Premier League talking points: Man City and Arsenal title tussle, Sancho needs love, Newcastle eye top spot

We pick out the big issues ahead of this weekend's English top-flight fixtures

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, left, and his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola go head-to-head again on Sunday. AP

After the opening round of European fixtures in midweek, we are straight back into the Premier League programme starting with a hectic Saturday schedule.

The day's action starts with a London derby between West Ham United and Chelsea which kicks off at 3.30pm UAE time.

That is followed by six matches at 6pm with Aston Villa playing host to Wolves, Fulham taking on Newcastle United at Craven Cottage, Leicester City tackling Everton at the King Power Stadium, Liverpool entertaining Bournemouth on Merseyside, Southampton facing Ipswich Town on the south coast and Tottenham Hotspur's clash with Brentford in North London.

Crystal Palace are up against Manchester United at Selhurst Park in the late game (8.30pm).

There are two games on Sunday – Brighton versus Nottingham Forest at the Amex (5pm) followed by the top-of-the-table match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium (7.30pm). We pick out the main talking points as we head into Matchday 5.

How will Villa cope after midweek Euro fixtures?

Aston Villa's return to European football's top table for the first time in 41 years could not have gone better as they coasted to a 3-0 Champions League win over Young Boys in Switzerland on Tuesday.

Goals from Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey and Amadou Onana earned Villa three points. But it is how Unai Emery's squad react to the quick turnaround of European to domestic matches that will define their season, with the added burden of a Champions League that has increased in size. “Every game's going to be really tough. This new format makes it even tougher,” admitted Tielemans, who became the first Villa player to score in the competition since Peter Withe in 1983.

When Newcastle returned to Champions League action for the first time in 20 years, the team suffered a nightmare run of injuries that would decimate their 2023/24 campaign and ultimately leave them without European football this season.

And the only down side to the midweek win was the sight of striker Ollie Watkins with an ice pack round his ankle after being substituted in the second half with what is sure to be a blood and thunder derby against Wolves next up.

Can Sancho find a home at Chelsea?

Jadon Sancho made an instant impact after coming on at half time for Chelsea against Bournemouth last week in what was his first Premier League game in more than a year.

The winger – on a season-long loan from Manchester United – immediately looked lively, provided the through-ball for Christopher Nkunku's late winner and was named man of the match for his 45-minute cameo.

Sancho spent last season on loan at former club Borussia Dortmund and helped the German club reach the Champions League final, where they would eventually lose to Real Madrid.

If he can sprinkle some of that stardust at Stamford Bridge then Chelsea will be delighted to sign the 24-year-old England international permanently next summer and Sancho can put his nightmare spell at United firmly behind him.

“Very happy, very happy for him. He was very good,” said Blues manager Enzo Maresca after the Bournemouth win. “I have a feeling that Jadon is a guy that needs love.”

How long will Southampton and Everton remain pointless?

The two teams without a Premier League point this season clashed at Goodison Park in the League Cup on Tuesday when Southampton came out on top in a penalty shoot-out against Everton after the match finished 1-1 in normal time.

“I am really proud of the players,” said Southampton manager Russell Martin. “I understand what we are asking them to do is so tough but they do it with so much courage, conviction and intensity.”

It was a much-needed boost for the promoted Saints who have managed just one goal in the league – a consolation from Yukinari Sugawara in the 3-1 loss at Brentford.

While Southampton have scored the fewest, Everton have conceded the most with Sean Dyche's side leaking 13 goals, having fallen to successive 3-2 defeats where they have been two up on both occasions.

“I didn't walk here blind, I knew it was going to be a big challenge, it has been a bigger challenge than what I thought,” said Dyche after last week's loss to Aston Villa.

Can Newcastle go top of the league?

There could be a new team top of the Premier League on Saturday night, for at least 24 hours anyway. If Newcastle triumph at Fulham, they will leapfrog the current top two in Arsenal and Manchester City who face-off on Sunday.

It will be an unlikely turn of events after a summer of turmoil off the pitch and performances on it which have not justified the current unbeaten record and third place they occupy.

But the ability to grind out wins has worked for Eddie Howe's side so far and last week's comeback victory at Wolves – courtesy of a sublime Harvey Barnes strike – means Newcastle have made their best start to a season in 29 years with three wins and a draw.

The big test will come next weekend when they face a rampant Erling Haaland and Manchester City at St James' Park but first the Magpies will be hoping to wake up on Sunday morning as the division's top dogs.

“It fell in line with other games this season,” said Howe after beating Wolves. “We’ve played really well in passages but not all the way through. What shines through is the ability to find a way through. We can get better but on the whole it was an improvement.”

Will Manchester City or Arsenal land early blow in title battle?

All eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium when title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal go head-to-head for the first time since March when the two teams played out a tense goalless draw at the same venue.

Reigning champions City enjoy the only 100 per cent record in the division with Haaland's brace earning them a 2-1 win over Brentford last weekend.

It was Haaland's eighth and ninth goals already this season which means the Norwegian has scored more goals than every other team as a whole in the top-flight. “I don't expect him to score three, two goals every game,” admitted manager Pep Guardiola on Tuesday.

As for the unbeaten Gunners, who sit two points behind City, they showed a gritty side to their nature in their 1-0 North London derby win at Spurs, achieved without key midfielders Declan Rice and captain Martin Odegaard.

“The players have thick skin,” manager Mikel Arteta said of his team. “Sometimes to win you have to do the ugly things and they love to do that … day after day the players are hungrier and hungrier.”