Another weekend is upon us and, just like the recent past ones, it promises to deliver more excitement as far as the new Premier League campaign is concerned. What we have witnessed in the previous matchdays indicates that there will be no easy ride for any of the clubs involved and it will take some doing for the eventual winner of the competition to claim the crown.
Manchester United will kick-start this round by traveling to Southampton for Saturday's early-kick off game as they aim to build on their impressive performance against Liverpool on matchday three. Elsewhere, Chelsea will look to bounce back from last weekend's humiliation Leeds when they welcome Leicester City to Stamford Bridge. Defending champions Man City will also aim to return to winning ways against Crystal Palace while title rivals Liverpool will take on Bournemouth at Anfield.
Here is all you need to know ahead of matchday three in the Premier League
Premier League rankings ahead of Matchday 4
Here is how the table looks heading into matchday three:
Pos. Team MP W D L GF GA GD P Form
1
Arsenal
35
25
5
5
85
28
+57
80
WWWLW
2
Manchester City
34
24
7
3
82
32
+50
79
WWWWW
3
Liverpool
35
22
9
4
77
36
+41
75
DLWLD
4
Aston Villa
35
20
7
8
73
52
+21
67
DWWDL
5
Tottenham Hotspur
33
18
6
9
67
52
+15
60
LLWDW
6
Manchester United
34
16
6
12
52
51
+1
54
DWDDL
7
Newcastle United
34
16
5
13
74
55
+19
53
WLWWD
8
West Ham United
35
13
10
12
56
65
-9
49
DLLWD
9
Chelsea
33
13
9
11
63
59
+4
48
DLWDW
10
AFC Bournemouth
35
13
9
13
52
60
-8
48
WWLDL
11
Wolverhampton Wanderers
35
13
7
15
48
55
-7
46
WLLDL
12
Brighton & Hove Albion
34
11
11
12
52
57
-5
44
LLDLD
13
Fulham
35
12
7
16
51
55
-4
43
DLWLL
14
Crystal Palace
35
10
10
15
45
57
-12
40
DWWWL
15
Everton
35
12
8
15
37
48
-11
36
WWWLW
16
Brentford
35
9
8
18
52
60
-8
35
LWWDD
17
Nottingham Forest
35
7
9
19
42
62
-20
26
LLDLW
18
Luton Town
35
6
7
22
48
77
-29
25
LLLWL
19
Burnley
35
5
9
21
38
70
-32
24
DWDLD
20
Sheffield United
35
3
7
25
34
97
-63
16
LLLLD
Key Premier League fixtures on Matchday 4
Southampton vs Manchester United: Manchester United resumes their Premier League campaign on the road once more and will travel to Southampton on Saturday afternoon as they seek to build on their great triumph over Liverpool. The Red Devils defeated their bitter rivals 2-1 on Monday to go up to position 14 in the standings, while Southampton secured their first win of the season to take their points tally to four in three games by defeating Leicester City last weekend.
For United, all eyes will be on new boy Casemiro with speculations suggesting that he could be used straight away in the starting lineup at the St Mary's. Meanwhile, Southampton will aim to end a rather unsavoury streak against the Red Devils, having failed to pick up a win inany of their last 12 Premier League games (D7, L5).
Chelsea vs Leicester City: Chelsea and Leicester City will face off at Stamford Bridge with the aim to return to winning ways following last weekend's disappointing outing. Both clubs have had inconsistent openings to the new Premier League season and could well benefit from a favourable result. At the moment, the clubs are currently ranked in positions 12 and 19, respectively, with the Blues having only accrued four points from their first three games and the Foxes having only managed one draw.
Liverpool vs AFC Bournemouth: It is still early days yet in the Premier League season, but Liverpool must win this match in order to set the ball rolling in this new campaign. The Reds were tipped to rival Man City for the league title this season but have barely shown signs of having what it takes to give the defending champions a good run for their money. It's been three games into the season and Jurgen Klopp's side has only managed two points from a potential nine.
Perharps, the clash with Bournemouth has come at a rather opportune time as the Cherries have never won at Anfield (D1, L7) and have just one victory in total against Liverpool in 17 meetings in all competitions. They will go into Saturday's encounter with three points from three games, having managed a win over Aston Villa in their first game of the season before falling in successive outings against Arsenal and Man City. Needless to say, they should be in high spirits after defeating Norwich City in midweek to progress to the next round in the Carabao Cup.
Man City vs Crystal Palace: The defending Premier League champions Manchester City will try to get their winning streak back when they host Crystal Palace on Saturday. Pep Guardiola's side has had a good start so far by securing seven points from a possible nine and were dealt a scare last week when they took on Newcastle at the St James'. The Citizens barely survived against the Magpies, staging a remarkable fight back to earn a point in the six-goal thriller.
For Crystal Palace, the objective will be to potentially stage an upset when they make the trip to Manchester. The Eagles come into this match with back-to-back victories in the league and EFL Cup and should be motivated to put on a good show at the Etihad.
Team news: Who is absent for Matchday 4?
Arsenal: Reiss Nelson (Thigh injury)
Chelsea: N'Golo Kante (Thigh injury), Kalidou Koulibaly (Suspended), Mateo Kovacic (Knee injury), Marcos Alonso (Other)
Liverpool: Diogo Jota (Thigh injury), Caoimhin Kelleher (Groin injury), Curtis Jones (Calf injury), Thiago Alcantara (Thigh injury), Joel Matip (Groin injury), Darwin Nunez Ribeiro (Suspended), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Thigh injury), Ibrahima Konate (Knee injury)
Manchester City: Aymeric Laporte (Knee injury), Jack Grealish (Knee injury), Kalvin Phillips (Shoulder injury), Luke Mbete-Tabu (Head/Face injury), Nathan Ake (Pelvic injury)
Manchester United: Facundo Pellistri (Ankle/Foot injury), Anthony Martial (Heel injury), Brandon Williams (Other), Victor Lindelof (Other)
Tottenham Hotspur: Oliver Skipp (Calf injury), Cristian Romero (Groin injury), Lucas Moura (other), Bryan Gil (Other).
