Nottingham Forest head into their eighth match of the season with an identical record to last year: five points and five goals scored. A year ago, this stage of the campaign culminated in a 3-0 home defeat against Chelsea that proved terminal for Ange Postecoglou, the second of four managers to lead the club last term. Forest faces Ipswich this Friday at 8pm BST, where Morgan Gibbs-White returns following his absence against Arsenal, and Liam Delap may find comfort in familiar territory; the striker has netted 12 of his 14 career Premier League goals for Ipswich, half of which occurred at Portman Road. According to morgan Gibbs-White is available after missing the narrow defeat by Arsenal, while Liam Delap may benefit from a return to familiar surroundings – 12 of his 14 career Premier League goals were scored for Ipswich, six of them at Portman Road. “What we need to improve is getting [Delap] into more positions where he can score,” Glasner, Before Friday evening’s game. “He’s one of our best finishers. One that has picked up in form after a single point from their first four league games, buendía is the only one left in claret and blue as Unai Emery builds a new side. Does he stick with James Maddison after the No 10’s excellent goal against his boyhood club. Andoni Iraola is yet to savour a first home league win as Liverpool head coach – Anfield has seen only four home wins in 13 league games this year – and he will be wary of Brighton’s various threats.
Aston Villa host Manchester City on Saturday at 12:30pm BST. When the two teams last met in May, the match served as Pep Guardiola’s farewell after a decade of dominance. Villa supporters will recall their 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium—a win that completed a league double over City—which followed their Europa League success in Istanbul, where Emi Buendía, Morgan Rogers, and Youri Tielemans found the net. The contest doubled as Pep Guardiola’s leaving party after 10 years in the job and twice as many trophies, an era now laden with asterisks, when these two sides met in May to finish the season. But the two teams sit either side of the dreaded dotted line after shaky starts, it is too early to call Saturday’s game a six-pointer in the relegation battle. But would that hurt the side’s quality on the ball, there is an argument to bring back Conor Gallagher’s dynamism.
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal plays Everton on Saturday at 3pm BST. The Gunners are currently managing a shortage of attacking options due to a suspected quad injury sustained by Bukayo Saka during Wednesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich. This opening may provide an opportunity for 16-year-old Max Dowman, the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, who has seen limited minutes despite his impressive form. It could be the perfect chance for Dowman to step up in his favoured position on the right flank, with David Moyes’s side back in north London.
Coventry City and Fulham meet in a 3pm Saturday kickoff. The clubs have only clashed twice in the top flight, during the 1967-68 season. While Frank Lampard’s side showed promise in their 4-1 thrashing of Newcastle, the manager has urged his squad to adopt a more professional mindset, noting that he can no longer simply applaud their efforts if they are to survive in the league. Particularly in the 4-1 rout of Newcastle, but Frank Lampard wants his players to start thinking like a Premier League team. “I can’t keep applauding the players, believing they deserve to be here,” the Coventry manager said. “Now we have to get over that, coventry have shown glimpses of their Championship swagger. And questions remain over whether Álvaro Arbeloa is pragmatic or flexible enough to succeed, fulham were linked with Lampard in the summer.
Chelsea hosts Tottenham at 5:30pm BST on Saturday. Tottenham struggles significantly at Stamford Bridge, failing to secure a win there since April 2018 and currently riding a six-match losing streak against their London rivals. Despite a recent 3-1 victory over Coventry, Spurs remain under pressure to find tactical stability. But the Austrian needs to find solutions for the league’s lowest scorers, there is no suggestion that Oliver Glasner is under similar scrutiny yet. Roberto De Zerbi used a 3-4-2-1 system against Coventry. Spurs still looked short of energy at times. Mateus Fernandes is another option but is yet to establish himself since joining from West Ham. But Chelsea want teams to open up as the Blues have searing pace on the break, de Zerbi likes possession. Given their history in this fixture it seems Spurs should focus on tightening up.
Sunday’s action includes Liverpool facing Brighton at 2pm GMT. Fabian Hürzeler’s side looks to extend an unbeaten run to nine matches across all competitions, having maintained six clean sheets and scored 23 goals during that span. There have been six clean sheets and 23 goals scored in sequence that featured six wins in a row and the Premier League’s highest scorers will take encouragement from Liverpool’s defensive problems in the comeback agains.
Manchester United also plays Bournemouth at 2pm GMT on Sunday. The club remains in turmoil following Bruno Fernandes’s public criticism of manager Michael Carrick’s tactical decisions, leaving questions regarding the squad’s leadership and form. Spurs’ approach remains hard to decipher.
Crystal Palace takes on Newcastle at 2pm GMT on Sunday. Palace has failed to keep a clean sheet at Selhurst Park for six months and has conceded eight goals in four home games this season. Manager Pierre Sage will look to Axel Disasi, who returns from suspension to bolster the defense.
In a clash of styles at the MKM Stadium on Sunday, Hull City hosts Brentford. A unique statistical quirk persists: neither side favors possession, with Brentford only having the majority of the ball once this season in a draw against Leeds. The hosts, meanwhile, maintain a possession average of just 30 percent.
Finally, Sunderland plays Leeds on Sunday at 4:30pm GMT. Nordi Mukiele, one of the club’s key figures, has issued a sharp challenge to his teammates, insisting that the match against Leeds represents the perfect moment for the team to demonstrate that they are not out of the race following a difficult start.
