Football writer Alex Keble analyses where the Matchweek 8 fixtures could be won and lost, including:
- Can Spurs win the midfield battle against Chelsea?
- Will Liverpool's high-profile attackers profit against expansive Brighton?
- Can Villa continue their fine recent record against Man City?
- Will Arsenal rediscover their attacking freedom against Everton?
- Will Bournemouth build on first league win this season when they visit Man Utd?
- Will Crystal Palace and Newcastle deliver a goal-fest at Selhurst Park?
- Can Fulham build some momentum against Coventry?
- Will Hull v Brentford be decided by set-pieces?
- Can struggling Sunderland improve their fortunes against high-flying Leeds?
- Will Liam Delap find his form for Nott'm Forest against old club Ipswich?
Can Spurs win the midfield battle against Chelsea?
Tottenham Hotspur’s first Premier League victory of the season on Monday night could be the springboard for the Roberto De Zerbi era, not least because the 3-1 win over Coventry City included the return of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski – as well as a brand new 3-1-3-3 formation.
But the task of continuing their recovery away to rivals Chelsea is a difficult one. Spurs have lost each of their last six Premier League matches against Chelsea, and have won just once on their last 36 league visits to Stamford Bridge.
Saturday's hosts are looking increasingly stable under Xabi Alonso, who used a more traditional 4-2-3-1 to beat Everton 2-0 last weekend. The challenge posed by Spurs will be completely different, however. The tactically unpredictable De Zerbi could adopt an even more left-field approach from the Coventry win.
Maddison, Omar Marmoush and Archie Gray all played as attacking midfielders, forming a narrow three in front of Sandro Tonali, while Mohammed Kudus and Andrew Robertson held the width:
Coventry’s deep-lying 4-4-2 did a good job of holding firm, conceding only from shots outside the box, but Chelsea will be more proactive in their approach. Consequently, Jordan Henderson and Moises Caicedo, forming the new foundation of the Chelsea team, could come under significant pressure from De Zerbi's highly unorthodox use of three No.10s.
It promises to be a fascinating watch — and with huge ramifications for both projects.
Defeat for Chelsea would ask new questions about their capacity to challenge for the title in Alonso’s first season. Defeat for Spurs would halt any momentum gained from their first Premier League win of the campaign.
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Will Liverpool's high-profile attackers profit against expansive Brighton?
Brighton & Hove Albion have kept four consecutive clean sheets and sit just five points off the top of the table, so it might seem outdated to suggest that Fabian Hurzeler’s fast-paced and high-pressing football — they top the charts for high turnovers, with 80 — will create an open end-to-end game, favouring Liverpool’s forwards.
But Brighton are still prone to being dragged into frenetic games by stronger sides, particularly those who counter-attack at will. The Seagulls conceded four times in a 4-3 defeat at Chelsea in August and twice in their 3-2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup.
Liverpool are starting to find their rhythm and identity under Andoni Iraola, led predominantly by Alexander Isak’s goals (five in the Premier League so far) and Florian Wirtz who, despite much criticism, has created the most chances both overall (20) and in open play (18) in the Premier League this season.
Wirtz, playing on the half-turn and threading through-balls as he did against Brentford, should love an open game like this one, plus there should be space behind the Brighton defence for Isak to run into.
Presented here to Liverpool, then, is the chance to complete the reset. Victory against high-flying Brighton would be seen as a significant step forward. Doing it in style — as will inevitably be the case should they win, given the nature of the contest — would help solidify the idea of Iraola as a natural heir to Jurgen Klopp.
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Can Villa continue their fine recent record against Man City?
Aston Villa have won four of their last six Premier League games against Manchester City, including three of the last four and they've even managed to keep Erling Haaland quiet. The prolific Norwegian has scored just once in five league meetings with Villa and none in his previous four.
On almost every occasion between the sides recently, Emery has deployed two No.10s to overwhelm Rodri or, as was the case in both wins last season, whoever was deputising for him.
Rodri’s now-permanent absence from the Man City side could help Villa. If they analyse their opponents' 3-0 victory over Liverpool, they will see that Elliot Anderson — left alone at the base of Man City's midfield — was regularly overrun by the advancing Ryan Gravenberch until the Dutchman was sent off:
Unai Emery will have noticed this, and will be ready to repeat his usual trick — unless, that is, Enzo Maresca has something new in store.
Maresca is often characterised as a Pep Guardiola protege, but what most stood out from Man City's win against Liverpool was the number of long balls they played up to Haaland and their more hunched position on the pitch. This setup was not unlike the counter-attacking plan Maresca famously deployed when Chelsea picked off Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final, winning 4-0.
Villa Park on Saturday presents another opportunity for Maresca to demonstrate his tactical acumen. Whether humbly sitting deeper or drawing a battle-plan to counteract Villa’s dual No.10s, Maresca will be looking to do something that almost always eluded Guardiola: create a tactical strategy that can get the better of Emery.
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Will Arsenal rediscover their attacking freedom against Everton?
There is very little for Arsenal supporters to worry about, of course. They are only three points behind leaders Man City and are unlikely to fear an Everton side who are winless in eight away matches and have won only one of their last six games anywhere.
Nevertheless, the way Arsenal are winning has caused a stir.
In the first five Matchweeks of this campaign, the champions appeared to be unshackled from the pressures they felt last season when chasing their first league title in 20 years; they reverted to a more expansive and free-flowing style of football.
Since returning from the international break, or, perhaps more pertinently, since suffering a chastening 3-0 defeat to an attack-minded Brighton, Arsenal’s football has become a little cagey again, at least domestically. The Gunners produced plenty of exciting moments during Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.
In their 1-0 victory against Nottingham Forest last weekend, Arsenal’s open-play creativity — xG (0.5), shots (six) and big chances (zero) — were their lowest recorded so far this season.
Mikel Arteta will be satisfied with the wins, and may point to Forest away as a deceptively challenging match, but nevertheless he will also want to find a way to get his attackers playing with freedom again.
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Will Bournemouth build on first league win this season when they visit Man Utd?
AFC Bournemouth got their first win of the season last weekend, defeating Sunderland 2-0, and Marco Rose will hope that result kick-starts his tenure in the Premier League.
You might think a trip to Old Trafford comes at a bad time for Rose, but Bournemouth’s recent record against Man Utd is remarkably good: the Cherries are unbeaten in the last six meetings, winning four.
Bournemouth are also unbeaten in three Premier League trips to Old Trafford, winning two of those and scoring at least three goals in every match, becoming the first team ever to achieve that in three consecutive league visits to Man Utd.
What’s more, Man Utd remain in a challenging position. This is only the second time in 54 years (along with 1986/87) that they have had no more than one win at this stage of a league season.
The stage is set for another big performance and big result for Bournemouth.
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Will Crystal Palace and Newcastle deliver a goal-fest at Selhurst Park?
Neither Pierre Sage nor Matthias Jaissle have had particularly fortunate starts to life as Premier League managers, and for both men the issues have come in defence. That’s good news for neutrals watching this one.
Newcastle United have lost 4-1 (at Leeds United and Coventry) in their last two Premier League away games, have conceded 14 goals in total, the third-most in the division, and have only kept a single clean sheet.
Crystal Palace have conceded more goals (17), faced more shots (125), faced more shots on target (43), and have a higher Expected Goals Against (xGA) of 14.8 than any other side.
Indeed Palace (-5.4) are one of just two sides with a worse xG differential (xG for minus xG against) than Newcastle’s -3.95.
Whatever happens at Selhurst Park, there should be goals.
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Can Fulham build some momentum against Coventry?
Fulham picked up their first Premier League win of the season last weekend, and it could prove to be an enormous moment in their campaign.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side are no longer at the bottom of the table and, as they enter their third game in a row against a promoted side, their fans will approach a match with optimism for the first time in a while.
That being said, Fulham are still winless on their travels while this Saturday’s opponents, Coventry, hammered Newcastle 4-1 in their last home match.
Coventry’s bullish strategy has served them well so far, and, contrasting so sharply with Fulham’s possession-centric approach — they are averaging 57.2 per cent possession and 492 successful passes per game in the Premier League this season, both their highest on record in a single campaign — Frank Lampard will hope to outmuscle the visitors.
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Will Hull v Brentford be decided by set-pieces?
Hull City’s fast start to the season is already becoming a distant memory. They are winless in five Premier League matches and are in danger of sinking into the bottom half this weekend.
Brentford will play Hull at their own game. These are two of the most set-piece-focused sides in the division and both tend to give away free-kicks; Hull have picked up more yellow cards than any other side in the Premier League this season (22), while Brentford have committed the most fouls (103).
Of Hull's goals, 37.5 per cent (3/7) have come from dead balls, the third-most in the Premier League, and Brentford are second in the charts for set-piece xG, with 4.32.
It is likely to be a stop-start game defined by crowded penalty areas and muscular aerial challenges; a throw-back that could go either way.
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Can struggling Sunderland improve their fortunes against high-flying Leeds?
Most pundits predicted that Sunderland might suffer a bit of "second-season syndrome", especially given that they are now juggling domestic and UEFA Europa League competitions after last year’s remarkable achievements.
But as the Premier League table begins to settle, things are looking even worse than feared. Four consecutive league defeats have left Sunderland rock bottom, and in their most recent loss, 2-0 at Bournemouth, they had just three shots (their fewest in a top-flight game since 2008) while facing 29 (their most in a top-flight game since 2017).
Regis Le Bris has performed miracles at Sunderland in a little over two years in the role. However, it’s worth mentioning that Le Bris has only ever had five seasons as a first-team coach, across two clubs, and in his second and final year in France, his FC Lorient side lost their relegation battle.
Just three days after a Europa League tie in Poland against Lech Poznan, Sunderland take on a Leeds team who sit seventh in the table. The games are coming thick and fast — and they aren’t getting any easier.
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Will Liam Delap find his form for Nott'm Forest against old club Ipswich?
Nott'm Forest have lost each of their last three Premier League games, more than in their previous 14. Failure to score in four of their seven matches so far tells us what the problem is.
Forest rank seventh for expected goals in the Premier League this season (11.2) but have scored just five times, the biggest xG underperformance in the division (-6.2).
Their 4.17 per cent conversion rate is the lowest in the competition, suggesting that all Forest need to shoot up the table is to start converting their chances.
Enter Liam Delap, who scored 12 goals as an Ipswich Town player in 2024/25 but returns to Portman Road with just a single Premier League goal to his name so far this season.
Delap, the big-money signing of the summer at the City Ground, is under pressure to start producing. Luckily for Forest, he knows how to score at Portman Road.