Frank Lampard's great entertainers and Chris Wilder's love for a low-scoring match make Jamie Pacheco's five things to look out for this weekend...

Man City's motley crew of defenders gelling well

If at the start of August you'd said Manchester City would have fielded a back four of Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Fernandinho and Benjamin Mendy in a Premier League game and gone to keep a clean sheet...few would have believed you.
But it tends to be when they're missing key players that managers really earn their corn rather than when they have a full squad of players to choose from and few are as resourceful as Pep Guardiola.
Cancelo came to City pretty much as a straight swap with Danilo (who went the other way, to Juventus) and hasn't played much this season, Stones played less than half of the maximum amount of minutes possible in the league last season and before Saturday had started just twice in the league, while Fernandinho is, of course, a midfielder by trade; Mendy is only just reaching full fitness after yet another long-term injury.
The changes have mostly been brought about by the losses of Aymeric Laporte and Oleksandr Zinchenko so in that sense Stones and Mendy are somewhat natural replacements; but it's Fernandinho who is the interesting one.
The obvious move would have been to bring in Nicolas Otamendi for Laporte and kept Fernandinho in midfield but Guardiola saw things differently. The Brazilian was sent off late in the game at home to Villa but luckily City are in midweek action in the Carabao Cup so he serves his one-game suspension there.

Kyle Walker might get a game this week, as might Otamendi if Guardiola decides to carry on chopping and changingit's 5/6 they win again whilst keeping a clean sheet, when Southampton come to town.

Chelsea sharing the goals around

It's not that surprising that with Frank Lampard in charge, Chelsea are a naturally attacking side. Only twice in fifteen games in all competitions this season have they not scored and only once in the league, that 4-0 opening day defeat at Old Trafford.
Tammy Abraham (eight goals) is their top scorer in the PL, while Mason Mount already has four. Christian Pulisic opened his account on Saturday and went on to complete a hat-trick while six other players have also scored in league games. It's now nine goals in their last four in the competition, so there may be some takers of the 2/1 that they score over 2.5 goals at Watford.
Trying to predict the team's first goalscorer is quite a different matter though with so many candidates, but unsurprisingly the favourite is Abraham (15/8), with Mount an eye-catching 9/2.

Gunners a mess at the back

There were some raised eye-brows when on transfer deadline day Arsenal decided that a cut-price David Luiz was the answer to their defensive problems and the Gunners are now finding out that they may have got that one wrong.
Of course, he hasn't been the only one to blame for the fact that they've kept just two clean sheets all season in the Premier League but he was certainly at fault for Palace's second goal on Sunday. For good measure, no keeper in the league has made more saves than Bernd Leno's 37, so it might have been even worse.
It makes you look at the 8/5 that Arsenal keep a clean sheet at home to Wolves, with some disdain.

Everton in for a Kane-ing?

If Harry Kane was a sprinter, he'd be Usain Bolt; sometimes the slowest out of the blocks but very often, the eventual winner. As it happens, this year his brace in the opening game of the season meant he started well but he did then score just the once in his next four matches, typical of his somewhat sluggish starts to seasons.



Come late October, he's certainly warmed up and it's now 16 from 17 for the season including internationals, six in the league and five from his last five. And you couldn't have picked a better game than against Everton if you're keen to back him to keep going. He's scored an absurd eight goals in his last four against the Toffees and that makes one more interesting in the 4/1 he scores at least a brace on Sunday, than the 10/11 he gets one or more.

Blades love keeping things tight

If it's goals above else that you like then you might be advised to give Sheffield United games a miss.
They're four from five both home and away for games with less than 2.5 goals, that 80% average for 'unders' games unsurprisingly unmatched by anyone else in the division. In their last five league matches they've scored just four goals themselves, but that's somehow yielded a massive eight points.
Not that United fans care one jot. Favourites for the drop at the start, they're currently eighth in the league and now out to 4.60 to be relegated. If United v Burnley doesn't look ripe for another under 2.5 goals match, 1.70 chance, then I don't know what does.

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