The international break is over, and the Premier League is back with a bang this weekend. All eyes will be on big new signings, an old face returning to management and one of the most pressurized Manchester derbies in years.
Alexander Isak, Alejandro Garnacho, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Nick Woltemade and many more could all make their debuts this weekend after late transfer window moves to their new teams. Ange Postecoglou, fired by Tottenham Hotspur after guiding them to their first trophy since 2008 by winning this past season’s Europa League, will take charge of Nottingham Forest for the first time after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo at the City Ground this week. And the heat is rising in Manchester as rival managers Pep Guardiola and Ruben Amorim attempt to prevent bad starts from becoming even worse in a high-stakes matchup at the Etihad Stadium.
After a two-week shutdown just three games into the season, here is what to watch for as the Premier League slips back into gear.
Are Nottingham Forest ready for Ange-ball?
There was no real surprise about Nuno Espírito Santo’s exit as Forest coach this week after a public admission that his relationship with club owner Evangelos Marinakis had broken down in recent months. However, the decision to replace him with Postecoglou will be a significant style change for that squad.
All of ESPN. All in one place.
Watch your favorite events in the newly enhanced ESPN App. Learn more about what plan is right for you. Sign Up Now
Having qualified for the Europa League this past season thanks to a solid defensive plan implemented by Nuno — a disciplined low block combined with rapid counterattacks — Forest now have a coach in Postecoglou whose high-line defense and philosophy of pressing high is the opposite of his predecessor’s. With Postecoglou facing a return to north London to face Arsenal on Saturday, he couldn’t have asked for a much tougher start. Marinakis is not known for his patience, so Ange-ball needs to work quickly.
Can Forest switch from the Nuno blueprint to the Postecoglou plan — aka Ange-ball — with the players in their squad? Or are the team and their supporters in for a bumpy ride under the former Spurs boss?
Garnacho and Sancho to bounce back?
Manchester United have become a wasteland for promising young forwards in recent years. Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Højlund and Antony all failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford.
Rashford (Barcelona), Højlund (Napoli) and Antony (Real Betis) moved overseas this summer in an attempt to kick-start their careers, but Garnacho (Chelsea) and Jadon Sancho (Aston Villa) have each been handed a shot at Premier League redemption.
– Dawson: As difficulties mount at Man City, could this be Pep’s last year?
– Tighe: The strangely specific transfer obsessions of elite clubs
– Ogden: Man United let goalkeeper problem fester. Will Onana exit solve it?
Sancho’s loan to Villa, after spending the past 18 months on loan to Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea respectively, could be the 25-year-old’s last chance to save his Premier League career. Villa boss Unai Emery did help reignite Rashford during his six-month spell at the club this past season. Garnacho’s fall from grace at United happened quicker than Sancho’s, but the Argentina international is still regarded as one of the brightest young talents in the game.
Both players could make debuts for their new teams on Saturday — Villa travel to Everton and Chelsea visit Brentford — and have plenty to prove.
Will Isak slot straight into Liverpool’s starting XI?
Isak was given 18 minutes as a substitute during Sweden’s 2-0 World Cup qualification loss to Kosovo on Tuesday, finally registering his first match involvement of the 2025-26 season.
After a summer dominated by the 25-year-old’s determination to leave Newcastle United for Liverpool, which even saw him training away from his St. James’ Park teammates, a place on the bench at Burnley on Sunday seems the most likely outcome for the new £125 million British-record signing. But the former Real Sociedad forward has been signed to lead coach Arne Slot’s strike force at Anfield, so don’t expect him to spend too much time on the sidelines.
The big question is where Isak will fit into Slot’s team and who will have to make way for the new signing. Can Slot really select Isak, Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz in the same side? We’ll soon find out.
0:39
Isak: ‘Not everyone has full picture’ of Liverpool transfer
Alexander Isak talks about his deadline day move to Liverpool from Newcastle that ended a summer-long transfer saga.
A derby neither Guardiola nor Amorim can afford to lose
By losing two and winning one of their first three Premier League games, Manchester City have made their worst start to a season since 2004-05. They enter the 187th Manchester derby against United on Sunday behind their neighbors in the table for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign. But it hasn’t been much better for Amorim’s United, whose slow start to the season — four points from three games — has been made much worse by the second-round Carabao Cup defeat against League Two side Grimsby Town.
STREAM ESPN FC DAILY ON ESPN+
Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and others to bring you the latest highlights and debate the biggest storylines. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only).
It feels like City and United enter Sunday’s clash at the Etihad knowing they are each one defeat from a crisis.
Both Guardiola and Amorim also have big goalkeeping dilemmas to solve, with the City boss needing to decide whether to hand Gianluigi Donnarumma his debut after his deadline-day move from Paris Saint-Germain, and Amorim having to choose between the error-prone Altay Bayindir and 23-year-old Senne Lammens after his arrival from Royal Antwerp.
Martínez made a tearful farewell to Aston Villa fans at the end of this past season, but despite a summer of transfer speculation linking the Argentina goalkeeper with Manchester United, the 33-year-old failed to get a move away from Villa Park. Having been popular among the club’s supporters during his five years at Villa, Martínez’s standing has taken a hit, and the former Arsenal goalkeeper now has some work to do if he’s to get back in the fans’ good books.
Martínez has spent a career using his big personality to either enrage supporters or command their affections. Therefore, it’s unlikely he will be fazed by the possibility of a cool reception from Villa supporters if he returns to the team away to Everton this weekend. Yes, he has been on the naughty step in the eyes of the Villa fans for pursuing a move away, but because Martínez is still one of the world’s best goalkeepers, you would expect him to win over his critics.
Woltemade and Wissa forge new strike force
Have Newcastle turned back the clock by adopting the old “big one and little one” approach to building a strike partnership with Woltemade and Yoane Wissa? Or will manager Eddie Howe unveil a different tactic with his new forward line?
Isak’s move to Liverpool, after Callum Wilson departed as a free agent at the end of this past season, has forced Newcastle to completely rebuild their forward line. But with pacy wingers Anthony Elanga and Anthony Gordon a big part of Howe’s gameplan, the big question about the new signings is how they will fit into the manager’s system.
At 6-foot-5, Woltemade’s height will give Newcastle plenty of options. The former VfB Stuttgart striker could form an intriguing partnership with the 5-foot-9 Wissa after the latter’s deadline-day move from Brentford. With Gordon still suspended following his red card against Liverpool last month, Woltemade and Wissa are likely to start against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. Can they form an effective partnership?
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
