Premier League: 5 Players That Should be Dropped for Matchday 3

We’ve had two weeks of Premier League action, and the 'best league in the world' is thrilling us all again. After matchday two, the Premier League is beginning to take shape, and there is an awful lot to talk about.

The biggest game of the weekend saw Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 at Stamford Bridge, as Unai Emery was made to wait for his first Premier League point. Saturday also saw Harry Kane end his wait for a goal in August, netting Tottenham’s third goal in their 3-1 win over Fulham.

Manchester City showed everyone why they are still the team to beat this season, after they hammered Huddersfield 6-1 at the Etihad Stadium, with Sergio Aguero netting a superb hat-trick. There are reasons to be worried across the city at Old Trafford after Manchester United put in a poor display on the way to a 3-2 defeat at Brighton.

Liverpool kept up their good start to the season with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, aided by a controversial penalty awarded to Mohamed Salah midway through the first half. There are more big games coming up this weekend, most notably on Monday night, when Manchester United take on Tottenham.

There were players who struggled to perform on matchday two and will be lucky to start this weekend. Here are five men who deserve to be dropped this weekend.

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#1 Victor Lindelof (Manchester United)

Opponents on Matchday 3: Tottenham Hotspur

There was a lot of excitement around Victor Lindelof when he moved to Manchester United from Benfica last summer for a fee of around £35 million. However, after having to wait to make his debut down to injury, he struggled to make a serious impact and was often left out of the side.

He eventually appeared just 17 times in the league last season, but there were hopes that he may be better equipped to deal with the tests of the Premier League this time around - particularly after an impressive World Cup in Russia.

This wasn’t the case at Brighton, though, and he was all over the place in the first half as his side went in at the break 3-1 down. His partnership with Eric Bailly was a disaster.

The pair were bullied by Glenn Murray and looked vulnerable every time Brighton came forward. Jose Mourinho will not want to use this partnership again and, given Lindelof’s struggles in England, he will likely be the man to miss out.

#2 Ben Hamer (Huddersfield Town)

Hamer made a shocking error in the lead up to Manchester City's third goal

Opponents on Matchday 3: Cardiff City

It has been a tough start to the season for Huddersfield this season. On the opening day, they were comfortably beaten by Chelsea, before Manchester City wiped the floor with them in a 6-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium a week later.

Those are two of the toughest fixtures that they will play all season, but that shouldn’t be enough to save Hamer. It was a surprise to see Hamer start the games against Chelsea and City.

Hamer joined Huddersfield from Leicester City this summer and was expected to be a backup goalkeeper, just as he was at the King Power.

Jonas Lossl completed a permanent move to Huddersfield this summer, having spent last season on loan at the John Smith’s Stadium, playing every minute in the Premier League.

He did a good job and, after Hamer’s shocking error to allow Sergio Aguero to score his second on Sunday, Lossl should really come back into the team.

#3 Pablo Zabaleta (West Ham)

Pablo Zabaleta seemed well off the pace against Bournemouth

Opponents on Matchday 3: Arsenal

There is no doubting that in his time at Manchester City, Zabaleta was one of the top defenders in the country. He is one of the best full-backs we have seen in the Premier League era.

He played a massive part in their title wins in 2011/12 and 2013/14, and was a rock defensively. However, he is now 33, and not the player he once was.

West Ham brought in Ryan Fredericks from Fulham over the summer, and he is an excellent right back. He should ideally be the first choice in this West Ham side.

Zabaleta is a good player to have in and around the dressing room, even at this age, but he isn’t West Ham’s best right-back at the moment.

He should have done better with regards to Callum Wilson’s goal on Saturday, and he didn’t really offer anything going forward either.

And he definitely is not the right man to track Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

#4 Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)

Xhaka has received a lot of criticism in his time in England

Opponents on Matchday 3: West Ham

It seems like Granit Xhaka is often the scapegoat at Arsenal, and sometimes the criticism he receives is harsh. However, it is worth asking why he is always the one who takes the blame.

Given that he is now entering his third season with the Gunners, you would expect that he has nailed down a role in this team, and that he would have shown off his talents in the Premier League.

Yet we’re still not quite sure what his strengths are, and he often seems a little lost in the Arsenal midfield. Against Chelsea, the game looked to pass him by at times, and he never really made an impact on the match.

Over the summer, Arsenal paid £26 million to bring Lucas Torreira to the club from Sampdoria. He is a man capable of doing the dirty work in midfield, the sort of thing Arsenal have been lacking in the centre of the park, and he should come into the starting lineup.

Given the impressive start made by Matteo Guendouzi, it should be Xhaka who makes way in the starting XI.

#5 Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace)

Christian Benteke was virtually anonymous on Monday night against Liverpool

Opponents on Matchday 3: Watford

Christian Benteke is a bit of an enigma. At times, he is unplayable, and there aren’t many better strikers out there. However, at other times, he is a slow, labouring centre-forward who is totally out of touch with the game. It is a bit like his team is playing with just ten men.

Sadly for Crystal Palace, it is the latter that they have been left with over the past 12 months. For much of last season, Palace played a lot better without Benteke in the side and thrived with Wilfried Zaha playing up front instead.

Against Liverpool, he was totally anonymous, and even when he did have the ball, he didn’t offer much of a threat to Liverpool’s goal.

Given his size and strength, he should be a real handful for defenders up and down the country, but Virgil van Dijk dealt with him with relative ease on Monday night.