1) A new era starts in familiar territory for Solskjær

When Cardiff sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjær in September 2014 it seemed a stretch to imagine, little over four years later, he would be bringing Manchester United to a venue where – put lightly – things did not go especially well. In fairness to Solskjær it always seemed a case of wrong club, wrong time more than anything else but there are a few parallels with the situation he has walked into this week. At the time of Solskjær’s arrival, Malky Mackay’s conservative style had run its course and the Bluebirds needed fresh, forward thinking. That is certainly what United require and, in contrast to his time in South Wales, Solskjær inherits a squad capable of fitting the brief. It is time to put smiles on faces and, while Cardiff are these days more formidable than the team Solskjær struggled to remould, this looks the perfect opportunity for him to make a start. NA

2) Toffees look to end poor run against top sides

Everton have been lauded for their bolder approach under Marco Silva and, had Richarlison not missed a fine early chance, could have given Manchester City a headache at the Etihad last Saturday. Instead they fell short and are yet to record the kind of statement result that would really turbo-charge Silva’s revolution. In fairness, all of their meetings with top-six opponents so far have been away from home, so it will be instructive to see how, at Goodison Park, they can trouble a Tottenham side that may still be aching from its midweek exertions. Their last victory against a team in that bracket came when they hammered City 4-0 in January 2017 and Spurs, who may have to become used to hassle now Mauricio Pochettino appears to be Manchester United’s objet d’amour, would be the ideal scalp to spark hopes that they are going places. NA

3) Puel’s League Cup rotation needs to produce results

It’s not exactly new to question a manager picking a shadow team for a Cup game, with the all-powerful Premier League in mind. But the narrowness of Leicester’s Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester City simply emphasises such complaints. Claude Puel always knew that Pep Guardiola would make changes, so why not make this the most important game of the next few weeks? Leicester are 12th in the Premier League and it will be surprising if they finish much higher or lower than that. But even if they did finish higher, would it matter? In 2016-17, Puel took Southampton to the League Cup final and finished eighth: you can guarantee the Saints fans remembered the former more than the latter, while the manager was sacked that summer. To justify Puel’s approach now, Leicester need to collect some points this Christmas, starting against Chelsea on Saturday. NM

4) Liverpool fan Coady looking to derail title bid

Conor Coady is, by his own admission, Liverpool through and through. The Wolves defender joined his boyhood club at the age of 12 and harboured hopes of making the grade there. It did not quite happen but on Friday he will face them in a league game for the first time, and it is worth reflecting on how fine a player he has become. Now 25, Coady sits at the heart of Nuno Espírito Santo’s back three and is fundamental, his radar-like switches to their marauding wing-backs a defining feature of their play. He captains them, too, and it is no exaggeration to say the 25-year-old, who had never played in his current position until Nuno’s arrival, is becoming one of the league’s better players in that role. This would be a fine time to underline the point: Wolves have one eye on the top six after three straight wins. Five years ago, Coady could hardly have imagined wanting to derail a Liverpool title bid but he and his teammates have their own ambitions now. NA

5) Burnley need to get back to basics at Emirates

Last season’s fixture saw Burnley reduced to – in the nicest way possible – an irrelevance, with the Emirates bidding farewell to Arsène Wenger and the home side rattling in five goals. The problem for Sean Dyche is they have continued in similarly generous vein this season, but there was a glimmer of promise in their performance at Wembley last weekend. Dyche plumped for a back three and duly saw Tottenham bluster before Christian Eriksen’s late heartbreaker; that setup was “not a gimmick”, according to Dyche, and he may well opt for a similar approach on Saturday. It is likely Burnley’s subsequent four games – at home to Everton, West Ham and Fulham, and away to Huddersfield – are of more consequence to their relegation struggle so any points here would be a welcome bonus. How Arsenal respond to the end of an unbeaten run that had not always been convincing will provide the latest insight into Unai Emery’s revolution; Dyche may fancy he can cause them more frustration. NA

6) Sané back to his best but can still get better

Pep Guardiola kept plenty in reserve – namely Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Agüero – for most of the win over Everton and some of the greatest encouragement that afternoon came from a player who has endured time on the sidelines himself. In September, Leroy Sané was completely left out of the squad that faced Newcastle after an unhappy summer watching Germany’s World Cup struggles from afar. He is now in electric form: his last eight appearances have brought five goals and six assists, two of the latter laid on a plate for Gabriel Jesus against Everton, and he is playing some of his finest football since joining City in 2016. Palace should offer up chances to continue that run. NA

7) Pellegrini has lifted the mood at West Ham

It is best not whispered too loudly but the London Stadium is in danger of becoming a happy place. West Ham have won four in a row – the first time they have managed that in the league since February 2014. The goals have started to flow freely with players like Robert Snodgrass and Javier Hernández revitalised under Manuel Pellegrini. They are becoming a team in their manager’s image and the supporters sang Pellegrini’s name at Fulham last weekend. It is light years away from September, when four early defeats suggested his time in east London would be limited, and the Christmas period looks set up for them to push on. Watford, Southampton, Burnley and Brighton will hold few fears between now and 2 January so it is not a huge stretch to imagine them sitting sixth at the turn of the year. Saturday’s visit of Watford could be a far cry from two seasons ago, when the Hornets’ 4-2 win sparked crowd trouble around their hosts’ new abode. For now, Pellegrini has inspired a sense of happy families. NA

8) Southampton may have found their Saint in Hasenhüttl

Perhaps the most encouraging thing for Southampton from beating Arsenal was not just the result, but the dynamism of their team – and manager. Whereas Mark Hughes was largely inert, in more ways than one, Hasenhüttl showed he can be decisive, particularly in the substitutions he made: on came Shane Long and Charlie Austin just after the hour, and 20 minutes later Long crossed to Austin for the winner. A double switch working as neatly as that is, to a point, down to some luck, but it showed intent. Long came on for Nathan Redmond, at a time when many managers might have just dug in for the draw. Hasenhüttl’s methods are already taking hold, and he looks likely to get more out of Southampton’s moderate squad than his predecessor. NM

9) Cherries need sweet result ahead of sour run

Bournemouth’s terrific start to the season was built on making short work of their peers. Against the ‘big six’ teams they’re yet to win a point, losing all five games, but against the rest, their record reads P12 W7 D2 L3. With the Premier League so starkly split into three separate sub-divisions, this will be repeated a lot elsewhere, but it might be of concern to Eddie Howe that this consistency is slipping. In the last month or so they’ve lost to Newcastle and Wolves: forgivable, but not something to make a habit of if they want to make an impression on the division. They’ve got Brighton this weekend: maybe it’s dramatic to call it a must-win, but their two fixtures after that are against Manchester United and Spurs. NM

10) Ranieri should keep his promise to ‘tinker clever’

“I must tinker clever,” Claudio Ranieri, a man ostentatiously aware of his old reputation, noted in one of his early press conferences at Fulham, but there’s not been much evidence of that so far. The experiment of playing Calum Chambers in midfield has been a qualified success, but the logic of other choices in last week’s defeat to West Ham wasn’t quite as solid. He picked Dennis Odoi at right-back when Cyrus Christie was on the bench, and played Tom Cairney on the right and Aboubakar Kamara as a No 10. Tinkering, sure, but clever? It’s not working so far. Of course a new manager needs time to figure things out, but with Fulham bottom and with one win from his five games so far, he doesn’t have much of it. NM