Welcome back to the eighth 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.
After Manchester United suffered one of the worst weeks in its history in early March, Bruno Fernandes saved the day again with massive three goal contributions.
Fernandes helped lead United to a 3-0 victory over Leicester City on March 16 with two assists earlier in the game and a beautiful first-time, outside-the-box finish to seal the game in the 90th minute.
Despite the team’s struggles, the captain has again proven to be the one bright spot in the side, having reached 17 goal contributions in the Premier League this season. In just his last seven games in all competitions, Fernandes has posted seven goals and three assists for United.
Another big performance from the week came from Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jørgen Strand Larsen, who scored a brace against Southampton after a long goalless drought. His goals in the 19th and 47th minute were both crucial in their 2-1 victory.
Following a big Carabao Cup final win from Newcastle, it’s also worth mentioning a huge display, as predicted, from star forward Alexander Isak. He scored what would eventually be the winner and gained major attention on social media for his celebration after pointing at the Liverpool defense. This goal, including the now-iconic celebration, will likely go down as one of the most famous in Newcastle’s long history after breaking their 70-year trophy drought.
Looking ahead to next week’s return from the international break, from April 1 to April 7, there will be Premier League games everyday except on April 4, meaning we have plenty of great football to look forward to.
Because of this packed calendar, it makes more sense to me to highlight the most important games and predict who may perform in those games rather than just guessing the top overall player of the week.
For the first big game of the week, we have a Merseyside Derby on April 2. Following a dramatic 2-2 thriller between Liverpool and Everton at Goodison Park last time out, this game hopefully will match that energy.
The both boring and obvious pick for performer for this game is Mohamed Salah. His 44 goal contributions in the Premier League speak for themselves. With the second round of this fixture taking place at Anfield, Liverpool and Salah will be hungry for revenge this time around.
The next big matchup will be taking place on April 3 in a huge London Derby between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Despite Tottenham’s poor form, the team will be hoping to steal points away from home at Stamford Bridge in an effort to salvage whatever possible in an awful season that has left the club in 14th.
The injury status of multiple high profile players will likely determine how this game plays out. With Cole Palmer expected to return in early April, it will be a race against time to see if he will be healthy for this matchup. We have seen mixed reports about his recovery, which has also coincided with the worst run of form of his young professional career, but if he’s available, Palmer can always be the difference maker for Chelsea.
The last large-scale matchup is the Manchester Derby between City and United at Old Trafford. With City being the obvious favorites for this one, that might actually suit United manager Ruben Amorim better, allowing his team to adopt a recently successful smash-and-grab approach. With consistent big game performances in this style previously against Arsenal, Liverpool and City in the past few months, it will be hard to predict who will come out on top.
The obvious two to watch in this matchup are United captain Fernandes and City striker Erling Haaland. Fernandes has been on peak form recently and will aim to come up big again in this derby. However, Haaland, with his 21 goals already under his belt this season, will look forward to coming up against a mediocre United defense. United has maintained a low block fairly well when needed, but any slip up could easily lead to a Haaland goal.
Another player in this game to look out for is Phil Foden. Despite his struggles this season, he has a fairly strong record against United with six goals in 10 games against the Red Devils. A favorable result for City could be made much more possible if Foden plays to his level. However, Foden performing this season has been a very big “if,” so City fans shouldn’t count on that.
Looking back at last week’s predictions for the final, it is safe to say that Isak lived up to his increasingly high billing. Despite everyone expecting a Liverpool win, Newcastle completely showed up and shocked English football fans. From the back line to the midfielders and forwards, and even the fans, Newcastle were not to be stopped from silverware at Wembley. And Isak, as expected, stepped up when needed the most.