The Premier League Gameweek 8 fixtures are packed with intriguing matchups, including Aston Villa hosting Manchester City and Chelsea hosting their bitter London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Looking at the rest of the Saturday fixtures, and the lone Friday fixture, we will also bring you our predictions for Ipswich Town vs Nottingham Forest, Arsenal vs Everton, and Coventry vs Fulham.
Premier League GW8: Friday and Saturday Fixtures
Ipswich Town vs Nottingham Forest
The opening fixture of the Gameweek 8 sees Ipswich Town host Nottingham Forest at Portman Road. Ipswich have three wins from their opening seven Premier League games, but have lost four. Last time out, they lost 3-2 away at Manchester City.
Forest are second from bottom, with just one win so far this season, and it was an impressive 2-1 win away at Aston Villa. In their most recent league game, they lost 1-0 at home to reigning champions Arsenal.
Gary O’Neil will be able to call on the majority of his squad for the visit of Nottingham Forest. However, the Ipswich gaffer did confirm that Sasa Lukic will be missing once again: “No, he’s not going to make it,” said O’Neil.
“Sasa will be out tomorrow so he’s taken a little bit longer, but the one he’s missing this weekend is to almost guarantee he’s back on the grass really early next week.”
No fresh injury worries emerged for Ipswich after their 3-2 loss to Manchester City.
Forest manager Oliver Glasner also spoke to the press and confirmed Morgan Gibbs-White will be available for his struggling team. He missed the Arsenal game, but has trained all this week. Nikola Milenkovic is also fit for selection.
“He’s ready, he trained the entire week, so there are no issues.
“(Nikola) Milenković was already on the bench and is ready to start and play.
“It’s just Igor (Jesus) and (Nicolò) Savona who can’t be involved in the matchday squad, but all the others are fine and fit.”
Prediction: Ipswich 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
The early 12:30 GMT Saturday kick-off is an intriguing one, with Aston Villa hosting Manchester City at Villa Park.
Villa have two wins in their last three league games and have won all three in the Champions League so far. City have won all seven in the league so far, despite all their off-the-field financial troubles.
Johan Manzambi missed the win over Viking in midweek, and it remains to be seen if he will recover from his “small injury.”
Defensive duo Matteo Ruggeri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will continue to be out with their respective hamstring injuries.
Discussing the current injuries in his squad, Unai Emery said: “We have enough players. These injuries are not excuses. We will find the solutions we need to get performances, collectively and individually, in each position.”
Speaking to the media ahead of the trip to Villa Park, Maresca discussed the current injury situation in his squad, confirming that Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Nico O’Reilly “could all be available” for Saturday’s match but there are “still doubts” over the trio. However, Erling Haaland is “100% available,” according to the City boss.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester City
Arsenal vs Everton
Next up on our Gameweek 8 Premier League predictions is Arsenal vs Everton at the Emirates. The Gunners have recovered well since their 3-0 loss to Brighton. Earlier this week, they battled to a 2-2 draw away against Bayern Munich. Everton were beaten at home in their most recent game, 2-0 by an improving Chelsea team.
Everton are expected to have a fully fit squad for their trip to Arsenal, with Christian Norgaard having made his long-awaited debut in the defeat against Chelsea. Vitaliy Mykolenko and Jarrad Branthwaite are expected to be available for selection.
After the draw against Bayern, Arteta discussed the injury sustained by Bukayo Saka:
“It’s his quad. It was early in the game, and the level of intensity his game requires is something incredible. The quality, strength and attention you need has to be at the highest level, and those things happen unfortunately. It doesn’t look good at all, but we have to wait and see,” said the Arsenal boss.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Everton
Coventry vs Fulham
Coventry will face Fulham in the final 15:00 GMT kick-off on October 24. After a disastrous start to their Premier League return, Frank Lampard’s Coventry won two consecutive league games before losing 3-1 to Spurs last time out.
Fulham have shown flashes of good form this season, and have been unlucky to lose certain games, but the West London club did beat Hull City last time out, winning 1-0.
After winning their first game of the season last weekend, Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa made it clear business continues as normal for his team: “Nothing has changed for us,” Arbeloa said at a press conference. “When we were not winning games, we believed that we were doing so many things well, and now we have the same targets, so we should come in and try to win a tough game.”
Ryan Sessegnon will be missing for Fulham as he begins his three match suspension after his red card against Hull. It will be interesting to see whether Arbeloa persists with Gonzalo Garcia, or starts with Rodrigo Muniz.
The Sky Blues midfielder Josh Eccles has recovered from his calf injury, but has now sustained an ankle injury that is now “affecting his rehab” and timeline for his return.
Loum Tchaouna and Yann Gboho were missing from the defeat against Tottenham, but “are training and are fit” but still “adapting to how we play and how we train,” according to Lampard.
Prediction: Coventry 1-1 Fulham
Chelsea vs Tottenham
The final fixture for our Friday/Saturday Premier League predictions is Chelsea vs Tottenham. There is no love lost between these two on and off the pitch, and the 17:30 GMT kick-off is a great pick for the late kick-off.
Tottenham collected their first three points last time out, defeating Coventry 3-1, while Chelsea continued their recent good form with an impressive 2-0 win away at Everton.
James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski returned against Coventry, and assuming they had no ill effects, will once again start against their bitter London rivals. It remains to be seen if any other injuries were sustained in their first league win of the season, ahead of Roberto De Zerbi’s press conference.
Xabi Alonso’s pre-match press conference is also set to take place after the time of writing, but Emi Martinez will be missing for The Blues, while Pep Chavarria remains a doubt after pulling out of the squad last weekend against Everton.
Jamie Gittens and Emmanuel Emegha are likely to be missing for this weekend, with Reece James also out following his recent knee surgery.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
The Last Word
There are plenty of interesting fixtures this weekend. Despite their league positions, I expect Aston Villa to provide a stern test for Manchester City. It’s difficult to see Everton upsetting Arsenal, while a win for either Coventry or Fulham could kick-start their season.
Chelsea vs Spurs will likely be fierce, with a great atmosphere certain at Stamford Bridge for this London derby. Stay with Last Word on Football for our Sunday predictions, which will be coming soon!
Further Reading
Featured Image Credit:
IMAGO / Sportimage