Another round of Premier League action before the final international break of the year looms large with Chelsea and Arsenal taking centre stage on Sunday afternoon.
Ruud van Nistelrooy meanwhile will seek to sign off as Manchester United interim manager in style against Leicester City on Sunday before the arrival of Ruben Amorim next week.
After humbling midweek thrashing in Europe, Manchester City are out to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat away to Brighton, while Liverpool can tighten their grip on top spot as they welcome Aston Villa to Anfield on Saturday night.
As ever, Betfair Ambassador Alan Shearer has previewed all of the weekend’s Premier League action for Metro…
Brentford v Bournemouth
I watched Brentford on Monday night, and they couldn’t get out of their half for most of the game.
Brentford are good at home, they’re attacking, and they do score plenty of goals.
Bournemouth are flying, too. They could’ve scored three or four against Man City and their most recent results show why the Premier League is the best in the world.
My prediction is a draw in this one.
Crystal Palace v Fulham
Crystal Palace got a great result at home to Spurs last week and may have turned the corner.
Fulham are tough to predict, though, and it looked like they were never going to score against Brentford on Monday night, but then the manager makes the substitutions and Harry Wilson came on.
The two goals he scored were unbelievable. I had a feeling if they got an early goal in added time, just the way football goes, they’d have enough time to go on and win it, and they did just that.
I’ll go for a draw here.
West Ham v Everton
This is a massive game for Julen Lopetegui. If West Ham lose, the noise around him and the club will be huge.
Everton had a poor result against Southampton last week and they’re away again here so I’m not convinced they can turn up and win.
I’ll go for a West Ham win because they simply have to.
Wolves v Southampton
This is massive for both clubs.
Southampton eventually got their win against Everton, and you could see and feel the relief. You could see the difference in Russell Martin, and they will hope to use that win as momentum going forward.
However, I’m going to go for Wolves to get their first win of the season because if they don’t, much like Lopetegui and West Ham, Gary O’Neil will also be under immense pressure. We’ve been saying that the fixture list has been unkind to them, but this is a real opportunity to get off the board.
Brighton v Man City
It’s a tough game for Man City after their third straight defeat in the week at Sporting.
Pep has already said they’re struggling with injuries, but I think what we’ve learnt over the years is that, when it perhaps isn’t going well for Man City, there shouldn’t be any panic, because they often come back and find the right answers.
It’ll be a really tough game though because we know how Brighton are playing and they caused Liverpool plenty of problems last week, but I do think City have enough to go to Brighton and win the game, just.
Liverpool v Aston Villa
Both sides were of course in Champions League action earlier in the week, but Liverpool have an extra day’s rest and were at home.
It’s tough for any team to play in the Champions League and then perform at the weekend with the same energy, and Villa come here after an away defeat in Brugge.
Liverpool are back at home here, and I think they’ll have enough to beat Aston Villa to remain top of the table going into the international break.
Man United v Leicester
Manchester United will have too much for Leicester here. It wouldn’t surprise me if it ends similarly to the Carabao Cup game, as I’d fancy them to score a few goals again with how they play, and how open Leicester are.
Ruben Amorim won’t be here yet, but I think after Sporting’s win over Man City, there will be an extra buzz in the air at Old Trafford.
Home win.
Nottingham Forest v Newcastle
A trip to the City Ground is a tough game for Newcastle at this moment in time.
Chris Wood is in the form of his life, scoring again last week and Forest’s two centre-backs are also both impressive; Murillo and Milenkovic have formed a real partnership there and they had a really good win against West Ham.
Newcastle were brilliant against Arsenal and back to their normal selves once again and if they were back at home, I’d be tempted to say Newcastle will win, but I’ll go for a draw at the City Ground.
Spurs v Ipswich
Ipswich haven’t convinced me yet and I think they’ll find it really tough at Tottenham this weekend, with Spurs winning two huge games at home last week. If they manage to maintain some consistency, Ange and Spurs will have a fantastic season.
I’d expect Tottenham to score a goal or two here with the number of chances they create, and Ipswich don’t look like they will be able to keep them at bay. Kalvin Phillips is suspended too, so another home win.
Chelsea v Arsenal
Chelsea head into their match with Arsenal above the Gunners after 10 Premier League games, and though Arsenal have stumbled recently, it shows how well Enzo Maresca has done at Chelsea, especially when you include the chaotic nature at the club.
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The midfield is probably where this game with Arsenal will be won and lost. Rice and Partey against Caicedo and Lavia is a good battle because you’re talking about good midfielders that enjoy handling the ball.
The game against Chelsea is a ‘must not get beat game’ for Arsenal. I don’t care who you are, the potential of sitting 10 points behind Liverpool is a lot at this level, and they can’t afford too many more defeats.
There will be fireworks, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a red card or two, but I’ll go for a draw on Sunday.
Alan Shearer’s combined Arsenal and Chelsea XI
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