Manchester City will be looking to record their fifth straight win in all competitions, when they welcome Southampton to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Citizens have picked up nine points from their four league fixtures this term to occupy fifth spot on the table, while Southampton sit 14th, having collected three points from their four matches in 2021-22.
Man City’s 2021-22 campaign started in a disappointing fashion, as they lost to Leicester City in the Community Shield before suffering a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League opener, but Pep Guardiola’s side have won their last four matches in all competitions since the clash in North London. They have scored 11 times and conceded zero in their domestic fixtures with Norwich City, Arsenal and Leicester.
Fresh from an enthralling 3-2 success over AC Milan in the Champions League, Liverpool return to Premier League action with Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace at Anfield.
Meanwhile, the Eagles travel to Merseyside aiming to keep the momentum going from their impressive win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Liverpool’s tally of 10 points from a possible 12 – as well as a goal difference of +8 – sees them sit level with Chelsea and Manchester United atop the rankings at this early stage, with Merseyside rivals Everton only behind on goal difference.
Arsenal will endeavour to record back-to-back wins in the Premier League when they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s side scraped a 1-0 victory over Norwich City in week four, whereas Burnley’s winless start continued with a 3-1 defeat at Everton.
Burnley became the next victims of an Andros Townsend thunderbolt at Goodison Park on Monday night, but for a short while, the Clarets seemed set for a joyous evening on Merseyside after Ben Mee’s header broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute.
For Arsenal, how they managed to find the back of the net once against Norwich is beyond comprehension to some Gooners, and the Canaries did have their moments, but Mikel Arteta’s side finally got off the mark for the season in a 1-0 triumph at the Emirates.
Having posted contrasting results in their opening European encounters, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will slug it out in an eye-catching London derby in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts played out a 2-2 draw with Rennes in the Europa Conference League in midweek, whereas Chelsea started their Champions League defence with a 1-0 success over Zenit St Petersburg.
It may have been all sunshine and rainbows for Nuno Espirito Santo during his three-game winning run in the Premier League – which saw Spurs briefly top the rankings – but a humbling 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend has seen them drop to seventh amid a challenging seven days.
Last weekend, the Blues thumped Aston Villa 3-0 courtesy of Romelu Lukaku’s brace and Mateo Kovacic’s strike.
Thomas Tuchel’s men will hope to build on that momentum when they come up against familiar foes.
In the other fixture to be played on Sunday, Manchester United will put behind their Champions League disappointment to continue their 2021-22 Premier League campaign away to West Ham United.
The Red Devils suffered a 2-1 loss to Young Boys in their opening group-stage fixture on Tuesday, but West Ham started their Europa League challenge with an impressive 2-0 success away to Dinamo Zagreb.
