Tony Pulis is the latest manager to attempt to halt Manchester City’s bandwagon as the free-scoring Premier League leaders head for West Brom this weekend.
Here, we take a look at some of the talking points surrounding the latest round of top-flight fixtures.
CAN PULIS SPIKE PEP’S GUNS?
Manchester City will arrive at West Brom sitting clear at the top of the table and having scored a staggering 32 goals in their nine matches to date and conceded only four times.
However, it took a late Leroy Sane strike for Pep Guardiola’s men to win 2-1 at the Hawthorns in the Carabao Cup last month and, if ever there was a manager to come up with a plan to frustrate, it is Tony Pulis.
Guardiola and Pulis greet each other last season
MORE TROUBLE FOR THE TOFFEES?
New Leicester boss Claude Puel will launch his reign on Sunday hoping to prolong Everton’s miserable start to the season.
The 2015-16 champions and the under-achieving Toffees are separated by four places, but just a single point at the wrong end of the table, and, with the Merseyside club without a win in six attempts in all competitions, Puel will look to launch his reign in style.
Puel takes charge of his first game in charge of Leicester
WENGER BUOYED?
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has his critics and some of them were in full voice as the club held their annual general meeting this week.
The Frenchman was in bullish mood as he told his detractors: “I dedicate 99 per cent of my lifetime trying to make you happy. Looking at today, that is not easy.”
But will that produce a response from the stands as the Gunners entertain Swansea?
NEW BOYS ON A ROLL
Promoted trio Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield have gone much of the way towards suggesting they can buck the trend of promoted clubs making a swift return to the English football League.
They head into the weekend sitting in seventh, 11th and 12th places respectively, although with the Magpies at Burnley, the Seagulls facing a south-coast derby clash with Southampton and the Terriers – on the back of victory over Manchester United – heading for a wounded Liverpool, it could prove tough for them to build upon that this weekend.
BIG DAY FOR BILIC
If the speculation is to be believed, Slaven Bilic’s West Ham players dragged him out of the mire with their remarkable Carabao Cup fightback at Tottenham in midweek.
At 2-0 down before the break on the back of a start to the league campaign which has seen the Hammers win just twice, the Croatian looked to be in deep trouble, although a poor result at fellow strugglers Crystal Palace could see the clouds gather once again.
Provided by Press Association Sport