EPL preview: Tottenham vs Liverpool to entertain, Arsenal wary of Rooney's Everton

It will be Harry Kane vs Daniel Sturridge as Tottenham takes on Liverpool, while Arsenal will face a stiff challenge from Wayne Rooney led Everton in match-week 9 of he English Premier League.

Published : Oct 19, 2017 20:38 IST

Spur's Harry Kane will go up against Reds' Daniel Sturridge when the sides face off on Sunday night.
Spur's Harry Kane will go up against Reds' Daniel Sturridge when the sides face off on Sunday night.
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Spur's Harry Kane will go up against Reds' Daniel Sturridge when the sides face off on Sunday night.

Tottenham hosts Liverpool in a potentially mouthwatering fixture to round off matchweek 9, while there will be a new man in the dugout at Leicester City.

Craig Shakespeare was dismissed as Leicester manager on Tuesday after overseeing a poor start to the Premier League season, meaning Michael Appleton will take charge as the Foxes head to Swansea City.

Closing out the weekend will be Liverpool's trip to Tottenham, with the Reds going into the game on the back of a sensational 7-0 Champions League win at Maribor , while Spurs will be boosted by a 1-1 draw away to Real Madrid.

Manchester City hit Stoke City for seven last time out and few would bet against another comfortable win at home to Burnley, while surprise-package Watford travels to Chelsea following a brilliant turnaround against Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger is started to feel the heat again after that loss to the Hornets, and up next for it is a trip to Everton, where Ronald Koeman is under even more pressure. 

Using Opta data, we preview all 10 of this weekend's Premier League matches.

TOTTENHAM VS LIVERPOOL

Fresh from catching the eye in their respective Champions League trips on Tuesday, Tottenham and Liverpool turn their attentions back to domestic football in what should be the match of the weekend.

There have been 140 goals scored in the Premier League matches between these two, which is only two shy of the current record, while it has also seen more own goals (nine) than any other.

READ: Focus on Kane as Spurs, Liverpool return to Premier League

But Mauricio Pochettino has not won any of his last seven league meetings with Liverpool and Harry Kane has failed to score against the Reds in a home match.

Kane has been in blistering form this season, however he was not found the back of the net with his last 28 shots at home in the Premier League.

Christian Eriksen has often done the damage instead , however, with his winner against Bournemouth last weekend taking his goal involvement up to 74 (34 goals, 40 assista) in the league since his debut, more than any other midfielder.

MANCHESTER UNITED VS HUDDERSFIELD TOWN

It will be a day long remembered in Huddersfield if the Terriers manage to beat Manchester United at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday, but their visitor is so miserly that even scoring a single goal might feel like a victory.

Jose Mourinho may have attracted criticism for United's defensive display against Liverpool last time out , but it is an area in which it is very strong, as evidenced by the fact it have kept seven clean sheets already this season – no other Premier League team has had eight shutouts in its first nine games.

READ: Mourinho still unclear on fitness of Pogba and Fellaini

United's record of conceding just 19 goals since match-day nine last season is also better than any other team, while Huddersfield has failed to find the net in its last four games across all competitions.

The omens are not great for Huddersfield.

MANCHESTER CITY VS BURNLEY

Burnley may have enjoyed its best ever start to a Premier League campaign this season after picking up 13 points, but it surely will not be looking forward to the prospect of a trip to free-scoring Manchester City.

READ: Late Wood goal earns Burnley a point against 10-man West Ham

Pep Guardiola's men have been irresistible so far this season, winning each of its last three home league matches by a five-goal margin and becoming the first top-flight team to score 29 goals in their first eight league games of a season since Everton (30) in 1894-95.

Gabriel Jesus has been one of its leading stars, picking up from where he left off before picking up an injury last season. He now has 13 goals in his first 15 Premier League starts, a record bettered only by Mick Quinn (14) and Andrew Cole (15).

READ: Aguero and Jesus partnership delights Guardiola

Nick Pope is likely to be busy in goal, but luckily for Burnley he has the best save percentage (91.7 per cent) in the league this term.

CHELSEA VS WATFORD

Watford should be alert to a Chelsea backlash when it travels to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The champion's shock defeat to Crystal Palace was its second defeat on the trot in the Premier League, meaning it has lost three of its opening eight league games.

READ: Watford can beat Chelsea, claims Cleverley

Only Manchester United in 1966-67 has managed to bounce back from such a start and still win the league.

It is also the first time Antonio Conte has lost so many games in the first eight games of a season since being in charge of Atalanta in Serie A in 2009-10.

Watford actually sit above fifth-placed Chelsea after eight games, with Marco Silva's men particularly impressive on the road after picking up 10 of their 15 points away from Vicarage Road.

Its main danger man this season has been Richarlison. The talented Brazilian has scored three goals and set up another.

ARSENAL VS EVERTON

Rescuing a late point at Brighton and Hove Albion failed to paper over Everton's failings in its last Premier League fixture and manager Ronald Koeman finds himself under a bit of pressure after its worst start to a season since 2008-09

READ: My whole football life is pressure - Koeman unconcerned by scrutiny

Perhaps he and Everton will welcome hosting Arsenal on Sunday then, as the Gunners have conceded 26 away goals in the league this year. Only Crystal Palace (29) has let in more.

And in Wayne Rooney Everton have a player who very much enjoys a clash with Arsenal. The former England captain scored his first Premier League goal against them in 2002, while he has netted more against it (11) than any other player.

NEWCASTLE UNITED VS CRYSTAL PALACE

Roy Hodgson and Crystal Palace finally got off the mark in terms of both points and goals against Chelsea on Saturday, so they will be eager to make sure that was not for nothing when they head north to face Newcastle United.

READ: Zaha helps Palace stun Chelsea

Rafael Benitez's men have only lost one of their last nine home games in the Premier League, however, while the last time they were defeated at St. James' Park by a team bottom of the table was March 1998 – co-incidentally against Palace.

It probably surprised no one that Palace's sudden improvement coincided with Wilfried Zaha's return from injury, with the Ivory Coast international its most likely route to goal since the start of last season with eight goals and nine assists.

ALSO READ: Mike Ashley puts Newcastle United up for sale

But he has not scored in consecutive Premier League games since March 2015.

SOUTHAMPTON VS WEST BROM

Two of the league's lowest-scoring teams go head-to-head at St. Mary's in Saturday's late kick-off, with Southampton hosting West Brom in a match unlikely to set pulses racing.

No teams to have met each other in seven Premier League seasons have averaged fewer goals per game than these two, with this fixture churning out 1.5 goals per game.

READ: Leicester City 1 West Brom 1: Mahrez cancels out Chadli magic

On top of that, Southampton has failed to score in nine of their home Premier League matches this year. There have only ever been three teams to have worse records over the course of the year, with Potsmouth (11) in 2007 the worst.

Southampton's biggest problem has arguably been Manolo Gabbiadini. He scored twice against Newcastle United last time out, but his last two before then were spread across a period of 16 appearances.

LEICESTER CITY VS SWANSEA CITY

Following Tuesday's news of Leicester City sacking Craig Shakespeare, this contest suddenly becomes more intriguing for the neutral, with the 53-year-old coach paying the price for just three wins in their last 16 league games.

Michael Appleton will take charge against Swansea City, whose own manager - Paul Clement - can boast the best win percentage (40.7 per cent) of any Swans boss in the Premier League.

READ: 'Surprised' Appleton calls for Foxes focus after Shakespeare sacking

This season it has been hugely boosted by the form of Tammy Abraham, who joined on loan from Chelsea in the close-season.

The youngster has scored with four of his last six shots and has a higher share of his team's goals than any other player in the Premier League at 80 per cent.

WEST HAM UNITED Vs BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

Brighton and Hove Albion would have felt hard done by when Everton secured a late draw at the Amex Stadium last time out, but it needs to move on quickly ahead of what is likely to prove another tough encounter at the London Stadium.

Granted, West Ham's start to the season has not been great, with just eight points from as many games, but it has kept clean sheets in five of its last seven Premier League games at home.

READ: Brighton boss Hughton feels 'unacceptable' behaviour remains in football

On top of that, Brighton has only managed to get a point from its four away matches in the top flight this season.

But in Pascal Gross, Brighton certainly has a player capable of crafting chances – he has laid on 211 goal-scoring opportunities since August 2015, a record equalled by Kevin De Bruyne and beaten by only five players in the big five European leagues.

STOKE CITY VS BOURNEMOUTH

Over the last couple of years, Bournemouth has been much revered for defying the odds and its style of play, but this season has not started well at all.

It goes into Saturday's trip to Stoke City on the back of four successive away defeats in the league, its joint-worst run since it was in the third tier of English football in 2008.

READ: Bournemouth will be fine despite another defeat, says Howe

But Eddie Howe's men will surely be encouraged by the fact that Stoke has been similarly poor so far this term, conceding more goals (18) than any other Premier League side.

That could prove to be good news for Jermain Defoe, who has scored against the Potters with the last three clubs he has played for - Portsmouth, Tottenham and Sunderland.

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