Krishan Davis

Out of almost nowhere, Chelsea have emerged as Arsenal's closest challengers for the Premier League title this season as the London rivals prepare to lock horns at Stamford Bridge this weekend - but is this another false dawn? After all, Enzo Maresca's side found themselves in a similar position midway through 2024-25 only to fall away dramatically in the second half of the campaign. Ahead of Sunday's showdown, though, there is reason to believe the Blues could have staying power this time around.

Everton secured their first victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford for 12 years on Monday night despite a first-half red card, but the game will be best remembered for the bizarre manner in which the Toffees were reduced to 10 men. In a rare example of the lesser-seen on-pitch team-mate bust-up, midfielder Idrissa Gueye and defender Michael Keane completely lost it with one another under the eyes of 74,000 fans and plenty more watching on at home.

Having already booked their tickets to the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer, England will wrap up a very successful World Cup qualifying campaign with dead-rubber fixtures against Serbia and Albania in the coming days - but for certain members of Thomas Tuchel's squad the games will be far from meaningless, with everything on the line as the clock ticks down.

Sweden has a proud modern history of producing elite strikers, from Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres. If the hype is to be believed, then 16-year-old Kevin Filling is the latest sensation off that conveyor belt of talent, and the AIK prospect is already being linked with a transfer to one of the Premier League's big hitters.

Wayne Rooney has revealed that he came very close to joining Manchester United's Premier League rivals before completing his fateful transfer to Old Trafford from Everton. The forward joined the Red Devils as a prodigious 18-year-old and went on to become a club legend, playing 559 matches and scoring 253 goals, but things could have been very different.

While much of the early-season crisis talk has centred on Manchester United and Liverpool, Chelsea have quietly slipped below their biggest Premier League rivals, finding themselves ninth after nine games. Consistently inconsistent, Saturday's shock home defeat to Sunderland has left them at a crossroads, with plenty of issues to address if they are to avoid their season drifting into mediocrity.

Arne Slot's Liverpool tenure had been plain sailing until late September rolled around, with the Dutchman the picture of cool as he guided the Reds to the Premier League title in his first season at the helm, making the job look easy after stepping into the very large shoes vacated by Jurgen Klopp in 2024. The new campaign had started well enough, albeit while a number of late goals might have papered over the cracks, but things feel different now.

Ange Postecoglou has riled up Nottingham Forest and rival fans by once again referencing his trophy record in defence of his poor start in charge at the City Ground. Forest are winless in seven games in all competitions since the Australian took the reins following Nuno Espirito Santo's sacking, a run that includes disappointing defeats to Swansea, Sunderland and Danish side Midtjylland.

It's difficult to overstate Cole Palmer's importance to Chelsea, but it's probably reflected in how determined head coach Enzo Maresca has been to have him at his disposal this season despite a persistent, niggling groin injury. The Blues have now paid a significant price for that over-reliance on the 23-year-old, with the attacker - who has already been sidelined for close to a month - now ruled out until December, in a crushing blow to his club and his World Cup hopes.

"We are not collecting the most talented players, we are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no-one else." If anyone was in any doubt as to whether England manager Thomas Tuchel planned to stick to his fairly unpopular selection policy with the World Cup fast approaching, those pointed words ahead of the friendly victory over Wales more or less confirmed it.

Brazil delivered the most convincing performance of Carlo Ancelotti's reign so far as they overcame some challenging conditions to thrash South Korea 5-0 in a friendly in sodden Seoul, with Real Madrid's Rodrygo starring on his return to the squad. After an underwhelming start to his tenure, the Italian tactician will be a much happier man as the Selecao's World Cup preparations begin in earnest.

It was always going to be interesting to see which way Frank Lampard would turn when his ill-advised, ill-fated second spell in interim charge of Chelsea came to a sorry end in May 2023. With his managerial reputation in tatters following his January sacking by Everton, would he throw himself at the next Premier League vacancy that cropped up, or would he take stock and aim to come back stronger? Two years on, he will be overjoyed that he pipped for the latter.

Seven games into the new Premier League season, this already represents a breakout campaign for Fulham academy graduate Josh King. The 18-year-old midfielder has swiftly surpassed the total number of senior minutes he managed last term, and he has been one of the standout young players in the division in the opening weeks - catching the eye with his dynamism, fearlessness and composure.

Barcelona's first stop on the long road to European glory takes them to Newcastle, where they will come up against a formidable opponent and equally formidable atmosphere at St James' Park without the talismanic Lamine Yamal. The injured 18-year-old has been ruled out, having found himself at the centre of a feud between club and country, but loanee Marcus Rashford will be determined to make an impact in his absence.

A lot has changed since the last round of action in England's top flight, meaning this weekend's fixtures are full of intrigue

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