English top flight: ten highlights to keep an eye on this matchday

Walker faces Garnacho ready for a new encounter

A Mancunian rematch might be in store when Burnley's Kyle Walker confronts Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho on Burnley's turf. The winger is finding his feet with Chelsea after his summer move from Old Trafford and demonstrated his abilities versus Wolverhampton prior to the national team interval. His assist for Pedro Neto mixed electric speed with a ideal grounded ball. His build-up for Malo Gusto required shifting infield prior to chipping a ball across the goalmouth. His goal reaction with Neto, mirroring his prior hug with Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Højlund, acted as a testament of how quickly things transform. The most recent instance Garnacho encountered Walker? Back when the Argentine scored for United in the cup final win over Manchester City.

Burnley vs Chelsea, Saturday half past twelve (start times GMT)

Antoine Semenyo vital to stopping Bournemouth's slump

Antoine Semenyo is attracting the full gossip column focus due to a reported £65m release clause for his potential January departure, the media setting him up for advancement from the Premier League's mid-table ranks. This is to be expected for a wide player who has a half-dozen strikes plus three setups who is joyous to watch. However, his side find themselves in an tricky situation, experiencing a form flip: now it's the relegation battlers West Ham who enter with consecutive triumphs, whereas Bournemouth are down seven to one over two games in their last two fixtures following an promising opening to the campaign. Semenyo saw his attempt stopped from the spot by Emi Martínez in the four-nil loss by Aston Villa however taking on a backline that hasn't kept a clean sheet for months could be the perfect solution.

Bournemouth versus West Ham, Saturday three o'clock

The striker an outside choice for the national team

It was intriguing to hear Thomas Tuchel name-drop Danny Welbeck repeatedly throughout the national team window despite the fact that the Brighton attacker celebrates 35 soon. “Without even having met him, I am aware what he could give me,” said the England boss. “He could serve as a stand-in for Harry [Kane] in a quite conventional No 9 position.” Having won the most recent of his 42 England games in 2018, there is every chance that Welbeck might be selected for the World Cup assuming he is able to sustain his goalscoring feats. The ex- Manchester United and Arsenal forward has more goals over every other English footballer in the Premier League this season with six and will be keen to boost that count as Brighton host Brentford this weekend.

Brighton vs Brentford, Saturday three o'clock

The full-back needed as playmaker and goalscorer

The Ryan Sessegnon tale has offered some warmth to Fulham's bumpy opening. The 25-year-old, who returned to his youth team in 2024 after five tough years in north London, has become a consistent pick, operating on the left side due to the injury of the unavailable Antonee Robinson. The worry? Having scored twice, he is their leading marksman this season alongside Harry Wilson. Their main striker, their leading man in the last term, has netted a single goal whereas Rodrigo Muniz is unavailable for the long term due to a hamstring operation. Sessegnon must also needing to deliver as a creator instead of Robinson, who registered ten setups last season. The Cottagers' next four games feature three from the top five as well as Crystal Palace, who have let in merely nine strikes in the league to date. Trouble awaits for a team that have built a standing for mid-table stability.

Fulham against Sunderland, Saturday afternoon 3pm

5. Time for Alexander Isak to produce for the Merseyside club

The dispute surrounding Virgil van Dijk's ruled-out strike against Manchester City failed to mask Liverpool's inferiority during the match as they succumbed to a seventh defeat over ten fixtures. The manager's squad need a consistent improvement to force their way into the title race from here, along with a dramatic upturn in results, and a chance emerges as seven of their upcoming ten Premier League matches against clubs currently in the bottom half in the standings. The threat is obvious posed by Nottingham Forest, the only team to inflict a home league defeat to the title holders the previous campaign, but it is not only Liverpool's display against aerial passes and fast breaks that is under scrutiny. Now is the occasion that Alexander Isak to perform for Liverpool. The big-money forward has not played in domestic action over four weeks after picking up a muscle issue during his second start in four days in Europe win at Eintracht Frankfurt. Isak returned from the bench during Sweden's defeat to Switzerland but was rested the midweek meaningless match against Slovenia to secure his fitness for next year's World Cup qualifiers. A caution in that match would have suspended him. The striker could be short of|lacking|deficient