Klopp’s litmus test as English Premier League resumes

8 matches are lined up on Saturday afternoon as the English premier league resumes after the international break.

All eyes are on the new Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp who makes his debut in charge of the reds at White Hart Lane.

The German tactician rated highly for his success at Borussia Dortmund took charge recently as the new boss of Liverpool.

The Reds will miss the services of Joe Gomez and Danny Ings who have both been ruled out due to knee injuries that could end their season prematurely. However, Phillipe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren are back in action and could play a key role against the Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Defending Premier League champions, Chelsea have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons or rather their manager Jose Mourinho has been the focus of the world in the past few days following his 50,000 pound fine ( 7.9 Million Kshs) and subsequent one match ban.

The Portuguese tactician blasted the referees in their last domestic assignment against Southampton claiming they were “afraid” to give the Blues penalties. Mourinho’s comments, which were stated in a post-match interview, were contrary to the English Football Associations’ guidelines for media comments.Chelsea host Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge keen to reaffirm their title credentials.

The Blues lie 16th with a paltry 8 points after 8 games while their opponents are in the red zone with 4. Tim Sherwood is also on the spot and a loss to Chelsea could compromise his chances of remaining in charge.

Manchester United will be hoping to change history when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton. The Mersey side has reigned supreme in the past 3 seasons with the Red Devils failing to score in each of the 3 meetings.

Head Coach Roberto Martinez says history will not be a major factor when the Toffees welcome United.

Manchester United’s neighbors, City have personnel problem with the absence of 5  players ahead of their clash against Bournemouth.

Sergio Aguero Gael Clichy, Fabian Delph, Aleksandar Kolarov and David Silva are all out injured, while Vincent Kompany remains a doubt after playing for Belgium in the week.

In other matches, Southampton host Leicester while Arsenal are away at Watford. Arsene Wenger will miss the services of his talismanic forward Alexis Sanchez who has a hip problem.