EPL Week 6: 3 Teams with Most to Prove This Weekend

Nothing is for certain in the Premier League. Consistency is everything; in Week 6, there are teams that must prove themselves. 

After a week that saw Liverpool lose their unbeaten record at home to Southampton and saw Hull City Tigers go to St. James' Park and win, there's much more drama to come.

See below for the fixture list, along with three teams that have to show themselves capable of performing to a high standard on a regular basis.

Norwich City (away vs. Stoke)

Going into the season, much was expected of Chris Hughton and his Norwich side. The arrival of Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper promised an increase in goals, while Leroy Fer gave them the midfield presence that they needed.

Unfortunately, the team has underwhelmed and currently languish in 17th place. Hooper picked up an injury in the preseason and is yet to start a Premier League game, while van Wolfswinkel has found the net only once this year.

City will be encouraged by Hooper's return as he scored twice in the 3-2 Capital One Cup victory at Watford during the week. Above all else, the team needs goals and Hooper brings that threat.

Van Wolfswinkel has been conspicuously absent since his goal in the opening game against Everton. He has to get himself involved more, yet he also picked up a toe injury that kept him out of the cup clash.

Stoke are looking strong at the Britannia once again and are unbeaten at home this year. Among those games was a draw against Manchester City, so this fixture promises to be difficult for the Canaries.

If Norwich are to get anything from the game, Hooper should be given his first start. It's vital that he gets the chance to kickstart the Norfolk side's season.

Newcastle United (away vs. Everton)

It's getting difficult to mention Newcastle every week without repeating words from the previous fixtures. The loss at home to Hull was a crippling blow that again stymied the Toon's attempt to string a run of points together after a good away win at Aston Villa.

Alan Pardew will be delighted that Papiss Cisse found his way onto the scoresheet for the first time this year. The striker grabbed the first goal in a 2-0 Capital One Cup win over Leeds and showed that he can deliver with good service.

Newcastle have often reverted back to the long-ball game that plagued their approach last year, and Cisse is not a target man.

They have also shown a tendency to sit back after going a goal up, as if they are attempting to win every game 1-0. Their defence isn't strong enough to do that, and both Mathieu Debuchy and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa have both had a poor season so far.

An away game at Everton is going to be a tough challenge for the Magpies, and it's one they've not won since 2010.

Once again, Hatem Ben Arfa is the key for Newcastle. Hull were well-prepared for him last week and blocked him every time he tried to cut inside on his left foot. Leighton Baines will look to do the same and deprive him of the space he craves.

If Newcastle can get a result here, there's no telling what it could do for their season.

Manchester United (home vs. West Brom)

Just writing these words into an article such as this seems like an alien concept: Manchester United are in need of a dominant performance after their 4-1 humbling at the hands of their neighbours in Week 5.

Their fortunes changed slightly with a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Capital One Cup. Wayne Rooney was one of the few players who emerged from the City game with any credibility and he was outstanding once again, while Shinji Kagawa displayed some of the creativity United have been missing.

Daniel Taylor at The Guardian summed up David Moyes' situation nicely after the Liverpool game:

"

Moyes had been bombarded before the match with statistics about it being United's worst beginning to a season for a decade. Now he was informed it was the best set of results by a new Old Trafford manager since Matt Busby in 1945.

"

It was obvious that much would be demanded of Sir Alex Ferguson's successor, and Moyes has yet to live up to such expectation. The win over Liverpool helped restore some faith, but nothing less than a trouncing of West Bromwich Albion will be acceptable.

Goal.com stated that Robin van Persie has recovered from a groin injury and is fit to play. The fans want goals, and van Persie has traditionally been the man to supply them.