Premier League talking points: Emery's anniversary, Arsenal face Liverpool without Saliba

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

Unai Emery is about to celebrate his two-year anniversary since being appointed Aston Villa manager. Reuters

There has been barely been time to take a breath after the midweek European fixtures before the next round of Premier League matches starting on Friday night.

First up will be Leicester City manager Steve Cooper going up against his former club Nottingham Forest at the King Power Stadium (11pm UAE).

Saturday sees four games taking place at 6pm, with Aston Villa hosting Bournemouth, Brentford tackling Ipswich Town at the Gtech Community Stadium, Brighton battling Wolves on the south coast, and Manchester City up against Southampton at the Etihad Stadium. Everton face Fulham in the late match (8.30pm) at Goodison Park.

Sunday starts with three games as Chelsea face Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge, and Crystal Palace entertain Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park, while West Ham United clash with Manchester United in the capital. Last, but by no means least, Arsenal take on table-topping Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

When will the four flops win a game?

With the season about to enter the beginning of November, four clubs have managed to make history, albeit for reasons they will not be celebrating.

Entering Matchday 9, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton have yet to win a game, the first time in 126 years of the English top-flight that this has happened. Ipswich, so impressive when they clinched promotion from the Championship last season, are awaiting their first top-flight victory since 2002 and are outside the bottom three thanks to four draws.

Crystal Palace have three draws to their name but have shown no sign of the form that saw them end last season with six wins from their final seven games as they struggle to cope with the losses of Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen.

For Wolves and Southampton, the situation appears more desperate with the two clubs marooned at the bottom with a point apiece.

Saints manager Russell Martin has seen all the optimism from gaining promotion via the play-offs quickly drain away but he insisted this week that he retains the support of the owners. There is no respite in sight this weekend, though, as they travel north to face Manchester City at the Etihad.

Gary O'Neil's Wolves, meanwhile, face fifth-placed Brighton hoping to avoid a morale-draining sixth straight defeat after a tough start to the season that has included fixtures against Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City.

Is Lopetegui leading the managerial sack race?

Another two managers who have found themselves under early-season pressure go head-to-head at the London Stadium on Saturday.

Julien Lopetegui's West Ham reign is barely 10 games old but already there are murmurs of discontent among Hammers fans with the team struggling to adapt to the Spaniard's tactics, with the team languishing 15th in the table, five points above the bottom three.

Last week's 4-1 thrashing at Tottenham – despite an 18th-minute lead – was West Ham's second demoralising London derby defeat in less than a month following their 3-0 home battering by Chelsea. Lopetegui apologised to fans for his team's second-half display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but insisted that “better moments” are on the way.

After starting the game down in 14th place, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag secured a much-needed 2-1 win over Brentford – a tight scoreline that very much flattered the Bees.

Last week, Ten Hag accused the media of “creating stories and fairytales and bringing lies” after headlines suggested his position was under threat. After the Brentford victory, only United's third win of the campaign, the Dutchman admitted: “The pressure is always there. We have to win every game.”

Is Emery on way to becoming Villa's best?

At the other end of the managerial security list is Unai Emery at Aston Villa, who has enjoyed something of the Midas touch since replacing Steven Gerrard two years ago on November 1.

Villa were three points outside the relegation zone at that point; 24 months later the Spaniard has guided Villa to their best league finish for 28 years (fourth) and into the Champions League for the first time since 1983 (one year after they won the European Cup).

They have made a sensational start on their return to European football's top table, winning all three of their opening games against Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna. Liverpool are the only other club with a 100 per cent record out of the 36 teams taking part in the inaugural league stage.

On the domestic front, Villa are fourth in the Premier League after enjoying their best start in 26 years and they take on Crystal Palace next week for a place in the League Cup quarter-finals. Emery – who won the Europa League three times and a La Liga crown during his coaching career – appears to be the right man to end Villa's 28-year drought for major silverware.

Club captain John McGinn has no doubt of Emery's abilities. “No matter what happens until now and whenever he leaves – we hope it's never – he will certainly go down as one of our club's greatest managers,” said the Scot this week. “He is just so driven. I have never met anyone like him.”

Can Newcastle and Isak find scoring touch?

Goals were never been a problem during Newcastle's previous two league campaigns which saw Eddie Howe's team finish the season fourth and then seventh in the table. Only five teams scored more than Newcastle's 68 in 2022-23, while only three beat their tally of 85 in 2023-24.

The same cannot be said this time round. Only four sides have scored less than Newcastle's eight goals – Manchester United (seven) and winless trio Ipswich (six), Palace (five) and Southampton (six) – with last season's top scorer Alexander Isak (21 in 30 games) scoring just once.

Fellow striker Callum Wilson has yet to kick a ball due to his latest injury while Newcastle's problems have been laid bare in their last two games which saw them draw and lose to Everton and Brighton, respectively, when they scored once from 35 attempts at goal.

Wilson is looking unlikely to feature this weekend as Newcastle aim to win at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2012, while Howe will be hoping Isak rediscovers his scoring touch after only just returning from a toe injury

“You’re always going to miss your strikers if they’re not fit,” said Howe before the Brighton game. “If you take any focal point number nine out of a team, you’re going to miss them.”

How will Arsenal cope without Saliba?

The match of the weekend takes place in North London on Sunday when third-placed Arsenal tackle table-topping Liverpool, with the Gunners hoping to bounce back from their disappointing defeat at Bournemouth.

That loss on the south coast saw William Saliba sent off after half an hour, meaning the Gunners will go into the crucial clash without their classy French centre-half who has established himself as one of Europe's top defenders.

When Arsenal were without Saliba for the tail end of his maiden 2022-23 season, they lost three and drew three of their final 11 games to hand the title to Manchester City on the campaign's final day.

In fact, Arsenal's record with and without Saliba makes for stark reading. In the 73 league games he has played since his debut, the team's win percentage is 74 with their goals conceded per game standing at 0.8. In the 11 games with Saliba missing, the same stats are 45 per cent and 1.6 goals conceded per game.