It's Wednesday and it's time to dig into the numbers, analyze the form, and figure out who's going to be the difference-maker this weekend. With the first week of European football, the fatigue factor is real, and it could be the sneaky edge you need to climb the leaderboard.

 

The European Hangover: Who's Looking Jaded?

 

This week, we saw some huge clashes in the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. For our teams, that means tired legs, squad rotation, and a real test of depth.

 

• Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle face(d) tough Champions League tests. Liverpool's Merseyside Derby against an in-form Everton side could be tricky. After a grueling European night, will they have the legs to break down a stubborn Toffees defense? Similarly, Arsenal's massive clash with Manchester City on Sunday comes just days after their European win but the travelling can generally have some wear and tear on players and will they need to rotate. After loosing to Liverpool only a week ago, It's a true test of their title credentials and squad stamina to see how they compete against another rival for the premier league.
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• Manchester United and Chelsea face off in a blockbuster clash, but will not having European football be an advantage to Manchester United. Coming of their 3-0 loss to Manchester City last week, this is another test. With United having already conceded seven goals in their first four league games, Chelsea's new-look attack led by Joao Pedro could smell blood and may continue the rumors of The Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim being removed from his post in the coming weeks.

 

Tottenham face a difficult tie away from home against Brighton. While Brighton has only won one of their first four league games, they are a threat as we saw in their last home win against Manchester City. Tottenham do not want to replicate their recent performance against Bournemouth, so need to make sure they put themselves well ahead before replacements will be necessary in the second half when players will naturally tire. 

 

The League Cup: Did any teams loose momentum?

 

Aston Villa, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest have all had Carabao Cup games this week. Brentford having putting in a well rounded performance against Chelsea, followed it up with a penalty shootout win against Aston Villa. Taking that into another West London derby, if they can secure another win/draw, they could certainly be looking at putting some early relegation rumors behind them. Aston villa on the other hand have finally scored their first goal of the season. While this is promising, yet again they come out without a win. Aston Villa will travel to newly-promoted Sunderland, who have surprised many and already have two wins under their belt. Could the possible morale around Aston Villa give the Black Cats the upper hand?

 

Crystal Palace performance against Millwall was mundane and they were lucky to escape one of their local rivals by winning on penalties 4-2. They have some clear injuries in the squad and with new players still trying to gel and some players like Mateta who the manages has said needs a rest, could their next premier league game be the first loss in 10 in the league. They visit a West Ham team lacking in confidence and shipping several goals per game. We are either going to get a high scoring game (likely not with Crystal Palace only conceding 1 goal in the league) or a very poor performance from both and someone potential scrapping a 1-0 victory.

 

The Stats Don't Lie: Key Player Insights

 

Here's a look at some of the players and teams setting the early pace, based on the numbers:

 

• Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth) is a player on form right now. With three goals and two assists in four games, he's the top-performing midfielder in the league. He also takes penalties, which is a massive bonus. He's up against Newcastle this weekend whose performance against Wolves was not overly convincing, however, there new striker Nick Woltemade scored and they have Yoane Wissa to come into the team. This should certainly bolster there starting 11. 
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• Erling Haaland is still the top dog, leading the league in shots (19) and big chances (9). Even with a tough away fixture at Arsenal, you'd be a brave not to predict him not finding the back of the net.
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• Liverpool's defense is looking solid, having kept consecutive clean sheets. Virgil van Dijk still continues to be one of the best defenders in the league, and against an Everton side that has failed to score in two of their four games, a clean sheet looks very likely for the Reds.
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• Aston Villa and their attacking woes are a real concern. They've failed to score in any of their first four games in the premier league. Ollie Watkins has had his chances, but can he finally break his duck against Sunderland?

 

The Community Chatter

 

It's all about the big games. We have 2 tough fixtures in Manchester United v Chelsea and Arsenal v Manchester City. We still don't know fully what to expect of Manchester United and Arsenal and Manchester City game could physically go either way. Could this be a perfect opportunity to use a power play to at least try and gain further points from draws or using your Safe power play and gaining 5 points for any correct result.

 

That's all for today's deep dive. Get your predictions in by 11.30 on Saturday 20th September and let's see who's got the golden touch this week!