Phase one of a high-profile run of fixtures for Tottenham went well on Tuesday night with a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid and it could have been even better bar an excellent save from Keylor Navas to thwart Harry Kane after 70 minutes.
This game, a Carabao Cup clash with West Ham, Manchester United away, Real Madrid again and a north London derby are all on the agenda in the next month so we will get a first-rate chance to see just how good Mauricio Pochettino’s classy outfit are at battling on numerous fronts.
The elephant in the room remains Tottenham’s effectiveness at Wembley Stadium, particularly in the Premier League, but they did finally manage to chisel out three points last week with a 1-0 success over Bournemouth.
The scoreline suggests it was far from convincing and Pochettino had to take a fresh approach after the break by moving Eric Dier into a back three as the Cherries certainly produced a couple of lively moments to give the hosts a scare without converting.
I doubt Sunday’s rivals will be quite as generous if the opportunities arise and having failed to break down Manchester United at Anfield, took their frustrations out on Maribor in the Champions League as they romped home in record-breaking fashion 7-0.
Consecutive clean sheets will have pleased Jurgen Klopp as well, which he referenced in his Friday morning press conference with the German feeling his team have become "much smarter in protection".
The latter issue comes under scrutiny if Kane and company are firing on all cylinders and with both teams to score currently trading at a well-backed 1/2, the opinion is the pair will try to get on the front foot and deploy their full array of attacking talent.
Tottenham are a best price of 5/4 as they bid to end a winless streak against this rival that stretches back to November 2012 but there is some potential for a bit of a drop-off having put so much into the performance at the Bernabeu.
So I am more tempted on this occasion instead to roll with Klopp and a couple of deadly counter-attacks to gain the day in the capital.
Prediction: Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool - Sky Bet odds:
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Posted at 1530 BST on 20/10/17.
Saturday’s action starts with a home team who have admitted a worrying winless spell is starting to have an effect on morale so surely there would be an angle into the game to take them on at 2/5.
This is the reigning champions though, who remain highly dangerous even in the midst of a slump, although an injury list that is increasing by the day is becoming a massive headache for Antonio Conte with little depth to the squad all of a sudden.
N’Golo Kante and Victor Moses are already missing for the visit of Watford while David Luiz and Tiemoue Bakayoko both suffered issues during the 3-3 Champions League draw with Roma, so the club’s decision to rather stand still in terms of significant transfers over the summer is already hitting home.
It is all remaining hands to the pump then in a bid to avoid three consecutive Premier League defeats after no points from games against Manchester City and Crystal Palace but one positive is a return to scoring form of Eden Hazard, who netted twice in midweek against the Italians.
The fact they were 2-0 up and then trailed 3-2 highlights the team’s current inconsistency but there was at least some spirit on show to snatch a point and they will certainly need some more of that against Marco Silva’s upstarts.
Arsenal were guilty of treating them as a bit of a soft touch last week and Silva’s tactical switch to bring on the physical Troy Deeney to rough up the back four turned the game on its head as their late flourish pinched all three points at Vicarage Road.
They are a top-four team currently playing with little fear and this Chelsea side is simply not on the same level as Manchester City, who drubbed the Hornets 6-0 in the middle of last month - still their only Premier League defeat of the season.
It is no surprise to see any double-figure quotes for them to pick up all three points trimmed with Chelsea appearing rather vulnerable and they definitely have a fighting chance of heaping more misery on the hosts.
This is an improved side under Silva compared to the one that scored three times in this fixture last May and forced a 2-2 stalemate at Stamford Bridge the previous season so keeping them off the scoresheet will be tough and both teams to find the target is the way to go.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Watford - Sky Bet odds:
Burnley continue to get a big thumbs-up from pundits and rivals alike as Sean Dyche’s side build an impressive start to the season which has them inside the top eight of the table.
Another point was carved out at home to West Ham last week as the Clarets displayed good determination to snatch a late draw against a team that had all but shut up shop for an hour having been reduced to 10 men.
They now take the short trip to the Etihad Stadium and surely have a better chance than the 33/1 quote suggests to derail a pace-setting Man City for Dyche’s finest coup de grace.
Then again, maybe not. Pep Guardiola believes this could be the greatest team he has ever coached after they put seven past Stoke last week and even when the Potters flickered into life to make the scoreline 3-2, it was the equivalent of foolishly poking a hornets’ nest with a big stick.
Napoli gave them some sort of game in midweek but were always chasing having trailed 2-0 inside 13 minutes so Guardiola’s message to his team seems to be get on top quickly and decisively.
Five of their players are quoted at 9/5 or shorter to score at some stage as the goals flow from all directions with brilliant Belgian Kevin De Bruyne pulling the strings and seeing all the angles for at least one or two killer passes per outing.
The law of averages says City’s run of bludgeoning rivals at home will end at some stage and Burnley certainly have the capacity to keep things respectable.
They can be backed at odds-against with a three-goal start on the handicap and in all honesty have nothing to fear bearing in mind already tucked away are a victory at Chelsea and hugely creditable 1-1 draws with Tottenham and Liverpool.
It is a dangerous game crossing swords with City currently but who is to say that they won’t have a quieter afternoon or even experience some frustration against this well-drilled visiting defence, so the visitors with that tasty start get the vote.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Burnley - Sky Bet odds:
Watford showed recently that an utter spanking from Manchester City was not detrimental to their immediate future prospects and the Potters have a chance to add weight to that theory back at the Bet365 Stadium.
Watford let in six with the tally one worse for Stoke and Mark Hughes might be best just shrugging his shoulders and moving on although it was a shock to watch them utterly capitulate having almost got back in the shake-up at 3-2 from 3-0 down.
The layers don’t feel there will be too much of a hangover with them priced up at 11/10 so this represents an obvious opportunity to immediately get up and running again against the league’s second-bottom team.
Bar a 4-0 reverse to Chelsea, Stoke tend to be much more reliable on their own patch anyway with seven points from a possible 12 so far, including a win over Arsenal and a 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
The Cherries’ lowly position is probably not a fair reflection of the quality of some of their performances and they gave Spurs a pretty decent game at Wembley last time before falling to a 1-0 defeat.
Christian Eriksen's winner even had an element of bad fortune for Eddie Howe’s side as the ball ricocheted back into the Dane’s path but if they keep spirits up and create chances then they should not be long in doubling their win tally for the season.
I have my doubts whether it will be this week as Stoke are a useful proposition at home but I would not put it past the visitors to find the net and potentially pinch a draw.
Prediction: Stoke 1-1 Bournemouth - Sky Bet odds:
Southampton string-puller Dusan Tadic admitted this week that the Saints are "nervous hosts" at St Mary’s but did manage to overcome the problem and winkle out a point against Newcastle despite trailing twice.
There will certainly be better odds-on chances this season but at least they managed a couple of goals – one from the penalty spot – and did pose a threat in the final third on numerous occasions.
There is plenty more to come too from Virgil van Dijk after he completed a full 90 minutes while summer arrival Mario Lemina looks absolute quality in the middle of the park hoovering up and distributing all of the loose balls.
They face another tough test in front of the TV cameras as the Baggies will be tough to unlock at the back as usual and are always capable of popping up with a goal from somewhere without ever looking like giving the opposition a good hiding.
Their whole relatively risk-free ethos is reflected in four of their last six Premier League fixtures ending in draws as Tony Pulis rarely gives too much away but at the same time remains reluctant to chance his arm and go all out for three points.
The onus will be on the home side to try and coax them out of their shells by getting in front with Tadic adding that a fast, aggressive start is the plan.
Manolo Gabbiadini scored a lovely goal against Newcastle to get his side level but they still remain less than clinical despite riding high in the stats when it comes to the number of shots taken.
Under 2.5 total goals in the game can be backed at 4/7 and should pay out so with van Dijk marshalling the home defence, Southampton being able to convert one of their chances could be good enough.
Prediction: Southampton 1-0 West Brom - Sky Bet odds:
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Posted at 0700 BST on 20/10/17.