By Michael Butler, Toby Moses, John Ashdown

Stéphane Sessègnon ready to haunt Sunderland, Romelu Lukaku could do the same to West Ham, while Antonio Valencia looks one to watch in the Manchester derby

1) Sessègnon could come back to haunt Di Canio

Stéphane Sessègnon’s work permit has come through not a moment too soon for Steve Clarke. Following his club-record transfer from Sunderland to West Brom on deadline day, the 29-year-old received clearance only on Tuesday and looks set to make his debut against his former club on Saturday in a bottom-of-the-table clash. West Brom have scored once in their opening four league games and are in dire need of a creative spark at the sharp end of the pitch. Paolo Di Canio allowed Sessègnon to leave Sunderland due to his lack of “desire and attitude”. These comments may prove the perfect motivation for the Benin forward to remind his old manager of his undoubted ability. Michael Butler

2) Alberto deserves his chance for Liverpool

With Philippe Coutinho’s shoulder injury, Brendan Rodgers has a dilemma over whom to select behind Daniel Sturridge this weekend against Southampton. Saturday’s game represents a window between Coutinho’s injury and the end of Luis Suárez’s ban, for one of Liverpool’s squad members to make his mark. Rodgers could do worse than blood Luis Alberto, who scored a hat-trick for the club’s U-21 side midweek and excelled in the No10 role for Barcelona B last season – performances which earned him the move to Merseyside in the summer. Rodgers may feel that the match has come too soon for the in-form 20-year-old but with an underwhelming Iago Aspas the most likely alternative as a second striker, Liverpool’s manager could capitalise on the increasing confidence of Alberto before Suárez reclaims a starting berth. MB

3) Somewhere over the rainbow…

Norwich City were the first club to come out and say they would not be sporting Stonewall’s rainbow laces this weekend in support of removing homophobia from football. Stephen Fry, board member and ardent supporter of the campaign is sure to be pleased. But what is the club’s noble reason for turning down the request? Apparently ‘Norwich have discussed the matter with Stonewall, explaining that the organisation’s partnership with Paddy Power conflicts with their own relationship with SBOBET and use of the promotional material would set a precedent other good causes would attempt to follow.’ So their bookie of choice conflicts with Stonewall’s? An insurmountable problem. What an awful signifier of the state of the modern game when puny commercial interests can get in the way of an undeniably good cause. And this at a club with an openly gay board member and where Justin Fashanu began his career. Toby Moses

4) Fulham fans should relax and enjoy the ride

All is miserable in West London before the derby. Chelsea are desperate to prevent a three-game losing streak while Fulham fans appear to have lost patience with Martin Jol’s focus on the aesthetic over the pragmatic. The former seems entirely understandable – the latter less so. Fulham may have a rich new owner but the idea that they were suddenly going to compete at the upper echelons of the table is ludicrous. Jol showed at Tottenham that with sustained investment and time he was capable of growing a club, improving steadily year on year, but that process is only just beginning at Craven Cottage. In the meantime perhaps the fans should enjoy watching some wonderfully entertaining footballers rather than prematurely worrying about their position in the table. Results will come – any team that has the attacking talents of Dimitar Berbatov, Bryan Ruiz, Darren Bent and Adel Taarabt should possess enough fire power to secure a midtable finish. Unbalanced they may be – but surely it is more fun to see a team skewed to the attacking side of the game rather than dour defensive football aimed at survival and nothing more. TM

5) Valencia could be decisive in the Manchester derby

Whether it has been the result of getting back to full physical fitness or unloading the psychological burden of wearing the No7 shirt at Old Trafford, Antonio Valencia is looking back to his best on Manchester United’s right flank. The Columbian requested to revert back to his original No25 shirt over the summer after an indifferent season last campaign and showed midweek against Bayer Leverkusen the sort of form that earned him both the fans’ and players’ player of the year awards in 2011-12. Pre-match hyperbole may well revolve around Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie as potential matchwinners for United in the Manchester derby on Sunday but Valencia’s pace could yet prove decisive and he will fancy his chances of ghosting past Aleksander Kolarov who, despite being less mobile, looks set to start in favour of the injured Gaël Clichy at left-back for City. MB

6) Home comforts vital for Crystal Palace survival

Selhurst Park is a funny old stadium but it can be a proper, old-school cauldron when it gets going and Ian Holloway’s team have to be strong on home soil. This will be Swansea’s third game in seven days, having endured a helter-skelter evening against Liverpool on Monday night and travelled to Valencia for their first European foray in 22 years on Thursday. It is far too early in the season for any game to be labelled must win but this is exactly the type of game (at home, against a team likely to be mid-table, coming off the back of a European week) from which Palace need to get three points. If they are to survive, Holloway’s team must be able take advantage of vulnerability in their opponents. John Ashdown

7) Özil could make or break Walcott

Breathe a sigh of relief Theo fans, your boy is off the mark. After missing a trio of glorious chances at Sunderland when set scampering free behind the defence, it was in most untypical style that Walcott fired Arsenal in front with a splendid volley. However, that will not prevent the nagging doubts many still feel about the winger. No football brain is the regular refrain and it is certainly true that for a winger Walcott has a worrying lack of tricks. What is often ignored is that his pace means he has a weapon so potent that he does not need the stepovers – more often than not he has already left the defender trailing. This will become only more frequent with Özil slipping him in behind. So get your bets on Walcott for top scorer? Not so fast. As he showed against Sunderland his finishing is still woefully inconsistent. He had three clear sights of goal, two straight at the keeper, one wide of the post. Perhaps it is just a glitch but, if Özil keeps on setting them up only for Walcott to waste the opportunities, it could do permanent damage to the psyche of a player whose form seems so connected to his confidence. TM

8) Missing out on Lukaku could come back to haunt West Ham

West Ham will be faced with a case of “what you could’ve won” at Upton Park. Sam Allardyce was keen to add Romelu Lukaku to his ranks over the summer but, instead of playing with the Belgian striker, Allardyce’s defenders will have to cope with him on Saturday. “I chased him all summer to be honest,” said the West Ham manager. “But when it became the final day of the deadline we missed out and Everton managed to secure his position. We were more or less told he was going back to West Brom. We tried but didn’t manage to clinch it.”

Everton have a bit of a hoodoo over West Ham of late – they are on an 11-match unbeaten run against the Hammers. Carlos Tevez and James Beattie led their respective lines the last time West Ham beat the team from Goodison. JA

9) Gedo the answer to Hull City’s goalscoring problems

Hull City have got off to a solid if unspectactular start on their return to English football’s top table. Their defence has looked hardy, the midfield full of running and they gave Manchester City a good scare before succumbing to a 2-0 defeat. In that game it was clear what they needed was an efficient striker to take their chances, Sone Aluko passing up a golden opportunity to put his team in the lead. Gedo is Steve Bruce’s answer. The Egyptian striker re-signed for the club on loan at the end of the transfer window but has only just obtained the visa to allow him to feature. He scored five goals in 12 games for Hull last season –hardly earth-shattering figures – but he was well liked by the fans and six months in the Championship should prove a solid grounding for the step up. Although Steve Bruce has questioned his fitness, it would be no surprise to see him rushed into action at Newcastle. TM

10) Can Cardiff’s Caulker get Hodgson’s attention?

When Steven Caulker left Tottenham for Cardiff, the defender explained that he wanted to boost his England chances and had “one eye on the World Cup”. The move represented a brave gamble for the 21-year-old, but would his chances have been better served biding his time in a team competing at the top end of the league, rather than potentially scrapping it out in a relegation battle? Time will tell but while Caulker was called up for England’s recent qualifiers against Ukraine and Moldova, he remains very much on the periphery of Roy Hodgson’s thoughts. With Spurs’ new attacking signings beginning to gel, their visit to south Wales on Sunday will represent a stern test for Cardiff and Caulker, but represents an excellent opportunity to prove to Hodgson that players outside the so-called bigger teams can muscle their way into contention before England’s qualifiers next month and the World Cup next summer. MB