Can Manchester United stop Erling Haaland? Are Arsenal for real? Will Chelsea thrive at Selhurst Park? The English Premier League is back!
The final international break before the World Cup is over at last, we’re about to step into the dreaded month of October. For clubs in continental competitions, it’ll be a game every 3/4 days which adds up to 9 games in the 31 days of October.
Let’s stay on the coming weekend of PL football for this article. As the title implies, it’s a weekend of derbies with the Manchester derby and two London derbies to enjoy and potentially analyse. So let’s run through all 10 games slated for the gameweek.
Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur
The first game of the weekend is the first North London Derby of the season. A highly anticipated clash between two heated city rivals that always promises top tier entertainment.
Both teams are flying high in the league so far with Arsenal leading the pack with 19 points from the seven played games and Tottenham currently in third place with 17 points. However, we all know that on derby day, form has no say on the outcome of the game. This will be the 192nd meeting between the neighbors with Arsenal edging it with 79 wins compared to 61 for Tottenham.
Tottenham have began the new season unbeaten with five wins and two draws so far, while Arsenal matched their best ever start to a Premier League season with five straight wins before falling to a clinical Manchester United side and then bouncing back with a dominating win over fellow London neighbors, Brentford.
AFC Bournemouth vs Brentford
For Bournemouth, its been a difficult return to the Premier League. In the seven games played so far, they have just two wins and have already recorded the biggest defeat in the club’s long history. However, in the three games under interim manager Gary O’Neill, the cherries are undefeated and will be going into this game believing they can get something out of it.
At Brentford, the mood is noticeably different. In their second year in the English top flight, the Bees look like they’re here to stay and if possible cement a top half finish. They’re currently sitting on 9 points from seven games which is no better than their opponents but have almost three times as many goals as their hosts while conceding seven fewer.
This would be the first meeting between AFC Bournemouth and Brentford in Premier League history.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
Head coach Patrick Viera has turned Crystal Palace into a proper high pressing side, the club looks totally transformed from what it was under former stalwart Roy Hodgson. However, in Chelsea, they’ll be going against one of the best teams in the league.
Chelsea haven’t been at their swashbuckling best to start the season so far, with disappointing losses to Leeds and Southampton already in their first six games. Their up and down form led to their UCL winning manager Thomas Tuchel getting the sack and a new era under former Brighton boss, Graham Potter.
For Crystal Palace, a win in this game looks a tough ask as they’ve lost in the last four matchups against Chelsea with only 1 goal scored in that time.
It’s been a slow start to life at Chelsea for Potter but he’ll be hoping his side kick on against the hosts. In his six games as Brighton manager against Palace, he was never able to celebrate a victory with four draws and two losses.
Fulham vs Newcastle United
Fulham would be delighted with the start they’ve made this season, with 11 points on the board already. For Newcastle, they have been unable to win against since their opening day victory over Nottingham Forest. However, they’ll also lost just one game, drawing the other five games played so far.
Fulham striker, Aleksandr Mitrovic will be eyeing a goal against his former club in this clash, hoping to continue his fiery start to the season with 6 goals from seven games.
Liverpool vs Brighton
Liverpool would’ve been thankful for the break as they haven’t had a start to the season that you would expect from them. The Reds have only won two of their opening six games with just nine points on the board. In Brighton, they face a team who are unbeaten in their last two trips to Anfield and would be hoping to make it three in a row.
Brighton are currently sitting in fourth place with 13 points from a possible 18 so far this season. Following the departure of former manager Graham Potter to Chelsea, Brighton have appointed Roberto De Zerbi as their new manager and the Italian would be hoping to kick off his regime with a win against Liverpool.
Southampton vs Everton
Following a 2-1 shock win against Chelsea, Southampton suffered two consecutive defeats without scoring a goal. The Saints have accrued seven points from their seven games played so far this season but will be hoping to end their current losing streak with a home win against Everton.
For Everton, it’s been a very interesting start to the season. The Toffees currently hold the second best defensive record in the league but have only won one game of their seven played so far, scoring just five goals.
Both teams will be targeting maximum points in this one so expect this one to be a game filled with attacking intent.
West Ham United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Two teams who would be disappointed with how they have started the season face off here. For West Ham, they sit in the relegation zone with just one win and three goals scored so far this season.
It’s been a similarly miserable start for opponents Wolves as well. Currently with just two points more than the Hammers, they’ve also scored just three goals so far this season.
It might be too early in the season for a relegation six-pointer but that is exactly what this game feels like. With Raul Jimenez out, Wolves would be hoping new signing Diego Costa can make a difference in his first game back in the premier league.
Manchester City vs Manchester United
The 51st Manchester derby in the English top flight, City would be aiming to make it three consecutive victories against United for the first time since 2014.
However, there’s really only one question being asked ahead of the game. Can the red side of Manchester stop the Norwegian sensation, Erling Haaland? The 21-year-old is currently on track to shatter the record for most goals in a premier league season. He currently has 11 goals in just seven games, scoring in all but one game so far this season.
For Manchester United, they would be coming into this game with confidence following four consecutive premier league wins, however no manager apart from the great Sir Alex Ferguson has been able to win his first Manchester derby for the Reds. A feat new manager Erik Ten Hag will be hoping to accomplish.
Leeds United vs Aston Villa
Following their solid start to the new season, Leeds have now gone three games without a win and would have to face Aston Villa with head coach, Jesse Marsch watching from the stands. Marsch received a touchline ban for his conduct during his team’s 5-2 defeat to Brentford at the start of September.
Leeds are unbeaten at Elland road so far this season and would be hoping to keep that impressive home form going.
According to Villa coach, Steven Gerrard, his team would be coming into this game full of confidence following their 1-0 win over Southampton before the break. It’s been a shaky start to the season for the Villains with just seven points from seven games so far. However, they went unbeaten against Leeds last season in both games played and would be hoping to continue that form here.
Leicester City vs Nottingham Forest
Two teams in need of nothing less than all three points face each other here in what promises to be an interesting matchup. For Leicester, it’s been a start to the season that they would rather forget. The foxes currently sit in 20th and are without a win so far this season. In their last two games, they’ve conceded eleven goals combined and are without a clean sheet this season.
For head coach Brendan Rodgers, it would feel like his job hangs in the balance with every game played and he would be hoping to at least keep the ax from falling for another week with a win here.
Sitting in 19th place and only three points better than the hosts is Nottingham Forest. They’ve lost their last four games, conceding fifteen goals in those games. Forest signed a record 22 players this summer and would be hoping to get those players to gel sooner rather than later.
