As first weekends go, it was a pretty special one.
Arsenal’s late rally clinched one of the most entertaining opening day games, Chelsea crumbled to an unthinkable 3-2 defeat to Stoke 2.0 – Burnley – and a handful of new signings prevented any monkeys chasing their backs with debut goals.
But what for the week ahead? Will Matic prove he really is the greatest central defensive midfielder in European history? Will champions Chelsea sit bottom of the table after two games? It’s time for the second week of Premier League Bingo…
Huddersfield v Newcastle taking an early lead in Sky Sports’ lowest-viewed game of the season
Whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate – we don’t live in Spain. And with that comes equal pay for Premier League clubs with regards to TV money. A club usually has at least 10 games televised during the season, and it feels this Super Sunday lunchtime kick-off may be a “well we’ve gotta show Huddersfield at some point” decision.
Several commentators mentioning that Stoke have signed, in Jese Rodriguez, another ex-Champions League winner
Stoke have recruited many has-been players in Sparky’s reign, who happened to be in the squad of Champions League-winning sides. With Darren Fletcher and now Jese Rodriguez on their books, they have more Champions League winners in their squad than any other Premier League club. Watch out for that strapline at the top of your screen on Match of the Day.
Less than four goals at halftime in the Saturday 3pm kick-offs
It’s the most entertaining league in the world but you do get half a dozen Saturday afternoons where, at 3.45pm, you’re excruciatingly bored. Let’s get one of those out the way. In Bournemouth, Watford, Southampton, Crystal Palace, West Brom and Burnley, it’d almost be a shame if so much raw goalless halftime talent was wasted.
“Wembley” being the one-word reason behind any negative aspect of Tottenham’s performance
Don’t watch Tottenham v Chelsea in a pub. If you don’t have the new “Sky Sports bundle,” which is uttered roughly every four radio adverts, then do so before Sunday. Otherwise, you’ll have Big Steve telling you why Eric Dier can’t string a few passes together – and that reason is, of course, “Wembley”.
Pep Guardiola to make his record 2-0-0 in the 2017/18 Manager Touchline Attire series
It’s up for debate whether it says more about the mundane game or Pep’s crisp outfit that the latter was spoken about in great depth during Brighton’s opener against Man City. This week Pep faces Ronald Koeman’s straightforward navy blue number, most probably accompanied with a thyroid-suffocating collar.
Swansea looking like they’re lacking a creative midfielder
As Premier League managers love to annually tell us, the transfer window should close before the season starts. Paul Clement joined that movement last week, as his stranglehold on talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson finally loosened. The Icelandic free-kick whipper is now an Everton player, and Swansea will no doubt look lost without him come Saturday lunchtime.
Last week’s bingo card.
