{"id":4562,"date":"2024-11-20T16:56:22","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T16:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betwealthsuretips.com\/blog\/premier-league-returns-five-talking-points-for-english-top-flight-weekend\/"},"modified":"2024-11-20T16:56:22","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T16:56:22","slug":"premier-league-returns-five-talking-points-for-english-top-flight-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betwealthsuretips.com\/blog\/premier-league-returns-five-talking-points-for-english-top-flight-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Premier League Returns: Five Talking Points For English Top-Flight Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
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<\/picture><\/span>Image source, <\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/p>

Image caption, <\/span><\/p>\n

Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League before the international break<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Emlyn Begley<\/p>\n

BBC Sport journalist<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Premier League returns this weekend – for its first properly undisrupted run of the season.<\/b><\/p>\n

Top-level club football has had to stop for international breaks in September, October and November, but the next one is not until March now.<\/p>\n

It coincides with the busy festive period next month.<\/p>\n

BBC Sport looks at five talking points as the Premier League gets back under way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Can anyone stop Liverpool? Will City get back to winning ways?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Liverpool are flying under Arne Slot and sit top of the Premier League and the Champions League table, having dropped points in just two games this season.<\/p>\n

They are five points clear of Manchester City, who have lost four games in a row in all competitions – something Pep Guardiola had never experienced before in his managerial career (excluding penalty shootouts).<\/p>\n

Despite their recent run and speculation about the Spaniard’s future, however, Guardiola this week agreed a new one-year deal to extend his stay at Etihad Stadium to 10 years.<\/p>\n

It is a timely boost for City, who have another potentially tough game at home to Tottenham on Saturday (17:30 GMT) as they bid to avoid five defeats in a row.<\/p>\n

This is the sixth occasion a team has been five points clear after 11 games – the first five all ended up as champions.<\/p>\n

But City have won the last four Premier League titles and trailed the leaders by more than five points at one stage in each of those seasons.<\/p>\n

Liverpool and City have one Premier League game each before they meet in a potential blockbuster at Anfield on Sunday, 1 December.<\/p>\n

Arsenal, who have been runners-up for the past two seasons, are four points back – level with Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Brighton.<\/p>\n

The Gunners and Forest meet on Saturday at 15:00 GMT at the Emirates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Opta’s Premier League title winner simulation (percentages)<\/h2>\n

Excludes teams with a below 1% chance – Chelsea 0.3%, Newcastle 0.1%<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Opta<\/p>\n

<\/defs><\/clipPath><\/g><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Media caption, <\/span><\/p>\n

I’m ready for the challenge – Amorim before starting role as Man Utd manager<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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There will be a new face in the Premier League this weekend – new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim.<\/p>\n

The deal was done for the Sporting manager on 1 November but his Portuguese club wanted him to wait until the international break before moving.<\/p>\n

Ruud van Nistelrooy had been in interim charge after the sacking of Erik ten Hag – but the club’s former striker departed too as Amorim did not want him part of his backroom staff.<\/p>\n

Amorim takes his new team to Ipswich on Sunday (16:30 GMT) in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

He is expected to play the 3-4-3 formation he preferred in Portugal – a big change from the standard four-man defence they had under Ten Hag.<\/p>\n

However, he might only get his full squad together two days before his first game because of players being around the world for international games.<\/p>\n

United will hope Amorim’s first Premier League game goes like his first Portuguese top-flight match as a manager – when his Braga side won 7-1 at Belenenses in January 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Everyone has won, but who will kick on at the bottom?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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After eight games there were four teams without any wins but, three games later, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton have one victory each.<\/p>\n

Everton and Leicester, who have two wins this term, remain only three points clear of the bottom three.<\/p>\n

The Saints are only given a 5.2% of survival by Opta, despite being only four points off safety at this stage.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully I’ll be talking to you in two weeks,” Saints boss Russell Martin told journalists before the international break. “If not, we’ll see.”<\/p>\n

But he remains in charge for Saturday’s home game against leaders Liverpool.<\/p>\n

One Southampton player in buoyant mood will be defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who scored on his England debut against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Fixture congestion coming up…<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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We are approaching the first time of the season when managers have to juggle their first-team squads as the fixtures start to pile up.<\/p>\n

Four teams have nine games in December. The Carabao Cup quarter-finals are also being played the week before Christmas – and European games continue through December as a result of the new formats.<\/p>\n

Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United all have nine games in December, an average of one every 3.4 days.<\/p>\n

Some clubs, including Nottingham Forest and Brighton – who are fifth and sixth in the table respectively – only have six matches in the final month of 2024.<\/p>\n

However, rest periods from rounds 17 and 20 this year have been increased to ensure no club plays within 60 hours of another match.<\/p>\n

Last season Chelsea played three games in the space of 142 hours.<\/p>\n

There will be no winter break in this campaign either – meaning clubs will be playing pretty much solidly until the first World Cup qualifiers – and next Nations League games – take place in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And what about injuries?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

That brings us to injuries.<\/p>\n

Nine players pulled out of the England squad for the recent Nations League double-header, an amount that raised eyebrows from fans – and even Three Lions captain Harry Kane.<\/p>\n

We will find out when managers do their news conferences on Thursday and Friday how many out of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale, Levi Colwill and Jarrad Branthwaite will be fit for this weekend’s games.<\/p>\n

Liverpool have not yet said whether keeper Alisson Becker could be back after six weeks out injured – but if he does return that could be the end of Caoimhin Kelleher’s spell in the team.<\/p>\n

One player who will be out for a while is Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, who was handed a seven-match domestic ban by the Football Association for using a racial slur about team-mate Son Heung-min.<\/p>\n

He can still play Europa League matches but will not be available in the Premier League until 26 December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Related topics<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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More on this story<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

<\/main><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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