1) Arsenal cannot do without Sánchez
On the corresponding weekend of last season, Alexis Sánchez suffered the hamstring injury at Norwich City that would rule him out for two months. It was the afternoon when the Arsenal forward had also been pushed into the TV camera pit at Carrow Road by Ryan Bennett – an act that Arsène Wenger said “could have killed” the Chilean. Arsenal’s hopes have come to be closely linked to Sánchez’s fitness, on him staying out of the red zone, and there was plenty of nervousness at the club when he hurt his hamstring in training with Chile during the most recent international break. But he came through the scare and he was indefatigable in the 3-1 home win over Bournemouth on Sunday, when his two goals and all-round hustle made the difference. “Even when he looks dead, he is still alive,” Wenger said, with a smile. David Hytner
2) Guardiola’s changes keep City fresh
Only three Premier League teams have reached 30 points a third of the way into the season and the fact that Manchester City are among them gives Pep Guardiola immense satisfaction. “We have had to play eight more games than Liverpool and Chelsea because they are not in Europe,” the City manager said after the hard-fought victory at Burnley. He did not add that two of them were torrid affairs against Barcelona, though he could have done. “We can now take a week to prepare for our game against Chelsea, we are only a point off the top of the table and that is why I am so happy with the first half of the season.” One of the reasons City had to work hard at Turf Moor was that John Stones was surprisingly rested. David Silva and Ilkay Gündogan were given days off too, and Kevin De Bruyne came on from the bench, but Guardiola admitted City found it difficult to deal with Burnley’s aerial onslaught because “their players are taller than ours”. It was a rotation policy that could have backfired. Burnley would not have been flattered by a draw if an early penalty had been awarded for a clear foul by Nicolás Otamendi, though Guardiola managed to get away with keeping key players fresh before the leaders’ visit to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. “There are a lot of games, that’s why you have 23 players,” he said. “But you don’t have to use them all each week, you can go with just 14.” Paul Wilson
3) What a difference two months has made for Chelsea
Antonio Conte believes Chelsea are a “different team” now compared to that which wilted so alarmingly against Liverpool and Arsenal, with the leaders buoyed by seven consecutive wins and confident they can impose themselves against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. It is a conviction shared by his players. “Two months ago we went to Arsenal and we weren’t ready, but now we know what we have to do,” Eden Hazard said. “Manchester City and Liverpool are both good so, if we want to be top at the end, we have to finish above them.” One key member of that revived selection, the winger turned wing-back Victor Moses, is set to start talks over an improved contract in the new year having attracted interest from Barcelona in recent weeks. The Nigeria international, who scored the winner against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, has spent the past three seasons out on loan and has two years to run on his deal, but is likely to join Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois in entering talks over securing a longer-term deal. Dominic Fifield
4) Tymon gives Hull a glimmer of homegrown hope
Josh Tymon was born in May 1999, two weeks after Hull finished 21st in the fourth tier, and the 17-year-old could be key to another survival effort this season. After helping to keep Arsenal at bay in last season’s FA Cup, Tymon has impressed in EFL Cup games, where Hull’s second string have beaten Exeter, Stoke and Bristol City away from home to reach the quarter-finals. With Andrew Robertson injured, Tymon made his Premier League debut against Sunderland last week, becoming the first son of the city to play a league game for the club since Dean Windass. Tymon started at home against West Brom, and proved a match for Matt Phillips and Chris Brunt, who both tried and failed to exploit the left-back’s inexperience as Hull snatched a point. Robertson is likely to regain his place, but with Mike Phelan’s under-strength squad set to be stretched further throughout the festive period, Tymon could provide reliability and versatility beyond his years – the teenager has played in midfield in both cup competitions. Perhaps the wholehearted efforts of a local boy, reportedly earning less than £200 a week, could also have an impact off the field, with so many fans disillusioned with the state of the club. Judging by the swathes of empty seats at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday, that may be a bridge too far. Niall McVeigh
5) Spirit of Pearson may point way forward for Leicester
It was a triumph, of sorts, that Leicester City escaped with a draw against Middlesbrough from what was the champions’ worst display of the season so far. There were several problems but the one that concerned Claudio Ranieri most was his team’s sloppiness, which he attributed to the mental looseness that success has brought. So he said he wants his players to start playing not like last season but the season before, when the prospect of relegation honed the focus of a side then managed by Nigel Pearson. “They remember last season, when everybody played well and everything they tried was good but this year we have to reconnect our brains,” Ranieri said. “They must remember how it was two years ago. The mistakes [against Middlesbrough] came from losses of concentration. If you are under pressure you are very smart, attentive and very careful of every breath. It is not possible to be relaxed.” Paul Doyle
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