This is the final round of Premier League fixtures before the summer transfer window closes on Tuesday, and with it comes the excitement of watching new talent on the pitch and anxiety about potential departures or obvious weaknesses not being addressed.
Manchester City, who brought in midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi this week, kicked off the weekend with a 4-1 demolition of Crystal Palace on Friday, with Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki scoring two apiece. They could be getting another new signing, with Cody Gakpo indicating he wants a move to the Etihad.
Liverpool will doubtless look to replace the Netherlands international, who was in the starting line-up on Saturday as they twice fought back from a goal down against Nottingham Forest for a 2-2 draw at Anfield. Their brilliant late equaliser came from a new signing who has gone somewhat under the radar: Spanish winger Victor Munoz.
New signing Victor Munoz rescued Liverpool on Saturday (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Hull City won again, beating fellow promoted side Coventry City 1-0 away, and are only kept off being top of the table by Manchester City’s superior goal difference, while a late James Tarkowski goal secured a point for Everton at Bournemouth, where it finished 1-1.
Tottenham Hotspur came into the season full of optimism, with an array of new signings for a coach in Roberto De Zerbi who appeared to be turning the club around following his appointment in April, but a 2-0 defeat at home to Newcastle United — a club who sold arguably their three best players this summer — has brought them back down to earth. Having lost 3-0 to Brentford on the opening weekend, Spurs prop up the table.
Every Premier League Sunday, writers from The Athletic will give their views on the weekend talking points so far, and you can join the discussion in the comments.
This time, they discuss which clubs most need reinforcements before Tuesday night’s deadline, which new signings have impressed already and how unsettling it is that the transfer window remains open after the season has begun.
Let us know your views and what else you noticed from the weekend’s action so far.
Gameweek 2 results…
Friday
Crystal Palace 1 Manchester City 4
Saturday
Liverpool 2 Nottingham Forest 2
Coventry City 0 Hull City 1
Bournemouth 1 Everton 1
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Newcastle United 2
Which teams most need reinforcements?
Tim Spiers: Spurs may have spent more than £300million but it’s clearly not enough if they want to improve on last season’s 17th-place finish (maybe aim for 16th on current form?). It felt their spending was a little skewed towards midfield, an area in which they were well stocked with players that Robert De Zerbi should have coached improvements from.
Anyway, their attack looks very predictable and in need of another addition — I’m not sure the footballer formerly known as Savinho cures their many issues.
Elsewhere, Coventry have bought a new team since promotion but they might need to buy another one.
Conor O’Neill: Imminent signing Bradley Barcola is undoubtedly an exciting attacking talent, but Liverpool’s recruitment in this window should arguably have been directed towards other areas of the pitch. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez remain an erratic full-back pairing, while the midfield continued to look unbalanced against Forest, underlining the need for a more physical holding player.
But it is Palace and Sunderland, the Premier League’s two lowest spenders so far, who could most do with some fresh faces, particularly as they are going to have to juggle the added demands of midweek Europa League football. Palace looked concerningly lethargic against a slick City side on Friday, while promoted Sunderland (who host Fulham on Sunday) relied on fine margins last season, with 10 of their 14 wins coming by a single goal.
Eduardo Tansley: I would be worried if I were a Coventry fan. Head coach Frank Lampard said in the post-match press conference after their loss to Hull that the club aren’t looking to do any further business in this transfer window, despite two poor performances to start their season.
And Everton still need a right-back.
Should the transfer window close before the season starts?
Spiers: Obviously, it should. It’s a cheat code to be able to play a few games and then still make additions. In particular, playing matches on deadline night itself is genuinely absurd (there is a near-full round of fixtures across the three divisions of the EFL on Tuesday).
O’Neill: I get the logic, but no, it’s simply too much fun. A couple of poor performances, and the meticulous, carefully-laid plans of pre-season are quickly jettisoned in favour of a panicked late splurge.
Beyond the rubbernecking appeal of knee-jerk, deadline-day signings, there are more mundane, practical reasons not to shut the window before the balls start rolling.
Unless the Premier League could convince its European counterparts to close their windows early too, English clubs would be left at a competitive disadvantage. Their prize players could still be plucked away by clubs abroad, with no opportunity to replace them.
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Tansley: I’m sure managers and head coaches appreciate being able to see how their team looks in a few league games before the window shuts until January, though many have said they can’t wait for it to happen.
The downside is the team Aston Villa fielded against Brighton & Hove Albion in last Sunday’s season opener, for example. Villa have had so many ins and outs over the past couple of weeks that they didn’t have a senior striker available, and were trashed 4-0.
If all business was concluded before the season began, teams might go into it more prepared.
Which new signings have impressed you most so far?
Spiers: Mamadou Sangare is the obvious answer after his stellar Brentford debut against Spurs last Saturday.
Spain and ex-Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Garcia could be an excellent addition for Fulham and has looked like a bargain so far with two goals in his opening two games across all competitions.
Those new signings Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga look pretty good at Newcastle, too! We haven’t seen them in the Premier League for a while. Where have they been?
Tansley: Still Julio Enciso for me, after his performance for Ipswich Town against Sunderland last Saturday. Having seen all three promoted teams over the first two weekends, he stood out as a game-winner.
Hull’s new goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis has had a happy start to Premier League life, keeping two clean sheets in as many matches.
Hull’s new goalkeeper Tzolakis is yet to concede this season (Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
O’Neill: It has been a remarkable start from Hull, helped in no small part by Tzolakis, who produced a superb save to deny Coventry forward Taiwo Awoniyi on Saturday. Sangare remains my top pick though, after that supremely accomplished midfield display for Brentford against Spurs.
I also really like the look of Newcastle right-back Amar Dedic, who added to his two Carabao Cup assists against West Bromwich Albion of the Championship in midweek by setting up Elanga’s opener at Spurs, and looks like the kind of all-action, overlapping full-back who can thrive in coach Matthias Jaissle’s energetic system.
What next?
Chelsea will hope to build on their exciting opening-match win over neighbours Fulham when they take on Brighton at Stamford Bridge. New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso seems to have found a way of getting Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers to play to one another’s strengths, but can Brighton exploit their hosts’ evident defensive frailties?
Leeds vs Brentford is a clash of two teams who have started the season very impressively, while Sunderland and Fulham will be looking for their first points of the season.
The day’s late kick-off features a bruised Manchester United, hurting after their shock defeat at Hull last weekend, taking on another promoted club in Ipswich. Will Michael Carrick make changes? Another loss and the pressure would start to mount.
Then on Monday night, Arsenal travel to Villa, with England centre-back Ezri Konsa in line to make his debut for the defending champions against the club he left just over a week ago. Can Arsenal build on their strong start against Manchester City (in the Community Shield) and Coventry?
After a summer of remarkable turnover at Villa Park — Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson is the latest to join, and Paris Saint-Germain forward Ibrahim Mbaye looks set to follow — will Unai Emery be able to knit together another strong side?
Premier League fixtures
Sunday
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion (2pm BST/9am ET)
Leeds United vs Brentford (2pm BST/9am ET)
Sunderland v Fulham (2pm BST/9am ET)
Manchester United v Ipswich Town (4:30pm BST/11:30am ET)
Monday
Aston Villa vs Arsenal (8pm BST/3pm ET)
Make your match predictions here