With only one game and 37 still to go, it is a fool’s errand to even think of the destination of the title, but then what’s the point of sitting on the fence?
Tomorrow Chelsea make the 20km trip to the home of West Ham United. A safe bet for the three points on offer at 9pm.
The Blues have shown good progress under their Italian manager, Enzo Maresca. But the Club World Cup trophy they won in the US won’t be followed up by a Premier League crown.
Early Saturday afternoon at 1.30pm, Manchester City host Tottenham Hotspur, eager to consolidate their excellent start to the season.
Pep Guardiola’s men would be happy to have faced two of their three bogey teams in their first two games of the season. By the time they confront their last, Crystal Palace, on December 13 at Selhurst, they will expect to have the destination of the title in their own hands.
City showing intent
It is early, but City have shown intent already in their only game so far.
Their newest recruits, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, seem to have settled quickly.
There shouldn’t be a problem with the other one, Rayan Ait Nouri, who is a Premier League veteran, already having played more than 100 games for Wolves.
His partnership with Jeremy Doku on the left is a bit suspect in defence. The France-born Algerian defender is good enough. But his Belgian teammate doesn’t always come back to help him. This defensive imbalance should be fixed by the return of Dutchman Nathan Aké, who is well attuned to playing left back.
The biggest obstacle to the crown for City, though, will be how they integrate their Norwegian bulldozer into the new style of play that Reijnders, Cherki and Oscar Bobb playing as a number 10 bring.
In their game against Wolves, Bobb started as a winger. But late into the second half, he transitioned into a third number 10 with the new recruits. Reijnders floated wider on the right when Cherki came on in the 70th minute.
Erling Haaland
With those three playing narrower as tens, this will change how Erling Haaland operates, probably taking away his power. He will need to be playing number 9, with more touches on the ball. It’s not really his game, so it might remove some of his effectiveness. If he adapts, one cannot look beyond City for the title.
But where would that take the champions? On Monday night, Liverpool take on Newcastle at St James’ Park at 9pm. And I expect them to collect the three points, especially with Eddie Howe’s men floundering without a competent striker.
Their number 9, Alexander Isak, is training alone. Whether he is banished from the team or on strike is unclear, since there are different accounts. What is clear is the team lacks focus without him. And also the goal threat that could punish Liverpool’s own defensive problems.
Liverpool fans won’t want to hear this, but their manager is not really the best thing since sliced bread the English media has cracked him out to be. His team hasn’t shown patterns of play like a coached team would.
Liverpool should slot in behind Arsenal in third, with their Round 2 opponent in fifth behind Manchester United visiting Craven Cottage for their date with Fulham on Sunday at 5.30pm.
If they put on the same level of performance as they did in their league opener against Arsenal, they will bury Marco Silva under an avalanche of goals.
New recruits add excitement
Silva’s countryman and counterpart at United, Ruben Amorim, seems to have found the magic in hungrier Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. The new recruits add excitement and guile. This should give United the identity of a team that runs with the ball, taking the opponent on.
The benefit of that will be seen in Casemiro’s performances. The Brazilian will shine in this style – it suits him to the T. What makes Casemiro the player he is is his ability to sniff danger. And to do that, he needs structure in front of him, where the pieces fall. Without structure he can’t know where to cover.
He will be one of the best players for United this term and take his team to fourth in the standings come the end of the season.
