The Premier League programme for this weekend will feature two very different tests. Newcastle United host Bournemouth at their St James’ Park home, with Manchester City hosting newly promoted Coventry City at the Etihad Stadium.
One game is a game of confidence, as this team is still getting used to this level. The other is a keener and less predictable battle between two settled top-quality teams.
City’s Home Stage; Coventry’s Big Test
It’s a statement day and day of control for Manchester City. It’s never an easy game at home when a new side is in town, but there is always an expectation on the home side to put on a show. Coventry come as the underdog with a new sense of awareness that away form represents a victory this season.
Visitors will sit deep and be organised and look to the break. City will look to play pretty much in the ascendancy in possession and will put on threat after threat. But how fast they can go from that domination to goals will determine how the rest of the weekend goes.
Newcastle and Bournemouth meet a Different Kind of Contest
The contest will be tighter, and the sound at St James’ Park will be louder. Newcastle will play with the home strength and a squad that carries their fans’ hopes, while Bournemouth will know how to tantalise greater teams and capitalise on error. It’s a game that can be won on one shot – a set piece, a defensive error or a stroke of individual brilliance.
Both sides will leave something from the game, which increases the pressure and stakes. In combination, these two matchups have all the hallmarks of Premier League early September: the class act versus the new guy, and the tussle in the middle that can make or destroy a season.
One team will feel the pressure of expectation either ease or grow, and the other side will be more sure about their position.
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