The football season kicks into high gear this week with a full round of Premier League fixtures to enjoy, culminating with Manchester City’s trip to Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho will not have Luke Shaw in his side to face Everton on Tuesday evening despite missing a number of key players, following scathing comments he made regarding the defender. “It was difficult for him to be on the bench because I cannot compare him with Ashley Young, with Darmian, with Blind… The way he trains, the way he commits, the focus, the ambition, I cannot compare. He’s a long way behind.” United will have Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ander Herrera back from suspension and could welcome back Paul Pogba to the starting line-up for the game at Old Trafford after the midfielder resumed training last week. The 4-4 draw in this fixture in April 2012, in which United threw away a 4-1 lead was regarded by Sir Alex as the fixture that handed a first-ever Premier League title to Manchester City. Marouane Fellaini was a scorer in the Everton team that day. He scored the winner at Goodison Park a couple of months later in Ferguson’s final season in charge before moving to Manchester the following year in David Moyes’ ill-fated campaign – a season in which Everton did the double over United.
Craig Shakespeare will look to become the first British manager to win his first five league games in charge when Leicester City tackle rock-bottom Sunderland. The Black Cats have won just three of their 13 Premier League encounters with the The Foxes and although they won the previous meeting between the two, at the Stadium of Light back in December, this is an entirely different Leicester side to back then. Unbeaten under a new manager and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, they are scoring goals (13 in their last five) and have steered clear of the relegation battle that their opponents find themselves embroiled in.
Two of the league’s lowest scoring teams go head-to-head on Wednesday evening. In what will be only their fourth ever Premier League meeting, Hull City host a Middlesbrough side with a new management of their own. Current caretaker boss Steve Agnew has brought in former ‘Boro player Jonathan Woodgate as his assistant hoping he can give the club a lift it so badly needs. Middlesbrough have won two of their three Premier League meetings. Eight goals have been scored between them in those three games and if their last encounter at The KC Stadium is anything to go by we can expect a couple more. In December 2008, three goals went in and a red card was shown all in the final 15 minutes of the game as Hull came from behind to claim their first win over Middlesbrough in 22 years.
Liverpool will be weary to welcome Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth to Anfield. They have faced each other just 10 times since 1927 with more than half of those meetings coming in the last three years alone. Liverpool squandered a 2-0 and then a 3-1 lead at the South Coast as they somehow managed to lose 4-3 in one of the games of the season so far. That was Bournemouth’s first ever victory over the mighty Reds and will be full of confidence of getting a result again. Liverpool will be without star-man Sadio Mane who picked up a knee injury in the Derby win over Everton at the weekend and all eyes will be on Divock Origi once again who scored in their December defeat.
The blue half of London takes on the blue half of Manchester in a clash of the money-bags. Since Manchester City’s takeover in September 2008, they have each won seven of the 17 games between the two, drawing just three times. Chelsea have not beaten Man City at Stamford Bridge in the league since 2013, although they did hammer them 5-1 in the FA Cup last season. Chelsea lost their first game in four months at the weekend, humbled at home by Crystal Palace. They will need to get back to their brilliant best as quickly as possible to keep out Pep Guardiola’s side who have scored 10 goals in their last four games away from home and secured notable points in their last two games against Liverpool and Arsenal respectively.