Premier League Round 8: Is It Really Real, Son?

Brighton can make yet another statement of intent.

Game Of The Weekend: Liverpool vs. Brighton (Sunday, 10am ET)

First off, this is one of those weird weekends when the limeys have set the clocks back but we haven't. So this Sunday's games and next Saturday's are off-center from the routine. You feel a bit at sea. This goes on for a few weeks in the spring, so this is just a sprinkling. Now that that's out of the way...

Brighton have the feel-good story antennae up for a lot of Premier League watchers, and if there's ever a season where everyone could use something to grab onto, it's this one. They've mullered just about anyone that's come in front of them, they've scored 23 goals in seven games, and they're +18 goal-difference is far and away the best in the league. They're in third on merit. Not only could they be the surprise team wreaking havoc at the top of the table, they're incredibly fun to watch. This is "seven seconds or less" soccer right now.

There are a couple caveats, though only small ones. Their opening day win was against a barely half-constructed Villa side. They got a pretty long look at a 10-man Coventry. Crystal Palace just suck eggs. But hey, can only play who's in front of you. Their 3-0 win over Arsenal, 2-0 win with 10 men over Sunderland, these are genuine.

Now they have the challenge of going to Anfield after Europa Conference League commitments on Thursday. They didn't really send out the A-team for that, though Pascal Gross did play, as well as one or two others. Some just traveled, and it's a pretty quick turnaround to come back from Czechia and then right up to the Northwest.

Liverpool keep threatening to turn it on, but haven't quite gotten there. They forgot to start against Villareal in the Champions League, finding themselves down two, but then made scoring four unanswered look pretty easy. They haven't had to travel.

The test for Liverpool is can they live with the ruckus that Brighton are causing, that Arsenal couldn't. Van Dijk has looked ropey as hell the past two games, and now he's going to have pressing forwards buzzing his tower all day. But if they get through that, there should be plenty of space to rumpus through for the likes of Barcola and Ngumoha and Isak, which is why they're here.

Checking off a win at Anfield after beating Arsenal would certainly make Brighton firm contenders for a Champions League spot, if not a whole lot more. Come chill if it's really real.

Aston Villa vs. Man City (Saturday, 7:30)

The other best game of the weekend. As expected, once Unai Emery got Villa's plane built in the sky, they were going to hum. Villa just clubbed Viking in the Champions League, with new toys Mbaye and Alysson looking pretty tasty while doing so. When they start flanking Manzambi behind Nico Jackson, this is going to be a hydra of an attack.

Normally, Villa Park would just be about the perfect play to bay and howl at City. However, with a quarter of it under construction, it's lost something for the time being. City are still on their "revenge" tour, though against who we don't know. Villa have been hellish to City, winning three of the last four meetings. There's a sense that any team that gets a real spur up its ass can get at City. Villa have the horses and the know-how to do so.

Arsenal vs. Everton (Saturday, 10am)

Arsenal were pretty much an old man getting out of bed on a winter morning their last couple games in the Premier League, sandwiching a credible if a touch lucky draw in Munich. Everton are Everton, and they never win at The Emirates, and these will be two teams grunting through a bad case of indigestion before Arsenal win on some dodgy penalty or corner.

Coventry vs. Fulham (Saturday, 10am)

Fulham are actually a little unlucky to be at the ass-end of the table, but that'll happen when a team has no actual striker to finish off what they create. Maybe signing a striker who has more of a claim then knowing where the Real Madrid training ground is would have helped.

Chelsea vs. Spurs (Saturday, 12:30)

No one has a bigger house of horrors than Spurs do at Stamford Bridge. They've won once there in the past 30+ years. But isn't everywhere a house of horrors for Spurs these days? They've actually looked competent the last few, they've gotten James Maddison and Dejan Kulesevski back in from the cold, so maybe there's some kind of light? Chelsea actually won a game they deserved to last week, instead of just counting on crashing in every shot they take from 25 yards and then holding on like Radioactive Man without the goggles.

Crystal Palace vs Newcastle (Sunday, 10am)

This is the "You're fucked!" derby of the weekend, as whoever loses this is going to be at DEFCON 3. Palace can't defend, Newcastle can't score, so combine that with two teams who really need to win this, and it might look like that pool cue fight from Dark Knight.

Hull vs. Brentford (Sunday, 10am)

Why is this game on Sunday? Neither are in Europe. Hull's pixie dust seems to have run out, and Brentford need a get right.

Man United vs. Bournemouth (Sunday, 10am)

It feels like United are just trying to wheeze to the next international break to fire Michael Carrick. Their players openly bitching about him and his bosses makes it seem like that's a pretty tenuous plan. Especially with Carrick pointing out that none of his players like to, y'know, move. Bournemouth, a team that knows exactly what it is and what it does, isn't what they need right now. The one relief for United is that Bournemouth played on Thursday, ran out most of the A-team to throttle AC Milan, and may be a little low on starch. They'd better hope so, because if United go down at any point, this is going to look and sound like something out of the French revolution.

Sunderland vs. Leeds (Sunday, 12:30)

Sunderland are another place where the players are openly wailing about their own faults in the press, and their BABIP magic from last year has market corrected HARD. Leeds's season has been on the serene side, but there's probably some rueing of points left on the board with their four draws in seven. They don't score a lot, they don't give up a lot, so this one probably isn't going to avert your eyes from the NFL.