This fast and furious month of football continues this weekend as the Premier League rolls into gameweek 10.
The top matches to watch out for are Southampton’s please-have-mercy trip to Manchester City, Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool and Everton’s late Sunday hosting of Manchester United.
Here are 90min’s predictions for the weekend ahead.
Leicester head south to Bournemouth with renewed vigour after notching up their first win of the season on Monday night.
A James Maddison-inspired 4-0 thrashing of rivals Nottingham Forest eased the pressure on Brendan Rodgers.
His opposite number on Saturday, Gary O’Neil, remains in interim charge of the Cherries and is unbeaten in his five matches at the helm thus far. Expect that to end sooner rather than later.
Prediction: AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Leicester City
One month to the day after being appointed as head coach, Graham Potter will take charge of his first home Premier League match at Chelsea.
The Blues welcome manager-less Wolves to Stamford Bridge after they parted ways with Bruno Lage earlier this week.
All eyes will be on Diego Costa on his first return to Stamford Bridge since leaving the club as a champion of England in 2017. It probably won’t be a happy one for him.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Southampton have a glorious chance to rack up their annual 9-0 thrashing when they visit Erling Haaland and Manchester City.
After a somewhat decent start to the season, the Saints are slumping again and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s job is hanging in the balance.
Pep Guardiola has no such worries after signing a goal-scoring freak unlike anything the world has ever seen before.
Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 Southampton
Newcastle will mark a year of PIF’s ownership with a home clash against Brentford.
Eddie Howe’s men have lost just once this season and could climb into the top four with a win at St James’ Park.
The Bees head north with a similarly steely streak however – only London rivals Fulham and Arsenal have beaten them this season.
Prediction: Newcastle United 3-2 Brentford
Roberto De Zerbi will take charge of his first home game as Brighton boss with the visit of compatriot Antonio Conte and his Tottenham side.
The two Italians played out some fascinating high-scoring duels during their time in Serie A, with De Zerbi’s men usually losing despite having the lion’s share of possession. Wonder how this game will pan out, then.
Tottenham will pay tribute to fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, who sadly passed away this week aged just 61.
Prediction: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Crystal Palace kick off Sunday’s proceedings with the visit of Leeds.
The Eagles have faced a notoriously hard start to the new season and only sit outside the relegation zone on goal difference, with their sole win so far coming against Aston Villa.
Jesse Marsch will return to the sidelines after over a month away due to his suspension (and various postponements) knowing a win could send the Whites into the top six.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Leeds United
West Ham have finally found their groove this season and will look to continue their promising run when Fulham make the journey across London.
The Hammers followed up a win against Wolves with an impressive victory at Anderlecht, with summer signings Gianluca Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta shining in the last week.
Fulham, meanwhile, could be without talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic for the trip over to Stratford. Eesh.
Prediction: West Ham United 2-1 Fulham
The headline act of the weekend comes from the Emirates Stadium, where table-topping Arsenal face another big test against Liverpool.
The only blot on the Gunners’ record so far was their 3-1 loss at Manchester United last month, winning every single other game this season.
The same can’t be said for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, who are still looking to find their rhythm again and have stumbled through the campaign to this point.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool
Everton and Manchester United will meet at the unusual time of 7:00pm on Sunday evening in the weekend’s penultimate fixture.
Frank Lampard has managed to instil a defensive resilience that was previously thought to be mythical on Merseyside.
But the Toffees and the Goodison Park faithful will have to be at their best to keep out United, despite their stuttering form in the last week.
Prediction: Everton 1-2 Manchester United
Gameweek 10 rounds off on Monday evening when Aston Villa make the short journey to Nottingham Forest.
Despite an abysmal start to the season, Forest decided to reward Steve Cooper with a new contract on Friday to reaffirm their belief in him.
The similarly struggling Steven Gerrard should not be so hopeful of such a proposition if Villa’s stale form continues.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 0-1 Aston Villa
Credit: 90min.com
