Top-flight new boys Hull City, Crystal Palace and Cardiff City will be hoping to get off the mark, while there is a capital derby at Craven Cottage.
Derby at the Cottage; Villa host Liverpool; Cardiff face City
Top-flight new boys Hull City, Crystal Palace and Cardiff City will be hoping to get off the mark in the second round of fixtures, while there is a capital derby at Craven Cottage.
Liverpool, West Ham United and Southampton will be among those looking to make it two wins from two, while Tottenham Hotspur will want to put another week dominated by Gareth Bale's future to the back of their mind when they take to the field on Sunday.
The weekend action gets under way on Saturday lunchtime, with
Fulham playing host to London rivals
Arsenal. The Cottagers made a winning start to their 2013/14 campaign at Sunderland on the opening day and may feel that they are running into Arsene Wenger's Gunners at just the right time. Arsenal will take plenty of confidence from an impressive 3-0 victory over Fenerbahce in their midweek UEFA Champions League qualifier, but that success has papered over old cracks. Wenger remains under pressure to make big-money market moves before the transfer window closes and cannot afford to suffer another on-field setback following a forgettable 3-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa last Saturday.
The dawn of a new season will always conjure up feelings of excitement and expectation, but the opening weekend of Premier League competition provided a rude awakening to the three sides promoted into the top tier.
Hull City were handed the thankless task of starting at Stamford Bridge, but acquitted themselves well in a 2-0 defeat by Chelsea. A stumble out of the blocks cost them dear in west London, so Steve Bruce will be looking to address that issue when they return to the KC Stadium to face
Norwich City. Chris Hughton has further bolstered his ranks with the signing of former Bolton Wanderers forward Johan Elmander, and he will now be demanding a return on considerable summer investment.
Unforgiving
Crystal Palace can consider themselves a tad unfortunate to have ended a derby date with Tottenham Hotspur on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline, as they displayed plenty of resilience and dogged determination on their return to English football's top table. The Premier League is an unforgiving beast, though, and Ian Holloway - who has already been handed an FA charge for post-match comments just 90 minutes into the season - will be eager to ensure that his side do not become plucky losers. They will get another opportunity to open their account on Saturday when they travel to
Stoke City. Mark Hughes will have taken positives from a 1-0 defeat at Liverpool, which saw the Potters miss a late penalty, and has expressed a desire in the week building up to the game to play an entertaining brand of football.
Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew will be telling his players that their season starts now, having endured an opening weekend to forget. An unwelcome bid from Arsenal for Yohan Cabaye disrupted the Magpies' preparations for a trip to Manchester City, and their eye appeared to be everywhere but on the ball as they ended a 4-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium with 10 men. A positive response to that setback is a must, but
West Ham United will make the trip to Tyneside confident they can further flatten Pardew's mood. Former Magpies manager Sam Allardyce will be fired up for the clash, as will Kevin Nolan - another ex-Newcastle man. Andy Carroll will play no part
