God, football’s relentless, but can there really ever be too much of it? Rodri certainly thinks so.
Anyway, following a huge midweek serving of Champions League and Carabao Cup action, the Premier League returns this weekend. With another busy midweek in the offing next week, there’s no fancy Friday or Monday night action on Matchday 5 with eight games being played on Saturday and just the two on Sunday.
And while we’re barely a month into the new season, the weekend’s action already feels significant at both ends of the table, particularly at the bottom. While Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal will not necessarily decide the title, the scarcity of points towards the bottom means Southampton’s matchup with Ipswich Town and Everton’s trip to Leicester City bear great importance.
Here’s how 90min projects Gameweek 5 in the Premier League to unfold.
Saturday 22 September
Before we get into the nitty gritty stuff that could have a say in how the top and bottom of the table look come season’s end, there’s a London derby to enjoy in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off.
West Ham United are yet to convince under Julen Lopetegui, while Chelsea are offering glimmers of progress with new head coach Enzo Maresca. The Blues are three games unbeaten in the Premier League since losing to Man City on the opening weekend of the season. They battered the Hammers 5-0 in their most recent meeting.
There’s a monster blackout slate this weekend which is bound to spark an increase in Match of the Day viewership on Saturday night. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are among the teams in action as they face Bournemouth and Brentford respectively, while Aston Villa, fresh off their Champions League triumph over Young Boys, host Wolves in a West Midlands derby.
The 3 pm pressure points arrive at the King Power and St Mary’s, though. Everton’s woes continued in the week as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Southampton, and they desperately need to secure their first league win of the season at Leicester. Otherwise, it could be curtains for Sean Dyche on Merseyside.
The Saints, meanwhile, welcome fellow newly promoted side Ipswich down to the south coast. With points set to be hard to come by for both teams this term, both Russell Martin and Kieran McKenna will view this fixture as one each of their sides could win.
Fulham were denied three points by a late Danny Ings equaliser last weekend, and they’re back at Craven Cottage on Saturday as they take on Newcastle. The Magpies struggled mightily away from home last season, but they won twice on Fulham’s home patch.
The day’s action concludes in south London with Crystal Palace, who are yet to find their groove under Oliver Glasner at the start of the Austrian’s first full season, taking on Manchester United. The Red Devils have shown signs of life over the past week, but the Eagles completed the double over Erik ten Hag’s team in 2023/24.
Sunday 23 September
We’re all looking forward to the inevitable stalemate between likely title rivals Arsenal and City, but before that, there should be a more entertaining bout at the Amex as Brighton & Hove Albion take on Nottingham Forest.
Forest, of course, head into the game having secured an incredibly rare victory at Anfield last weekend. Brighton were held last time out by Ipswich in the Premier League, but they advanced into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup by virtue of a 3-2 victory over Wolves in midweek.
The majority are backing a pretty dull draw in the weekend’s standout fixture – something similar to what we saw at the Etihad in March. Mikel Arteta will surely adopt a game plan which revolves around stout deep defending and making the most of your moments on the counter-attack or from set-pieces. He’ll be further emboldened by Inter’s success in shunning the Cityzens on Wednesday night.
