Sink or swim for West Ham’s Freddie Potts in the Premier League this weekend
For Freddie Potts, the hard work starts now.
The 22-year-old West Ham midfielder enjoyed a debut to remember in last weekend’s come-from-behind win over Newcastle at the London Stadium. Potts, the son of former Upton Park favourite Steve Potts, brought a much-needed injection of vigour and freshness to Nuno Espírito Santo’s side, earning widespread praise for the composure, discipline and intelligence he showed against a midfield trio of far greater stature and experience. His performance was all the more impressive for coming in a game that halted a run of three straight defeats and gave Nuno the first win of his nascent West Ham tenure.
But as the Portuguese was eager to emphasise in advance of Saturday’s visit from fellow Premier League strugglers Burnley, it was just one game.
“I think he played really, really well,” said Nuno. “He was balanced, his actions were accurate, and he did what the team needed in that moment. But it’s only one game. He played many games in the Championship and in League One [during loan spells with Portsmouth and Wycombe Wanderers], which helped make Freddie. He’s a really good option for us, but he’s started one game, and we want to help him improve, like all the players.
“He’s got so much talent, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do. It’s the same for all the team. We all made a little step on Sunday, but it’s in the past now.”
Potts would do well to heed those words. As good as he was against Newcastle, the academy product had the benefit of surprise on his side. But after making the most of his unexpected inclusion, he will go into this weekend’s match as a known quantity. Burnley manager Scott Parker, who knows what it is to patrol West Ham’s midfield, will have prepared his players accordingly. Moreover, Potts will have the eyes of the football world upon him, adding extra pressure as he seeks to prove that last weekend’s success was no mere flash in the pan.
It is a challenge Potts will seek to meet head on. He has been at West Ham since the age of five; playing for the first team represents the fulfilment of a long-held dream. Neither is he any stranger to acclaim, having distinguished himself both at Wycombe, where he was named player of the season in 2024, and Portsmouth, whom he helped to retain Championship status. Now it is time to sink or swim.
After demolishing Copenhagen, can Tottenham keep the home fires burning?
When the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened for business in April 2019, former chairman Daniel Levy hailed it as a moment that would bring “hope, prosperity and uplift” to the club and its north London community.
As Spurs prepare to host Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime, that prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. Since Thomas Frank was appointed manager this summer, Tottenham have taken just four points from a possible 15 in their £1bn citadel. Expand the survey sample to the past year, and fans have seen their team prevail just four times in the league, a return of 16 points from 57. Hope, prosperity and uplift have been nowhere to be seen.
In Europe, however, it has been different. Last season’s triumphant Europa League campaign under Ange Postecoglou brought five wins and two draws at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and that success has continued this term with Champions League victories over Villarreal and, on Tuesday night, Copenhagen, who were subjected to a 4-0 mauling despite enjoying a one-man advantage for most of the second half following the 57th-minute dismissal of Brennan Johnson.
Were it not for an outstanding away record that has brought wins at Manchester City, West Ham, Everton and Leeds wins along with a draw at Brighton, Tottenham would already be fighting a relegation battle. The need to harness the momentum of European nights in domestic combat is palpable, a fact that is not lost on Frank, who sees United’s visit as an opportunity to turn the tide.
“It’s a big shirt to wear in many ways,” said the Dane. “It should be [a source of pride]. It should be something you’re really excited about, wearing this beautiful shirt, playing home and away. It shouldn’t matter to play home. It should be a massive boost when we play at home. We should feel even more confident, even more aligned, even more willing to do everything.
“I understand that the stats are not too good over a long time. For me, now there’s a new opportunity, and a new opportunity we need to embrace in the best possible way – coming out there against a great Manchester United team that’s in great form. It’ll be a great game, and we’ll do everything we can to get out on top.”
In truth, Tottenham have had ample opportunity to stop the rot. Having completed a league double over United last season, however, a win on Saturday would represent their best run against Saturday’s opponents in 55 years. It would be a good moment to dare and do.
Will Granit Xhaka have the last laugh against Arsenal in the Premier League this weekend?
All eyes will be on Granit Xhaka when league leaders Arsenal travel to Sunderland this weekend. From falling out with fans and being stripped of the captaincy to contributing nine goals and seven assists as the Gunners narrowly lost out to Manchester City in the title race, the 33-year-old Switzerland international wore many guises over the course of seven eventful seasons at the Emirates Stadium.
But when he lines up against his old club for Sunderland on Saturday teatime, Xhaka will do so as a very different player to the one who left north London for Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2023. His first season in the Bundesliga culminated with an unbeaten league and cup double, not to mention a place in the Ballon d’Or top 20, and he has acquired a talismanic influence since joining Sunderland this summer. On Monday night against Everton, he scored his first goal for Régis Le Bris’s side, salvaging a point that moved them into the top four, and there is a palpable sense that his reunion with Arsenal comes at the best possible moment.
“Saturday will be special, for sure, because I am now on the opposite side, against them for the first time,” Xhaka told the Athletic. “Let’s see what happens.”
Could it prove a cathartic moment for a man who was once booed from the pitch by his own fans at the Emirates Stadium as he left the pitch after being substituted, a moment he has described as “the worst day of my life, in football”? The late Brian Glanville’s oft-quoted phrase, the immutable law of the ex, is the one on everybody’s lips.
Will Florian Wirtz continue at left midfield against Manchester City?
There is clearly much more to come from Florian Wirtz in a Liverpool shirt and yet, each time you watch the playmaker at close quarters, a new dimension of his repertoire catches the eye. So it was again at Anfield on Tuesday night, when Wirtz produced arguably his finest performance yet on Merseyside in Liverpool’s 1-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid.
At 5ft 9in, the 22-year-old is not the tallest of footballers, yet the slightness of his physique makes him appear significantly smaller than Vinícius Júnior, who is the same height but possesses a muscularity more akin to that of a sprinter. On more than one occasion late in the second half – by which time Vinícius was surging down the left wing with every greater urgency and intensity, as Madrid probed for an equaliser – Wirtz, ostensibly stationed on the opposite flank but making the most of a roaming remit to help Liverpool put out fires wherever required, found himself in direct opposition to the Brazil international. It looked for all the world like a mismatch.
Yet Wirtz, clearly unperturbed by the physical dynamics of the scenario, was a study in focus and determination. He was never going to outmuscle Vinícius, but his anticipation and movement ensured that no such rudimentary measures were required. His lithe movement and ability to block the winger’s attempts to play the ball around him alleviated the defensive burden on Conor Bradley at right-back, even if his contribution was afforded less attention when the plaudits were being handed out afterwards. Wirtz was similarly effective elsewhere across midfield in that crucial final phase, pressing and blocking to hitherto unseen effect. The impression was one of a player coming to terms with the physical demands of playing for a Premier League club.
The question now is whether Wirtz will be afforded the opportunity to build on his performance against Manchester City on Sunday. Like the midweek meeting with Real, Liverpool’s league showdown with Aston Villa last weekend was widely seen as a game in which Arne Slot’s side would be able to go about their business without worrying about the direct approach successfully adopted by opponents like Manchester United and Brentford in recent weeks. City do not typically favour such tactics either and yet, for all their technical virtues, there has been a discernible emphasis on finding the quickest route to goal in recent months.
That has involved playing the ball through early to Erling Haaland, to which end Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku were deployed behind the free-scoring Norway international in a 4-3-2-1 formation against Bournemouth last weekend. Is it conceivable Pep Guardiola could adopt a similar strategy against Liverpool? If so, City could be more open than they are when utilising their more familiar 4-1-4-1 system, potentially allowing Wirtz greater space in which to operate. If not, will Slot once again deploy the Germany international as a left midfielder, confident that he can reproduce Tuesday night’s robust performance amid the cut and thrust of the Premier League? Just like last weekend, when a key talking point was whether the Liverpool manager would reintroduce Andy Robertson at left-back at the expense of Milos Kerkez, the Liverpool teamsheet will tell us much about where a key summer signing stands.
