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It won’t be long until we’re lamenting another international break, folks, so enjoy this run of Premier League fixtures while they last.
England’s top tier returned after a three-week absence last weekend, with much of the discourse surrounding Manchester City’s trip to Anfield off the back of their guilty verdict for breaching the competition’s financial rules over a nine-year period. The extent of City’s indiscretions means the division is seemingly in flux until we learn of the sanctions and outcome of the club’s appeal.
Still, like Enzo Maresca’s side, we must navigate the upcoming period as if the darkest of clouds aren’t looming overhead.
A full slate of Premier League fixtures is upon us once more, with Gameweek 7 starting in Merseyside and culminating in the considerably more desperate half of north London. There’s scope for plenty of thrills and spills in between.
Here are Sports Illustrated’s predictions for how things might pan out.
Prediction: Everton 1–2 Chelsea
Xabi Alonso hailed a "complete performance" from his heavily scrutinized Chelsea side last weekend in their 5–1 rout of the winless Bournemouth, who were the latest to succumb to an early blitz from the Blues.
Jordan Henderson scored a rare brace in Chelsea’s feel-good victory, as João Pedro and Morgan Rogers each continued their productive starts to the campaign.
They’re kicking off the weekend‘s action at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, where they were comprehensively beaten in March. Everton’s goalscorers in that 3–0 victory, Beto and Iliman Ndiaye, are no longer at the club, but the Toffees are yet to taste defeat in the Premier League and are on course for their longest unbeaten run to start a season since 2006–07.
They’ll be emboldened by their impressive record at home to Chelsea, with the visiting Londoners winning on just one of their previous nine visits to Everton.
Prediction: Brentford 2–2 Liverpool
Liverpool had the chance to blow off some steam midweek, putting LASK to the sword in a 6–3 victory. It certainly wasn’t an occasion for defensive purists, but Reds supporters were left hugely encouraged by Bradley Barcola’s official arrival and the performance of Florian Wirtz.
Barcola, who didn’t have much of a preseason due to the World Cup and lingering transfer interest, failed to step up against Manchester City last weekend before scoring his first three Liverpool goals in Austria.
The French winger will aim to take that form into Saturday’s contest away at Brentford, where Liverpool were beaten 3–2 last season. The Reds have had their issues at the Gtech Community Stadium over the years, and Keith Andrews‘s side are unlikely to make this bout an enjoyable one for the visitors, given the physical make-up of their roster.
Prediction: Fulham 1–1 Hull
Hull City are now just a victory away from topping Derby County’s record-low points haul of 11—a tally that plenty thought they’d struggled to bypass once their return to the Premier League was confirmed via a scrappy playoff final victory over Middlesbrough.
The Tigers fought back to earn a result against Everton last time out, taking their tally up to nine from six games. It’s 2008–09 all over again, just without a manager who dons an earpiece. Sergej Jakirović has proven himself to be a canny tactician at the highest level, elevating a roster that isn’t exactly laden with talent and extracting every ounce of potential.
Hull are a difficult team to beat, and they arrive at Fulham feeling as if they belong. The Cottagers, on the other hand, are in a state of consternation. Álvaro Arbeloa is struggling to garner widespread backing, and defeat could add to his growing number of detractors. The former Real Madrid boss desperately needs to win here.
Prediction: Man City 4–1 Ipswich
Paris Saint-Germain were hardly the saviours of soccer midweek, given the nature of their rise to European soccer’s summit, but plenty were undoubtedly content with Man City’s midweek defeat.
It was a first-class affair that could’ve 5–5. PSG‘s early exhibition set them on course to victory, yet City created enough in the second half to earn an unlikely point.
Ipswich Town, as admirable as their start to the season has been, won’t operate with the swashbuckling brilliance of Luis Enrique’s Parisians, and will be out to frustrate Enzo Maresca’s side in Manchester.
Maresca has insisted this is the perfect game for the Cityzens to bounce back, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they rout the Tractor Boys on home soil.
Prediction: Newcastle 1–2 Aston Villa
It feels like Newcastle United are in the midst of a delayed ‘gelling-in’ process, endured by Aston Villa during the first month of the season.
The start of Matthias Jaissle‘s tenure was bright enough, but Eddie Howe‘s successor has overseen woeful performances in Newcastle’s previous two outings on the road. The Magpies were thumped 4–1 by Leeds United and Coventry on either side of an unconvincing home victory over Hull.
Jaissle portrays himself as a facilitator of high-octane, vertical soccer, but Newcastle are yet to perform with such a discernible style. Unai Emery’s Villa, on the contrary, remain a distinct outfit despite the change in personnel over the summer.
The Villans are certainly finding their feet after a worrying start, with new signings Johan Manzambi and Nicolas Jackson coming to the fore.
Prediction: Bournemouth 2–0 Sunderland
It’s a battle of the Europa League participants on the south coast this weekend, as Bournemouth and Sunderland face off after securing continental victories on Thursday.
While the Black Cats required a late Noah Sadiki strike to down Portuguese second tier outfit Torreense away from home, Bournemouth cantered to a 3–0 victory over Sturm Graz. Both teams are two from two to begin the league phase, and likely to prioritize their rare European excursions over domestic action this term.
However, the competence of the three newly promoted sides means the pair must be careful. They’ve combined for just one Premier League victory so far (Sunderland beat bottom-of-the-table Fulham 1–0 on Matchday 2), and won‘t want to find themselves in relegation strife.
Prediction: Brighton 3–0 Crystal Palace
While the legitimacy of the A23 Derby is often questioned, there‘s no denying the contempt that Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace have for one another.
Brighton are out to replicate what Palace achieved in the Conference League last season, with the Eagles’ triumph in Leipzig guaranteeing them a place in the Europa League for the first time. Pierre Sage’s side were beaten in Lyon on Thursday, while the Seagulls made light work of Lithuanian outfit Kaunas Žalgiris.
Fabian Hürzeler’s side are likely to be too strong for the rest of Europe’s third-tier competition, especially given the start they’ve made to the Premier League season. Brighton are third after grinding out a 2–0 win at Sunderland last weekend, proving that they can win in a myriad of ways.
However, they have a troubled record in this fixture as of late, winning just two of the previous 14 meetings. Palace, though, are one of the Premier League’s big overachievers through six weeks, per FotMob’s ‘expected points’ table.
Prediction: Leeds 2–1 Man Utd
Tottenham Hotspur may be 19th after barely surviving the drop last season, yet there’s no debating who the Premier League’s crisis club is.
Lisandro Martínez called out Manchester United’s hierarchy after their Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid on Tuesday, for which he was ‘formally punished’ by the Red Devils. However, the saga is likely to spill over, with the Argentine’s comments hardly depicting a happy camp.
It’s been a bitterly disappointing start to the new season, with the good feeling generated from Michael Carrick’s interim spell as manager rapidly sapped. United aren’t performing with the requisite intensity in and out of possession, and a demanding fanbase is concerned that things will worsen before they improve.
A trip to Elland Road is unlikely to prove the perfect tonic for Carrick’s men, given what we’ve seen from Daniel Farke’s stubborn Leeds United outfit so far this term. The Whites ruffled Arsenal’s feathers last weekend and look primed to compete fiercely for a European spot.
Bruno Fernandes’s form against Leeds is at least a source of hope for the visitors, with their out-of-sorts star recording nine goal contributions in seven Premier League outings.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal
Arsenal have performed in mere bursts after their defeat at Brighton, but that’s been enough for the Gunners to come from behind to beat Leeds and ease past Lille in the Champions League.
While Man City appear to be formidable contenders for their crown, the size of the punishment that could be heading their way means Arsenal are unlikely to be threatened by the Cityzens.
Nottingham Forest have held Mikel Arteta’s side to a pair of goalless draws on their previous two trips to the City Ground, and Oliver Glasner could do with a morale-boosting result this weekend after his side succumbed at his old stomping ground last time out.
Forest had no business losing 3–1 to Palace at Selhurst Park, especially after Dan Ndoye handed the visitors an early lead. Glasner’s men were dominant for 40 minutes, but failed to capitalize on their superiority before Daichi Kamada restored parity.
The hosts are thus down in 15th with just a single league win to their name. The underlying metrics are encouraging, but Evangelos Marinakis doesn’t come across as a man who has much time for xG and touches in the opposition box.
Prediction: Tottenham 2–0 Coventry
Many Tottenham supporters had pinpointed this fixture as the ignition date of Roberto De Zerbi’s first full season at the helm.
Coventry City, however, have won back-to-back games and possess a manager in Frank Lampard who loves nothing more than sticking it to Spurs. Lampard‘s introduction of youth supplied a freshness to the Sky Blues in their hammering of Newcastle on Monday night, and now they’re out to secure their first major scalp since returning to the top flight.
Spurs are still a big fish despite their stark demise over the past 18 months. They’re winless after six games and ought to have won at Old Trafford last weekend, but De Zerbi’s side were at least resilient after being reduced to 10 men to earn a point.
The hosts have issues in front of goal, yet it seems as if they’re on the brink of clicking. An early goal would do them wonders on Monday night.
Date |
Kickoff Time |
Fixture |
Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, Oct. 17 |
12:30 p.m. BST / 7:30 a.m. ET |
Everton vs. Chelsea |
1–2 |
Saturday, Oct. 17 |
3 p.m. BST / 10 a.m. ET |
Brentford vs. Liverpool |
2–2 |
Saturday, Oct. 17 |
3 p.m. BST / 10 a.m. ET |
Fulham vs. Hull |
1–1 |
Saturday, Oct. 17 |
3 p.m. BST / 10 a.m. ET |
Man City vs. Ipswich |
4–1 |
Saturday, Oct. 17 |
5:30 p.m. BST / 12:30 p.m. ET |
Newcastle vs. Aston Villa |
1–2 |
Sunday, Oct. 18 |
2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. ET |
Bournemouth vs. Sunderland |
2–0 |
Sunday, Oct. 18 |
2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. ET |
Brighton vs. Crystal Palace |
3–0 |
Sunday, Oct. 18 |
2 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. ET |
Leeds vs. Man Utd |
2–1 |
Sunday, Oct. 18 |
4:30 p.m. BST / 11:30 a.m. ET |
Nottingham Forest vs. Arsenal |
0–1 |
Monday, Oct. 19 |
8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET |
Tottenham vs. Coventry |
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