Premier League: Five questions heading into Gameweek 2
4. What does Chelsea’s best starting XI look like?
No, it’s not time to start panicking if you’re a Chelsea fan. It’s still only Gameweek 2, and despite a thorough 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford in the opening weekend, it’s a long season that will come with inevitable growing pains.
Under the leadership of new manager and club legend Frank Lampard, Chelsea will have to painstakingly find their identity in the early goings of the season. Facing a transfer ban in which they were unable to bring in any new players during the summer transfer period, the Blues have been left with a limited amount of options in all three areas of the pitch.
After the late departure of centre back David Luiz to Arsenal only days before the season began, Lampard is still searching for his best centre back pairing. Will we see the combination of Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen again this weekend against Leicester City? I’d highly doubt it after a poor performance against United, but there’s something to be said about continuity, so perhaps Lampard will run them out again in hopes of the two gaining more experience and trust playing alongside one another. We also didn’t see left back Marcos Alonso start against United. Has he lost in place in the squad to Emerson Palmieri?
In the midfield, it’s a bit of a mess with how many options there are and what potential combinations Lampard may elect to use. Just go down the list: Mason Mount, N’Golo Kanté, Mateo Kovačić, Jorginho, Ross Barkley, Christian Pulisic. It’s anyone’s guess has to what combination will properly unlock the style of play Lampard is hoping to exercise.
Finally, which forward do we think Chelsea will line up against the Foxes this weekend? 21-year old Tammy Abraham showed some promise early against United, hitting the woodwork with a strike, but then was subbed out late for veteran Olivier Giroud in the second half. Meanwhile, Michy Batshuayi is waiting in the wings and back from loan from Crystal Palace. What will Lampard do with him?
Will Chelsea rebound against Leicester at the weekend? It’s tough to say. It may take another week or two (maybe more) of getting exposed for Lampard to find how what is his best starting XI is. This is certainly a question to keep asking ourselves as the season winds on.
August 10, 2019</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br /> All and all, it wasn’t a horrible start for Norwich City, Aston Villa and Sheffield United. They all showed signs as to why they were able to earn promotion last season, albeit in small samplings. They will have to put together more complete performances, and this weekend could be the weekend to do it. All three clubs will have their home openers, stacked up against Newcastle, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively, all very winnable fixtures. It will be fun to see how they fare against these sides at the weekend.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> What do we expect from Chelsea? </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_472891" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-472891 aligncenter" src=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1167403567-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 11: Frank Lampard, Manager of Chelsea acknowledges the fans following his teams defeat in the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea FC at Old Trafford on August 11, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h3>4. What does Chelsea’s best starting XI look like?</h3> <p>No, it’s not time to start panicking if you’re a Chelsea fan. It’s still only Gameweek 2, and despite a thorough 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford in the opening weekend, it’s a long season that will come with inevitable growing pains.</p> <p>Under the leadership of new manager and club legend Frank Lampard, Chelsea will have to painstakingly find their identity in the early goings of the season. Facing a transfer ban in which they were unable to bring in any new players during the summer transfer period, the Blues have been left with a limited amount of options in all three areas of the pitch.</p> <p>After the late departure of centre back David Luiz to Arsenal only days before the season began, Lampard is still searching for his best centre back pairing. Will we see the combination of Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen again this weekend against Leicester City? I’d highly doubt it after a poor performance against United, but there’s something to be said about continuity, so perhaps Lampard will run them out again in hopes of the two gaining more experience and trust playing alongside one another. We also didn’t see left back Marcos Alonso start against United. Has he lost in place in the squad to Emerson Palmieri?</p> <p>In the midfield, it’s a bit of a mess with how many options there are and what potential combinations Lampard may elect to use. Just go down the list: Mason Mount, N’Golo Kanté, Mateo Kovačić, Jorginho, Ross Barkley, Christian Pulisic. It’s anyone’s guess has to what combination will properly unlock the style of play Lampard is hoping to exercise.</p> <p>Finally, which forward do we think Chelsea will line up against the Foxes this weekend? 21-year old Tammy Abraham showed some promise early against United, hitting the woodwork with a strike, but then was subbed out late for veteran Olivier Giroud in the second half. Meanwhile, Michy Batshuayi is waiting in the wings and back from loan from Crystal Palace. What will Lampard do with him?</p> <p>Will Chelsea rebound against Leicester at the weekend? It’s tough to say. It may take another week or two (maybe more) of getting exposed for Lampard to find how what is his best starting XI is. This is certainly a question to keep asking ourselves as the season winds on.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> How significant is the injury to Alisson for Liverpool? </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_472900" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-472900 aligncenter" src=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1167067371-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – AUGUST 09: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Alisson Becker of Liverpool Leaves the pitch after a Injury during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Norwich City at Anfield on August 09, 2019 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h3>3. How does Liverpool cope without Alisson in goal?</h3> <p>Liverpool suffered an unfortunate injury in their opening fixture against Norwich City last week, losing 2018/19 Golden Glove winner Alisson Becker in the first half of play to a calf injury. The team has already ruled him out for their midweek clash against Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup and expect him to be out several weeks.</p> <p>Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has told <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/360305-alisson-becker-calf-injury-update-latest">Liverpoolfc.com, “I saw already like ‘six weeks’ and stuff like this, but Ali was not a lot injured in his career so I would like to wait a little bit to see how he develops in that process now. But he is not in for the next few weeks.”</p> <p>With the Brazilian sidelined, 32-year old Spanish goalkeeper Adrian, formerly of of West Ham, will be relied upon to keep things moving for the European champs. Luckily, he’ll be supported by arguably the most stout back line in all of world football right now with the likes of PFA Player of the Year, Virgil Van Dijk, at centre back and PFA Team of the Year recipients Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold patrolling the wings.</p> <p>Following their meeting with Chelsea this Wednesday, Liverpool will face Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium, Arsenal at home and Burnely at Turf Moor in their next three Premier League fixtures. If there’s a silver lining in the injury, it’s that it comes very early on in the season and with an international break in sights. If Alisson can return to action following the two week gap in early September or even shortly thereafter with Liverpool maintaining one of the top spot in the table, there’s no reason to think that this injury will be anything more than a small blip in their season.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> What Spurs team will we see against Man City? </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_472903" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-472903 aligncenter" src=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1160682945-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen (left) and Harry Kane (right) after the final whistle Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa – Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 10-08-2019 . (Photo by Steven Paston/EMPICS/PA Images via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h3>2. Do Spurs have enough to compete with Manchester City?</h3> <p>For approximately 70 minutes of their opening match against Aston Villa, Tottenham looked quite pedestrian. Attacking, but not quite enough in the final third of the pitch to put away Villa. Enter Christian Eriksen.</p> <p>Rumored to be on his way out to a new challenge with Real Madrid, upon the Dane’s entrance into the game in the 64th minute, Eriksen seemed to be the puzzle piece that Spurs had been missing all afternoon. From there, the Spurs went on to tie the game up with a superb strike from Tanguy Ndombele and pulled ahead on a brace from Harry Kane. A formation shift from a 4-4-2 diamond to a 4-2-3-1 seemed to work wonders for a team that had struggled for most of the day.</p> <p>This weekend Spurs will travel to the Etihad Stadium to face two-time defending Premier League champions Manchester City who are coming off a 5-0 thumping of West Ham thanks in large part to a hat trick from Raheem Sterling.</p> <p>Everyone will remember the dramatic Champions League duel the two clubs had last season, Spurs winning 4-4 on aggregate due to their away goals and propelling them to a finals appearance, the one trophy that has alluded City and manager Pep Guardiola since he arrived at the club in 2016.</p> <p>Will we get a repeat of that game? An open-ended, free-flowing extravaganza of offensive football? Smart money would say no. City had to go for it in that game. They’ll likely play it closer to the vest this weekend. But one thing is for certain. On their best day, Spurs can hang with anyone in the league. All things considered and with Eriksen in the starting lineup, I expect Spurs to put up quite the fight this weekend against the Sky Blues.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Buy or Sell: Manchester United is back </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-472907 aligncenter" src=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1161053804-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"> Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford celebrates his sides third goal of the game Manchester United v Chelsea – Premier League – Old Trafford 11-08-2019 . (Photo by Nick Potts/EMPICS/PA Images via Getty Images)</p> <h3>1. What to make of Manchester United’s performance?</h3> <p>The same way one has to take Chelsea’s opening week performance with a grain of salt, it would be wise for Manchester United fans to do the same. Despite what was an obviously impressive 4-0 result, it was against a team that is in transition at the moment. This gameweek against Wolverhampton Wanderers should be a better primer of where this team is currently.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia"> <div id="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-position="slideshow_inline" data-slot="inline_472877" style="width:300px;margin: 0 auto;"> <script> googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.defineSlot("/175840252/fansided.com/Playingfor90/mpu",[300, 250], "minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet") .addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.enableServices(); googletag.display("minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet"); }); </script> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p>That being said, all of United’s new arrivals shined. Newly minted centre back Harry Maguire looked as if he has been in that red jersey his entire life, right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka looked like he had gotten even faster and tougher to beat since his breakout season last year at Crystal Palace and Daniel James, the 21-year old Welch product fresh off his transfer from Swansea City got his first goal as a United player. All storybook stuff, really.</p> <p>Marcus Rashford added a brace, one from the penalty spot and another from a magnificent pass over the top from Paul Pogba, who by all accounts played an outstanding game in the middle of the park. For as much gossip that follows the guy, when he’s on, he can really be on. There are few players in the world that can match him. And if all of that wasn’t enough, new no. 9 Anthony Martial finished off a beautiful low cross in the box to get his own goal. What more could you want from an attacking point of view?</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">We’re gonna see that Pogba pass in our dreams tonight!</p> <p>Sleep well everyone, 37 more weeks to go. ❤️ <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://t.co/GHRK0I9g78">pic.twitter.com/GHRK0I9g78 <p>— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://twitter.com/NBCSportsSoccer/status/1160706836443611137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 12, 2019</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>But is United back? I’d probably pump the breaks on that. For now at least. They won’t face another top six side until the end of September and should be towards the top of the table come the winter. Their pace of play was a joy to watch against Chelsea. If they’re able to replicate that same type of intensity and finishing quality for any sustained amount of time, they’ll be a real threat to finish in the top four of the table and earn a birth back into the Champions League.</p> <p>What do you think? Is Manchester United back in a real way?</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Manchester United: Is Paul Pogba playing for a move away?" data-url="https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/12/manchester-united-paul-pogba-playing-move-away/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/14/premier-league-five-questions-heading-gameweek-2/2/"https://playingfor90.com/2019/08/12/manchester-united-paul-pogba-playing-move-away/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Manchester United: Is Paul Pogba playing for a move away? </a> </div> </div><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">