In this week’s Essential Football Premier League preview Ron Walker, Pete Smith and Joe Shread take an in-depth look at the first Manchester and North London derbies of the season.

PART ONE | Both sides come into Sunday's Manchester derby in fine form - have we seen the best of Man City so far, and how has Erik Ten Hag turned Man Utd's fortunes around so quickly? There's some big claims over Erling Haaland's brilliance already - and that of unlikely hero Lisandro Martinez too.

PART TWO | Who has the upper hand going into Saturday's North London derby? Arsenal's Thomas Partey stats lay bare how important his fitness will be to Mikel Arteta, while Heung-Min Son's sudden resurgence is also on the agenda. Despite only leading them for one game, there's some talking points from the type of Chelsea side we can expect to see - and the tough challenge facing them at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

PART THREE | Some of the question marks hanging over Brendan Rodgers' Leicester future, and Steve Cooper's at Nottingham Forest, are answered ahead of the pair going head-to-head on Monday Night Football. Plus those around Steven Gerrard, whose Aston Villa side face a potential crunch clash at Leeds on Super Sunday.