Welcome back to the second season 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 in particular, 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.
It’s been a long time since the last volume of this column, but this return edition is full of big-time performances from some of the Premier League’s most well-known stars.
The biggest performance of the week came in the highly anticipated Manchester Derby from Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. Haaland put up two goals in City’s dismantling of Manchester United, and he easily could have scored several more had it not been for a few misplaced shots in front of goal. This follows up his five-goal and two-assist performance for Norway against Moldova last week as he continues his strong form across all competitions. The United defense had no answer for Haaland as he took his early Premier League tally to five goals in four games.
Haaland’s dominant performance also put him in the history books, where he is now tied as the leading goal scorer in Premier League Manchester derbies with eight goals. The other leaders who share this record are legends Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney.
The other noteworthy performance of this week came from Arsenal’s new signing Martín Zubimendi in their 3-0 win over Europa League participant Nottingham Forest. Zubimendi scored his first goal for his new squad in the 32nd minute with a superb volley from outside the box. With such a memorable strike for his first goal, he later found success again with a header in the 79th minute to put the game away.
Now for the first Ones to Watch of the new Premier League season, it will come as no surprise that the player predicted for a superb performance is the one and only Mohammed Salah of Liverpool FC. Following a 95th-minute penalty to earn Liverpool a win against Burnley this past weekend, Salah will look to strike again in a big Merseyside derby at home.
Salah has a very successful record against Everton — and every other team in the league. With eight goals and two assists in 13 appearances against the Blues, a matchup at Anfield following a four-game win streak for Liverpool means they are primed for success.
While Liverpool is set to be in a strong position, this Everton team looks completely revamped following several new signings this summer, which leads to another player worth keeping an eye on this week. Everton’s new loanee from Manchester City, Jack Grealish, has looked reborn following his first-ever Premier League Player of the Month award, having already recorded four assists this season. If Everton expect to get anything out of this match, it will likely be due to Grealish’s efforts. While he has struggled over the past couple of seasons at Manchester City, it is refreshing to see such an excellent player look like his old self again.
The last player of note for this week is another new Premier League signing, Viktor Gyokeres. Arsenal’s new striker will face off against Manchester City and Erling Haaland at the Emirates Stadium in what is a powerhouse matchup. Gyokeres has had success against Manchester City while at his old club, Sporting Lisbon. When his old side faced off against City in the Champions League last year, he finished the game with a hat trick in a 4-1 victory. This match is set up to be the best game of the week, but the player who could make all the difference is Gyokeres, depending on how he handles the City defense with new goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.