The first international recess is on this weekend and most clubs in the Premier League will have players on duty, hoping for the best for them not to return injured.

With three matches played in the English top flight, only two teams have maximum points – Chelsea and Swansea.

Chelsea won at Burnley and Everton and home to Leicester. Swansea gathered all the points at Manchester United, and home to Burnley and West Brom.

Chelsea may also have the best goal difference at this early stage of the championship, yet manager Jose Mourinho was not pleased by the latest result at Goodison Park since they conceded three goals in a 6-3 win over Everton.

Three wins in the league and one in the League Cup should be enough to see Swansea boss Garry Monk being named manager of the month for August.

Given the fact that he had to operate on a tight budget, the achievement to take the Swans to the top is impressive.

The first real shock of the season came at Manchester City last weekend as the champions went down to Stoke City.

Manuel Pellegrini admits other teams could shock City this season if they repeat Stoke’s game plan, showing strong-willed attitude.

City neighbours Manchester United did not have an auspicious start to the season, only managing two points from three outings.

However, the club’s foreign chiefs finally handed the cash to manager Louis van Gaal who strengthened his squad significantly in the last few days of the transfer window.

Timely break

Some critics reckoned the international break arrived just in time for United, giving Van Gaal the space required to introduce new signings, Radamel Falcao and Daley Blind, to the team.

Good news for Van Gaal, perhaps, is that in the two previous seasons in the Premier League era when United had failed to win any of their opening three games, they went on to claim the title.

After the resounding loss at Manchester City, Liverpool came back alive to tame Tottenham at White Hart Lane with a 3-0 victory.

The talented Raheem Sterling has matured into a forward who leaves spectators on the edge of their seats and guessing what his next move would be.

On his part, Daniel Sturridge showed that he will not be put off by the arrival of fellow striker Mario Balotelli at Anfield.

Manager Brendan Rodgers said Liverpool had answered their critics as they proved they can score freely without Luis Suarez.

Captain Steven Gerrard forecast Balotelli could be the key to a title push after the Italian made a bright start in a Reds’ shirt at White Hart Lane.

Arsene Wenger must be satisfied with what Arsenal managed to achieve in August as the Gunners kept their lofty position in the table while progressing to the Champions League group phase for yet another year.

Wenger asked the fans to trust him after he was barracked for not signing a top-notch striker following the injury to Olivier Giroud.

In attack, Wenger is set to put his faith in the inexperienced Yaya Sanogo and newly-signed Danny Welbeck from Manchester United.

Tottenham had high hopes of an outstanding start to their campaign but it was not to be, since they did little against Liverpool.

New manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted that Spurs had been taught a few important lessons in their upset to Liverpool.

After more chopping and changing, Newcastle need more matches to gel as a team.

Alan Pardew, however, told reporters he was disappointed the Magpies had failed to claim the three points after they were held to a 3-3 draw by Crystal Palace in their last match at St James’ Park.

On his part, Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert thought his side fully deserved the 2-1 win over Hull City which saw them maintain their unbeaten Premier League start.

It was in this same fixture in May last season that Aston Villa also beat Hull City to secure their Premier League status with two games to spare.

Today's fixtures

League One (16.00)
Barnsley-Doncaster - pp
Bradford-Yeovil
Bristol City-Scunthorpe
Crawley-Rochdale
L. Orient-Preston - pp
Oldham-Fleetwood
Peterborough-Port Vale
Sheffield Utd-MK Dons - pp
Walsall-Colchester

League Two (16.00)
Accrington-Tranmere
Carlisle-AFC Wimbledon
Dagenham-Northampton
Exeter-Mansfield
Hartlepool-Shrewsbury
Luton-Plymouth (13:15)
Morecambe-Cheltenham
Southend-Oxford
Stevenage-York City
Wycombe-Bury

Tomorrow
Burton-Portsmouth (13:15)

Monday
Newport-Cambridge (20.45)

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