This is a must-win game for Liverpool if they want to avoid the stuttering start which left them with far too much to do last season. Due to their Champions League involvement, the Reds have already played a game less than some of their rivals and failure to beat Sheffield United on opening day means Manchester United are already five points clear. Aside from beating Chelsea in the Charity Shield, Liverpool haven't hit their stride yet and injuries mean Rafa Benitez has had to chop and change his side. West Ham have banked four points out of six so far so confidence will be high in the Hammers camp that they can get something from this one. Of course, the last time these two met they produced one of the greatest FA Cup finals in recent memory and but for Steven Gerrard, West Ham would have been parading the trophy on an open top bus. Verdict: Liverpool 2 West Ham 1

This match-up should give us plenty of clues as to how far this pair can go this season. Spurs were brushed aside by Bolton on the opening day but outclassed Sheffield United in midweek and their home form bears the closest scrutiny. They've also got a fantastic record - home and away - against Everton, doing the double over them in each of the last two seasons and winning seven out of the last eight at White Hart Lane. However the Toffees now look a real handful with Andy Johnson and James Beattie up front and it's also worth pointing out they won more points than Spurs in the second half of last season.They felt aggrieved at not getting a penalty in the draw at Blackburn on Wednesday night but would do well to remember the one they were awarded in their season-opener against Watford.Verdict: Tottenham 1 Everton 1

It's hard not to feel the bookies are getting carried away in cutting United into as short as 11/4 for the title following victories over Fulham and Charlton. And this match is unlikely to tell us a great deal more about their claims but there's no denying that things have got to plan thus far.They even had the massive bonus of seeing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer score the third goal in midweek while Michael Carrick came on for the final quarter of an hour. Worryingly for newly-promoted Watford there have been few clues as to the best way to approach games with United - Fulham kept it open and were destroyed in the first 20 minutes while the Addicks attempted to keep it tight yet still lost 3-0. It's Watford's home form which is going to be the key to their survival prospects and they got off the mark with a point against West Ham on Tuesday thanks to Marlon King's first top-flight goal. But this represents another big step up against the side who had the Premiership's best away record last season when they scored at least ten more goals than any other team on their travels. Verdict: Watford 0 Manchester United 3

Reading have already provided plenty of entertainment in the first two games - coming from 2-0 down to beat Middlesbrough 3-2 and scoring a fourth minute goal before having Ibrahima Sonko sent off and losing 2-1 at Aston Villa. Although their willingness to give it a go makes their results a little hard to call, their positive approach suggests Reading games will contain plenty of goals. They scored 99 in the Championship last season and four in two so far is extremely promising so backing their players to score anytime is a reasonable strategy as is backing total goals in any of their games. Wigan's only game so far produced three goals - a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle - and as this is a game which both sides will feel they can win, I think we can expect an open encounter. Verdict: Wigan 2 Reading 2

Neither of these two sides has impressed us yet this season. Starting with City and while their defeat at Chelsea was no disgrace, Ben Thatcher's horror challenge on Pedro Mendes was just that in a dire goalless draw at home to Portsmouth in midweek. City were one of the easiest teams to weigh up in the Premiership last season - generally losing to top half opposition but taking plenty of points off sides around them in the middle and lower reaches of the table. And nothing we've seen so far suggests that has changed significantly yet this campaign. Arsenal though have hardly hit the ground running at their new Emirates Stadium, having to come from behind in both their matches so far to snatch a draw with Aston Villa and then a far-from-convincing Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb.Thierry Henry looks like he'll take a couple more weeks before he's match sharp while they've also appeared strangely vulnerable at the back. Verdict: Manchester City 1 Arsenal 2

He's incredible isn't he. Taking over a Villa side whose confidence was shot to pieces has proved a piece of cake so far for Martin O'Neill and the manager with the 'midas' touch has already guided the team to an excellent 1-1 draw at Arsenal and a 2-1 home win over Reading. He may have had a bit of good fortune at times - Reading were reduced to 10 men after 33 minutes when 1-0 up - but the great thing about O'Neill is that he manages to get his sides to cash in when the breaks go their way. There is much work still to be done at Villa but you can't put a price on confidence and Villa now appear to have it thanks to O'Neill. This is definitely a winnable game for Villa, especially given that Newcastle were involved in UEFA Cup action on Thursday night. The Magpies have played just one Premiership game so far - winning 2-1 at home against Wigan - but it's their away record which needs to be sorted. Last season they lost 11 times on their travels - the most defeats out of any team in the top half of the table - and although they won at Villa Park, they're likely to find it a lot harder this time. At least the signing of Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins should help out their problems in attack and although he can play on Sunday it's asking a lot for him to make an immediate impact in his first game in English football. Verdict: Aston Villa 2 Newcastle 1