Football writer Alex Keble analyses where the weekend fixtures could be won and lost, including:
- How will Liverpool cope with Chelsea test?
- Can Wolves repeat last season's win over Man City?
- Will Lopetegui continue momentum at Postecoglou's expense?
- Fast-starters Brentford to catch Man Utd cold?
- Leicester to continue good form under Cooper?
- Bournemouth have a chance against injury-stricken Arsenal?
- Can Nott'm Forest get off the mark at home?
- Will Ipswich get first win since promotion?
- How will Andersen and Diego Carlos fare?
- Why we can expect goals when Newcastle face Brighton
Slot to face Chelsea test
Sunday’s headline fixture is a huge moment in the early days of the Arne Slot era at Anfield.
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Slot has made an excellent start to Premier League life, but it comes with the significant caveat of a kind run of matches.
They haven’t really been tested yet – and certainly not by anyone as good as this all-action Chelsea side.
Measured control and defensive resilience won’t be easy up against Enzo Maresca’s fast-transitioning Chelsea (they top the charts for fast breaks, with 14) and the creative bursts of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson.
If Liverpool can survive the test – if the axis of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch can slow Chelsea down and restrict those breaks – then we will have definitive proof the Slot revolution is working.
But if they are pulled into the chaos, if this is an end-to-end match that unsettles the hosts, then we will know Slot needs more time before his tactical plan comes to fruition.
It is the ultimate litmus test for Liverpool. Win three points and they enter the title race.
Will Wolves shock Man City again?
On paper, this one’s a foregone conclusion.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have failed to win any of their opening seven league matches of the season for the first time in 20 years, while Manchester City are on a joint club-record run of 30 Premier League contests unbeaten.
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But that Rodri injury keeps nagging at Man City – and keeps even the most downtrodden Premier League fans hopeful of an upset against the champions.
And when it comes to Wolves, why wouldn’t they be optimistic? Gary O’Neil’s side won this exact fixture 2-1 last season, thanks to a defensive 3-4-3 formation that restricted City to an Expected Goals (xG) of 0.87 and sucker-punched on the break.
That is clearly the way to pierce a Rodri-less Man City midfield, as Fulham and Newcastle United have shown.
But more importantly, by reverting to a simpler tactical set-up, O’Neil might be able to stabilise things.
Wolves’ winless start is partly the result of moving away from the back three used at their peak in 2023/24 and towards a more proactive, open style of football.
So, if hosts retreat into the bunker, line up in their tried-and-tested 3-4-3 and simplify things with quick breaks filtered through Matheus Cunha, we might just see the old Wolves reappear.
Man City are clear favourites. But it would be a mistake to write off a Wolves side who, counter-intuitively, will be back in their comfort zone on Sunday afternoon.
Can Brentford produce another fast start?
Speaking of fragile confidence, we are about to find out whether Manchester United's commendable 0-0 draw at Villa Park was the start of something, or whether a run of five matches without a win sits heavy on their shoulders.
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And we will find out pretty quickly.
Brentford have scored a goal within the first two minutes of each of their last four Premier League matches, which Thomas Frank puts down to their set-piece-like work on kick-offs.
He will have come up with a plan to shock Man Utd and take advantage of any tightness in the legs that may follow a two-week break or indeed a nervous period of form for Erik ten Hag’s side.
Even without an early goal, Brentford will be confident their bullish and tactically smart approach can catch Man Utd cold.
Bryan Mbeumo has scored six goals in the Premier League this season and Brentford, who hit five against Wolves, have scored in all but one of their matches in 2024/25.
Meanwhile, Man Utd are without a goal in three league matches. The last time they went scoreless in four in a row was in April 1989.
Leicester to continue good start?
As ever, matches between the promoted sides are going to have a huge impact on the relegation battle come May, which is why Leicester City supporters should be particularly relieved they got their first win of the campaign a fortnight ago.
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They have all the momentum, and as one of three teams (along with Arsenal and Man City) to score in all seven of their Premier League matches so far this season, Steve Cooper’s side will be confident of taking advantage of the defensive errors that persist at St Mary’s.
Southampton’s only point of 2024/25 so far came in a home match against Ipswich, which tells us the visit of Leicester for Russell Martin.
Unfortunately for him, this encounter has history that favours the visitors – and no, we don’t mean that infamous one back in 2019.
Leicester’s 9-0 win will be brought up a lot this weekend, but the aggregate score between the two teams in the Championship last season is of far greater relevance: 9-1, again in Leicester’s favour.
Do Arsenal’s injuries give Bournemouth a chance?
Having lost three of their last four Premier League matches and after being defeated 3-0 and 4-0 by Arsenal last season, in ordinary circumstances the Saturday evening match would be a simple win for Mikel Arteta’s side.
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But the Gunners are sweating over the fitness of Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli, Jurrien Timber, Ben White and Thomas Partey, while Martin Odegaard remains sidelined.
Should all of those players be either absent or lacking match sharpness, Arsenal’s rhythm might be disrupted enough to allow AFC Bournemouth to take advantage in their first home fixture since beating Southampton 3-1 last month.
But the stats are still against them.
Arsenal have won every away Premier League match in 2024 not at the Etihad Stadium, while each of Bournemouth’s last 10 Premier League wins have been against sides in the bottom half of the table.
Can Forest fix home form?
It’s a strange quirk of Nottingham Forest’s excellent start to the season that they are yet to win at the City Ground, a run that stretches back seven matches, their longest since October 2020.
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The reason is that Nuno Espirito Santo likes to play on the back foot, defending in a low block before counter-attacking into the spaces left by advancing opponents, and it’s harder to do that when expected to take the initiative on home soil.
That explains why Forest have taken five points from trips to Liverpool, Chelsea, and Brighton, yet have failed to beat Bournemouth, Wolves and Fulham at home.
Forest's possession rank, low to high 24/25
| Match | Possession |
| Brighton 2-2 Nott'm Forest | 30% |
| Liverpool 0-1 Nott'm Forest | 32% |
| Chelsea 1-1 Nott'm Forest | 35% |
| Southampton 0-1 Nott'm Forest | 36% |
| Nott'm Forest 0-1 Fulham | 41% |
| Nott'm Forest 1-1 Wolves | 52% |
| Nott'm Forest 1-1 Bournemouth | 53% |
Forest fans won’t be particularly expectant ahead of the visit of Crystal Palace, then, although if there was ever a time to put the home form right, this is it.
Palace are one of four clubs yet to win a match this season. Fall short again on Saturday and they will have gone eight in a row without a victory for the first time since 1992/93.
Can Ipswich earn first win?
Among the 15:00 BST kick-offs is a huge fixture for two teams in the lower echelons of the table.
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Everton are on the up after going three matches unbeaten, yet they are still winless in 14 Premier League away encounters. Victory at Portman Road would be an important reset for Sean Dyche’s side.
But it’s an even bigger match for Ipswich. Here is a superb opportunity to finally get three points and avoid starting a top-flight campaign without a win from their first eight matches for the first time in their history.
Performances have been better than results, and a sequence of draws gives hope that Kieran McKenna’s men are on the verge of a breakthrough.
With a trip to Brentford and a home fixture against Leicester coming up after this, Ipswich have a big chance to build a head of steam through October.
Andersen v Diego Carlos
In mid-August, Fulham were “close” to a deal for Diego Carlos, according to Fabrizio Romano, but the transfer fell through and the club switched their attention to Joachim Andersen.
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It was a sliding-doors moment for Fulham.
Andersen, who tops the Premier League charts for clearances per 90, with 7.75, has been exceptional for Marco Silva’s side, winning man of the match in a 1-0 win at Forest in late September in a commanding display that typified his impact on the Fulham defence.
Carlos, meanwhile, has had a mixed season so far.
He was solid in the 0-0 draw with Man Utd and arguably the best player on the pitch in the 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, but Carlos has struggled when involved in more open contests.
Carlos was beaten too easily by Liam Delap ahead of Ipswich’s equaliser in the 2-2 draw in September, and there have been several other moments when a fast-paced encounter has caught out the Villa centre-back.
Playing on the right side, Carlos’s battle with Adama Traore is one to keep an eye on, as is Andersen’s ability to marshal Ollie Watkins at the other end.
Expect goals at St James' Park
Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton are the league’s new entertainers.
In their last three Premier League matches, they have conceded eight goals while scoring at least twice in each.
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Newcastle can be drawn into matches like these. As we saw in the 2-1 victory over Spurs and 3-1 defeat at Fulham in September, Eddie Howe’s fast-transitioning style sometimes allows end-to-end football to break out.
What’s more, Newcastle have faced 18 shots following a high turnover, more than any other team in the Premier League this season, suggesting they will be vulnerable to Hurzeler’s high pressing.
With Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes running one way and Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh dribbling back the other, we could be in for a classic at St James' Park.
Can Lopetegui build momentum?
The last weekend of Premier League football before the international break included an unexpected momentum shift between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
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Julen Lopetegui finally got his first league win in charge of the Hammers, beating Ipswich Town 4-1, while Spurs let a 2-0 lead against Brighton & Hove Albion slip away in a match Ange Postecoglou described as “probably the worst defeat since I've been here.”
How quickly things can change in football. All of a sudden it’s West Ham with the impetus, and should they beat Spurs in north London – as they did 2-1 last season – they would not only move above Postecoglou’s side, but likely replace them in the top half.
But West Ham haven’t won consecutive league matches since March. Their confidence is fragile, certainly more so than a Spurs side that had won five in a row in all competitions prior to the collapse at Brighton.
The hosts will be keen to prove that was just a blip.
