Ronaldo and 7 other Premier League stars with points to prove this weekend

The Premier League is back for the second weekend of the season and it's dripping with all sorts of sub-plots to pay attention to.

Aston Villa will kick things off when they host Everton at Villa Park in Saturday's early kickoff in what promises to be a boiling weekend of matches. Mandatory water breaks have been scheduled for each half to keep players cool - and some stars will be feeling the heat more than others.

Manchester United travel to Brentford in Saturday's late kick-off in a match that means an awful lot to Erik ten Hag after the 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford in his first game. Defending champions Manchester City host Bournemouth, Arsenal face Leicester and Chelsea come up against Tottenham in a high-stakes London derby.

Here Mirror Football take a look at the players who most need a good performance in the Premier League this weekend.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The Brentford game represents a moment of truth for Ronaldo. If he can't get into Ten Hag's starting line-up then a line may well have been drawn in the sand.

The 37-year-old has made it clear he wants to leave and cut a frustrated figure on the bench for the first 53 minutes of United's shocking defeat by Brighton last weekend. Once off the bench, he made a difference - and with Anthony Martial still out with a hamstring injury, Ronaldo represents the only viable option at centre-forward for United.

Ten Hag desperately needs a win in west London and Ronaldo desperately wants to show his worth to other clubs. To a certain extent Ronaldo always feels he has something to prove - but this match is particularly important to him.

Lisandro Martinez

With Frenkie de Jong still in Barcelona - for the time being at least - Martinez holds the status as United's marquee summer signing. The centre-back cost £55million from Ajax and that price tag comes with plenty of added pressure attached.

Put bluntly, he did not play like a £55m defender on debut against Brighton - he was rash in his decision-making and was run ragged by Danny Welbeck.

Martinez and Harry Maguire appear to be Ten Hag's first-choice pairing at the back - and he has the benefit of a pre-existing relationship with the manager - but with a player as good as Raphael Varane sat on the bench the pressure will begin to mount with another shaky performance.

Ivan Toney

Sticking with the Manchester United theme.. they need a striker. Martial is injured. Edinson Cavani is gone. Mason Greenwood is unavailable. Marcus Rashford is better on the left. Ronaldo is 37 years old and wants to leave.

Enter Toney?

The Brentford striker has previously been linked with a move to Old Trafford and enjoyed a brilliant campaign last time out for the Bees. The 26-year-old got 12 goals and five assists in the Premier League last season and is already off the mark this time around after scoring in the 2-2 draw against Leicester last weekend.

Brentford won't want to lose their talismanic striker, but he will want to perform well regardless of his transfer intentions.

Raheem Sterling

"Both Chelsea and Manchester United need centre forwards, Abraham has scored 17 or 18 goals for Roma last year, I am not sure why he is not in the conversation for Manchester United or Chelsea. Even sides that clearly have a need for a certain type of player, because I don't think Raheem Sterling is going to be the answer for Chelsea from a focal point."

Those are the words of Simon Jordan, who has started questioning Chelsea's move for Sterling already. Even if you disagree with Jordan - and many do - it's fair to say that Sterling does have a point to prove against Tottenham this weekend.

With Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner gone, he is the top dog in Thomas Tuchel's attack and, having spent time on City's bench last season, he has the chance to start every week at Chelsea.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Which player do you think has something to prove this weekend? Comment below.

Ben White

Arsenal won their first game of the season in impressive style against Crystal Palace.

White played the full 90 minutes and, shunted out of position to play right-back at Selhurst Park, did a fair enough job against Wilfried Zaha, even though he was booked and endured the kind of difficulties full-backs tend to have against the Eagles' talisman.

White must feel like he has something to prove this weekend against Leicester. With the arrival of William Saliba causing a reshuffle at the back, White got the nod ahead of Cedric Soares last Friday, but with Takehiro Tomiyasu back in training after injury his place suddenly looks under threat.

Conor Coady

Coady made the big call to leave Wolves and join Everton this week. The transfer means he's immediately under the magnifying glass as the Toffees head to Aston Villa - where he scored last season - and there's another aspect to it, with Coady used to playing in the middle of a back three at Wolves, in a role specifically designed for him.

Frank Lampard is confident his new signing can play in a back four: "He has played in a back four for England, Wolves have played in a back three generally and he has been fundamental to that. We have been flexible in our system and Conor can do both."

Now it's Coady's turn to show he can.

Roberto Firmino

Firmino started the opening game of the season against Fulham for Liverpool, but it did not go to plan. While his link-up play was neat and tidy, he made little impression and was withdrawn in the 51st minute for new signing Darwin Nunez with the Reds behind.

The Uruguayan scored and was credited with the assist for Mohamed Salah's equaliser and even though both were fortuitous, he was undeniably more effective than Firmino.

The Brazilian has lots of credit in the bank with Jurgen Klopp but Nunez is already knocking on the door for a start in Liverpool's central striker position.

Jack Grealish

The £100million price tag was always going to weigh heavy for Grealish, whose transfer from Aston Villa last summer made him an immediate target for sniping - from fans and pundits alike. A return of three goals and three assists in the Premier League last term made those accusations a whole lot easier to make.

But with Sterling and Gabriel Jesus gone, this is his time.

Erling Haaland offers him a simple route to assists and it seems Pep Guardiola is keen to give him lots of game time on the left of his attacking trio. A home match against Bournemouth is a perfect opportunity to tear things up.