Welcome back to the 10th 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.
As Newcastle United continued its strong run of form, Harvey Barnes came through with an impressive brace against Manchester United at St. James Park. The Magpies won 4-1 in a dominant performance in which Barnes led with goals in the 49th and 64th minute.
Barnes has now had five goal contributions in his last four Premier League games, taking him to eight goals and three assists in the league this season. Barnes had previously struggled with his form and for game time, but his recent performances have helped make him a mainstay in a Newcastle side fighting for a place in the Champions League next season.
Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne also put in a performance to remember after announcing his impending departure from the blue side of Manchester about two weeks ago. After an inconsistent year for the Cityzens, De Bruyne pulled off a goal and an assist against Crystal Palace in a high-scoring, 5-2 victory. His goal, which came in the 33rd minute, was a vintage free kick into the bottom corner that sparked City’s comeback from an early 2-0 deficit. His assist to Mateo Kovacic also proved to be the winner and helped City capture a crucial three points.
The 33-year-old City legend has struggled this season compared to his normal standards, tallying only three goals and seven assists. Alongside the recent news that he’ll leave City, he will hope to continue with performances like this to help his club secure Champions League next season.
The last player of note from this past weekend was Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Rayan Ait Nouri. The left wing-back put in an impressive shift against a struggling Tottenham Hotspurs team with a goal and an assist in their 4-2 victory.
Looking ahead to next week, there are several potential big performances on the horizon, some of which could come in games between teams in danger of clinching relegation against tough opposition. For instance, in Sunday’s matchup between Arsenal against Ipswich Town, Bukayo Saka could be set for a massive performance.
Saka has dealt with several injury problems this season but is finally returning to full-time football. With a massive game Champions League second leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday, Saka and Arsenal will be looking to either avenge a big loss or continue their momentum following a positive result against Madrid. Regardless of the result, Arsenal will be motivated and Saka will likely be their star man, having accumulated six goals and 10 assists in only 19 league appearances. Ipswich, on the other hand, is just two poor results away from having relegation confirmed.
Leicester City finds itself in a similar situation, on the verge of confirming their relegation in a match against Liverpool, who at the opposite end of the table could clinch the Premier League title with three points and an Arsenal loss, although the latter results seems unlikely, as discussed. This seems like an obvious pick for a big performance. While he is the most commonly mentioned player in this column, the man who now possesses the single-season goal contribution record probably deserves to be continuously predicted to put in a dominant performance each week. Mohamed Salah—with 45 goal contributions in 32 matches—will likely feast against the second-worst defense in the Premier League.
Lastly, another commonly picked player in this column, Alexander Isak, looks poised for a big weekend as well. Isak continued his fine form with an assist in a win over Manchester United and has two opportunities this week to help Newcastle fight its way into a Champions League place. He will begin on Wednesday at home against Crystal Palace and then will take on a strong Aston Villa side on Saturday at Villa Park. Isak is one of the league’s best big-game players, and the game against Villa will certainly be massive. Both teams have impressed this season and are separated by just two points in the league. With the three undecided Champions League places from third to fifth and both teams completely in the race, this game will have high stakes, and Isak will likely be there to capitalize.
As always, it is important to reflect on the previous weeks’ picks. The main player selected to perform was Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, who struggled in a 2-2 draw and picked up a yellow card. His performance was very disappointing and a complete miss of a prediction. One pick, however, was successful, as Salah assisted in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory against West Ham. The last pick was Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood, who did not play well in a 1-0 loss to Everton. It was ultimately a bad week for predictions, but hopefully it won’t continue into the next week.