5 key battles to watch out for in 2022/23 Premier League Gameweek 4
By Will Ford
Marcos Senesi won't have particularly enjoyed his full debut against Gabriel Jesus in Gameweek 3, while that hipster got the better of David Moyes.
Once again, 90min have picked out five key battles ahead of another weekend of Premier League action.
1) Ebere Eze vs Kyle Walker
Having been given the runaround by Allan Saint-Maximin last weekend in the 3-3 draw with Newcastle, there's no respite for Kyle Walker as he's set to come up against Ebere Eze on Saturday.
The 24-year-old looks to be back to his best after an injury-hit 2021/22 season, and in the absence of Wilfried Zaha, he will be expected to take the game to Manchester City.
He and Vieira will have spotted what looked suspiciously like ageing legs in Walker's display against Newcastle and will likely target the City full-back, who will probably respond with a virtuoso display to put thoughts of a pension to bed, as he tends to do
2) Moises Caicedo vs Brenden Aaronson
Somehow, despite selling arguably their two best players this summer in Marc Cucurella and Yves Bissouma and reinvesting barely a third of the £85m fees they have received, Brighton have got better. They're really rather good at this transfer lark.
The gaping hole left by Bissouma has been filled without a hitch by Moises Caicedo, whom Brighton bought for just £4.5m from Independiente at the start of last year and is now being linked with all the big boys in Europe. 90min understands that Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus and Atletico Madrid are all keeping tabs on the 20-year-old.
But Brighton's new gem will be tested by the insatiable Brendan Aaronson, who's seemlessly transferred his all-action RB Salzburg style to Leeds and scored his first Premier League goal in the memorable 3-0 win over Chelsea last weekend.
3) Raheem Sterling vs Jamie Vardy
Tensions may well be high on the touchline at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea continue to poke Leicester in the hope they will give in and let Wesley Fofana move to west London.
With neither side able to call on the centre-back on Saturday, there's surely a goal-fest in the offing.
That should open the door for either Raheem Sterling or Jamie Vardy to open their accounts for the new season.
4) William Saliba vs Aleksandar Mitrovic
Hilarious own goal aside, William Saliba's introduction to life in the Premier League has been about as smooth as anyone could have imagined.
Signed three years ago before being sent out on a series of loans, the 21-year-old looks almost irritatingly comfortable. With an air of Thiago Silva or Virgil van Dijk, he's ridiculously calm, almost always in the right place at the right time, and when he's not, is plenty quick enough to make up for it.
Ben White at right-back will have to be very aware of Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has already scored two headers this season climbing over defenders at the back-post. But Saliba too will have to be decisive against the big Serbian, who has already put doubters in their place with his Premier League displays this season.
5) Tyrone Mings vs Gianluca Scamacca
After three defeats in three and no goals scored, David Moyes surely has to hand a first start to his new £32m striker on Sunday, in what's shaping up to be a an early-season must-win for both West Ham and Aston Villa.
While the Hammers prop up the table, an unconvincing win over Everton for Villa in Gameweek 2 has done little to ease the pressure on Steven Gerrard, who watched his side get torn apart at Selhurst Park a week later.
Mings was stripped of the captaincy late in pre-season, was dropped for the opener against Bournemouth, but now looks set to be a mainstay at the heart of the Villa defence again – whether Gerrard wants that to be the case or not – after the season-ending injury to new signing Diego Carlos.
Scamacca would be wise to ruffle the feathers of Mings, whose confidence must be low under a manager who clearly doesn't have complete faith in him.