Chelsea and Manchester City are clear title contenders, Manchester United are very much a work in progress and Arsenal will continue to be Arsenal, a very good team that is one of the four best in England, but not quite elite. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are in a bit of a different boat, and no one quite knows what to make of them right now.
Premier League preview, Week 3: Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool face a litmus test
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Liverpool were flat-out poor defensively against Manchester City on Monday, while Spurs obliterated Queens Park Rangers. But since City are spectacular and QPR are quite bad, figuring out how good Spurs and Liverpool are is pretty close to impossible at the moment. Good thing they play this weekend, and the result will allow us to jump to radical conclusions about both teams.
That game is on Sunday, but Saturday's fixtures feature a marquee match too. Chelsea go away to Everton, who would be looking pretty formidable at home if not for that two-goal collapse against Arsenal last week. However, Romelu Lukaku might score, and hopefully he'll make obscene gestures at Jose Mourinho in celebration.
But first up, the cheapest team in the Premier League hosts a side that lost 4-0 to MK Dons.
Burnley vs. Manchester United
Saturday, 7:45 a.m. ET/11:45 GMT
TV: NBCSN (U.S.), BT Sport 1 (U.K.), Sportsnet regional networks (Canada)
Usually, it would be easy to apply logic like “sure Manchester United are crap, but Burnley aren’t a good team” to a match like this. But, as we mentioned, United just got obliterated by MK Dons in the League Cup. They benched a lot of their stars, but plenty of first-team players took the pitch, and it was wholly embarrassing. It’s difficult to overstate how lame this current United team is.
But, seriously, it's Burnley. After losing to Chelsea, they went on to lose to Swansea in Week 2 and to Sheffield Wednesday in the cup. There aren't any teams in the Premier League that are totally incapable of beating Manchester United, but Burnley are as close as they come. They haven't spent real money on anyone and their best player, Danny Ings, is going to be subject to transfer speculation involving bottom-half teams on Monday. They're really not good.
Pick: 2-1, United
Manchester City vs. Stoke City
Saturday, 10 a.m. ET/14:00 GMT
TV: NBCSN (U.S.), TSN 4 (Canada)
Mark Hughes got Stoke City to occasionally kick the ball on the ground instead of the air while stringing four to five passes together last season, so he picked up this reputation of trying to get Stoke to play good football. Between their aesthetic improvements and signing of players who used to play for Barcelona, they were expected to avoid the relegation race this season.
Instead, they haven’t been good. City are the best team in the league right now. And they’re at home. Expect a bloodbath.
Pick: 4-0, City
Newcastle United vs. Crystal Palace
Saturday, 10 a.m. ET/14:00 GMT
On the evidence of Newcastle's conservative play last weekend and everything Neil Warnock has ever done at this level, this could be the worst game of the weekend. Newcastle should nick a goal at home, though.
Pick: 1-0, Newcastle, in a game with about five shots.
Queens Park Rangers vs. Sunderland
Saturday, 10 a.m. ET/14:00 GMT
Sunderland have managed an away draw against West Brom and a home draw against Manchester United thus far -- scoring goals in both -- so they might actually be a decent team. On current form, QPR look like the worst team in the division. Get ready for a rare away win for the Black Cats.
Pick: 2-1, Sunderland
Saturday, 10 a.m. ET/14:00 GMT
West Brom put in a pretty nice performance last week away to Southampton, but they certainly weren't ambitious during the match. That's not going to change away to Swansea, where they're going to see a point as a good result. It would be very surprising to see Swansea lose, but they might not have quite enough quality (or cohesion, this early in the year) to break down West Brom. They only managed one goal at home against Burnley last week.
Pick: 0-0 draw
West Ham United vs. Southampton
Saturday, 10 a.m. ET/14:00 GMT
There will come a time when Mauro Zarate loses form and/or gets banished to the reserves for punching someone in the face after showing up at training less than fit, but this is not that time. It’s only the third week of the season, and the ultra-talented second striker is in top form. It’s unfortunate for Southampton that they have to go to Upton Park when Zarate is in this cycle, but them’s the breaks.
Pick: 2-1, West Ham
Everton vs. Chelsea
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET/16:30 GMT
TV: NBC (U.S.), Sky Sports 1 (U.K.)
Everton were very close to being a sexy upset pick in this match, but gambling men and women probably don't want to touch them with a 10-foot pole after their draw against Arsenal. A team with Tim Howard and their back line probably shouldn't be giving up late goals as easily as they did, and Chelsea's attack is arguably more dangerous than Arsenal's with the additions of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa.
Between Lukaku’s likely motivation to prove himself and a hyped Goodison Park crowd, Everton will probably score a goal that their record signing has something to do with. But Chelsea are the better team, and they should show it on Saturday.
Pick: 2-1, Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool
Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET/12:30 GMT
TV: NBCSN (U.S.), Sky Sports 1 (U.K.), TSN (Canada)
Both fan bases will declare that a dark horse title run and a certain top-four place are on with a big win on Sunday, especially if Manchester United manage to embarrass themselves again. But in reality, both of these teams have serious flaws, and they’ll probably make each other look pretty bad in a game that’s wildly entertaining, but ultimately proves nothing.
Expect the fullbacks on both sides to get eaten alive, the midfield area to look like a bit of a mess and the attacking midfielders on both sides to look like superstars. When the dust clears, each side will have some goals, an idea of what they need to improve going forward and only a day left to figure out how to do that by way of the transfer market.
Pick: 2-2 draw
Aston Villa vs. Hull City
Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET/12:30 GMT
Even Villa and Hull fans will struggle to watch this instead of the other game that’s going on in the same time slot. Even those who have a 3-5-2 fetish will tune in to find themselves disappointed that Villa have switched away from a back three while Hull, due to James Chester’s suspension, will have done the same. These teams will both try to play on the counter and it’ll be boring.
Pick: 0-0 draw
Leicester City vs. Arsenal
Sunday, 11 a.m. ET/15:00 GMT
TV: NBCSN (U.S.), Sky Sports 1 (U.K.), Sportsnet World (Canada)
In 2010, Arsenal beat Blackpool 6-0 in a match where the Tangerines had a man sent off early, then proceeded to continue attacking Arsenal. It obviously didn’t work, but Arsenal’s fans praised Blackpool for being a proper club that tries to play proper football (read: letting Arsenal beat the piss out of them). Arsenal won the reverse fixture in Blackpool, 3-1, with Ian Holloway’s side trying to play “proper football’” again. Leicester are basically the same thing, only not quite as bad. They’ll try to actually play with Arsenal, they’ll look threatening, and ultimately they’ll get roasted for trying.
Pick: 3-1, Arsenal
Listings via LiveSoccerTV.
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