The 2022/2023 Premier League season is now into its sixth game week, and the entertainment continues to be relentless and thoroughly enjoyable.

As a result, we will be breaking down each round of fixtures by picking out 3 of the biggest talking points, covering the biggest results, goals and general talking points from the week. We then will round off by picking our player of the week and game of the week based on what we saw in that round of games.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you have seen anything in a game that you think we should be talking about, or have anything to share from what you’ve seen at a game that week. Any funny stories, tactical analysis or general comments will be featured.

Dropped Points All Round

This weekend saw more dropped points for the traditional elite sides, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City dropping points, as Man United, Chelsea and Spurs were able to capitalise and scrape back some distance they had previously given up earlier in the season.

Manchester City fell to their 2nd draw of the season after failing to edge past Aston Villa, and although they remain unbeaten, to have dropped 4 points in just the first 6 games could show they can be gotten at this season, even with the goal machine of Erling Haaland leading their line.

Arsenal suffered their first dropped points of the season as they were undone by the returning form of Marcus Rashford. While supporters will be disappointed to end their winning run at the first major hurdle of the season, the dropped points for City does still mean they remain top after week 6, something which many wouldn’t have predicted even at this early stage.

Liverpool also continued to show their struggles as they played out a fairly dull 0-0 draw with rivals Everton (at least by neutrals standards). In a game where they really could have turned the tide on their poor start, they struggled to break down the defensive setup of Everton and to his credit Jordan Pickford between the sticks.

Of the traditional ‘big’ sides to pick up points this weekend, the major result was surely from Old Trafford with Man United now claiming wins over Liverpool and Arsenal, and although just a few weeks back, they seem to have buried the issues of the Brentford and Brighton results and stepped up under Ten Hag. As I was in attendance for this one, I may be slightly biased in my view, but I haven’t seen or felt an atmosphere and belief at Old Trafford or with Manchester United post-Fergie like this really. If they can continue to grind out the winnable games, and then take big victories in the tougher games, they may well exceed first season expectations under their new manager.

Loving A 5-2

Taking a look at the more mid-table sides rather than the extremes at either end for a change, we were treated to 2 goal-fest matchups as both Brentford and Brighton built on their impressive campaigns the previous season by beating Leeds and Leicester 5-2 respectively.

For both Brentford and Brighton, they are clearly maintaining the level of performances that saw them surprise many last season with their results, and have been picking up crucial points this season already. Both shocked Manchester United in the opening weeks, and have built on these results, and provided further entertainment again this week. Although not filled with superstars, both sides have shown themselves to be playing some fantastic football, and with great off-field management in addition, who knows where they could end up this year. With up to 7 places going into some form of European competition, fans of these clubs may well begin to dream of challenging if they continue in this vein.

For Leeds and Leicester however, their on-field issues are still showing. Both managers are not secure in their jobs this season, and that often shows in the football and games like this where they could and arguably should be putting up a fight for points. With the elite sides looking pretty dangerous at points, the mid-table sides stepping up their game, every point for these sides will be crucial if they are to avoid a battle at the bottom. Admittedly, a loss to Brentford or Brighton isn’t season defining, but the manner of defeat could impact the following few matches at a crucial time despite still being in the early stages of the season.

Merseyside Snooze-fest?

One of the standout dates on the calendar for fans of Liverpool, Everton and neutrals alike, the Merseyside derby has been an entertaining battle at times, especially when Goodison gets roaring behind the blue side. This one however summed up both Everton’s struggles and Liverpool’s poor start to the campaign, as they played out a 0-0 which, although filled with chances, never really livened up to the level that us as neutrals would want to see.

This matchup now stands as the meeting with the most goalless draws in Premier League history (12) and even the whole of the English top-flight (36). Maybe perhaps our memories of exciting encounters may have been imagined or exaggerated given this statistic. With it being such a high-profile rivalry, it feels like it should always provide to a high level of drama, passion and excitement, however these sides haven’t exactly been filled with this in recent fixtures.

This result means that Everton for only the third time in the Premier League have started without a win in their first 6 results. With Goodison being the difference in last seasons relegation scrap, this could have been the chance to turn their fortunes around and gain some momentum, however after losing Richarlison, and little other change in the side, it’s seeming like this season may be a tough one for Blues fans.

Matchday 6 Player of the Week: Marcus Rashford With Saka’s 60th minute equaliser, it seemed as though a draw was in the offing from this close encounter, until Rashford showed signs that his form may be returning just at the right time, with World Cup selections on the horizon. Banging in a quickfire brace saw Old Trafford light up, and continues the momentum that has been building over the past few games, and if he can continue this run of form, there may be some headaches for Southgate come November time.

Matchday 6 Game of the Week: Manchester United 3-1 Arsenal Considering the run Arsenal had been on until this point, seeing such an entertaining matchup between these sides both on the up felt like we were running it back to the mid 00s. Seeing Old Trafford erupt when Rashford scored the settler, it showed that if these sides are to put a challenge in for the title against City, these points will be crucial, however they will also bring about a thrilling title race (if we can even speak about that at this early stage).

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) what you made of the sixth round of fixtures, and what you’re looking forward to in the next game week.