6 things to watch as Premier League returns with Alexander Isak and Ange Postecoglou centre stage

After a long and arduous international break, the Premier League is back this weekend – and there are plenty of juicy narratives to enjoy alongside the football.

England did give us something to snap out of the boredom of the international break by smashing five goals past Serbia on Tuesday night, but most fans have been desperate for the return of club football after two weeks in the wilderness.

The end of the summer transfer window coming on the eve of the break has only served to build the excitement for game week four, with many debuts coming this weekend. The standout fixture undoubtedly comes at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, when the out-of-form Manchester City host Manchester United – a side that recently lost to Grimsby – but there is more to look out for too.

Here Mirror Football takes a look over the potential headlines from the return of the Premier League after our first managerial sacking of the campaign.

Alexander Isak spent all summer desperately trying to force through a transfer from Newcastle to Liverpool . After lots of frustration, accusations and counter-accusations, he got his wish on transfer deadline day, with a £125million move going through . Now he has to deliver.

The problem for Isak is that he is lacking match sharpness , having barely trained in the final months as a Newcastle player. “Since he only had three training sessions and no pre-season and of course no match time, the risk was too great to use him today,” Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson said last week after he sat out of a 2-2 draw with Slovenia.

Liverpool have posted clips of Isak finding the back of the net in training, but it will likely take time for the Premier League’s record signing to get back to his level. Expect Arne Slot to start him from the bench against Burnley .

Nuno Espirito Santo became the first managerial sacking of the season during the break after falling out with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and recruitment chief Edu Gaspar. In came Ange Postecoglou and what promises to be a required viewing for the next few weeks.

Postecoglou is the tactical antithesis of Nuno, his non-negotiable attacking instincts replacing his predecessor’s pragmatism overnight. Forest have lots of good players, but how will they cope with such a handbrake turn of an appointment?

Tottenham finished 17th under Postecoglou last season, so one thing we know is that there will be difficult days. They start away at Arsenal this weekend in what promises to be box-office viewing.

The Manchester Derby is on Sunday afternoon and there will likely be two new goalkeepers between the posts at the Etihad.

City have swapped Ederson for Gianluigi Donnarumma, who is expected to usurp James Trafford in goal, while United have waved goodbye to Andre Onana – exiled to Trabzonspor on loan – after the £18m signing of Senne Lammens.

The 23-year-old Belgian may get the nod ahead of the unconvincing Altay Bayindir for what could be a baptism on fire. However, it could be a good time to play City, who are reeling after back-to-back defeats against Spurs and Brighton in the league.

Nevertheless, with Donnarumma no stranger to massive matches, the odds would favour Lammens being the one to drop a clanger.

Isak is finally gone. Eddie Howe will no longer have to answer questions about his wantaway striker. Now the focus turns to the new arrivals Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.

There is the potential for a classic little and large strike partnership, although Newcastle’s usual 4-3-3 shape suggests it is more likely to be one or the other. The Magpies spent big to land the £69m Woltemade and £55m Wissa and those fees – however inflated due to circumstances – come with expectation.

The service should be good at St James’ Park, where Howe has a tremendous midfield three and exciting wingers, so chances should come their way as Newcastle host Wolves , who will come armed with Jorgen Strand Larsen – a player who they saw two major bids rejected for.

Everton host Aston Villa on Saturday in their second Premier League game at Hill Dickinson Stadium, who already have a new hero. Jack Grealish has won near-universal approval as a reborn superstar since joining Everton on loan from Manchester City and can provide the template for Jadon Sancho, who is hoping to do something similar at Villa after escaping Manchester United once more.

Grealish already has four assists in three league games for Everton and is feeling good after just celebrating his 30th birthday (hopefully not too heavily). He has made it plain that he wants to be in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the 2026 World Cup, so will need to continue on a similar path to make that dream a reality.

Sancho will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow United exile Marcus Rashford by resparking his career at Villa. He showed in patches how talented he is at Chelsea last season, but can he sustain it?

Marc Guehi was furious after his deadline-day transfer to Liverpool collapsed at the last-minute due to a change of heart by Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish. In the heat of the aftermath, there were suggestions he could step down as Palace captain having been so annoyed by what he saw as punishment for his own professionalism.

The centre-back scored for England against Serbia and now returns to his club, who host Sunderland on Saturday. Guehi will no doubt just get on with his job, but speculation will be a continuous part of his life in the lead up to the January transfer window .

Palace manager Oliver Glasner threatened to resign if Guehi was sold. He has got his way and now needs to make the most of him while he’s still there.

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.