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We pick out the talking points for 10 matches, including Spurs v Crystal Palace and Chelsea v Man Utd
Football writer Alex Keble analyses where the Matchweek 9 fixtures could be won and lost, including:
- Is this when Liverpool launch title challenge?Liverpool’s form has sneaked up out of nowhere. An apparently wobbly start to the campaign had left pundits assuming Andoni Iraola's team cannot challenge for the title this season, and yet on closer inspection there are very few barriers to a challenge.
Indeed three wins in their last four Premier League matches have slowly changed perceptions, not least because their new front four – Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, and Alexander Isak – has come to life.
It isn’t just the front line that has Liverpool supporters excited. Iraola has only lost one league game so far, while the team have now kept four clean sheets in their last six matches, thanks in part to Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo hitting the ground running.
The visit of the champions on Sunday could be the moment Liverpool announce themselves as serious contenders. Win, and they will move three points off Arsenal with a quarter of the season gone.
It’s an outcome Arsenal supporters can probably foresee. Their team are winless in 13 Premier League trips to Liverpool (drawing five and losing eight), last winning 2-0 in 2012/13.
That being said, if the Gunners can snatch victory at Anfield, it would significantly dim the hopes of the home fans. Not everyone is on board just yet, but Sunday’s headline fixture can seen as a title race six-pointer.
Manchester City, winless in their last four Premier League matches against Brighton & Hove Albion and only victorious over them on penalties in the EFL Cup, will curse their luck at the timing of this fixture. It comes during a relatively purple patch for their opponents, while Man City were defeated in their last league game, at Aston Villa.
Losing consecutive matches for the first time since August 2025 (when, incidentally, the second defeat was against Brighton) would probably knock Man City off top spot.
However, Brighton might not be quite as formidable as they first appear.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side tend to engage in end-to-end matches against the bigger teams, bravely pressing high and risking space in behind with their bold attacking tactics. This season alone they have conceded three goals at Stamford Bridge, two at both Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium (both in the EFL Cup), and two at Anfield.
The chances of a chaotically entertaining match are raised by analysis of the two sides' creativity: Man City (16.7xG) and Brighton (16.2xG) are the two highest ranked teams for Expected Goals (xG) so far in the Premier League. They are also the highest goalscorers (Brighton 23, Man City 20).
A more open game suits Man City's attacking talent far more than the way Villa conceded territory and space, looking only to break on the counter-attack.
If it’s end-to-end on Saturday, Maresca will back his team to outscore the visitors.
Michael Carrick needs a win at Stamford Bridge, an outcome that is perhaps more likely than Man Utd’s winless run of eight matches in all competitions might suggest.
Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend has put the brakes on the Xabi Alonso revolution, which has produced some erratic results. His side have won a total of just seven points from their last six Premier League matches.
Indeed, Chelsea are averaging just 46 per cent possession and 344 successful passes per game in the Premier League this season, their lowest on record since 2003/04, which does not align with the assumed tactical principles of the new manager.
If Man Utd can race out of the blocks and emulate the passion and aggression of Spurs last Saturday, then Carrick could get the big win he and the club need.
Consecutive Premier League victories have lifted Spurs out of the relegation zone and towards the top half of the table. They are already only four points off fifth place, a likely UEFA Champions League spot, suggesting their fans can look forward to a successful season despite a shaky start.
Performances, more than results, tell fans to get excited. Spurs are looking very much like a De Zerbi team of late – since his first game in charge, only three teams have forced more high turnovers (120) and won possession in the final third (72) more often – and the coherence of the tactical plan is finally translating to the scoresheet.
If Spurs again start fast, and if they once again press hard and move the ball quickly, they should be able to extend the sequence to three consecutive wins against a Crystal Palace side down on their luck.
Palace have conceded 19 Premier League goals, their most at this stage of a top-flight season since 1980/81. They have also lost their last two matches, scoring in neither.
Hull City and Ipswich Town both have 10 points this season, which is the first time two promoted sides have reached double figures after eight games since 2010/11. That’s an encouraging statistic, considering that two of last season's three promoted clubs avoided relegation.
But it doesn’t, of course, mean both Hull and Ipswich will stay up. There is still a long way to go, and Saturday’s head-to-head could be the moment both clubs’ paths are set.
Hull are winless in six Premier League matches, and their back-to-back wins at the beginning of the campaign are starting to feel distant. A home fixture against a fellow promoted club is, in theory, the best chance they will get of denying that narrative and resetting.
Ipswich, meanwhile, might have concerns about their form on the road. Gary O’Neil’s side have lost three out of four away matches so far, and the other, a 3-2 win at Palace, was heavily influenced by a 34th-minute red card for Axel Disasi.
A win for either side, then, would be a huge boost.
We cannot yet say with certainty whether the Alvaro Arbeloa project has found its feet. Consecutive wins have propelled Fulham off the foot of the table but promoted clubs Coventry City and Hull, both of whom the Cottagers defeated 1-0, may yet be among the more beatable teams they will face.
That’s especially pertinent considering the style of football Arbeloa is coaching. He wants to dominate the ball, hence why Fulham’s average possession (58 per cent), successful passes per game (505) and passing accuracy (86.7 per cent) are their highest Premier League totals on record (since 2003/04).
Playing possession football against Coventry and Hull is one thing. To attempt it against more experienced Premier League sides is another.
Villa are a serious threat. Unai Emery’s rebuild of the team appears to be complete, or at least that’s the widespread perception following their impressive 2-1 triumph against Man City last time out.
Victory for the hosts might trigger concern among Fulham supporters that the back-to-back wins were an interlude only. A good performance and result, however, would confirm that Arbeloa can build upon his first wins as a Premier League boss.
An incredible week for AFC Bournemouth — beating AC Milan, Man Utd and Villa 3-0 in consecutive games — has certainly got the Marco Rose era up and running, but, still in the early months of the season, now is the time to convert a purple patch into lasting form.
Leeds are a serious test of their durability. Daniel Farke’s side have conceded just six Premier League goals so far, the second-fewest after Arsenal’s five, and have only lost one match.
However, the draws are piling up, and all of a sudden Leeds are winless in four matches. Given that goals have been a problem — just nine so far — Bournemouth’s increasingly sturdy defence will be feeling confident. Rose’s side have faced the second-fewest shots in the division (84).
The game’s key battle is likely to be between Marcus Tavernier and James Trafford. The Bournemouth forward has been at the heart of everything in 2026/27, scoring five Premier League goals already, while Leeds goalkeeper Trafford has the highest save percentage in the Premier League (82.4 per cent).
Nottingham Forest, with only one league win under Oliver Glasner so far, have scored the joint-fewest goals in the Premier League and have the biggest xG underperformance, scoring just six times from an xG of 13.5.
It’s obvious, then, what Forest need to do to move up the table: finish their chances, in particular the ones created by Morgan Gibbs-White. Their talisman is one of three players with 20+ chances created in the Premier League this season (20) and Gibbs-White tops the charts for “big chances” created, with seven.
He has just two assists.
Brentford have conceded at least one goal in eight of their 10 matches this season, and, tellingly, their only clean sheets came against Chelsea and Spurs, two dominant sides against whom Brentford held just 40 per cent of the ball.
Keith Andrews wants to play a reactive game, sitting deep and conceding possession, but when his side cannot do so, they are not as defensively secure. Glasner certainly won’t
set up his team like Chelsea and Spurs, suggesting Gibbs-White will be able to show his creativity again.
The bottom two sides go head-to-head this weekend but it would be wrong to suggest Coventry and Sunderland are in similar positions psychologically.
While Frank Lampard’s promoted Coventry have made a decent start, winning twice, Sunderland are enduring a serious comedown from the high of last season and appear to be struggling to juggle domestic and European football.
Perhaps a visit to Coventry is a chance to get back on track for Regis Le Bris’ side, who have gone six Premier League games without a victory (failing to score in the last three) but who, crucially, are yet to play one of the promoted sides.
In fact, Sunderland have only faced one of the clubs currently ranked 13th or lower — beating Fulham 1-0 in their only victory to date.
That might tell us Sunderland have been relatively unlucky with the fixture computer, although that only piles more pressure on to this match. A win would be welcome on Wearside.
Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle badly needed last weekend’s 2-0 win at Palace, a game that halted what had begun to look a free-fall — and gave him a much-needed clean sheet following four-goal concessions against both Coventry and Leeds in successive away games.
Have Newcastle's defensive issues gone away? The underlying numbers suggest not yet. Jaissle's team have faced the most shots (138) in the Premier League and sit fourth for xG conceded (13.7).
However, if the win at Palace is to be a springboard then Jaissle will be pleased with what the fixture list has thrown up next. Everton, who have lost two in a row in the Premier League, are struggling in front of goal, scoring just three goals in their last five matches in the competition.
If Newcastle can win with another clean sheet, tactical concerns around St James’ Park will dissipate.
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