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Five having the time of their lives

Time flies when you’re having fun, and somehow it’s already Match Day 5 in this season’s thrill-a-minute Premier League. To mark the occasion, our EPL analyst Adrian Clarke sings the praises of five unexpected heroes who have taken the new campaign by storm…

With three goals in four matches, Holland international Leroy Fer has suddenly become a fans’ favourite at Swansea. Photo: Getty Images

With three goals in four matches, Holland international Leroy Fer has suddenly become a fans’ favourite at Swansea. Photo: Getty Images

Time flies when you’re having fun, and somehow it’s already Match Day 5 in this season’s thrill-a-minute Premier League. To mark the occasion, our EPL analyst Adrian Clarke sings the praises of five unexpected heroes who have taken the new campaign by storm…


Curtis Davies (Hull City)

Hull City captain Curtis Davies (abovw. Photo: Reuters) is the best performing player in the country. Hands down.
Man of the match against Leicester City, Swansea City and Manchester United, producing defensive displays of extraordinary character, the 31-year-old journeyman pro has been a revelation.
In fact, statistically he is currently the top central defender in Europe.
Leading the rankings for Blocks (11), Interceptions (31) and Clearances (41) across the continent’s top five leagues, Davies has been an inspiration for the underdogs. To put Davies’ reading of the game into context, the next closest to him in the ‘interceptions’ category has 12 fewer than him.
While every Tigers player and their boss, Mike Phelan, deserve plaudits for a remarkably positive start, their skipper has been the nuts, bolts and screws that have held the team together.
He has also been busy helping midfielder Jake Livermore learn a new role in central defence alongside him, which makes his performance level even more special.
After experiencing mixed fortunes with West Brom, Aston Villa, Leicester and Birmingham, Curtis Davies is undoubtedly playing the football of his life.

Michail Antonio (West Ham United)

Seven years ago, Michail Antonio (above. Photo: Reuters) was strutting his stuff for non-league Tooting & Mitcham in front of fewer than 200 die-hard fans.
Now the former lifeguard is one of the Premier League’s most destructive wide men. His rise to stardom has been astonishing.
The West Ham midfielder has scored four goals in his past three outings, all courtesy of bullet headers.
Three of his strikes have been carbon copies of the other. We now know that if you hang a cross up towards the far post, there is no one better at nodding the ball home than the powerful 26-year-old, who, this time last year, had zero top-flight experience.
Slaven Bilic’s side are struggling to find their rhythm, but in Antonio they have someone that’s striking fear into everyone they face.


Idrissa Gueye (Everton)

Is there such a thing as a £7 million (S$12.6 million) steal? You bet there is. Look no further than Everton’s astute acquisition, Idrissa Gueye (above. Photo: Reuters).
He was surrounded by football’s equivalent of a pile of rotting corpses at Aston Villa last season, and you could be forgiven for overlooking the Senegalese international. I know I did.
Okay, I had spotted that in 2015-16 he was behind only N’Golo Kante when it came to winning tackles and making interceptions, but his quality as an all-round midfielder didn’t immediately whack me between my eyes. It has this term.
Playing alongside the excellent Gareth Barry, the 26-year-old has flourished, and as a pairing the Toffees duo look one of the most compatible in the division.
Tackling superbly (he is ranked first in the Premier League) and linking play with a sharpness Everton lacked last season, the busy Gueye has helped transform a tired outfit.
If Ronald Koeman was to value his worth today, he could add £20 million to the fee they paid, and it wouldn’t scare anyone off.

James Milner (Liverpool)

Some call him boring; others label him average. Jurgen Klopp will think he’s a lifesaver, for James Milner’s (above. Photo: AP) versatility has been an absolute Godsend so far this season.
Put simply, the Reds don’t have a proper left-back.
Alberto Moreno is 5 per cent defender, 45 per cent midfielder, and 50 per cent positionally useless, so it was imperative that Milner slotted into that role with at least a modicum of comfort — and in the past three outings, he has excelled.
He is not the quickest and nor does he have a box of tricks, but the retired England international does understand the game. His feel for it has always been understatedly excellent.
Studying videos day and night of how to perfect the left back role, the 30-year-old has proved that you are never too long in the tooth to learn something new.
If his form persists, Milner might just have reinvented himself.

Leroy Fer (Swansea City)

Fer (above. Photo: Reuters) has been relegated from the Premier League with both Norwich and Queens Park Rangers, so I do not remember too many Welshmen dancing in the streets of Swansea when he joined the club for £4 million this summer.
However, with three goals in four matches, the Holland international is suddenly a fans’ favourite.
Bringing renewed energy to a Swans side that was in danger of boring itself to sleep, he has buzzed around the pitch with great enthusiasm, breaking into the box to deliver major contributions.
Asking questions of his markers, who have not always fancied tracking him, the Dutchman has taken the pressure off  ‘Ice Man’ Gylfi Sigurdsson, who was previously their only go-to guy when it came to scoring from midfield.
Fer is a snug fit at Swansea, and is enjoying his third crack at life in the fast lane.

Big Match Predictions

Hull City v Arsenal
If the Gunners don’t approach this contest with due care and attention, they could in for a rude awakening. The pace of strikers Abel Hernandez and Adama Diomande will be a threat, as will the set piece deliveries of in-form Robert Snodgrass. That said, Arsenal are grinding out results at the moment and have a flawless (P5 W5) record at the KCOMM Stadium. I think they’ll nick a scrappy win.
Prediction: 1-2

Watford v Manchester United
Watford looked surprisingly sensational going forward last weekend, and if they can replicate that same fluency and tempo, they’ll give United a rough ride. If ignored, new boy Roberto Pereyra’s creativity as the spare man in midfield could hurt them. Mourinho’s men should be fired up after last week’s derby loss, but I wonder if that chastening defeat has flattened their mojo?
Prediction: 1-1

Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland
Sunderland are all over the place right now, and on the back of some X-rated defending against Everton, it’s impossible to make a case for a shock. Spurs had an off-night in the Champions League, but I don’t envisage a hangover. Back at White Hart Lane with fire in their bellies, I see this as a comfy home win, with Harry Kane back on song.
Prediction: 4-1


LIVE ON TV:

Tonight:
Man City v Bournemouth (Singtel Ch102 & StarHub Ch227; 10pm)
Hull v Arsenal (Ch104 & Ch229; 9.50pm)
Leicester v Burnley (Ch105 & Ch230; 9.50pm)
West Brom v West Ham (Ch106 & Ch231; 9.50pm)

Tomorrow
Everton v Middlesbrough (Ch102 & Ch227; 12.30am)
Watford v Man Utd (Ch103 & Ch228; 7pm)
Crystal Palace v Stoke (Ch102 & Ch227; 9.15pm)
Southampton v Swansea (Ch103 & Ch228; 9.15pm)
Tottenham v Sunderland (Ch102 & Ch227; 11.30pm)

Adrian Clarke is a former Arsenal midfielder who has played at every level of the English game. Now an experienced sports journalist, he writes for TODAY and several well-known football websites. Follow him @adrianjclarke

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