7. premier League round: Attractive battle for 1st place, Soucek and co. face a duel with a newcomer

English football is back, with the 7th round of the league taking place this weekend. These will be the last games before the national break. What will the next block of games offer? Manchester United will face a tough duel against Everton, Brighton will want to pull out against Arsenal, West Ham will face Brentford, the headliner of the round will be Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City.

Manchester United will look to make amends for their recent faltering performance, with Everton in their way

The weekend’s programme starts with this interesting game. The Red Devils are one of the big contenders for the title. A solid start to the season confirms it. They have won 13 points from their opening 6 games and are in 4th place with a minimal loss to the leaders. The first significant loss came against Ronaldo and co. in the duel with Aston Villa. In the 6th round they lost 0:1 to Villans. They also lost Maguire and Shaw to injury. They will try to make up for this in their next game against Everton.

The Liverpool club has a new coach since the summer. Carlo Ancelotti’s successor is Rafa Benítez. The renowned coach has had an immediate impact on the team’s performance. The Toffees took advantage of the easier draw and gained the same number of points as Manchester United, Chelsea or Manchester City. They are just behind their next opponents in the table. The return leg against Manchester United should test their true performance. Coach Benítez will have to deal with big losses. The absence of Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison or Coleman is a huge weakening of the squad.

Both teams will be missing several key players. The Red Devils have lost half of their defence, Everton will miss their top strikers. It will be interesting to see how these teams can deal with these absences and how much it will weaken them. Despite these facts, Manchester United is the clear favourite.

The offensive strength and overall quality of the squad is immense. They have been doing well against Everton for a long time (3 wins from the last 4 games). They will be looking to make amends for last weekend’s unexpected loss. Their reliance on Ronaldo and Fernandes is huge and United must be careful not to fall victim to that again. This game should bring attraction and is definitely worth a watch.

Will Brighton take on Arsenal as well?

Coach Potter’s squad has been the biggest surprise of the season. So far they have 13 points and are in a great 6th place. If they had done better in their Monday night match against Crystal Palace, they could have even taken the lead. The English club has already claimed the scalp of Leicester and will try to do something similar now.

Brighton play offensively, they can impose their game even on stronger opponents. The key factor is a great defensive performance. The goalkeeper Sánchez is one of the best goalkeepers in the league at the moment, the numbers are a clear proof of that(he received only 5 goals, he scored 2 clean sheets) Last season this team suffered from terrible efficiency. The attacking productivity is much better this time and that’s why Brighton are so high.

Its opponent will be Arsenal London. The Gunners’ performance is very uneven. The start of the season has been a complete failure for coach Arteta’s team. In the first 3 matches he came out with no points, which was the worst start of the season in the history of the club.

But then came the improvement. Arsenal scored 3 wins in a row and improved their league position rapidly. In the recent North London derby, they beat Tottenham 3-1. This was Arsenal’s best performance of the season. The Gunners will try to build on this successful season in Saturday’s game.

It will be an interesting encounter, which has no clear favourite. Both teams are in great form, doing well. Brighton really should not be underestimated. We can expect an evenly matched game, with only minimal details to decide the winner. A win for either team won’t be a big surprise.

Will Antonio the cannonballer be on a rampage again?

West Ham were the biggest surprise of last season. The Hammers finished in a great 6th place and are still in a similar position. It’s safe to say that their performance is still on an upward trend. The club has strengthened the club in the summer and it shows in the results. David Moyes’ charges are seventh, just a minimum of points behind the leaders. They have already scored several valuable wins this season, crushing Leicester (4-1 win) and even knocking out Manchester United in the League Cup (1-0 win).

Alex King also played a significant part in this great triumph, it was his first game in a West Ham jersey. It was a thunderous debut. Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal continue to be one of the team’s mainstays. The team’s biggest driving force is the shooting demon Antonio (5 goals + 3 assists). The Jamaican striker is in the form of his life, currently the top scorer in the Premier League.

Their Sunday’s opponent will be Brentford, the newcomer of the competition promoted to the Premier League for the first time in its history. But it doesn’t show in their performance. They are performing as if they have always played in the Premier League and are one of the biggest surprises of this season.

They occupy 9th place in the table, so no one expected such a great start for Brentford. Their game concept is very attractive, they try to play offensively. On their league debut they beat Arsenal (2: 0 win), last time they earned a valuable point in a crazy shootout with Liverpool (3: 3 draw). It seems that Brentford will not be an easy opponent for any team.

West Ham will be the clear favourite for the match. The performance, the quality of the squad and the great form of Antonio predestines them to win. However, Brentford have already proved several times that they are not to be underestimated. We can expect attacking football from both sides, which can bring a lot of goals. It is not impossible that this duel will rank among the best matches of the 7th round of the Premier League.

Liverpool and Manchester City will battle it out for 1st place

The best for last. The showpiece of the round will take place at the very end of the weekend. The two big favourites for the title will clash, as will the last two league champions. Liverpool are looking great this season, last year’s woes forgotten. The Reds have had a very good start to the season. 1. liverpool have scored at least 3 goals in one game in 6 games in a row.

The only unpleasant hesitation came in the duel with Brentford (3::3), the match was not very good for the defence, even the goal efficiency could have been better. Otherwise, coach Klopp’s team is very sovereign. Liverpool decided this match in the first half, so several players could save their strength for Sunday’s game.

The start of the league season was also quite successful for Manchester City. In the first match, the Citizens were not able to beat Tottenham, but after that they were on a roll. They have won 4 of their last 5 games and have moved into the lead. In the last round, they even took the scalp of Chelsea in London. That win moved them up to 2nd place. They are just one point behind leaders Liverpool. They also have the best defence in the league (they have only conceded once so far).

The visitors have a very tough schedule this week. After Chelsea, they have a spicy clash with Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League. The English team showed a good performance, but the productivity was zero. The Parisian team won 2: 0, with Lionel Messi showing his genius. Manchester City will end a difficult week with a game against Liverpool. The advantage of Pep Guardiola’s team is a wide squad, a stronger bench can decide this battle.

The match is without a favourite, both teams are in top form. Liverpool will be missing Alexander-Arnold, which is a noticeable loss for the Reds. Moreover, they have not been doing well against the Citizens for a long time (1 win from 7 games). The visitors have a better chance of success. This duel should be the real highlight of this round and both teams should clearly confirm this with their quality.

Source: Twitter, Livesport