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 was an eventful week in the Premier League following some unexpected big performances. The biggest of the bunch came in the highly anticipated Merseyside Derby in favor of Liverpool against rivals Everton, but the star of the match wasn’t one of the usual suspects — instead, it was Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.
Gravenberch chipped in with a goal on the half-volley in the 11th minute, followed by a beautiful through ball to striker Hugo Ekitike in the 29th minute. The pair of goal contributions was enough to secure a victory for Liverpool, keeping them a perfect five wins out of five matches and maintaining their first-place position in the league.
New Leeds United signing Anton Stach was another unexpected candidate for a standout showing. Stach also had a goal and an assist like Gravenberch; however, his outing was highlighted by his first-ever Leeds goal. In the 39th minute, Stach blasted a free kick into the top corner to give Leeds the lead against last-place Wolves to help secure a 3-1 victory.
Fulham’s Alex Iwobi’s one goal and one assist stat line is also worth mentioning. He showed up again in Fulham’s home victory over Brentford when he scored in the 38th minute, followed by an assist to forward Harry Wilson only two minutes later. His offensive contributions would be enough to earn Fulham a 3-1 victory.
Looking ahead to next week, Aston Villa have only scored one goal in their last five games and find themselves in 18th place in the standings following an incredible 6th-place finish last season. With such a drastic change in fortune this season, Villa will look to find its footing again with Europa League fixtures starting this week.
With all this in mind and Villa desperately needing someone to step up, look no further than the club’s all-time leading scorer in the Premier League: striker Ollie Watkins. Watkins had 16 goals and eight assists in the Premier League last season, and with a home fixture against Fulham this weekend, this could very well be the week he returns to form and gets his squad back in the win column.
The pairing of Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus of Tottenham is another pairing to keep an eye on. With a matchup against the dead-last Wolves at home this weekend and a combined seven-goal contributions in their past five games together, the two are set to explode with big performances this weekend.
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is the final player to take note of for next week. Following a top-ten Ballon d’Or nomination this week and being one of England’s shining talents, he will look to thrive under pressure as he has done in the past and put up a big display against a 14th-placed Brighton team at home. While Palmer would normally be considered a safe pick, the pressure of being considered a top-10 player in the world could either get to his head or allow him to produce a monster performance.
Now, to reflect on last week’s predictions. The player chosen as the one to watch last week was Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah, who proved why he is one of the league’s best with an assist to Gravenberch.
On the opposing side, despite not scoring a goal, Grealish did put in a respectable performance for Everton in their loss. Lastly, Viktor Gyokeres failed to replicate his previous performances against Manchester City and struggled this time around despite a respectable 1-1 draw for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.