English Premier League preview

“We saw West Ham’s game against Leicester and we know they are a good side but we are upbeat going into this one”. When his team lost 1-0 at home to Swansea late last season, Arsene Wenger said it was an “accident”, but those slip-ups have become worryingly commonplace at the Emirates stadium.

The Cherries have given Premier League appearances to 10 different English players in their opening two games of 2015-16; more than any other side.

Well, not if their record against the Baggies is anything to go by, because the Blues haven’t won at the Hawthorns in their last four visits. But not even Leicester’s most optimistic followers could have envisaged then that, a few months later with Claudio Ranieri now at the helm, they would be hosting Tottenham Hotspur with a chance to top the table with a maximum nine points.

The Hammers have only won two of their last eight home games in the Premier League (W2, D2, L4).

Shutting out Arsenal is the key to success for opponents, as the Gunners have won 14 out of 16 home and away when scoring in the league in this calendar year, and that is one of the most important factors to weigh up in Monday’s match. A third win would represent their best ever start at this level.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool have looked rusty in their opening matches of the new season. Last season, after the break-up of the Luis Suarez-Daniel Sturridge attacking partnership, they were less able to outscore the opposition in an open match and in 2015 they have won only three out of 10 when conceding in the league.

A draw and defeat is the worst two game start to a season by a defending champion.

The Magpies, who are still searching for their first win of the season, visit Old Trafford to take on a Manchester United side that are looking to make it three wins out of three in the league after defeating Tottenham and Aston Villa in their first two games.

City, ahead of Leicester on goal difference at the top, face a trip to Everton. They last lost their first three in 1994 (they actually lost their first seven in the old Second Division).

Manchester City laid down a marker with their 3-0 demolition of Chelsea last week, while Bournemouth and Sunderland are still waiting for their first points.

If we assume they are now a top-half side again, Roberto Martinez’s teams are worth a shot on the handicap as City failed in more games than they won on the road against that group last season.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic: “On the one hand I expect a physical game, but on the other hand I saw the way Bournemouth are trying to pass the ball and their first idea is to pass the ball”.