Premier League, Week 7: Spurs embarrassed by West Ham at home

West Bromwich Albion got a deserved lead against a disappointing Arsenal as the two sides fought to a 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns.

Claudio Yacob had put the baggies in front not long before half-time before Arsenal endured a difficult spell, but equalised through Jack Wilshere midway through the second half.

Although the goal came against the run of play, it wasn’t entirely shocking. Spurs have had trouble defending on set pieces for quite some time now, and they’d already courted danger. Nolan’s first-half chance could easily have found the net, and an earlier corner could easily have resulted in a goal thanks to Lloris flapping at the ball. The second goal, however, was entirely shocking.

The last fifteen minutes were rendered virtually meaningless by the three quickfire goals, and the visitors closed out the match with aplomb, spending as much time in Tottenham’s half as they did defending. This really isn’t how it was supposed to go for Spurs -- but what a win for Sam Allardyce and his crew!

Southampton continued their hot start to the season on Sunday, though they weren’t exactly dominant in their victory. Swansea, as they’re known to do, controlled possession at St. Mary’s and had more shots than the hosts. However, Artur Boruc was excellent in the Southampton goal and the Saints were able to take advantage of a couple of defensive errors, winning 2-0.

Adam Lallana scored the opener in the 19th minute, thanks to some lack of awareness on the parts of Chico Flores and Ben Davies. Lallana had a cross cut out, but made a diagonal run into the box after trying to pick out a teammate. Flores kept him onside, while Davies spotted the run late and ended up two steps behind the Southampton winger. Steven Davis spotted his run, played a ball into the box and Lallana finished it off.

Norwich were already annoyed by the perceived flow of decisions from the officials appearing to go against them, which came to a head when they seemed to be denied a penalty after a backtracking Ramires brought down Anthony Pilkington in the area.

Even after the goal, Norwich continued to enjoy the upper hand, and Pilkington was close to picking out van Wolfswinkel after the hosts found more space down the flanks, although the intervention of Terry prevented the opportunity.

Norwich City injuries and suspensions

Out: Elliott Bennett (knee). In doubt: Sébastien Bassong (hamstring).

Despite Hammers boss Sam Allardyce’s reputation for building robust Premier League sides, his team have struggled so far this campaign. They’ve scored only four goals in their opening six games, and haven’t won since their opening match of the season. Having fallen to within a point of the relegation zone, they’re looking for a quick turnaround.

Tottenham Hotspur injuries and suspensions

United’s central defenders would cause them more problems throughout the first half as their attack failed to create much of note. Sunderland should have gone up 2-0 when a Jones giveaway created a three-on-one, but Gardner squandered it. Jones and Vidic continued to make errors through the first 45, gifting Sunderland half-chances on which they failed to capitalize.

Six minutes later, he completed a brace with a goal that was considerably more impressive than the first. A cross that came in from the right flank deflected out towards the left-hand side of the box, 15 yards from the goal. Januzaj was waiting and, without hesitation, wound up for a volley. He smacked a perfect shot past Kieran Westwood, sealing a stunning debut brace and putting United ahead.

Although Palace looked far better in the second half, by that point the game was long over. Liverpool were in first gear, and the fact that they conceded -- Dwight Gayle glanced a free kick past Mignolet in the 76th minute -- won’t bother them too much. They could quite clearly have added more had they been inclined towards running up the score.

Goals: Suarez 13’, Sturridge 17’, Gerrard 38’ (p).

Villa’s first good chance finally arrived in the 21st minute after Gabriel Agbonlahor escaped from his marker in the midfield and made a nice run, drifting left into the some space. His shot from the edge of the area was pushed wide of the post by an diving Allan McGregor.

Nothing of note really happened again until the 53rd minute when Bacuna made an excellent run down the right wing before finding Andreas Weimann on the right edge of the Hull box. Weimann laid the ball off to Agbonlahor, who was wide open in the middle of the box. But what looked like a sure goal as the play unfolded, ended in a shot that sailed wide.

Cardiff were mostly on top in the first half but had not made the most of their possession, and were reliant on a pair of superb saves by David Marshall, first denying Loic Remy from point-blank range, somehow tipping his fierce effort around the post, before pushing Moussa Sissoko’s deflected long-range effort over the bar.

Newcastle were briefly all over the place, but as Cardiff pushed for an equaliser, they left themselves exposed at the back, with Marshall once again coming to the rescue to deny Remy a hat-trick.

Fulham: Stockdale, Riether, Amorebieta, Hangeland (Richardson 45’), Senderos, Ruiz, Karagounis (Boateng 60’), Sidwell, Duff, Kasami, Berbatov (Bent 66’)

Goals: Bent (83’)

Unsurprisingly, the second half wasn’t played at nearly the same speed. City were ahead and slowly tightened the noose, stifling most of Everton’s attack and choking them out of the game. An injury to Kolarov after Naismith shoved the left back into Nastasic slowed them down, but only briefly, and they went 3-1 up thanks to a dubious penalty decision.

With that, all that was left was some mopping up, and despite all the huffing and puffing in the opening period, the hosts handled that without anything like a problem.

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Even despite United’s patchy form -- they’ve lost their last couple in the Premier League and only drew with Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek -- they should have no problem capitalising on the Black Cats’ unfortunate demise and picking up three points. Sunderland are the only team in the division yet to win a game, and are fast losing touch at the bottom of the table. They need a turnaround, and fast.

Sunderland injuries and suspensions

Liverpool injuries and suspensions

Out: Philippe Coutinho (shoulder), Aly Cissokho (ankle), Sebastián Coates (knee), Glen Johnson (ankle), Joe Allen (hamstring), Lucas Leiva (suspended). In doubt: None.

Manchester City injuries and suspensions

Out: Martín Demichelis (knee), Jack Rodwell (match fitness). In doubt: None.

Etihad Stadium; Saturday, 12:45 GMT/7:45 AM ET

This is a good test for both sides; City is clearly obscenely talented and there’s no compelling reason to believe that Pellegrini is out of his depth, but three losses in an eight day span would be a significant blow to confidence. Where Everton is concerned, coming away from the Etihad with aa result would bolster their case as legitimate Champions League contenders in a season where the race from the top four looks to be more wide open than usual.