The Grubby Balls Matchweek 2 Preview

After an exciting opening weekend, what to expect from the second round of Premier League matches

Aston Villa vs Everton

12:30 GMT Saturday, August 13th

Aston Villa and Everton will both be looking to bounce back from opening day defeats when they clash on Saturday at Villa Park. Bournemouth soundly beat Steven Gerrard's side last weekend 2-0 in what was a disappointing start to Villa's campaign. It was generally a soft defensive performance from Villa, who were being out-pressed and outplayed by Bournemouth for most of the match. The chances they made were mainly from long balls into Danny Ings or shots from a distance, none of which they could convert. Everton would have been slightly less disappointed with their performance against Chelsea and will feel they could have gotten something from the game, having conceded from a relatively soft penalty and creating a decent few chances on the other end despite not having a proper striker. It will be interesting to see whether Lampard starts with Rondon up front, who was suspended for the first match of this season or tries again with a false-9. Eyes will also be on new signings Conor Coady and Amadou Onana to see if they make full debuts, with the appearance of the former being more likely due to the injury of Ben Godfrey. Aston Villa are favourites to take the win on Saturday, which is fair considering Everton's dire away form last year and Aston Villa's good record against the Toffee's over recent campaigns. Though I would say, I was more impressed with Everton's performance last weekend than Villa's, so a home win is far from guaranteed.

Arsenal vs Leicester City

15:00 GMT Saturday, August 13th

Arsenal plays their first home match of the season at the Emirates when they welcome Leicester this Saturday. Arsenal are favourites after a relatively comfortable win over Crystal Palace last Friday, despite allowing the Eagles several chances they did not capitalize on. Gabriel Jesus will have some wind in his sails, considering he couldn't score his first competitive goal for Arsenal last weekend. In contrast, we saw the good, the bad, and the ugly of this Leicester side in their 2-2 draw with Brentford, after going 2-0 up with some dominating play in the first two-thirds of the match before capitulating and allowing Brentford to score two and come away with a point. I would expect Arsenal to take away the three points from this one, considering their bulk of firepower, Leicester's at times lacklustre defence, and the boost from being at home. Still, you can never entirely discount Jamie Vardy and co, as they always seem to have a few tricks up their sleeve, especially against the big boys.

Brighton vs Newcastle

15:00 GMT Saturday, August 13th

Brighton and Newcastle will both feel confident coming off their respective season openers, where Brighton took away three points from Old Trafford, spoiling Erik Ten Hags Premier League opener. At the same time, Newcastle put in a dominating performance against Nottingham Forest at home. So this encounter will be an excellent test for both sides and one which you could see swinging either way, hopefully with goals galore for the neutral fan. Brighton looked like a top side against Manchester United, working the ball around brilliantly and slicing through the United defence easily. Danny Welbeck and Pascal Gross were especially impressive for the seagulls, and despite losing two of their best players in Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella, Brighton seemed utterly unphased. On the other hand, Newcastle could have scored five or six against Nottingham Forest, a match in which they managed 23 shots. So Saturday should be a good measurement of how these two sides will perform this season, with both looking to push further into the top 10 compared to their respective finishes last year.

Manchester City vs Bournemouth

15:00 GMT Saturday, August 13th

Manchester City host Bournemouth in their home opener this coming Saturday, after soundly defeating West Ham 2-0 in London last weekend. Bournemouth also had a successful first outing when they beat Aston Villa 2-0 but will be facing an entirely different beast at the Etihad. After a slightly disappointing Community Shield performance, Erling Haaland silenced his doubters with a two-goal outing against West Ham. Manchester City's copious creative midfielders fed the striker's powerful darting runs with great through balls. His first goal came from a penalty after he was slipped into the box by Gundogan before being taken down by goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. While his second was a typical Haaland goal following a brilliant through ball from Kevin De Bruyne, a combination that will strike fear into the hearts of any defender in the world. Bournemouth impressed us with their high-intensity play against Aston Villa, but you wouldn't give them much chance against City on Saturday.

Southampton vs Leeds

15:00 GMT Saturday, August 13th

After losing 4-1 away to Tottenham in their season opener, Southampton play hosts to Leeds when they return to Saint Mary's Stadium this Saturday. Tottenham were just too good for Southampton despite promising performances from new signings like Romeo Lavia and Gavin Bazaanu and a brilliant early goal from talisman James Ward-Prowse. Leeds were in fine form when they defeated Wolves in a competitive game at Elland Road, which they won 2-1. New signings Rasmus Kristensen, Tyler Adams, and especially Brenden Aaronson all slotted seamlessly into the squad. Southampton are slight favourites ahead of this one, but this should be tight, with Leeds likely feeling very confident after that opening performance. It will be interesting to see how the new Leeds boys play without the support of a packed Elland Road, especially as Southampton will look to come out swinging and bounce back from that disappointing 4-1 loss.

Wolves vs Fulham

15:00 GMT Saturday, August 13th

Fulham were the surprise package of week one as they showed off their attacking prowess in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool. Striker Aleksandr Mitrovic was the star of the show, scoring twice in the encounter. New signings Andreas Perreira and Joao Palhinha also performed well. Fulham have also added depth to their defence this week by signing centre-back Issa Diop for 15 million pounds from West Ham. Despite losing their opening encounter with Leeds, Wolves showed signs of their attacking quality throughout the performance, with Ruben Neto, Daniel Podence, and striker Hwang all linking up well in attack. Wolves have added a new face to their ranks with the signing (surprise) of Portuguese forward Goncalo Guedes, though they will also be feeling the loss of long-time captain Conor Coady as a leadership presence. Hopefully, both teams go for it, and we get an end-to-end match on Saturday that will show us if the Fulhams draw with Liverpool was an opening day fluke or a sign of things to come.

Brentford vs Manchester United

17:30 GMT Saturday, August 13th

We finish off Saturday in London, where Manchester United will be attempting to save face after their home loss to Brighton last weekend. This will be no easy task for the Red Devils, as Brentford showed last weekend that they won't go down without a fight when they came back from 2-0 down to steal a point from Leicester. Manchester United looked toothless against Brighton, who cut through them easily with good attacking play. While Brentford is a more manageable prospect, in theory, the added element of playing away from home takes away any advantage that United may have felt. Manchester United remain slight favourites for this encounter, but this is no easy task for Erik Ten Hag, who will be feeling the pressure already. I wouldn't put it past Brentford to add salt to the fresh wound by defeating United.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham

14:00 GMT Sunday, August 14th

The atmosphere at the Nottingham Forest Stadium for their first Premier League home match in 23 years is sure to be electric on Sunday when West Ham visit. Nottingham Forest looked a bit shell-shocked in their opening loss to Newcastle last weekend, which isn't the most surprising thing in the world considering the number of new signings they've brought in and the publicity around their return to the top flight. Steve Cooper will be hoping they got out some of their nerves in the North East and that the added support of the home crowd can spur them on to put in a better performance and show more than just the glimpses of quality we saw last weekend. West Ham had the unfortunate task of being the first side to play Manchester City this season and felt that when Erling Haaland slipped two past them to confirm their superiority. Welcoming the Nottingham Forest home crowd back to the Premier League isn't all that much easier for the Hammers, who will need to stay calm to get the result the oddsmakers tip them to due to their apparent advantage in quality.

Chelsea vs Tottenham

16:30 GMT Sunday, August 14th

The weekend's marquee matchup is the first clash of "Big 6" opposition of the season when Chelsea faces Tottenham in a London derby. Both sides came away with three points from their opening fixture, though it has to be said that Tottenham did it in a much more convincing fashion with their 4-1 win over Southampton compared to Chelsea's 0-1 win over Everton. Questions remain over Chelsea's ability to play without a proper striker this season. They could only score from a penalty last weekend and got rid of another striker this week when Timo Werner returned to RB Leipzig. It will be interesting to see if Antonio Conte starts any of his many new signings after his starting XI last weekend was made up entirely of players at the club last season. Despite that, their attacking quality was top-notch, with Kulusevski and Heung Min Son looking exceptionally sharp. I can't see Chelsea coming away with a victory on Saturday due to the gulf in attacking power. I'm expecting Tottenham to make a statement with a win.

Liverpool vs Crystal Palace

20:00 GMT Monday, August 15th

The final game of Matchweek Two is Liverpool's first home match of the season when they take on Crystal Palace at Anfield Monday night. Despite Liverpool's disappointing result against Fulham last weekend, they will still have taken positives out of that match, especially regarding the performance of new signing Darwin Nunez who scored once again. Crystal Palace will likely be heavily under the cosh at Anfield. I reckon their best chance at a result will be to try and hit Liverpool on the counter, as leaving themselves open could end with Liverpool dismantling them. Liverpool are heavy favourites, and I expect them to win on Monday, though it will be interesting if Klopp decides to start Darwin Nunez after leaving him on the bench for the start of last week's match.

Thanks for reading this weeks Grubby Balls Matchweek Preview, stay tuned for our review of all this weekends matches next week.