MX23RW : Monday, November 25 20:30:33| >> :600:100083962:100083962:

Title hopefuls meet, derbies and referee history - Premier League talking points

Reigning champions Manchester City visit Stamford Bridge, looking to avenge their defeat in last season's Champions League final.

After a midweek sojourn into Carabao Cup third-round action, the Premier League returns with some huge fixtures.

Title contenders clash, derby days loom and a league-first will occur over the course of another three days of action.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the major talking points heading into the sixth round of matches.

Citizens a test for Tuchel's high-flying Blues

Chelsea and Manchester City meet for the first time since Kai Havertz scored the winner in last season's Champions League final.
Chelsea and Manchester City meet for the first time since Kai Havertz scored the winner in last season's Champions League final. (Nick Potts/PA)

Chelsea have already faced trips to Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham this season but took seven points from those three games to help them sit top of the table heading into the weekend's fixtures. Thomas Tuchel's Champions League winners have hit the ground running and easily dispatched Spurs last time out. Another test awaits on Saturday lunchtime as reigning champions Manchester City visit Stamford Bridge, looking to avenge their defeat in last season's Champions League final and close the gap on the leaders in the process.

Nuno going south ahead of first north London derby?

Nuno Espirito Santo has seen his Tottenham side lose their last two Premier League games 3-0.
Nuno Espirito Santo has seen his Tottenham side lose their last two Premier League games 3-0. (Nigel French/PA)

Heading into the September international break, Tottenham sat atop the Premier League table and their fans rejoiced in the fact neighbours Arsenal were propping up the division having lost their first three games without registering a goal. Since then, however, Arsenal have seen the green shoots of recovery by beating Norwich and Burnley while Nuno Espirito Santo's honeymoon period ended as Spurs lost 3-0 to both Crystal Palace and Chelsea. Mikel Arteta's men could leapfrog their local rivals in the standings, although Harry Kane – goalless in the league so far this season – is the all-time leading goalscorer in north London derbies with 11 strikes to his name.

Aussie Rules

Jarred Gillett will become the first overseas referee to officiate a Premier League game.
Jarred Gillett will become the first overseas referee to officiate a Premier League game. (John Walton/PA)

In amongst all the football this weekend will come a Premier League first. Australian Jarred Gillett is to become the first referee from outside the British Isles to officiate a fixture in the division as he takes charge of Newcastle's trip to Watford on Saturday. Gillett, who was an A-League referee before working in the EFL for the previous two seasons, took charge of Arsenal's Carabao Cup win over AFC Wimbledon on Wednesday night but will now break new ground when he blows his whistle to get things under way at Vicarage Road.

So Farke, so bad as Norwich need to make a point

Daniel Farke's Norwich side have lost their last 15 Premier League fixtures.
Daniel Farke's Norwich side have lost their last 15 Premier League fixtures. (Joe Giddens/PA)

Norwich are bottom of the league having yet to pick up a point from their opening five games of the season. The Canaries have now lost their last 15 games in the top flight and will have already been written off by many. They face a tough trip to Everton, whose defeat at Aston Villa last time out was their first under new boss Rafael Benitez – one crumb of comfort for the visitors will be the fact they won 2-0 last time they travelled to Goodison Park and how Farke and his players could do with a repeat.

Seagulls looking to fly higher than Eagles in M23 derby

Neal Maupay opened the scoring as Brighton beat Leicester last weekend.
Neal Maupay opened the scoring as Brighton beat Leicester last weekend. (Steven Paston/PA)

Brighton have started the season well under head coach Graham Potter and they go into the weekend in the top four – having won four of their opening five games. Although a rivalry which may baffle some, they travel to Selhurst Park on Monday night to face fierce adversaries Crystal Palace. The Eagles will be keen to clip the wings of Potter's men as Patrick Vieira continues to oversee a rebuild in south London.

ID:465157:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect10817:
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Newcastle United's Allan Saint-Maximin celebrates scoring their second goal on August 28, 2021
Read Next:
Steve Bruce: Losing Allan Saint-Maximin is not an option for Newcastle
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
Read more about Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!