GWT: EPL - Matchweek 5

[bluesfan94]

We have a couple London derbies - West Ham hosts Chelsea and Tottenham looks to pick up points against Brentford - and kinda sorta a Midlands derby when Aston Villa hosts Wolves, but the big match of the week is Man City hosting Arsenal in a title clash.

Home	Away	Time and Date (CT)	Venue
West Ham	Chelsea	Sat., Sept. 21, 6:30 AM	London Stadium
Aston Villa	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Sat., Sept. 21, 9:00 AM	Villa Park
Fulham	Newcastle United	Sat., Sept. 21, 9:00 AM	Craven Cottage
Southampton	Ipswich Town	Sat., Sept. 21, 9:00 AM	St. Mary's Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur	Brentford	Sat., Sept. 21, 9:00 AM	Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Leicester City	Everton	Sat., Sept. 21, 9:00 AM	King Power Stadium
Liverpool	Bournemouth	Sat., Sept. 21, 9:00 AM	Anfield
Crystal Palace	Manchester United	Sat., Sept. 21, 11:30 AM	Selhurst Park
Brighton & Hove Albion	Nottingham Forest	Sun., Sept. 22, 8:00 AM	The AmEx
Manchester City	Arsenal	Sun., Sept. 22, 10:30 AM	The Etihad

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[Spring in Fialta]

Hopefully Arsenal actually play for 3 points this time instead of asking the field to do it for them.

 

[PanniniClaus]

European week with the new format. Interesting to see how teams rotate the squads.

 

[robertmac43]

I'm just happy to get the the away game out of the way early in the season.

 

[maclean]

Hopefully Arsenal actually play for 3 points this time instead of asking the field to do it for them.

I'd agree though I'll be a bit more lenient this time with the injuries and coming off the first CL game. Very curious to see how we shape up

 

[Brunkmeister]

I'd agree though I'll be a bit more lenient this time with the injuries and coming off the first CL game. Very curious to see how we shape up

It’s not comparable at all i’d say. A draw last season meant we still controlled our own destiny. It was the right decision at the time.

Now it’s MW5 and the outcome will likely have less influence on how the season proceeds.

 

[VEGASKING]

Anthony Taylor will not be in charge of any games this weekend. Unfortunately that is the only punishment bad refs face is a week off with pay.


A loss would put us 5 points back 5 matches into the season. Needless to say that would be a massive hill to climb. We probably need to take all 6 points off of them this season to have a chance but 4 at the minimum.

 

[KJS14]

Arteta confirmed that Odegaard is going to be out for a while with ankle ligament damage. Going to be tough to replace his role over the coming weeks/months.

Best options are probably a Rice - Partey pivot with Trossard at 10, or you move Saka inside and use Jesus/Sterling/Trossard on the right.

 

[bluesfan94]

Arteta confirmed that Odegaard is going to be out for a while with ankle ligament damage. Going to be tough to replace his role over the coming weeks/months.

Best options are probably a Rice - Partey pivot with Trossard at 10, or you move Saka inside and use Jesus/Sterling/Trossard on the right.

Havertz at the 10 works fine in my opinion, with Jesus up top

 

[KJS14]

Havertz at the 10 works fine in my opinion, with Jesus up top

Yeah, that works and might be the best setup for our press. I'm guessing we'll see several different combinations over the next few weeks with us playing twice a week. It'll be interesting to see how we rotate the squad and if Nwaneri gets any significant minutes.

 

[robertmac43]

Havertz at the 10 works fine in my opinion, with Jesus up top

I'd agree. Best way to keep people in familiar positions. Saka needs to stay out right imo.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

Kevin De Bruyne a doubt to face Arsenal due to groin injury in draw with Inter

The Manchester City playmaker was taken off at half-time in the Champions League draw while Pep Guardiola said he was pleased with the result

www.theguardian.com

 

[Brunkmeister]

Kevin De Bruyne a doubt to face Arsenal due to groin injury in draw with Inter

The Manchester City playmaker was taken off at half-time in the Champions League draw while Pep Guardiola said he was pleased with the result

www.theguardian.com

Both teams without their midfield magicians seems fair to me.

 

[phisherman]

Rodri should go on strike for this fixture.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Man City face being expelled from all comps if guilty of alleged rule breaches

MANCHETER CITY could be kicked out of all of England’s domestic competitions if they are found guilty of their alleged rule reaches. City are facing between 115 and 130 breaches brought to th…

www.thesun.ie

Man City could be expelled from all competitions, not just the Premier League

Manchester City are in danger of being thrown out of more than just the Premier League if they are found guilty of serious breaches of its financial rules.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[gary69]

Could be dangerous to expel them from everywhere, they could start and sponsor their own league, matches shown in England at Saturday prime-time for free/cheap, no transfer windows etc. They probably could get some domestic and foreign clubs to join for enough money.

 

[gary69]

Jadon Sancho with his first start for Chelsea, Enzo also back in the starting line-up. RB is still a problem position, with Tosin starting there today.

 

[Blender]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1837435351213723770

 

[gary69]

Surprised that Todibo hasn't been able to break into West Ham's starting line-up yet. Wonder what they promised to him when joining, as he has practically started all of Nice's matches the past three seasons and is on his peak years.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Surprised that Todibo hasn't been able to break into West Ham's starting line-up yet. Wonder what they promised to him when joining, as he has practically started all of Nice's matches the past three seasons and is on his peak years.

Mavrapanos hasn’t been bad, but I agree. Todibo had a cup game where he frankly didn’t look good, though it was early from his arrival. We’ll see how it goes. Romano was reporting that the buy clause was pretty much guaranteed, so they must see him as a long term fit.

I like the lineup today. Michail Antonio is cooked, Bowen at striker is the way to go and that gets Summerville into the squad with Kudus in his favored position on the right.

 

[Blender]

JACKSON!

 

[gary69]

Action Jackson makes it 1-0 quickly, shooting between keeper's legs. Sancho assist.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Comical play all around.

 

[gary69]

Jackson is on fire.

 

[Blender]

JACKSON X2!!!