Nigerians to watch this weekend

The Nottingham Forest strikers have had tough weeks of late, with Awoniyi making do with cameos off the bench while Dennis fed on scraps at Wolverhampton Wanderers before getting dropped at Brighton & Hove Albion.

It remains to be seen if Steve Cooper favours either or both when Liverpool visit the City Ground on Saturday lunchtime, owing to an intermittent willingness to play without a recognised centre-forward.

The Reds had to ride their luck at times against West Ham but the lowly level of the Tricky Trees makes Jurgen Klopp’s team favourites for a win.

The midweek round of Premier League games went well for Olise and Eze but not for Iwobi, whose run of 90-minute appearances in league games he started since February was halted.

Frank Lampard took off the Everton man against Newcastle United but should keep him in the XI for the visit of Crystal Palace.

Olise and Eze were instrumental to the Eagles’ success over Wolves on Tuesday night and should play from the off at Goodison Park.

Patrick Vieira’s men have been flat on their travels since that creditable draw at Liverpool and an impressive first half at Manchester City, playing out stalemates at Newcastle and Leicester City, and the Frenchman will demand an improved performance on Merseyside.

Southampton have had a good week, picking up four points from an available six in the last two games.

While Aribo neither scored nor assisted against West Ham United and Bournemouth, the attacking midfielder is expected to keep his place when the Saints host table-topping Arsenal.

The Gunners have made an unprecedented Premier League start and have opened up a four-point lead atop the standings.

Mikel Arteta’s men are the undoubted favourites but enter into this weekend’s meeting with some confidence from a satisfying week.

Akpoguma could make his sixth Bundesliga start for Hoffenheim when Bayern Munich visit the PreZero Arena on Saturday.

The hosts could overtake the Bavarians in the standings if they win but will be wary of Bayern’s 5-0 thrashing of Freiburg which was billed as a top-of-the-table clash in the previous round.

Akpoguma has not started a league game for Hoffenheim since the start of the month, so it remains to be seen if Andre Breitenreiter plays him from the off against FC Hollywood.

Lookman has scored three goals in as many games for Atalanta, taking his Serie A tally to four altogether.

The wide attacker is just two more goals from matching last year’s return at Leicester City and could get within one goal of that tally if he scores against Lazio in gameweek 11.

Maurizio Sarri’s men are unbeaten in five Serie A games, keeping clean sheets in that run, and it will be interesting to see if they extend that run against the in-form Lookman.

This weekend’s biggest clash sees Napoli visit Roma looking to extend their unbeaten start in the Italian top flight.

Osimhen’s impact off the bench in recent appearances suggests he is ready to slug it out with Giacomo Raspadori for a starting berth, and the dogged frontman will target scoring in the third consecutive game since returning from injury.

Jose Mourinho’s men have won three games on the spin, all by a lone goal, and will back themselves to halt Luciano Spalletti and his motoring crew.