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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been in red-hot form. 

By TAS MAVRIDIS, PARTH SONECHA and SHILADITYA BISWAS

Matchday 2 of the English Premier League will be headlined by a London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea, while Liverpool and Manchester City will both be looking to further assert their attacking strength. Manchester United will hope to continue their positive start to the season after a narrow victory over Leicester on matchday one.

Chelsea v Arsenal 

The headline matchup of the round is the London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal to take place at Stamford Bridge at 2.30am AEST on Sunday.  

Talking points

Baptism of Fire: Both Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri will be experiencing their first taste of the London derby with the pressure to deliver results already building. For Sarri it is his first high profile match of the season  while for Emery a disappointing loss against Manchester City in their opening game has already increased the pressure on the new Arsenal manager.

Defence is key: The game will likely be won by the team with the best defensive performance. For Chelsea, Jorginho and N'Golo Kante will be pivotal in shielding the Chelsea back four. On the other hand, Arsenal’s leaky defence was put to the sword against Manchester City with only Petr Cech preventing the score from being much worse.

Key players

Alvaro Morata (Chelsea): The Spanish forward has been under immense pressure in recent times after scoring only one league goal in 2018. With previous manager Antonio Conte letting the prolific Diego Costa depart, Morata has been under significant pressure to score, but is yet to deliver.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal): Since arriving at the Emirates in January Aubameyang has been red hot, netting 10 goals in just 14 appearances.  Despite drawing blanks against Manchester City, Aubameyang will be confident that he can get his 2018/19 tally under way in the London derby.

Shiladitya Biswas's prediction: Chelsea 2- Arsenal 2

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Paul Pogba should prove pivotal. 

Brighton v Manchester United

After a narrow win against Leicester to start the season, Manchester United travel to the Amex Stadium for their first away match of the campaign. Despite recording a victory, unrest still surrounds Jose Mourinho and his players with reports of clashes between Mourinho and Paul Pogba leading to growing concerns that the Frenchman may be looking to depart in the transfer window. 

Talking points

United reliant on defensive organisation: Under Mourinho, United have not delivered what many would perceive as an attractive style of football, with his side failing to hold on to the ball. Mourinho's trademark defensive organisation has therefore been critical in grinding out results. Expect this same style to continue against Brighton.

Brighton signings to take time: Brighton signed multiple big money players during the window including Alireza Jahanbakhsh, the Eredivise’s top scorer last season. However, his opening day performance failed to deliver. With only Pascal Gross showing signs of creativity in the opening game, coach Chris Hughton will hope his signings begin to deliver sooner rather than later. With United likely to dominate possession, Brighton will look to stay compact defensively and hit United on the counter attack  just as they did last season, when a single Gross goal won it for Brighton. 

Key players

Paul Pogba (Manchester United): Despite questions over Pogba’s future at Old Trafford, the confidence Pogba gained from winning the World Cup during the off-season has seemingly given him the confidence to live up to his 90-million-pound price tag. Under Mourinho, Pogba has seemingly failed to unlock his full potential. However, with a nicely taken penalty to start off the season last week Pogba will prove pivotal in the middle of the park for unlocking what will likely be a solid Brighton defensive line up.

Pascal Gross (Brighton): Gross looks to be the main creative outlet for Brighton as proved last season with his goal separating the sides. With other signings expected to get up to speed sooner rather than later, Gross will be the main player Hughton turns to as a source of trickery in the front third of the field.

Parth Sonecha's prediction Brighton and Hove Albion 0 - Manchester United 1

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Wilfried Zaha is set for a club goal-scoring record. 

Crystal Palace v Liverpool 

In recent seasons Crystal Palace have had the measure of the Reds, however after recording two narrow victories last season over Palace, Jurgen Klopp will hope the monkey is now off his back. Both sides started the season with convincing performances with Palace beating Fulham 2-0 in a London derby while Liverpool recorded a 4-0 win over West Ham sending a warning to the rest of the Premier League.

Talking points

Liverpool attack red hot: After scoring 90 goals between them last season, Liverpool’s front line continued their strong form with another four to open the league campaign. Sadio Mane looks ready to have his best season in a Liverpool shirt while Mo Salah shows no signs of slowing down. If Daniel Sturridge can maintain his fitness, Klopp will have one of the best possible alternative options to bring off the bench in the final quarter of the games.

Crystal Palace potential to haunt the Reds: The matchup against Palace has proven challenging for Liverpool since Palace returned to the top flight several years ago. Liverpool only recorded two wins in their first six meetings. However, a run of four wins in their last five meetings might give Liverpool fans hope that they don’t have to fear a boilover anymore. With games always proving a tight tussle, there is no doubt that Palace possess the ability to frustrate a normally free-flowing Liverpool side.

Key players

Sadio Mane (Liverpool): Mane continued his strong record at the beginning of the campaigns netting twice in Liverpool’s 4-0 win over West Ham in their opening game. With Salah likely to draw more attention from the opposition, Mane can not only net crucial goals but his runs and creativity around the edge of the area continues to create chances for his teammates. His record of five goals in seven games against Palace is his best against anyone in the league.

Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace): Fresh off signing a new long-term deal worth £130,000 a week, Zaha only needs one more goal to become the Eagles’ all time best Premier League goal scorer.  Zaha possesses the trickery and pace to trouble Liverpool’s defence. With his ability to pick out crosses towards the likes of Christian Benteke as well as turn defence to attack in an instant, Zaha could cause Liverpool some trouble on the counter attack.  

Tas Mavridis's prediction: Crystal Palace 1 - Liverpool 3