LONDON, Sporting Alert – The following is the English Premier League fixtures for this coming weekend – Saturday, 22, Aug to Monday, August 24.
Indeed, the focus of attention in Week 3 will be on the clash between title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool, but there will be a lot more action prior to them doing battle.
For the third successive week, Manchester United will get the ball rolling again with another early start on Saturday as they play host to Newcastle United at Old Trafford.
Louis van Gaal’s side picked up two narrow 1-0 victories over Tottenham and Aston Villa, respectively in the opening weeks and the Red Devils will be hoping to make it three consecutive on Saturday.
After carelessly squandering a two-goal cushion and were held 2-2 at home by Stoke City in Week 2, Tottenham will try to bounce back against Leicester City, who will be searching for their third win in a row.
Leicester City have been the surprise package of the English Premier League season thus far – after winning their opening two games under new boss Claudio Ranieri – and the well organised Foxes could make life difficult for Mauricio Pochettino’s side at King Power Stadium.
Pochettino will also be hoping leading striker Harry Kane, who left the pitch against Stoke at White Hart Lane with a calf problem, will be fit to travel.
Leaders Manchester City were dominant against the champions Chelsea on Sunday and they are now them replacing Jose Mourinho’s side as the favourites to win the title this season.
Sergio Aguero and David Silva were among the highlighted players for the Citizens in the commanding 3-0 victory at Etihad Stadium last week and the pair will need to be on similar form against Everton at Goodison on Sunday.
Everton were just as impressive in their 3-0 victory over Southampton with striker Romelu Lukaku, who scored twice, among the star performers on the day.
Defending Premier League champions Chelsea, in the meantime, have been struggling to get going in the early part of the season and Jose Mourinho’s men need a victory West Bromwich Albion to ease some of the pressure.
The Blues were held 2-2 at home by Swansea City before the Man City meltdown and failure to beat West Brom this weekend could see them falling even further behind the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United.
Week 3 concludes with arch rivals Liverpool and Arsenal meeting at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners bounced back from their Week 1 defeat to West Ham with a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, while the Reds made it two-from-two with a close 1-0 victory over the newly promoted Bournemouth in Monday night football.
WEEK 3 Premier League Fixtures
Saturday, August 22 (ET)
Manchester United v Newcastle United (6:45)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur (9:00)
Sunderland v Swansea City (9:00)
Norwich City v Stoke City (9:00)
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa (9:00)
West Ham United v AFC Bournemouth (9:00)
Sunday, August 23 (ET)
West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea (7:30)
Everton v Manchester City (10:00)
Watford v Southampton (10:00)
Monday, August 24 (ET)
Arsenal v Liverpool (14:00)
