City could feel Hornets’ sting
SCENARIO: GUARDIOLA’S MEN ALSO WANT THAT TOP SPOT
Liverpool aiming to vent frustrations on Burnley at Anfield.
Big-spending Manchester City having a chance to go top of the Premier League tday is no surprise, but the possibility their opponents Watford will climb to the summit of English football if they win at Vicarage Road certainly is.
Table-toppers Manchester United and Manchester City, currently second on goal difference, both have 10 points from their opening four Premier League games.
But with United not playing until tomorrow, City have a chance to leapfrog their local rivals.
City spent more than £200 million on new players during the recent transfer window, with the club desperate to make an impact on the Champions League in particular after bowing out in the last-16 last term.
Nevertheless it was an established City player in England centreback John Stones who scored twice for Pep Guardiola’s expensively-assembled side as they won 4-0 away to Dutch champions Feyenoord in an impressive start to their Champions League campaign on Wednesday.
It was an ominous result for Watford yet Marco Silva’s men are unlikely to feel over-awed knowing that a home win today would take them to 11 points.
That would mean Watford were at the summit of English football ladder for the first time since briefly topping the old First Division in 1982.
Liverpool will look to put the frustration they felt at failing to beat Sevilla in a 2-2 midweek draw in the Champions League when they face northwest rivals Burnley at Anfield.
Poor defending again proved a problem for Liverpool, who failed in an attempt to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton during the transfer window.
Tottenham Hotspur will hope to prove their commanding 3-1 midweek win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League at Wembley – just their third in 13 games at the national stadium – was no fluke when they welcome Swansea City to their temporary home.
Spurs are playing at Wembley while White Hart Lane is being redeveloped.
Meanwhile basement club Crystal Palace will play their first game under former England manager and boyhood Eagles fan Roy Hodgson when they face Southampton at Selhurst Park today.
Hodgson has replaced the sacked Frank de Boer after the Dutchman’s four games in charge all ended in defeat, with no goals scored during his brief time in charge of the south London club.
“You are looking for character really, you’re looking for desire, you’re looking for people with enthusiasm,” Hodgson said when asked what he wanted to see from his players.
Reigning champions Chelsea, fresh from a 6-0 thrashing of Qarabag in the Champions League, face Arsenal, midweek Europa League winners against Cologne at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
The day’s other Premier League match is set to see former Manchester United favourite Wayne Rooney make his first return to Old Trafford since rejoining boyhood club Everton in pre-season.
This fixture takes place just a day before Rooney is due to appear in court on a drink-driving charge.
The latest round of Premier League matches began with an all-south coast clash between Bournemouth and Brighton last night. – Chelsea v Arsenal, Manchester United v Everton.