1) The Lovren and Skrtel show

Manchester City’s encounter with Liverpool on Saturday evening means an inevitable shining of the spotlight on Raheem Sterling but it would be wise for the visitors not to get too wrapped up in the sight of their former tyro. Instead they need to concentrate on the more recent loss suffered in defence. Mamadou Sakho is out of action for six to eight weeks after suffering knee ligament damage in Liverpool’s pre-international break defeat by Crystal Palace. It was a cruel blow for a player who has been struck down by various injuries since joining the club in 2013 and a body blow for a team who have become increasingly dependent on the Frenchman to bring much-needed order and assurance to their defensive structure. Sakho may appear ungainly but he is a high-class, authoritative centre-back, and it is no surprise that a combination of Jürgen Klopp’s arrival and the 25-year-old playing on a regular basis – he started six of the German’s first seven matches in charge – has seen Liverpool look sturdier at the back, albeit while still struggling to keep clean sheets. But now Sakho is out of action and that means a return to that most shaky of defensive partnerships – Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren. One backs off too much while the other charges forward like an agitated drunk on roller skates. Lovren insists he is ready for the challenge of replacing Sakho and for sure Klopp needs him and Skrtel to perform better individually and together if Liverpool are to successfully navigate a typically hectic stage of the season shorn of one of their most consistent and important performers. SN

• Sturridge: I’m fit and ready to face City
• Agüero hoping to make his return against Liverpool
• Paul Wilson on the endangered north-west derby

2) How Wenger manages Sánchez workload

Striker

Alexis Sanchez

Appearances

12

Goals

6

Shots

53

Shots on target

28%

Offsides

3

Alexis Sánchez looked jaded in the north London derby and since then he has flown to Chile and Uruguay to play a pair of World Cup qualifiers. Arsène Wenger admits the player was not given as much rest as he might have been earlier in the season so it will be interesting to see whether Sánchez starts at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Arsenal’s injuries may convince the manager he has little option but to play the Chilean and if that turns out to be the case, it will be interesting to see how Sánchez does. The sooner Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott etc return, the sooner Sánchez can be given a break, ideally well before the demands of the festive period. PD

• Wenger concerned over Koscielny after Paris attacks
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3) Manchester United’s purity v practicality subplot

To Vicarage Road, where a somewhat philosophical contest will take place alongside an actual contest. For this is not only Watford versus Manchester United, it is also Pure Manchester United versus Practical Manchester United, the subplot which on one hand has supporters shouting “Attack! Attack! Attack!” and on the other Louis van Gaal boring his way to a Premier League winner’s medal. United really have been tough to watch this season, a collection of sideways passes and shot-shy footballers that are doing little for United’s reputation of not only winning lots of trophies but also playing, quick, attack-minded football. Yet amid the tedium, United have been winning matches – or to be more accurate, not losing them on the back of the division’s best defence – and going into the weekend, are only two points off the leaders, Manchester City. Indeed should United beat Watford in the early kick-off, they will go top for a few hours at least. Which begs the question: is Van Gaal’s way necessarily the wrong way? After all, defending is just as much part of football as attacking, and not only are United very good at it, they are combining it with just enough goals of their own to make themselves credible title challengers. Or should football be about entertaining as much as it is winning, and certainly for a club of United’s wealth and pedigree? SN

• Jamie Jackson: United’s best plan of attack might be their defence
• Van Gaal: ‘I do nothing. I delegate and I earn a lot of money’
• You are the Ref No348: Watford’s Quique Sánchez Flores

4) A crunch derby for Spurs and West Ham

There was a time when the non-availability of Erik Lamela would have brought nothing but a shrug from Tottenham fans but the young Argentinian’s performances have improved so much that his suspension for Sunday’s visit of West Ham to White Hart Lane could be a problem. At least, it would be a problem if Spurs were not able to welcome back Son Heung-min, who looks likely to start his first game since that exhilarating 4-1 home victory over Manchester City nearly two months ago. With Spurs and West Ham level on points just outside the top four, the South Korean’s return is well timed. West Ham, meanwhile, have the unhappy duty of finding a way to cope without Dimitri Payet. Is this the moment when Spurs start to put an unbridgeable gap between themselves and their east London rivals? PD

• Alli intends to stay grounded after dream start for England
• Paul Wilson on Spurs and their Champions League dream
• West Ham have ‘unbreakable option’ over Lanzini, warns Sullivan

5) Would Rémy give Chelsea’s forward line an injection?

José’s back. Back in the stadium, back in the dugout and, should Chelsea lose again to Norwich, back blaming others. Or perhaps not. Is it possible that following his stadium ban and a two-week period in which he has had time to reflect on all that has gone horribly wrong this season, Mourinho has decided it is time for a change? Maybe he will be calmer in how he deals with his players and with officials, smiling more and sneering less, and giving the general sense that he actually quite enjoys this football lark. Could there also be a tactical change in order to deal with the problem that is Diego Costa, a man who has picked more fights than scored goals this season? He was at it again during the recent defeat to Stoke but something that caught the eye during the same contest was how well the Spaniard linked up with Loïc Rémy after the Frenchman came on as a late substitute, most notably playing the pass from which Rémy could, and arguably should, have earned a penalty. Mourinho has consistently deployed a lone striker during his managerial career but in order to get the best out of Costa at a time when he requires the forward to give Chelsea something aside from a tired display of machismo, would it make sense to deploy him in a two-man strike force alongside Rémy? It’s surely worth a try for a team on their knees and whose current top scorer is own goals. SN

• Fàbregas admits to sleepless nights over Chelsea’s poor start

6) Garde already facing Villa headache

As far as some Premier League supporters are concerned, there is never a good time for an international break. But Rémi Garde might have felt otherwise, as a fortnight free of fixtures gave him a chance to build on the encouraging 0-0 draw with Manchester City in his debut game. A serious negative point, however, was the knee injury suffered by Jordan Amavi while playing for France Under-21s. The left-back had looked bright in his appearances so far for Villa and his loss for the rest of the season leaves Garde with a headache. Ciaran Clark, who was excellent in the centre of defence against City (and for Ireland while on international duty) may be shunted across to the left for the match at Everton, or Joleon Lescott may be drafted back into the team in that position against his former side. If either of them, or Kieran Richardson, slots in at left-back as well as Brendan Galloway has done for Everton, then Garde will be very happy indeed. PD

• Stones will not leave Everton in January, says Martínez
• Suliman hopes to set standard for England’s Asian footballers

7) Vardy’s fitness key as he bids to continue remarkable run

Striker

Jamie Vardy

Appearances

12

Goals

12

Shots

45

Shots on target

42%

Offsides

6

Who knew Jamie Vardy’s feat of scoring in nine successive matches would lead to a debate in which various observers put forward the credentials of John Aldridge, Stan Mortensen and Jimmy Dunne with the aim of pointing out that what the Leicester man has achieved is not new and, unless he keeps scoring every time he plays, not as special as first appears. That is perhaps fair enough, and certainly so in the context of rubbishing the idea Vardy is only chasing Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of scoring in 10 successive Premier League matches. English football, as we should all remember, did not begin in 1992. Nevertheless, it remains a brilliant run for a player who has combined rapier pace, high workrate and unerring finishing to become, on current form, the deadliest striker in the country, and there will be many people, outside as well as inside Leicester, who hope he can get that 10th goal at Newcastle this weekend. First Vardy must recover from the hip injury that forced him to miss England’s recent friendlies against Spain and France. A failure to do so would be a blow for the player and his team, as well as for those who recognise the achievements of the past while enjoying seeing more created in the present. SN

• Paul Doyle’s Premier League team of the season so far
• Newcastle’s intelligent Pérez making moves on and off pitch

8) A must-win game for Monk?

With one win in nine matches, Garry Monk is under pressure and knows that a home match against Bournemouth represents as good an opportunity for victory as his team are likely to get for a while (given that their three games after that are away to Liverpool and Manchester City and home to Leicester). Swansea have played well in patches during their bad run but those patches have not been big enough to make up for the periods when their passing has been sluggish or imprecise or their defending unusually sloppy. Another problem has been the evidence that Bafétimbi Gomis is no Wilfried Bony. At first the Frenchman did a decent job of replacing the departed Ivorian but now his limitations are showing: he has not scored since the win over Manchester United in late August and, worse, he has not been holding up the ball well enough for midfielders to feed off him. Mind you, Gomis is still a better striking option that anyone Bournemouth have been able to field since the loss of Callum Wilson. PD

• Monk blames outsiders with ‘agenda’ for sacking speculation
• Michu returns to Spanish fourth tier with Unión Popular de Langreo
• US firm buys 25% stake in Bournemouth

9) Stoke look to cut loose at St Mary’s

Chelsea’s visit to the Britannia Stadium a fortnight ago was always going to be dominated by José Mourinho’s enforced absence from the venue and, given the result, the continued sense of crisis surrounding the champions. This was something of a shame in light of Stoke’s achievement and the performances of Marko Arnautovic, Bojan and Xherdan Shaqiri, who, left to right, were positioned behind the hosts’ lone striker Jonathan Walters and showed a level of creativity and nous that caught the eye. Shaqiri was the standout performer, giving Chelsea’s left-back Baba Rahman a torrid time with his powerful running and quick feet, while on the other side Arnautovic also helped stretch Chelsea’s defence as well as scoring past them with an excellent, acrobatic volley. Between them, Bojan was a consistently incisive presence, moving across and through the line, and it will be intriguing to see if the trio can again cause problems for the opposition at St Mary’s on Saturday afternoon. The hosts have conceded only once in their past three league matches but this is undoubtedly their toughest test since visiting Anfield last month. As well as keeping an eye on the aforementioned trio, Ronald Koeman’s men will also need to be wary of Walters after his exploits for Ireland in midweek. Stoke, the joint-lowest scorers in the Premier League with 10 goals, should sense a chance to cut loose. SN

• The Rumour Mill: Pellè to leave Saints for Juventus?

10) Tough task for shaky Sunderland at Palace

Sunderland’s hapless streak resurfaced in their last match, as Yann M’Vila’s reckless tackle gave Southampton a penalty to win the game. Against West Bromwich Albion a generally decent display was undone by a moment of weakness from Costel Pantilimon, while an outbreak of the jitters led to a collapse at Goodison Park. So in three of Sam Allardyce’s four matches in charge, Sunderland have lost because they have been unable to make it through a game without committing ruinous mistakes and they have been unable to create and take enough chances during their spells of good play. There is no obvious reason to expect that trend to change at Selhurst Park on Monday night – a home win with Yohan Cabaye netting a penalty or two looks the best call. PD

• Watmore shows talent to make mark for club and country
• Palace agree to sell shareholding to New Jersey Devils owner