Arsenal vs Tottenham...CONTINUE READING
An Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur combination ultimately run the danger of being nothing more than a heretical half-and-half scarf, but with the North London Derby rapidly approaching, having the advantage in a combined XI earns early bragging rights.
Fair enough, removing Harry Kane from the No. 9 spot in any starting lineup feels practically impossible right now, but Heung-min Son’s recent slump in performance calls into question his selection, even though his spectacular hat-trick against Leicester City prior to the international break is encouraging for those who are busted-floodgate-enthusiasts.
Bukayo Saka makes it impossible for Spurs to take over the front three. Martin Odegaard is there to help Saka, and he looks likely to play after doing well for Norway in the Nations League.
Dejan Kulusevski and Pierre-Emile Hjbjerg play the rest of the midfield for Spurs, though our widget above got the positions a little bit wrong.
Granit Xhaka might have been unlucky not to make the team, given how well he has been playing lately and the fact that Oleksandr Zinchenko will play left back.
The Ukrainian has given Xhaka a new level of play, which has given Arsenal’s attack a new dimension. Still, the Saliba chant is going strong in the starting XI, where Cristian Romero and Ben White play centre back and right back, respectively. Aaron Ramsdale has to make room for Hugo Lloris between the posts.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
Graham Potter has a difficult problem in picking his Chelsea starting eleven for the match against Crystal Palace, having had little opportunity to interact and mix with his team in the build-up.
The delay of games against Fulham and Liverpool gave for some time to get to know each other, as well as a behind-closed-doors game against Brighton for the Blues’ head coach to evaluate those players who had not played in the Champions League against Red Bull Salzburg.
There’s no denying that the international break occurred at an inconvenient time for the new coaching staff, with the practicalities of players returning maybe factoring into his evaluation for their health to play at Selhurst Park as much as their talent.
Potter, on the other hand, has had his choices limited by sickness and injury, with N’Golo Kante and Kepa Arrizabalaga also unable to play.
EPL Table
