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Saturday's key Premier League debuts

Sports Mole considers the impact that three possible debutants might have on Saturday's Premier League action.

The Premier League is back. The early international break is now behind us and domestic football is once more on the calendar. Premier League managers will now be counting their players to make sure they are all in one piece, and with several players signed late in the window yet to play it could be a key weekend of action.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at some of the players who are likely to make their debut on Saturday and the impact that they could have on their new teams.

Marouane Fellaini

New Manchester United manager David Moyes was expected to raid former side Everton for both Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines. The club had also been linked with several transfers throughout the summer that ended up never materialising. In the end it was Fellaini only who came in on deadline day and he is likely to go straight into the United XI against Crystal Palace.

Marouane Fellaini in action for Everton during pre-season.© Getty Images

The centre of midfield has long been understood to be the weakest part of the current United team, and in that respect Fellaini will fill a void. United typically play with two wingers, two central midfielders and one deeper striker. As such, the two in the middle need to be combative and technical. Fellaini is certainly the former and is good getting forward to score, but he is arguably not the strongest with the ball at his feet.

With respect to United's opponents, Palace are not likely to cause the greatest threat which should see Fellaini eased into his new role nicely. He will be up against Mile Jedinak and probably new Palace signing Barry Bannan. He and Michael Carrick should win that battle.

Samuel Eto'o

Should he start for Chelsea in their away clash against Everton will not be the first time Samuel Eto'o has played for Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese was keen to bring the Cameroonian in once he took over in the summer and made the move from Anzhi Makhachkala happen near the end of the transfer window.

Mourinho's preferred style of play is to use a fast transition in the final third, and as such looks for his strikers to be pacey and powerful. Eto'o certainly fits the bill here, even if he has dropped a yard or two of pace. He will be up against what has so far been a compact Everton defence that has kept two clean sheets from three.

Samuel Eto'o of FC Anzhi Makhachkala in action during the Russian Premier League match between FC Dinamo Moscow and FC Anzhi Makhachkala at the Arena Khimki Stadium on July 19, 2013© Getty Images

Perhaps key to another one for the Toffees will be how Phil Jagielka copes with the threat of Eto'o. He is a tough tackler, so expect to see a couple of early welcomes to the league. Should Eto'o get the better of him a couple of times in the first half, however, he could have some joy.

Marko Arnautovic

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has potentially pulled off a real coup with the signing of Marko Arnautovic from Werder Bremen. He fits the bill of the type of player Stoke have signed through the years - he is almost 6'4" - but there is a great deal more to his game than just power.

Operating most often on the right flank with license to cut in and cause havoc, he also possesses a lot of pace and is technically very good. Hughes does intend to get Stoke playing if no less direct certainly more on the ground an in Arnautovic he has a player who can do a job.

Should he start on Saturday, then Premier League debuts rarely come tougher than against Manchester City, although he could make an early name for himself with a good performance. Aleksandar Kolarov will need to be alert on the day.

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Stoke City manager Mark Hughes reacts during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Stoke City at the Bolyen Ground on August 31, 2013
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