Eriksson's City can lose maximum record at Arsenal

Although Sven-Goran Eriksson came into some criticism after accepting to become Manchester City manager, the Swede adopted his favourite old formula and let his players do the talking on the field.

Many are his critics, even fellow managers, but Eriksson is showing why he should have remained at the England helm.

Captain Richard Dunne, City's footballer of the year for the last three years and Mr Consistent for his team-mates, has been full of praise for Eriksson and the way he turned things around at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Before, Dunne had played for managers Joe Royle, Kevin Keegan and Stuart Pearce.

Chairman Thaksin Shinawatra threaded where others had feared and hired Eriksson when he knew he was close to secure the ownership at Manchester City.

No-one should expect miracles in the first year but City players are saying that they would be more than glad if they attain a top-ten placing by the end of the season.

Today, Man. City, currently leading the standings after three successive victories, will be keen to prolong their 100 per cent record but face an uphill struggle at Arsenal.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has instantly become one of the new heroes for table toppers City who will be without striker Valeri Bojinov. He will be out for some months with a knee injury.

It seems, Schmeichel is about to be replaced as Eriksson is still scrutinising the market for a more experienced netminder.

Arsenal captain William Gallas will also be missing with a groin injury sustained at Blackburn. Gallas missed three months of last season after his move from Chelsea and is now facing another long lay-off.

Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who prior to the midweek friendly against Germany said the English players cannot handle the pressure, was relieved not to be involved in another howler as his country won the match at Wembley 2-1.

Stamford Bridge. Chelsea got away with daylight robbery after referee Rob Styles awarded them a blatant penalty that left Liverpool fuming as they looked on their way to retain their perfect opening.

Styles has since apologised but the cheats have continued to prosper.

With so much at stake FIFA should give the nod to video evidence.

Veteran Claude Makelele has put pen to paper and signed a new deal at Chelsea that will take him up to 2009, when he will be 36.

Today, the Blues face Ports-mouth, still unbeaten following two draws and a win. Kanu is like vintage wine he tends to get better while growing older.

Stadium of Light. Liverpool must forget their eventful meeting with Chelsea.

The Reds have high hopes that top signing Fernando Torres could join former Anfield scoring greats Ian Rush, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler in the history books.

His netting against Chelsea will give him the boost needed for his confidence.

This afternoon, the Reds will tackle newcomers Sunderland who suffered their first defeat in three league outings last week.

In their last meeting, in 2005-06, Liverpool did the double and from the other four clashes in north-east the Black Cats won once, 2-1 (McCann, Proctor - Baros) in 2002-03.

Old Trafford. Despite a rather poor start by Man. United's standards, Alex Ferguson said he would not panic. The last time United failed to win in their first three outings was 15 years ago.

As a long list of injuries has persisted, United are not taking their chances in front of goal. The fans will keep their fingers crossed to get it right against Tottenham, who went through the same decline before running riot at home to Derby with a 4-0 drubbing.

Tottenham manager Martin Jol is only human after all and committed a few mistakes in his tactics. However, this week he said he can no longer take criticism and declared he is at loggerheads with the club's directors.

Riverside Stadium. Sam Allardyce will be involved in his first north-east derby since he took over at St James' Park as Newcastle square up to Middlesbrough tomorrow.

The Toon failed to claim back-to-back wins and were held by a stubborn Aston Villa side keen to emerge with a positive result.

Unpredictable Middlesbrough continued to show that they are a tough force when taken as fodder by their critics but then they tend to go down to lower clubs in front of their own crowds.

Tomorrow, Michael Owen can start his first match of the season for Newcastle.

Goodison Park. While Everton lost their 100 per cent record at Reading, where they could have emerged with a draw, Blackburn drew against Arsenal beating Middlesbrough in their previous match.

The Rovers, having qualified for Europe four times in the last six seasons, received more red cards in Premier League matches last season - seven - than any other club.

This term, defender Nielsen was the first to be dismissed in Sunday's match against the Gunners.

Reebok Stadium. Bolton are finding the going tough without Sam Allardyce as his replacement, Sammy Lee, could become the first casualty of the season.

Moreover, Bolton's best player in attack Nicolas Anelka will probably leave before the closure of the transfer window.

This afternoon, the Wanderers cross swords with Reading. The Royals have given boss Steve Coppell a headache this season, not for the way the results have gone, but because they had two players dismissed, one less for the whole of last season.

In their previous match, Reading chalked up their first win of the campaign at the expense of Everton.

Villa Park. When everyone thought that Aston Villa were lambs to the slaughter at Newcastle, they showed their mettle and could have emerged with all the points instead of a draw.

Martin O'Neill should be satisfied with his side's showings to date and remarked that he could still strengthen the squad.

Striker Brian McBride celebrated his 100th start in a Fulham shirt by scoring in the 1-2 defeat at Middlesbrough.

However, he injured himself in the process and could remain out of the game for more than two months.

Upton Park. West Ham United claimed their first points of the season at the expense of Birmingham as Wigan attained two successive home wins without conceding a goal, vs Middlesbrough (1-0) and Sunderland (3-0).

The Londoners are striving to find the form of the last phase of the past season when they won seven matches out of nine.

Alan Curbishley will be in charge of his 26th league and cup game at West Ham in which he almost lost half of the league matches - 11 of 23.

The Latics will hope to improve their record on their travels to boost their chances of staying up for the third year running.

Pride Park. Derby vs Birmingham is a clash between two Midland clubs and a combat of newcomers.

In the Championship last season, the Rams, who won promotion via the play-offs, lost both games against Birmingham by the same scoreline of 0-1.