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Premier League questions: Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard to fire?

Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool live on Sky Sports this weekend

Romelu Lukaku Manchester United
Image: Romelu Lukaku is set to return to the Manchester United starting XI

It's round two of the 2018/19 Premier League season this weekend, but what questions could be answered by the time the final whistle goes?

The action gets underway on Saturday lunchtime as Cardiff face Newcastle, live on Sky Sports, before a Renault Super Sunday double-header as Manchester City take on Huddersfield and Brighton host Manchester United. Crystal Palace then face Liverpool on Monday Night Football.

Here are the big questions ahead of all 10 matches...

A rivalry renewed? (Cardiff v Newcastle, Saturday from 11.30am, live on Sky Sports Premier League)

"I'll never forgive Benitez for playing what wasn't even a reserve team."

To say Neil Warnock was not impressed with Rafa Benitez in 2007 would be an understatement.

With a Champions League final on the horizon, Benitez's Liverpool fielded a second-string side in a 1-0 defeat to Fulham, who went on to secure Premier League survival at the expense of Warnock's Sheffield United on the final day of the season.

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Warnock's feelings towards Benitez appears to have thawed somewhat in the last decade, with the pair most recently going head to head in the Championship in the 2016/17 season.

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Newcastle won both matches in that campaign on their way to securing the title but, with both sides tipped to battle towards the bottom of the Premier League table this season, there's already plenty at stake as Warnock and Benitez meet again.

How many new signings will start? (Everton v Southampton, Saturday 3pm)

Everton's most talked about summer signing, Richarlison, enjoyed an impressive competitive debut as he scored twice against Wolves last weekend.

However, he was the only Toffees signing to start the match, with several Deadline Day additions missing out.

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Highlights: Wolves 2-2 Everton

Andre Gomes is not expected to feature this month as he returns from injury, but Kurt Zouma and Bernard have both been training this week and Yerry Mina could be involved against Southampton.

Zouma and Mina could be handed a starting role at Goodison Park as centre-back Phil Jagielka is suspended following his red card against Wolves.

Will Vardy score AND win? (Leicester v Wolves, Saturday 3pm)

On a personal note, it wasn't a bad opening day for Jamie Vardy as he came off the bench and scored against Manchester United.

But yet again he was on the losing side.

Jamie Vardy scores a late consolation goal for Leicester City
Image: Jamie Vardy scored a late consolation for Leicester against Manchester United

The striker has ended up on the losing side in 10 of the 19 Premier League matches he's scored in since the start of last season, for a Leicester team who have taken just four points from the last 24 available.

If the Foxes are going to improve their form, they need to start capitalising more on Vardy's goals.

The start of a Wembley run? (Tottenham v Fulham, Saturday 3pm)

Eric Dier said this week that Tottenham's players are relishing the challenge to "shut everyone up" about their barren transfer window, but the talk has quickly moved on from transfers and is now all about the delay over Spurs' new stadium.

The club confirmed on Monday that the home clash with Liverpool on September 15, which was due to be the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's unveiling, and the next home game against Cardiff have been moved to the national stadium.

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Spurs fans are 'frustrated' by the delay over the new stadium

It is not yet known exactly when Spurs' new ground will be completed, but the delay means more matches at Wembley, which was not a happy home at the start of last season.

However, Spurs did finish the season strongly at the national stadium and they will be hoping to continue where they left off, especially if they have to stay there a little longer than expected.

Can Pellegrini make London Stadium home? (West Ham v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm)

West Ham have a new manager and lots of new signings, but can they make a new start at the London Stadium?

The first two seasons at the stadium have been turbulent, with memories from last year of Mark Noble clashing with a protester as pitch invasions and crowd protests marred a 3-0 defeat to Burnley.

Liverpool's Naby Keita and Andriy Yarmolenko of West Ham United in action at Anfield
Image: West Ham were beaten 4-0 by Liverpool on the opening day

In a bid to improve things, the Hammers are attempting to make the London Stadium feel more homely. That includes new displays in the concourses, such as classic shirts, Hammers in Europe, and a tribute to Bobby Moore.

However, the decisive factor will be on the pitch and whether Manuel Pellegrini can deliver the type of football to get fans off their seats for the right reasons.

Where will Hazard fit in? (Chelsea v Arsenal, Saturday 5.30pm)

Chelsea made an impressive start under Maurizio Sarri as they beat Huddersfield 3-0 last weekend, and that was without the services of Eden Hazard from the start.

Hazard only came on as a late substitute, having recently returned from World Cup duty with Belgium.

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Highlights: Huddersfield 0-3 Chelsea

"I think that Eden in this moment cannot play for 90 minutes, he has to improve and have training," said Sarri afterwards.

Will Hazard be ready to go against Arsenal? If so, who misses out? Perhaps striker Alvaro Morata, who failed to impress against Huddersfield.

If Hazard does start up front it would be similar to what Sarri did at Napoli when he deployed Dries Mertens in a central role. The move saw Mertens score 46 goals in two Serie A seasons.

Will Clarets end run? (Burnley v Watford, Sunday 1.30pm)

While this weekend will see most Premier League teams play competitively for the second time this season, Burnley will be playing their sixth competitive match of the campaign.

The Clarets started their season against Aberdeen in the second round of Europa League qualifying on July 26 and played the second leg of their third round match against Istanbul Basaksehir on Thursday.

Aaron Lennon and Nathan Redmond in action during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Burnley FC at St Mary's Stadium on August 12, 2018 in Southampton, United Kingdom.
Image: Burnley drew 0-0 at Southampton on the first weekend of the seaso

Burnley's early start could mean they are better prepared for the new season but, of the five matches they have played so far, they have not won in normal time.

They are also winless in their last six Premier League games and have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 Premier League games, so a win this weekend would be well received.

Terriers to hold City again? (Man City v Huddersfield, Sunday from 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League)

Huddersfield were one of the teams who gave Manchester City the most problems on their way to a record-breaking title victory last season.

City needed a late goal from Raheem Sterling to win 2-1 at the John Smith's Stadium in November and were then frustrated by the Terriers in a 0-0 draw at the Etihad in May.

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After a 3-0 loss to Chelsea on the opening day, Huddersfield are unlikely to change their approach as they visit the Etihad again.

David Wagner's side are likely to soak up pressure and see if they can hit on the break and earn a point or more.

Will Lukaku hit the ground running? (Brighton v Man Utd, Sunday from 3.30pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League)

Romelu Lukaku made a strong start to the 2017/18 season as he scored 11 goals in his first 10 games for Manchester United.

He did not have long to make an impact on the opening day this season, coming off the bench midway through the second half of United's win over Leicester.

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However, Jose Mourinho has said he expects his returning World Cup players, including Lukaku, to be more involved against Brighton this weekend.

Will it be a case of "why always Lukaku" again for United?

Will Zaha have more cause to celebrate? (Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Monday from 7pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League)

After a summer of speculation, Wilfried Zaha committed his future to Crystal Palace on Wednesday when he signed a new deal until 2023.

"I wanted to get it over and done with, so I can just focus on the season. I'm buzzing that we managed to get it sorted," said Zaha after penning the contract.

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Now Zaha's attentions turn to Liverpool and the chance to become Crystal Palace's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League, with one more goal taking him to 24, one ahead of Chris Armstrong.

Zaha scored in the opening-day win over Fulham and will likely be the main threat again as Palace look to take some of the sheen off Liverpool's encouraging start to the season.

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