EPL SPOTLIGHT: Clash at the top

MATCH TO WATCH: Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City (Sunday, Oct 2, 9.15pm)

And the big matches just keep on coming.

From the Manchester derby to Liverpool v Chelsea and Arsenal v Chelsea, last month has certainly made sure that football fans had at least one match between the Premier League's top teams every week.

This month is shaping up to be no less different, kicking off with a clash between first and second that could see at least one side surrender their unbeaten record.

While Pep Guardiola has enjoyed an imperious introduction to the EPL with Manchester City, the former Barcelona boss will travel to White Hart Lane with a tiny dip in form following a 3-3 draw with Celtic in the Champions League.

It could be the wobble that Mauricio Pochettino, who is unbeaten in the EPL so far and did the double over City last season with a 4-1 win in the corresponding fixture, will be looking for to put the first smudge on Guardiola's thus far perfect league record.

Much is at stake and for the neutrals, it will definitely be a clash to savour thanks to in-form players like Raheem Sterling and Son Heung Min.

 

 

PLAYER TO WATCH: Son Heung Min (Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City)

PHOTO: REUTERS 

If he keeps up his current form, I'm going to run out of sun and son puns to use...

Son has definitely risen (sorry) to the challenge at Spurs after coming close to quitting White Hart Lane in the summer following a debut season with limited playing opportunities.

The South Korean capped off an impressive September on Thursday morning (Sept 29, Singapore time) with the winning strike against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League, making it five goals from five appearances during the month.

 

 

The former Bayer Leverkusen player has been so good, £30 million ($53.1m) winger Erik Lamela has been consigned to the bench.

Mauricio Pochettino will certainly be hoping for more of the same from his highly-favoured Son (sorry again) against City.

 

 

MANAGERS TO WATCH: Slaven Bilic (West Ham v Middlesbrough, Saturday 10pm), Mark Hughes (Manchester United v Stoke, Sunday 7pm) and David Moyes (Sunderland v West Brom, Saturday 10pm)

Slaven Bilic, Mark Hughes and David Moyes are fighting to save their jobs. PHOTOS: REUTERS

As things currently stand, this trio look less than football managers and more like they're auditioning to be extras in The Walking Dead.

Slaven Bilic must find a way to plug West Ham's sinking defence which has shipped in an alarming 11 goals in three matches.

A fourth straight capitulation to newly-promoted Middlesbrough will almost surely spell the Croat's doom.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Mark Hughes is still searching for his first win of the season, with his quest taking him to Old Trafford this week to face his former club Manchester United.

 

 

Over at Sunderland, David Moyes is... well, David Moyes.

These are three pairs of shoes that no one would want to fill at the moment.

TEAM TO WATCH: Arsenal (v Burnley, Sunday 11.30pm)

Arsenal's Theo Walcott fends off a challenge form Chelsea's Cesar Azipilicueta. PHOTO: AFP

Whisper it really quietly but it seems like for the first time in a really long while, Arsenal fans are actually happy.

Despite a rough start to their EPL campaign, the Gunners have bounced back strongly to string a league run of four wins in a row.

It's no surprise that the start of the run coincided with the news that Arsene Wenger had finally dipped into the transfer market to secure the signings of Lucas Perez and, more importantly, Shkodran Mustafi.

The German defender has slotted in seamlessly alongside Laurent Koscielny to give Arsenal the defensive stability that was missing during that crazy 4-3 defeat to Liverpool at the start of the season.

In midfield, Granit Xhaka has impressed tremendously as Wenger continues to ease him into his plans.

But the biggest praise should be reserved for one Theo Walcott, who has been a revelation this season on the Gunners' right wing.

After finally conceding that he isn't the striker he thought he was, the former Southampton man has started to apply himself with gusto on the flank, plundering five goals from seven matches this season - including a midweek brace that gave Arsenal a 2-0 win over Basel in the Champions League.

The 27-year-old has also been increasing his work rate.

 

 

While Burnley will be slightly buoyed after a 2-0 win over Watford at the start of the week, Sean Dyche's men probably aren't fancying a visit from the Londoners in this sort of form.

UNDERDOGS TO WATCH: Swansea City (v Liverpool, Saturday 7.30pm)

Swansea's Leroy Fer tries to control the ball during his team's match against Manchester City. PHOTO: AFP

When your captain has been one of the most consistent central defenders in the EPL for the past few years since your promotion, replacing him is always going to be a monumental task.

Swansea have certainly experienced that this season after selling Ashley Williams to Everton.

Scoring has not been a major problem for the Welsh side, but keeping things tight at the back has.

Ever since their opening 1-0 win over Burnley at the start of the season, the Swans have been unable to keep a clean sheet.

Even though they showed tremendous spirit to come from behind to draw 2-2 with Chelsea at the start of the month, the Swans could have had all three points if they had kept out Diego Costa's equaliser.

Francesco Guidolin must get his side to cut out the errors, especially with Juergen Klopp's free-scoring entertainers coming to town this weekend.