PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH PREVIEWS – SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10 – MONDAY SEPTEMBER 12

Manchester United v Manchester City – Saturday 1230

Positions: Man Utd 3^rd, Man City 1st

Form (league matches only – earliest matches first):

Man Utd WWW (9pts)

Man City WWW (9pts)

Key signings:

Manchester United – Paul Pogba (£89 million), Eric Bailly (£30 million), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£26.5 million),  Zlatan Ibrahimovic (free)

Manchester City – John Stones (£47.5 million), Leroy Sane (£37 million), Gabriel Jesus (£27 million), Ilkay Gundogan (£21 million), Claudio Bravo (£17.1 million), Nolito (£13.8 million)

Key departures:

Manchester United – Guillermo Varela (loan), Victor Valdes, Nick Powell, Will Keane, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (loan)

Manchester City – Martin Demichelis, Joe Hart (loan), Samir Nasri (loan), Eliaquim Mangala (loan), Wilfried Bony (loan), Jason Denayer (loan)

• This is not just the Manchester derby, but also a meeting of two teams with 100% records who look to have been much improved by their summer signings. Sergio Aguero starts a three match ban, so will this factor, together with home advantage, swing it for United?

Arsenal v Southampton – Saturday 1500

Positions: Arsenal 8^th, Southampton 15^th

Form:

Arsenal LDW (4pts)

Southampton DLD (2pts)

Key signings:

Arsenal – Shkodran Mustafi (£35 million), Granit Xhaka (£34 million), Lucas Perez (£17.1 million), Rob Holding (£2 million)

Southampton – Sofiane Boufal (£16 million), Nathan Redmond (£11 million), Alex McCarthy (£4 million), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (undisclosed)

Key departures:

Arsenal – Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta, Serge Gnabry, Jack Wilshere (loan), Calum Chambers (loan), Wojciech Szcesny (loan), Joel Campbell (loan)

Southampton – Sadio Mane, Victor Wanyama, Kelvin Davis, Graziano Pelle, Gaston Ramirez, Paulo Gazzaniga (loan)

• Southampton have yet to record a win and have scored only twice in three matches. Arsenal have in a way answered the demands of their supporters for big money signings, even if Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez are not household names. Expect Arsenal to be favourites here.

Bournemouth v West Bromwich Albion – Saturday 1500

Positions: Bournemouth 19^th, West Brom 10^th

Form:

Bournemouth LLD (1pt)

West Brom WLD (4pts)

Key signings:

Bournemouth – Jordon Ibe (£15 million), Lys Mousset (£5.4 million), Lewis Cook (£10 million), Brad Smith (£6 million), Marc Wilson (£2 million), Nathan Ake (loan), Jack Wilshere (loan)

West Brom – Nacer Chadli (£13 million), Matt Phillips (£5.5 million), Allan Nyom (£4 million), Hal Robson-Kanu (free), Brendan Galloway (loan)

Key departures:

Bournemouth – Tommy Elphick, Matt Ritchie, Lee Tomlin

West Brom – Stephane Sessegnon, Victor Anichebe, James Chester, Ricky Lambert, Sebastien Pocognoli (loan)

• Bournemouth perhaps pulled off one of the coups of deadline day in acquiring Jack Wilshere, but can he inspire his new club to a win? This match is one the South Coast club must be targeting as they seek their first victory. West Brom may have a more than useful signing themselves in the shape of Nacer Chadli.

Burnley v Hull – Saturday 1500

Positions: Burnley 13^th, Hull 5^th

Form:

Burnley LWL (3pts)

Hull WWL (6pts)

Key signings:

Burnley – Jeff Hendrick (£10 million), Steven Defour (£8 million), Nick Pope (£1.1 million), Patrick Bamford (loan)

Hull – Ryan Mason (£13 million), David Marshall (£3.5 million), Will Keane (£3 million), James Weir (undisclosed), Jonathan Edwards (free), Will Mannion (undisclosed compensation), Dieumerci Mbokani (loan), Markus Henriksen (loan)

Key departures:

Burnley – Joey Barton, Matt Gilks, Lloyd Dyer, Matt Taylor

Hull – Mohamed Diame, Ryan Taylor, Sone Aluko

• Hull at last signed a raft of players just before the window closed, and in spite of having two wins under their belt, these new additions were much needed to improve the squad’s strength in depth. The confidence those wins have given Hull may make them slight favourites, although Burnley are another club to have smashed their transfer record with the arrival of Jeff Hendrick.

Middlesbrough v Crystal Palace – Saturday 1500

Positions: Middlesbrough 6^th, Crystal Palace 17^th

Form:

Middlesbrough DWD (5pts)

Crystal Palace LLD (1pt)

Key signings:

Middlesbrough – Marten de Roon (£12 million), Viktor Fisher (£3.8 million), Antonio Barragan (£3 million), Fabio da Silva (£2 million), Gaston Ramirez (free), Victor Valdes (free), Bernardo Espinoza (free), Adama Traore (undisclosed), Brad Guzan (free), Alvaro Negredo (loan)

Crystal Palace – Christian Benteke (£32 million), Andros Townsend (£13 million), James Tomkins (£10 million), Steve Mandanda (free), Mathieu Flamini (free), Loic Remy (loan)

Key departures:

Middlesbrough – Jonathan Woodgate

Crystal Palace – Dwight Gayle, Alex McCarthy, Brede Hangeland, Marouane Chamakh, Adrian Mariappa, Yannick Bolasie, Mile Jedinak

• Crystal Palace finally scored their first goal of the season in stoppage time last time out to record their first point. Middlesbrough are unbeaten but have themselves sonly scored three so far, so a tight game could be in store. A Boro win by one goal looks a good bet.

Stoke City v Tottenham Hotspur – Saturday 1500

Positions: Stoke 20^th, Tottenham 7^th

Form:

Stoke DLL (1pt)

Tottenham DWD (5pts)

Key signings:

Stoke – Joe Allen (£13 million), Ramadan Sobhi (£5.5 million), Wilfried Bony (loan), Bruno Martins-Indi (loan)

Tottenham – Moussa Sissoko (£30 million), Vincent Janssen (£18.6 million), Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (£11 million), Victor Wanyama (£11 million)

Key departures:

Stoke – Peter Odemwingie, Steve Sidwell, Marc Wilson. Philipp Wollscheid

Tottenham – Alex Pritchard, Ryan Mason, Nacer Chadli, DeAndre Yedlin, Federico Fazio (loan), Nabil Bentaleb (loan)

• Stoke are yet to win, but Tottenham have only scored three goals in three matches and are yet to totally convince. Harry Kane is still to find the net. Stoke may have made two shrewd signings in Wilfried Bony and Bruno Martins-Indi, but Tottenham are poised to unleash Moussa Sissoko. Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland will miss two more months of football through injury.

West Ham United v Watford – Saturday 1500

Positions: West Ham 12^th, Watford 18^th

Form:

West Ham LWL (3pts)

Watford DLL (1pt)

Key signings:

West Ham – Andre Ayew (£20.5 million), Manuel Lanzini (£9.4 million) – previously played for club as loan player, Arthur Masuaku (£6 million), Edimilson Fernandes (£5.5 million), Alvaro Arbeloa (free), Simone Zaza (loan)

Watford – Roberto Pereyra (£13.5 million), Isaac Success (£12.5 million), Daryl Janmaat (£7 million), Christian Kabasele (£5.8 million), Younes Kaboul (£3.5 million), Brice Dja Djedje (£3 million), Jerome Sinclair (free), Juan Camilo Zaniga (loan)

Key departures:

West Ham – James Tomkins, Enner Valencia (loan)

Watford - Almen Adbi, Jose Manuel Jurado, Allan Nyom, Matej Vydra

• Two teams meet here who have made disappointing starts and who have two of the worst defensive records so far. West Ham may just edge an encounter where both sides score.

Liverpool v Leicester City – Saturday 1730

Positions: Liverpool 11^th, Leicester 9^th

Form:

Liverpool WLD (4pts)

Leicester LDW (4pts)

Key signings:

Liverpool – Sadio Mane (£36 million), Georginio Wijnaldum (£25 million), Loris Karius (£4.5 million), Ragnar Klavan (unknown)

Leicester – Islam Slimani (£29.7 million), Nampalys Mendy (£13 million), Bartosz Kapustka (£7.5 million), Ron-Robert Zieler (£2.6 million), Ahmed Musa (undisclosed), Luis Hernandez (free)

Key departures:

Liverpool – Jordon Ibe, Joe Allen, Martin Skrtel, Jerome Sinclair, Brad Smith, Christian Benteke, Luis Alberto, Andre Wisdom (loan)

Leicester - N’Golo Kante, Andrej Kramaric, Mark Schwarzer, Ritchie DeLaet, Gokhan Inler

• Neither side has produced what they are really capable of so far, and both sit in mid table. Both teams have players who can turn games with individual moments of brilliance, but perhaps a score draw is a good bet here. Leicester’s Danny Simpson has signed a new three year contract.

Swansea City v Chelsea – Sunday 1600

Positions: Swansea 14^th, Chelsea 2^nd

Form:

Chelsea WWW (9pts)

Swansea WLL (3pts)

Key signings:

Swansea – Borja Gonzalez (£15.5 million), Alfie Mawson (£5 million), Leroy Fer (£4.75 million), Mike van der Hoorn (free), Fernando Llorente (undisclosed)

Chelsea – Michy Batshuayi (£33.2 million), N’Golo Kante (£32 million), David Luiz (£30 million), Marcos Alonso (£23 million)

Key departures:

Swansea – Ashley Williams, Andre Ayew, Eder, Alberto Paloschi, Bafetimbi Gomis (loan)

Chelsea – Mohammed Salah, Baba Rahman (loan), Nathan Ake (loan), Patrick Bamford (loan), Christian Atsu (loan), Loic Remy (loan)

• Chelsea have started superbly, with many players unrecognisable from last season, especially Eden Hazard. They will expect to make it four wins out of four against a Swansea side who have lost their last two matches.

Sunderland v Everton – Monday 2000

Positions: Sunderland 16^th, Everton 4^th

Form:

Sunderland LLD (1pt)

Everton DWW (7pts)

Key signings:

Sunderland – Didier Ndong (£13.6 million), Papy Djilobodji (£8 million), Paddy McNair, Donald Love (£5.5 million combined), Mika (undisclosed), Adnan Januzaj (loan), Jason Denayer (loan)

Everton – Yannick Bolasie (£28 million), Ashley Williams (£12 million), Idrissa Gueye (£7.1 million), Marten Stekelenburg (free), Enner Valencia (loan)

Key departures:

Sunderland – Emmanuel Giaccherini, Danny Graham, Steven Fletcher, Wes Brown, Younes Kaboul

Everton – John Stones, Leon Osman, Tim Howard, Tony Hibbert, Steven Pienaar

• Everton have made an excellent start, and on current form you would back them to add another three points here. Sunderland’s Fabio Borini will be out injured for three months, and Vito Mannone also faces an extended period on the sidelines, but here the club have signed goalkeeper Mika as a reinforcement.