the frightening depth of City's squad: when the footballer who could be considered the Premier League's finest ever attacking midfielder is unavailable, Pep Guardiola's solution is to bring in the current holder of the PFA players' player and writers' player of the year.
