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Jadon Sancho’s full debut, Nuno’s Wolves return and what to watch out for in the Premier League today

Nuno returns to Molineux as he looks to build on Spurs’ victory over Man City last weekend

Dylan Terry
Sunday 22 August 2021 08:07 BST
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Nuno will return to Wolves just three months after leaving the club
Nuno will return to Wolves just three months after leaving the club (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I)

Nuno Espirito Santo returns to Wolves

Just three months ago Nuno Espirito Santo left Wolves after four years managing the club. Now he is returning to Molineux for the first time since departing as he leads his Tottenham team out in an away Premier League game for the first time.

It will be interesting to see what sort of reception the Portuguese coach gets from the Wolves faithful given he led them to promotion and solidified them in the top flight before moving on to seek a new challenge.

Wolves have not beaten Spurs at home since David Jones scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory back in February 2010. And with new coach Bruno Lage starting with defeat at Leicester and Tottenham beating champions Man City, the visitors will have to be seen as the favourite in this one.

Will Harry Kane feature for Tottenham?

It is unclear whether Tottenham striker Harry Kane will feature in today’s clash with Wolves amid continued speculation surrounding his future.

Throughout the summer the Spurs man has been linked with a move to Manchester City, but with just over one week to go until the window closes it is becoming increasingly likely he will remain in North London.

However, he was not in Spurs’ squad for the opening weekend win over Man City and did not travel to Portugal for the defeat to Pacos de Ferreira.

When asked earlier this week whether Kane would be fit to play at Molineux, Nuno said: “I cannot answer that. What I can tell you is he’s better. He’s getting his fitness better and better each day.

“He worked today, he’s going to work tomorrow and he’s going to join the group on Friday. And on Saturday we’re going to make a decision on who’s going to be involved in the next game.”

Varane and Sancho could start for Manchester United

Manchester United’s two summer signings could both start for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side at St Mary’s against Southampton this afternoon.

Jadon Sancho came off the bench in United’s 5-1 victory over Leeds last Saturday, but this would be his first start for the club.

(AFP via Getty Images)

And Varane, who was unveiled on the Old Trafford pitch ahead of the Premier League curtain-raiser, is yet to feature at all for Man Utd.

When asked during a press conference whether the pair will start, Solskjaer said: “Well, you’ll see on Sunday.

“They’ve worked well, anyway. They’ve had minutes, we’ve had a very good week ourselves so it’s still (to) see who’s making the flight down to Southampton on Saturday.”

Saints look to avoid another 9-0 thrashing

The last time Southampton faced Manchester United back in February they were trounced 9-0 at Old Trafford. Remarkably, it was a familiar scoreline for the Saints given they had also shipped nine the previous season against Leicester.

On that occasion, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men responded by beating Leicester in the return fixture at the King Power Stadium three months later. Can they do the same here?

Manchester United started their Premier League campaign with a bang as they thumped rivals Leeds 5-1 in emphatic fashion. Bruno Fernandes, who netted in the 9-0 earlier this year, scored a hat-trick last weekend and will have his eye on more goals here.

Chelsea look to end run against Arsenal and Lukaku’s second debut

Bizarrely, despite the two teams’ differing fortunes over the last 12 months, Arsenal have not lost to Chelsea since December 2019. The Gunners have won the last three meetings including back in May when they stunned the Blues with a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

But Mikel Arteta’s side are already under pressure following the 2-0 defeat to Brentford on the opening day and many fans will be concerned heading into this one.

One major reason for worry among the Arsenal contingent is that Romelu Lukaku is set to return to start another chapter with Chelsea today. Can the £97 million man mark his second debut with a goal?

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