The Premier League's three-week pause ends in earnest this afternoon with the fixture the schedulers saved for last: Liverpool against Manchester City at Anfield, 4.30pm, with the leaders protecting a perfect record and the hosts yet to taste defeat this season.
City arrive on Merseyside with five wins from five, thirteen goals scored and a two-point cushion over Arsenal at the top of the table. Liverpool, unbeaten but drawing too often for their own liking, sit seventh with nine points from five games, and know that victory this evening would announce them as genuine participants in the title conversation rather than observers of it.
Sunday's card
Before the main event, Crystal Palace host Nottingham Forest and Hull City welcome Everton in the two o'clock kick-offs, both sides from the capital and the East Riding looking to climb away from the congested lower half of the early table.
Saturday: late goals and a veteran's double
The weekend's opening act delivered no shortage of theatre. At Old Trafford, Dominic Solanke struck in the second minute of stoppage time to earn Tottenham a 1-1 draw against Manchester United, cancelling out Bryan Mbeumo's 73rd-minute opener. A point does little to disguise Spurs' predicament, however: still winless after six games, they sit eighteenth with three draws and three defeats.
At Stamford Bridge, Jordan Henderson rolled back the years with two goals, his first for Chelsea, as Xabi Alonso's side dismantled Bournemouth 5-1. The 36-year-old England midfielder curled home after just 68 seconds and sealed the rout with a fierce free-kick in the 70th minute, either side of an Antonio Silva own goal and a Joao Pedro double, the Brazilian's second his fifth of the season. Evanilson's reply for Bournemouth extended Chelsea's run without a league clean sheet to 22 matches, a statistic Alonso was quick to acknowledge afterwards.
The Weekend at a Glance
- Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield at 4.30pm on Sunday; City have five wins from five, Liverpool are unbeaten in five.
- Crystal Palace face Nottingham Forest and Hull City meet Everton in Sunday's 2pm kick-offs.
- Dominic Solanke's stoppage-time strike earned Tottenham a 1-1 draw at Manchester United; Spurs remain winless in 18th.
- Jordan Henderson scored his first two Chelsea goals in a 5-1 defeat of Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
- Arsenal beat Leeds 2-1 at the Emirates, Brighton won 2-0 at Sunderland despite a red card, and Ipswich snatched a 2-1 win over Fulham in added time.
Elsewhere, Arsenal survived a spirited Leeds United to win 2-1 at the Emirates through second-half goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Bruno Guimaraes, keeping Mikel Arteta's side level on points with City at the summit. Brighton, reduced to ten men after Pascal Struijk's foul on Wilson Isidor, still won 2-0 at Sunderland to consolidate third place. Aston Villa's troubled start continued with a 2-2 draw against Brentford, John McGinn's 77th-minute strike answered by Kristoffer Ajer within two minutes, while Ipswich Town produced the finish of the day, Abdoul Ouattara's 88th-minute rocket and Dara O'Shea's stoppage-time header overturning Ryan Sessegnon's opener for Fulham at Portman Road.
The Anfield equation
History favours drama this afternoon. City have won at Anfield only rarely in the modern era, and Liverpool's home support, starved of league football for three weeks, will ensure the old ground is at its most hostile. For Pep Guardiola's side, victory would open an early five-point gap and send a message that the champions of 2025 intend to reclaim their crown. For Liverpool, it is an opportunity to turn an unbeaten start into a statement.