Premier League questions: Liverpool and Watford to make history?
Leicester v Liverpool, Cardiff City v Arsenal and Watford v Tottenham all live on Sky Sports this weekend
Friday 31 August 2018 08:43, UK
What questions could be answered by the time the final whistles go in the latest round of Premier League matches?
The action gets underway on Saturday lunchtime as Liverpool travel to Leicester, live on Sky Sports, before a Renault Super Sunday double-header sees Arsenal take on Cardiff at the Cardiff City Stadium and Watford host Tottenham.
Here are the big questions ahead of all 10 matches...
Will Liverpool make history with another win? (Leicester v Liverpool, Saturday from 11.20am, live on Sky Sports Premier League)
It has been a superb start to the season for Liverpool, winning and keeping clean sheets in their first three games and they could make history with another victory at the King Power Stadium live on Sky Sports.
Liverpool have never won their opening four games of a Premier League season, last doing so in a top-flight campaign in 1990/91 under Kenny Dalglish. The only previous occasion in which they haven't conceded in any of their first four league games in a season was back in 2005/06.
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Leicester have won three of their last four home meetings with Liverpool in all competitions but will be without Jamie Vardy, who has scored 43 percent of their league goals against 'big six' opposition (27 of 63 goals).
Will Arsenal tighten up at the back? (Cardiff City v Arsenal, Sunday from 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League)
Arsenal opened their Premier League account for the season with a 3-1 victory against West Ham last weekend, but it was not entirely straightforward for Unai Emery's side.
At times against the Hammers, the Gunners looked all at sea at the back - a trait which also plagued them in their opening defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea. The Gunners have faced more shots on target than any other side in the Premier League this season (24).
Emery will want his side to tighten up against a Cardiff side that have struggled in front of goal this season. Since Sean Morrison scored Cardiff's second goal against Hull in April, the Bluebirds have failed to score with any of their 55 shots in league competition and are goalless in four league matches - their worst run since March 2014.
Will Watford continue their fine start? (Watford v Tottenham Hotspur, Sunday from 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League)
Javi Gracia's men sit fourth in the Premier League table after a perfect start to the season with victories over Brighton, Burnley and Crystal Palace.
Will they make it four Premier League wins a row? Watford are looking to win their first four league matches of a season for only the second time in their history, also doing so in the 1988-89 campaign when they were in the second tier.
If they are to make history, they'll have to do it the hard way against a Tottenham side that beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford last Monday.
Spurs, who are unbeaten in 12 league meetings with Watford (W8 D4), are hoping to win their first three away Premier League matches for the second consecutive season - a feat they didn't achieve in any of their first 25 Premier League seasons.
Will Fulham maintain their momentum? (Brighton v Fulham, Saturday, 3pm)
It took a couple of games, but Fulham appear to have found their feet in the Premier League after their promotion, sweeping Burnley aside with a 4-2 win last weekend.
After spending £100m in the summer, it appears that their new squad is starting to gel and they will be looking for another impressive performance against Brighton on Saturday, which will be the first top-flight meeting between the two sides.
The Seagulls have won six of their last seven home league matches in September (L1) - winning both Premier League games last season against West Brom and Newcastle - and have won each of their last five league games against Fulham, all in the Sky Bet Championship between December 2014 and January 2017.
Will Bournemouth win again at Stamford Bridge? (Chelsea v Bournemouth, Saturday, 3pm)
It has been a great start to the season for both Chelsea and Bournemouth, with Marizzio Sarri winning his first three games in charge while Eddie Howe's side have won two and drawn one.
But Sarri could be about to find Chelsea's bogey team, with no side having beaten the Blues at Stamford Bridge more often in the Premier League over the last three seasons than Bournemouth (2, level with Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Man City).
The Cherries are also looking to win three consecutive away Premier League games for the first time. Their last run of three away league wins was in their final three away games in the 2014-15 season before their promotion.
Will Mark Hughes break his away duck against the Eagles? (Crystal Palace v Southampton, Saturday 3pm)
Southampton are yet to get off the mark with a Premier League win this season and their wait could go on when they visit Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Mark Hughes has managed six away Premier League matches at Crystal Palace and won none of them (P6 W0 D2 L4), losing on his last four visits to Selhurst Park in all competitions.
Palace will also be hoping for another three points after their opening day win against Fulham as well as better September than last year, where they lost all four of their Premier League games by an aggregate score of 11-0.
Three in a row for Theo Walcott? (Everton v Huddersfield, Saturday, 3pm)
Theo Walcott has found his feet with Everton and has scored in the last two Premier League games - a win and a draw - and should he find the back of the net again on Saturday, it will be the first time he has done so in the competition since May 2013 for Arsenal.
Everton won both games against Huddersfield last term - each a 2-0 victory - and it could be another with the Terriers struggling in the early stages of the new season, although they have had to face Chelsea and Manchester City.
Huddersfield have managed just 16 shots in their first three Premier League games this season - the same tally as Sergio Aguero and Mohamed Salah have attempted alone - and have failed to score in their last five away matches in September in all competitions.
Will Arnautovic score AND win? (West Ham v Wolves, Saturday 3pm)
It's been a difficult start to the Manuel Pellegrini era at West Ham. Three defeats from their first three games, the Hammers sit bottom of the table with no points.
However, Marko Arnautovic has started the season in excellent form, scoring in his side's last two Premier League games. The only trouble is he's ended up on the losing side on both occasions.
Only three players have scored the first goal in three games in a row without winning any - John Spencer for Chelsea in 1996, Michel Ngonge for Watford in 1999 and Steven Fletcher for Sunderland in 2012.
The Austria forward, who has had a hand in 14 Premier League goals in 2018 (8 goals, 6 assists) - eight more than any other Hammers player, will be hoping he doesn't join that list.
Will Aguero haunt Newcastle again? (Manchester City v Newcastle United, Saturday 5.30pm)
It's fair to say Manchester City enjoy coming up against Newcastle.
Pep Guardiola's side are unbeaten in their last 21 top-flight games against Newcastle (W18 D3). It's their longest ever unbeaten run against a specific top-flight opponent, as well as being Rafael Benitez's side's longest such winless run.
It's also fair to say Sergio Aguero enjoys coming up against Newcastle. He has scored 14 goals in his 11 Premier League appearances against Newcastle, with eight of these goals coming in his last two home games against them.
Aguero's 14 Premier League goals against Newcastle for City is a record for goals scored against an opponent for a single club.
Will United stop the rot at Turf Moor? (Burnley v Manchester United, Sunday 4pm)
Manchester United's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham on Monday meant Jose Mourinho's side have lost two of their first three league matches of a season for the first time since 1992-93 (P3 W0 D1 L2).
Heading into the match with Burnley, United's goal difference of minus three is their worst since August 1992, when they had the same negative deficit after four matches of the inaugural Premier League season.
They now head to Turf Moor, a place they have kept a clean sheet on nine of their last 10 visits in all competitions, hoping to stop the rot. A United a side hasn't lost three of their first four league matches in a season since 1986-87, when they were managed by Ron Atkinson.
There are some positives for United and Mourinho. United have lost just once in their last 17 top-flight meetings with Burnley, while Mourinho has won all 11 of his away Premier League matches against Englishmen since taking over at Old Trafford, with two of those victories coming against Sean Dyche's Burnley.