Welcome back to the fifth week of the Premier League Ones to Watch column, a weekly piece that highlights the most notable performance of the previous matchday as well as predicting a top performer for the weekend ahead. This column is made for West Coast fans, as I help you decide which games you should wake up for by identifying the players who are worth the price of admission, so to speak.
Another week of Premier League actions means another week of big time performances from the league’s best players. This week saw many stars show out, with four specifically standing out from the rest. But if I’m picking just one, Marco Asensio’s two-goal performance in Aston Villa’s 2-1 win against Chelsea, including an 89th-minute winner, was enough for him to earn the player of the week belt.
He scored the equalizer early in the second half to help keep Villa’s European hopes alive. These were Asensio’s first goals for the club following his midseason loan move from French side Paris Saint-Germain, both assisted by fellow newcomer Marcus Rashford, a loanee from Manchester United who received a previous shout out in this column.
Another performance worth highlighting both for his goal contributions and overall performance is Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak. He scored twice in his club’s 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest and his overall play was phenomenal. He was a class above everyone else on the pitch and helped Newcastle get off to an impressive 4-1 lead at halftime. Only Asensio’s truly game-winning performance prevented Isak from being the player of the week.
Mohamed Salah and Brennan Johnson also shined this week. Salah scored a scrappy goal and had a set piece assist in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Manchester City as he continued his impressive run of form. Johnson’s shift saw him score twice in Tottenham’s much-needed 4-1 win over Ipswich.
Looking ahead to a midweek batch of Premier League fixtures due to the FA Cup games scheduled for this coming weekend, Cole Palmer looks set for a return to form. Palmer has failed to score in his last six games, with his last goal coming on Jan. 14—over a month ago. However, a perfect remedy for any struggling player, especially one as talented as Palmer, is a home fixture against last-place Southampton.
The Saints have won only two of their 26 games all season and could still “break” the all-time low points tally in the Premier League, currently held by Derby County in the 2007-08 season in which Derby earned just 11 points all season.
Also look out for Brentford’s dynamic duo of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who have been impressive all season and will go into a home match against Everton in great form with three wins on the bounce.
Matheus Cunha of Wolves also looks set for a big performance against Fulham at Molineux Stadium—a prime opportunity to help move his side further from the relegation places. Every time Wolves have won this season, Cunha has had a direct goal involvement, which could very possibly continue this week.
Another European-places clash to keep an eye: Liverpool hosting Newcastle United at Anfield on Wednesday. Featuring two of the best players in the league in Isak and Salah, there will certainly be fireworks in this game. Given Salah’s recent record in big games, he’s likely to score or assist… again. I could nominate him for one to watch every week, but it would be unfair to keep selecting someone who has an absurd 41 goal contributions in only 27 Premier League games.
As always, it is important to be accountable for last week’s selection. Ollie Watkins and Beto both scored in their games last week, making both of those selections accurate. However, Arteta’s decision to put defensive midfielder Mikel Merino at striker instead of Leandro Trossard helped prevent a correct prediction for a good Trossard performance. Following the questionable decision to play Merino at striker, Arsenal’s attack struggled in a 1-0 loss to West Ham United, so maybe Arteta should have taken this column more seriously.
With the Premier League topics wrapped up, let’s look at some FA Cup fixtures. Sunday’s matches will likely be the most appealing for Premier League fans, especially one between Newcastle United and Brighton. Isak will headline this match against Brighton’s red-hot Kaoru Mitoma, who has scored in his last three starts.
Manchester United taking on Fulham at Old Trafford could also be worth watching, as the reigning FA Cup champion United looks to salvage its season with another cup run. An injury to Amad Diallo means that Bruno Fernandes will have another heavy lift to support Manchester United’s attack.
But for pure cup magic, a true football fan has to watch FA Cup Cinderella team Plymouth Argyle take on the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City. With Manchester City heavily favored, Plymouth will hope to repeat its upset against Liverpool and continue a magical cup run.