A quick turnaround in the Premier League means we will get to witness a whole bunch of exciting fixtures in midweek, which includes Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to Manchester United and the west London derby between Brentford and Chelsea.
Liverpool will want to build on the win against Manchester City, while Southampton look to get out of the relegation zone. Without much delay, let’s take a look at the 3 things to look forward to in Matchweek 12:
#Can a counter-attacking Man United cope with Spurs’ counter-attacks?
Manchester United entertain Tottenham on Wednesday following the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.
The Red Devils didn’t play particularly well but still had chances to score and win the game, with Fred and Marcus Rashford the biggest culprits in squandering glorious opportunities. But they were lucky not to concede at the other end, with Joelinton denied by the bar and the post in the first half.
Man United also looked susceptible to the Newcastle counter-attacks, as Callum Wilson, Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes, Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron caused problems every time they broke forward. This should be enough to signal a warning for Erik ten Hag’s side against a Tottenham side built to execute ruthless counter-attacks under Antonio Conte.
How the United backline and midfield cope with Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, as well as the wing-backs, will be intriguing to watch.
#Can Steven Gerrard get Aston Villa out of the rut?
Aston Villa suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea, as manager Steven Gerrard left the Villa park turf to boos and chants of ‘sacked in the morning’.
However, Gerrard is still in the job and that is purely down to how much the Villa board back him to turn things around at the club. A run of just one win in five games has left the Villans 16th on the table, just a point above the relegation zone.
Up next for Villa is a trip to Fulham, who have enjoyed a bright start to the season following their promotion under Marco Silva. Playing under the lights in an intimidating Craven Cottage is not going to make life easy for the Villa players, and Gerrard will want his team to stand up and show some fight.
With that said, Gerrard must motivate his boys to get a result against Fulham or bear the brunt of the travelling supporters and possibly the axe in the coming days.
#Can the Bees sting the Blues?
Brentford and Chelsea cross swords at the Btech Community Stadium in the much-awaited first west London derby of the season.
Chelsea, under Graham Potter, have enjoyed a perfect October so far with five wins on the trot in all competitions. They are a team in the ascendancy and will enter the contest as favourites.
As for the hosts, Brentford will be fresh and confident from their last week’s 2-0 victory over Brighton. Thomas Frank is expected to get his team firing for the encounter, and while history is not in favour of the Bees’ for a number of reasons, his team have enough in their locker to give Chelsea a run for their money.
Back in April, Brentford produced one of the best performances in their history to beat Chelsea 4-1 at Stamford Bridge. At home, the Bees are a different kettle of fish to face for the opposition and they showed that against Man United in August, and if Frank can get half of what his team did against Chelsea six months back, Potter and co. may have a decent fight on their hands.