Football writer Alex Keble assesses the questions that could be answered by Saturday and Sunday's Premier League action:
- Does Man Utd’s new directness give them the advantage in a crossroads derby?
- Will Postecoglou open Forest up – and help out a slowing Arsenal?
- How will Slot fit Isak into this Liverpool team?
- Can new strikers help Newcastle or Wolves get their season up and running?
- Will Grealish haunt his former club, or can new signings inspire Villa's first win?
- Can Andrews’ low block again be effective for Brentford?
- Could Bournemouth v Brighton prove to be a six-pointer in European race?
- Are Muani and Simons just what Spurs needed against the likes of West Ham?
- Will new signing Kevin inspire Fulham to a much-needed first win?
- Can Sunderland take advantage of Palace injuries to enter exclusive club?
Does Man Utd's new directness give them the advantage in a crossroads derby?
This is the most significant and pressurised Manchester derby in some time. Both managers are rebooting; both spluttered through August.
Ruben Amorim’s rebuild clearly needs a big result to get things going. A last-gasp penalty to beat Burnley was hardly the moment his project clicked.
Pep Guardiola has lost two of his first three Premier League matches for the first time ever. The last time Manchester City lost three of their first four was in 1995/96, a season in which they were relegated.
As their respective tactical plans shift, Amorim looks well-placed to beat Guardiola.
Manchester United have been notably more direct this season, using Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha as a battering ram to get the ball into the final third much faster. Amorim's men have made the most off-ball runs in behind their opponent’s defensive line in the Premier League this season (131), with Mbeumo responsible for 54, the most of any player.
The ability to sit in and counter-attack has almost always been the secret to Man Utd’s success against Man City, explaining all four of their Premier League wins at the Etihad in the Guardiola era.
And a more urgent directive could be especially impactful while Man City’s midfield remains higher and more stretched than in years gone by. Guardiola’s team look easier to counter-attack against, especially through the middle as Tijjani Reijnders adapts to the division.
Amorim’s system is all about funnelling attacks through the middle, getting Cunha and Mbeumo on the ball.
If it works, Man Utd could record an era-defining – or era-starting – victory, and condemn Guardiola’s Man City 2.0 to a season of toil.
Will Postecoglou open Forest up – and help out a slowing Arsenal?
Ange Postecoglou’s arrival at Nottingham Forest represents something of a gamble.
On the surface, his high defensive line and expansive attacking football is the polar opposite of the reactive caution of his predecessor at Forest, although there are some important caveats.
Forest v Spurs team-style comparison, last two seasons
First, Postecoglou abandoned his supposed non-negotiables in the second half of last season, winning the UEFA Europa League by playing defensive football. The Tottenham Hotspur job might have changed him.
Second, Nuno Espirito Santo had already begun to move Forest towards more progressive ideas this season; Forest have made the second-most high-intensity pressures in the final third in 2024/25 (301).
However, if Postecoglou has come to the City Ground to reassert Ange-ball then Forest might be in trouble at Arsenal.
Nikola Milenkovic's red card for a last-man lunge on Harry Kane in Serbia's defeat to England was instructive. He will struggle with a high defensive line.
More generally, Forest might find it very difficult to adapt to such wildly proactive football, meaning there could be spaces all over the pitch for Arsenal to exploit.
Considering the growing concern for Arsenal’s sluggishness – they are second bottom of the Premier League for open-play xG (1.54) – playing a Postecoglou team might be just what Arteta needs.
How will Slot fit Isak into this Liverpool team?
Liverpool’s first match against a Scott Parker team since they beat AFC Bournemouth 9-0 in August 2022 is the kind of game Arne Slot would expect to win comfortably.
The arrival of Alexander Isak might make that even more likely – or it might overcomplicate things a little.
It isn’t exactly clear how Isak fits into the team. Hugo Ekitike has netted twice as the No 9 and Liverpool, scoring eight goals in three games but looking vulnerable on the break, already look to be leaning too heavily into their attack.
Perhaps Ekitike will be shunted out to the left, but will that not further hurt Milos Kerkez, who is already struggling for form? Maybe Ekitike will play behind Isak, but where does that leave Florian Wirtz?
Finding the right balance was already an issue for Slot despite Liverpool’s 100-per-cent record. Football is never the simple equation it is made out to be. Adding a reliable goalscorer does not automatically mean the team will score more goals.
Slot has some problems to solve.
Can new strikers help Newcastle or Wolves get their season up and running?
Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are yet to win a Premier League match this season. Both have struggled to create chances, both have drawn a blank in two of their three games, and both spent big at the end of the window on No 9s.
An instant impact is needed from Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade at Newcastle, or Tolu Arokodare at Wolves.
Wissa scored 19 Premier League goals last season in a transition-focused Brentford team that are not unlike Eddie Howe’s team in their attacking dynamics.
But Wissa might not start this game, with Woltemade, who scored 17 in all competitions for Stuttgart last season, arguably a better option against a defensive team like Wolves.
Arokodare was the joint leading scorer in the Belgian Pro League in 2024/25 with 21 goals, although he did under-perform his xG by 7.6. He, too, may end up on the bench, given that Jorgen Strand Larsen did not move on deadline day.
But whether starting or coming off the bench, it feels likely that one of the three new strikers will play a role in getting their team up and running.
Will Grealish haunt his former club, or can new signings inspire Villa's first win?
Of all the clubs who made deadline-day signings, Aston Villa surely needed it the most.
Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho have signed for a side yet to score a single Premier League goal this season. Only four teams in Premier League history have failed to score in any of the first four: Sheffield Wednesday 1993/94, Newcastle 2005/06, Swansea City 2011/12, and Crystal Palace 2017/18.
Sancho gives Villa the width and pace they have lacked this season, especially in the turgid 1-0 defeat at Brentford. Elliot injects creativity, drawing some of the attention from Morgan Rogers: Elliot has been involved in seven goals in his last seven Premier League starts (two goals, five assists).
Everton won their first match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium but it’s important to note that Brighton & Hove Albion were well on top in the first half and could easily have put the game out of sight. For all the excitement around David Moyes’ new attackers, they will be vulnerable if Elliot and Sancho start quickly.
Then again, this feels like a very bad time for Villa to be facing their old player Jack Grealish, who has four assists in two games for Everton.
It would hurt Villa fans to see Grealish flourish against them, but especially if it inflicted one of the worst starts in the club’s Premier League history.
Can Andrews’ low block again be effective for Brentford?
Pre-season predictions by some that Brentford will struggle to avoid relegation may have died down since the 1-0 victory over Aston Villa, but the sample size here is too small.
It looks as though Keith Andrews will need to rely on games like that one to win points. Brentford sat deep, blocked the middle, and forced Villa into lame possession football, holding just 24 per cent of the ball.
The visit of Chelsea is definitely a test of how effective this tactic can be long-term. At their worst, Enzo Maresca's side are slow and sideways, relatively frequently finding themselves stumped against low blocks in 2024/25: seven times last season, Chelsea held 65 per cent or more possession, winning just once.
The difference this year, so far, has been the line-breaking thrust of Estevao Willian – who has made a remarkable 18 dribbles in just 181 minutes – and Joao Pedro. With the addition of Alejandro Garnacho, Chelsea might have enough trickery to break through.
Could Bournemouth v Brighton prove to be a six-pointer in European race?
It may be a bit early to be talking about six-pointers, but the points count the same whether won in September or May, and looking at the major transfers made by the "Big Six" clubs, it feels unlikely there is space for both AFC Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion to get into Europe.
It could come down to their head-to-heads. Just five points separated the two sides last season in eighth and ninth, and this year eighth could mean UEFA Conference League qualification.
That is surely the target for both managers, especially after such good starts to 2025/26: two wins apiece.
Since 14 February, when Brighton were beaten 7-0 by Forest, only Liverpool (36), Man City (33) and Chelsea (33) have won more points than their 31.
Bournemouth have faced a division-low 11 shots and two shots on target, keeping clean sheets in their last two matches since losing 4-2 at Liverpool on the opening day.
If one of the two maintains momentum on Saturday, and wins a six-pointer in the process, then come May it might prove to be one of the most important results of the season.
Are Muani and Simons just what Spurs needed against the likes of West Ham?
The most exciting signings at the end of the window were arguably the deals done by Spurs.
Randal Kolo Muani scored nine goals in 13 Serie A matches in half a season at Juventus, showing why Paris Saint-Germain reportedly paid £70 million for him two years ago. He could be a revelation up front.
Xavi Simons averaged 0.67 goals or assists per 90 for RB Leipzig last season and the 22-year-old is one of the most highly regarded young forwards in Europe.
Spurs' 1-0 home defeat to Bournemouth brought Thomas Frank's side back down to earth following a promising start under their new head coach, but Muani and Simons ought to raise the tempo again.
They are precisely the kind of quick, attacking players Frank needs when facing more conservative sides such as West Ham United.
Will new signing Kevin inspire Fulham to a much-needed first win?
Fulham are yet to win a Premier League match this season, but after a tough set of opening fixtures, Marco Silva will look forward to consecutive home encounters against Leeds United and Brentford.
This is a good time for Kevin to join. The 22-year-old scored six goals and assisted a further two in 24 league outings for Shakhtar Donetsk last season, and also netted twice in the UEFA Champions League league phase, including a ruthless opener against Bayern Munich.
Just a single contribution like that could be enough to beat Leeds. Daniel Farke’s side have only scored once in 2025/25, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin, in line to start, has drawn a blank from an xG of 1.51 in two matches in all competitions.
Since 2022/23, Calvert-Lewin has underperformed his Premier League xG by the most of any player (-13.7, or 12 goals from 25.7 xG).
Can Sunderland take advantage of Palace injuries to enter exclusive club?
Only twice before has a promoted club won three of their first four matches in the Premier League. Sunderland are looking to join Nottingham Forest (1994/95) and Bolton Wanderers (2001/02).
Both of their victories so far have been at the Stadium of Light, so three points on the road would be a huge milestone for Sunderland.
Selhurst Park is a tough place to go, although their task could be helped by injuries to Adam Wharton and Ismaila Sarr, who has scored two of Palace’s four Premier League goals this season.
With Europa Conference League football to juggle this season, Oliver Glasner will need to get used to rotating the team.