5 things to watch this Barclays Premier League weekend

 1.      European hangovers

It’s the first set of Premier League fixtures after teams performed in the group stages of both the Champions League and Europa League and one can expect the games to have an impact on these sides’ domestic performances.

Both Liverpool and Chelsea played their European ties at home and despite Liverpool snatching a late win in what was supposed to be a routine victory over Ludogorets and Chelsea only drawing against Schalke you would not expect either side to be feeling the physical effects going into their respective weekend fixtures against West Ham and Man City. Similarly Everton played their Europa League clash at home to Wolfsburg, a game they won 4-1, the confidence gained from this win is sure to make it more of a benefit than a hindrance.

Two teams who potentially could experience the hangover will be Manchester City and Arsenal, both of whom travelled to Germany and came home with demoralising defeats. Arsenal, who played on Tuesday, you would expect to have recovered physically from their exerts as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Dortmund, the mental effects of this loss will be Arsene Wenger’s only worry ahead of their Aston Villa clash. Manchester City on the other hand will be feeling both physical and mental fatigue after their heart-breaking loss to German champions Bayern Munich, conceding a last minute goal after an energy sapping display, they will however have to get over the loss quickly as they face league leaders Chelsea on Sunday.

Spurs made the long trip to face Serbian side Partizan Belgrade, after being held to a goalless draw Spurs will be hoping they have a squad to deal with the fatigue from travelling such a long distance for the game with West Brom.

1    2.      Liverpool’s response

After last weekends home defeat to Aston Villa and a below par performance mid week against Ludogorets where they scraped a win, all eyes will be on Upton Park on Saturday for the late kick-off to see if Liverpool will bounce back and return to winning ways.

Having scored his first goal for the club on Tuesday night, Brendan Rodgers and the Liverpool faithful will be hoping Mario Balotelli can push on and set them on their way to another away win.

The game comes too early for star man Daniel Sturridge who is in contention to return for the derby the following week. With it being the fifth game of the Premier League season it is time for this Liverpool side to start gelling before its too late and they find themselves miles behind the Premier League frontrunners.

1    3.      Mesut Ozil

Arsenal’s record signing has come under increased scrutiny this week following another below par performance in his home country against Borussia Dortmund, in one German newspaper his performance was rated the lowest on the pitch adding to the calls that he has been another big Premier League flop.

Much criticism has been put to Arsene Wenger about his use of their most expensive asset, Ozil has increasingly been played on the left side, a position he is neither comfortable nor capable of performing to the best of his ability in.

After the poor performances of late, interest is high on whether Ozil will start or will he be finally dropped for their trip to Aston Villa, should he start it will be interesting to see if Wenger listens to the pleas of many and plays him through the middle or whether he continues to try the German on the left.

 4. Pardew and Newcastle

A week on from Newcastle’s embarrassment at the hands of Southampton, Pardew and his men play host to Hull in a game you feel they must win should Alan Pardew still be in a job by Monday.

In a week where Pardew admitted he is fighting for his job and the Newcastle fans continued to voice their discontent at the team’s current form, Newcastle will be looking to get their season back on track and start climbing the table.

Currently lying bottom of the table, a home game is exactly what Newcastle need and despite the good start to the season made by Hull, all of Newcastle will be expecting three points or else we could see the first Premier League sacking of the season.

1    5.      Manchester City vs Chelsea 

Last but certainly not least, the biggest game of the weekend and season so far takes place on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium as rampaging league leaders Chelsea travel to champions Manchester City in what is being billed as an early title six pointer.

With both sides having ambitions of winning this seasons Barclays Premier League this game promises to be a classic, being at home Manchester City will try to take the game to Chelsea who similarly will want to exert their dominance early on in the game hopefully resulting in an entertaining game.

Chelsea main man Diego Costa will be hoping to continue his great run of 7 goals in 4 games while Man City poacher Sergio Aguero will be hoping to add to his 3 goals this season, one would expect which ever team can stop the opponents striker will take a giant step to winning the game.

Already five points behind, a defeat for City could be vital, a win however will see them close the gap to two points, no matter what this game promises to be a cracker.

Welbeck can flourish

In a hectic transfer window one of the most surprising deals was that of Danny Welbeck as he swapped Manchester for London in a sixteen million pound move.

Like fellow teammateTom Cleverley who also headed for the exit door on deadline day, this move could work wonders for Welbeck and his career, he could progress from the average player he is to the star that was expected of him when he burst onto the scene.

"He played three seasons for the first team, but he doesn't have the record of Robin van Persie or Wayne Rooney. And that is the standard," Van Gaal said when explaining why he let the young Englishman go.

His 29 goals in 142 games is not a glamorous record when put up against his replacement Radamel Falcao who possesses a phenomenal record of 220 goals in 356 games, this does not truly reflect the impact of Welbeck who for much of his United career has been played on the wings compared to Falcao who has been a number nine for his entire career.

The move to Arsenal could see Welbeck blossom into the goal-scoring striker that he has for so long threatened to become, especially now that we would expect he will be the main man up-front for the Gunners due to their lack of depth in the area and the lengthy absence of Giroud through injury.

You can’t help but feel a sense of de-ja-vu with this transfer thinking back to fellow Englishman Daniel Sturridge’s move from Chelsea to Liverpool, while at Chelsea Sturridge was not seen as a main striking option and was played frequently on the wing, hence his poor goal-scoring record of 13 goals in 63 games.

Since his move to Liverpool in January 2013 Sturridge, while playing in a more central role, has scored a total of 36 goals in 52 games, his International career has also benefited becoming the main striker and scoring 5 goals in the 12 games sine his Anfield move.

Welbeck will hope to follow in these footsteps and following his double against Switzerland last week he has already shown if given the chance he can score goals at the highest level.

Arsene Wenger is known for developing young players and pacey 23-year-old Danny Welbeck will be hoping he has made the right move at the right time to further his career.

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Cleverley’s new chapter

One player who is sure to be ecstatic about starting a new chapter in his career is 25-year-old Tom Cleverley, after becoming a scapegoat for the fans last season at Manchester United his loan move to Aston Villa is sure to be a welcome relief.

No longer a part of the English International setup Cleverley has had a tough year, he even was subject to an online petition not to be on the plane to Brazil, a petition that had reached 17500 signatures.

Tom Cleverley was no stranger to criticism but surely this took its toll on the young man, the last year has undoubtedly been confidence sapping but with a new club comes a new start and Cleverley will be hoping that on this occasion the grass will be greener on the other side.

Cleverley has racked up a total of thirteen international appearances, these are no flukes Cleverley earned these caps, Cleverley has the potential to be a strong Premier League midfielder and will be hoping he can recreate the form he showed during his loan spell at Wigan in 2010/11, where he was an integral member at the team, at Aston Villa.

Aston Villa is, with all due respect, a smaller club than Manchester United and the pressure Tom Cleverley will be under will be considerably lower maybe suiting the loanee.

Under the guidance of Paul Lambert and assistant manager and former United great Roy Keane, Cleverley could blossom into the man who was once seen as the ideal replacement for Paul Scholes.

At Villa Cleverley should expect to start the majority of games and starting this week-end at Anfield he might even stake a claim to be re-included in the England international squad and who knows maybe this time there will be a petition for him to be included in the squad, stranger things have happened.

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Under-achieving Welsh hope to buck trend

1958, the last and only time Wales were represented in a tournament finals, that being the 1958 World Cup Finals in Sweden. A wait far too long for the followers of the Welsh side and one they hope will end in the near future.

Wales have never qualified for a European Championships in their history, 2004 was the closest they’ve come in recent years losing out narrowly to Russia 1-0 in a play-off.

In their last qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup, Wales were disappointing finishing 5^th in their group behind Belgium, Croatia, Serbia and Scotland while finishing above bottom placed side Macedonia.

This time around optimism surrounds the Welsh national team, their group is by no means straight forward but it is expected to be a coming of age campaign for Chris Coleman and his talented young squad.

Wales see themselves in Group B alongside Belgium, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and Andorra, a tough group but with the top two teams qualifying for the competition and the third place side getting a play off place Wales have a better chance than ever before to qualify for their first ever European Championships.

They kicked off their Qualifying campaign with a 2-1 away win to minnows Andorra in a far more competitive game than was expected for the Welsh, Gareth Bale was on form for Coleman’s side scoring two to come from behind after Andorra opened the scoring from the spot to record their first competitive goal in four years.

The state of the pitch was a major talking point after the game taking much of the attention away from what was an underwhelming performance for the Dragons.

In the latest 23-man squad, Wales have only three players thirty years old or older, the relatively young team is now coming to a point in their careers where they must step up and be counted on the international stage.

The Welsh squad is jam packed with Premier League players; they include Ashley Williams, (Swansea) Ben Davies, (Spurs) Aaron Ramsey, (Arsenal) Joe Allen, (Liverpool) Neil Taylor (Swansea) not to mention the world’s most expensive player Gareth Bale (Real Madrid).

Coleman has now appeared to have entrusted Bale with the striker role, one that he is fulfilling having now scored fourteen International goals, the Welsh midfield also looks bright with Arsenal playmaker Aaron Ramsey at his peak along with Liverpool maestro Joe Allen. Completing the strong spine of the team is Ashley Williams, a rock at the heart of the defence.

With such an array of young talent in their ranks Wales will expect to at least be getting into third place in the group guaranteeing them a play off tie, anything less than this would see them continue their reputation as underachievers for yet another few years. 

Too good to fail!

It’s been a busy first transfer window to say the least for new Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal racking up a transfer spend of around 150 million pounds, the biggest in the Premier League, but was this money well spent?

Van Gaal’s poor start to the season, seeing United gain only 2 points from a possible 9, could have led to some panic buying on transfer deadline day, Falcao’s deadline day loan switch was a surprise to many, his class is undoubted but considering United’s defensive frailty the transfer is questionable.

Manchester United already own arguably two of the best strikers in the Premier League with Van Persie and Rooney so despite the quality of Falcao’s addition is it necessary? At the back the situation is of stark contrast, the central defence area is very weak and the likes of Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling would not be considered anywhere near the best defenders in the Premier League.

The signing of Angel Di Maria is one which is hard to find fault in, United lack a pacey winger like Di Maria and a man that won man of the match in last seasons Champions League final is sure to add something to a team, he may have been overpriced but he is destined to be a success at Old Trafford.

The additions of Ander Herrera and Daley Blind are both exciting and will bolster the midfield but you feel they still need a top midfield maestro to replace the legend that was Paul Scholes.

Despite topping the transfer spend table United and Van Gaal have failed to really strengthen their back four, a position that looks very weak considering Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra have just departed.

The acquisition of Luke Shaw is sure to pay off in the long-term but it is unclear whether he can step up to the mark as a Manchester United player this early in his career, Marcus Rojo who signed for 16 million pounds is a gamble considering going into the World Cup Rojo was widely considered by Argentines as their weak link at the back.

Based on Van Gaal’s work in the transfer market it appears he may be taking Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool’s attempt to outscore teams and almost disregard the defending, a system that despite its apparent lack of organisation is not that easy to perfect.

Liverpool played at a frantic pace last season making it almost impossible for them to be stopped on the counter with Sterling and Sturridge leading the charge but it remains to be seen other than Di Maria do United have the speed within the team to accomplish this system.

The aim for Van Gaal is to guide his team back to Champions League football and by looking at the quality in the squad Rooney, Falcao, Van Persie, Mata, Herrera, Di Maria, surely they are too good to fail, or are they?

Signing so many new players can have a negative effect on a team as Spurs found out last season, it is near impossible to predict what kind of season lies ahead for Manchester United, should the players gel quickly it could be wonderful but if things are slow to take off it could be another woeful season for the Premier League’s most successful club.