By John Essien
Coming off Wednesday’s last-gasp win over Villarreal in the Champions League, Manchester United will resume their Premier League campaign at home to Everton on in a crunch lunch-time tie on Saturday.
Man United are currently fourth in the table, one point behind leaders Liverpool, while Rafael Benitez’s Everton occupy fifth, level on points (13) with their opponents at Old Trafford this weekend.
It has been a positive start to the 2021-22 Premier League season for the Red Devils, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will hope to maintain a good run at Old Trafford when they host the Toffees.
United are only one point behind leaders Liverpool, but the 20-time English champions suffered a 1-0 home loss to Aston Villa last weekend.
Everton were well beaten by Man United in a pre-season clash at Old Trafford on August 7, and the four-goal loss in Manchester certainly left a number of the club’s supporters fearing what could happen this term.
And while Benitez’s appointment as head coach remains incredibly controversial, the Spaniard has delivered some excellent results for the Merseyside Blues this campaign.
And in the later fixture, European champions Chelsea will be seeking to avoid a third successive defeat in all competitions, when they host winless Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues’ most recent top-flight battle saw them lose 1-0 to champions Manchester City, while Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side suffered defeat by the same scoreline to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In what has arguably been one of the most challenging weeks of his otherwise wholly successful reign, Thomas Tuchel has witnessed his side lose their attacking bite and suffer back-to-back defeats to fellow powerhouses Man City and Juventus in the space of a few days.
It is not expected to be a stroll in the park for Chelsea who have struggled against the Saints in their three encounters.
Chelsea should be able to welcome Mason Mount back in time from a minor knock for this game. However, Christian Pulisic and Reece James both remain in the treatment room with ankle injuries, while N’Golo Kante is isolating after returning a positive coronavirus test.
An evening fixture will see early season pace setters Brighton & Hove Albion welcome a steadily improving Arsenal to the Amex.
The Seagulls salvaged a point right at the death against Crystal Palace last time out, while Mikel Arteta’s men ran riot in the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
Mikel Arteta has now witnessed his improving Gunners side march to four successive victories in all competitions, and Arsenal now occupy 10th spot in the table as the only team in the Premier League to have taken nine points from the last nine on offer.
Meanwhile Brighton’s three-game winning run across all tournaments ended following that 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park. Graham Potter’s side have enjoyed a far better start to the season than most could have envisaged and find themselves sixth in the table after six games.
Brighton previously lost just one of their opening six league games with Arsenal after earning promotion in 2017, but the Gunners did the double over the Seagulls last term, scoring three goals and conceding a grand total of zero in the process.
