There is another North West versus London clash to round off this weekend with Manchester United hosting Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Monday night, with honours even so far.
The away sides have prospered in those regional clashes as well with Liverpool upsetting Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates while QPR put their 4-0 thrashing on the opening day behind them with a surprise 1-0 victory at Everton.
United of course opened their title defence with a 2-1 win at West Brom and, given their record at Old Trafford last season, it is no surprise to see them installed as 8/13 favourites in the match betting.
However, there is a case to be made for Harry Redknapp’s side causing an upset on the road at a big price of 5/1, with the draw on offer at 14/5 – if you forget Spurs’ wretched run against the Red Devils.
Summer signing David De Gea has come under fire following less than convincing performances for United in the Community Shield and opening Premier League game and is sure to be nervous as he tries to fill the shoes of Edwin Van der Sar.
Add to that the fact that the first-choice central defensive pair of captain Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have both been ruled out with injury, while right-back Rafael Da Silva is sidelined for 10 weeks, and De Gea will have a new-look defence in front of him.
Jonny Evans looks likely to be partnered by Phil Jones at centre-back with Chris Smalling continuing to fill in on the right, although there is some good news for Ferguson as Patrice Evra looks set to return from a knee injury.
Javier Hernandez is also unavailable with concussion sustained pre-season so there are worries for United – and it appears to be a question of whether Spurs can capitalise.
This will be Spurs’ first game in the Premier League as their scheduled opener was called off due to the riots but they did enjoy a comfortable run out in midweek with a 5-0 win at Hearts in the Champions League qualifying first leg.
Chelsea target Luka Modric is available again after missing that game with a groin problem, providing a massive boost for Harry Redknapp, who will be without Ledley King, William Gallas and Alan Hutton, while Peter Crouch faces a fitness test on an ankle problem.
Rafael van der Vaart and Jermain Defoe both scored in the midweek rout and are both on offer at a tempting 8/1 to open the scoring at Old Trafford, although United will not afford them the time and space they enjoyed against the Jambos.
Wayne Rooney opened his account against West Brom and is the 7/2 favourite as First/Last goalscorer but United were far from impressive as they struggled to the victory.
Rooney’s goal, according to Opta, was the only effort on target for United, and they are sure to need more to take maximum points against a side looking to get back into the Champions League.
This fixture though is at Old Trafford and United are a different beast on home territory, winning 18 of 19 matches there last season on their way to claiming a record 19th title.
Spurs also have an awful record against United and have not won any of their last 24 matches against Sir Alex Ferguson’s men – last tasting victory with a 3-1 at White Hart Lane ten years ago.
Die-hard Lilywhites’ fans may find it difficult to remember their last success in Manchester as it came 22 years ago with a 1-0 success, while this fixture last year ended 2-0 to the home side.
However if you can put that run to the back of your mind, 5/1 on the away win offers good value, particularly with inexperience running through the United rearguard – while the game looks like it will offer plenty of goals.
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