The Grubby Balls Matchweek 4 Preview

A quick look at all the matches in the fourth weekend of Premier League action

Southampton vs Manchester United

The first matchup of this weekend sees the newly revitalized Manchester United travel to Southampton, where they will attempt to replicate the performance quality they put in Monday night against Liverpool. It's a very different prospect than facing Liverpool on Monday, though, as one of the hallmarks of the Liverpool win was United's lack of possession and ability to hit Liverpool on the counter. However, Southampton haven't had the majority of possession in any of their three Premier League matches. Southampton will be hoping to replicate the kind of performance they put in against Leicester, where they made the most of their minimal possession and came back from 1-0 down to win 1-2 courtesy of two Che Adams goals. Che Adams is in blistering form and will be hoping to add to his four goals in his past two games against United's shaky defence. It will be interesting to see how United performs with the onus on them to set the game's tone.

Brentford vs Everton

Brentford host Everton on Saturday in a match the home side will be expecting to win, with Everton still not looking like a goalscoring threat so far this season. The hosts will be hoping to buck the trend of slow starts that have seen them fall behind to Fulham and Leicester early and start strong against an Everton side that is still in a bit of transfer turmoil, with Anthony Gordon's move away to Chelsea looking increasingly probable, and a distinctive lack of a striker still being on the forefront of most fans minds (despite rumours that Neil Maupay may be signed in time to play tomorrow). I'd expect Brentford to win this one, their attack has looked strong, and Everton just doesn't seem to have enough firepower to outscore them.

Brighton vs Leeds

We should have a cracker on our hands with this one, with both Brighton and Leeds unbeaten in their first four competitive matches of the season and scoring a combined 17 goals. I'd give the hosts a slight edge, but only very slight, as Leeds have shown they're capable of beating anyone on their day with their 3-0 demolition of Chelsea last Sunday. Either way, you'd expect goals galore in a match-up of two exciting teams.

Chelsea vs Leicester

Chelsea will be hoping to bounce back from their 3-0 loss to Leeds last weekend when they host the Foxes on Saturday. Chelsea have hit all levels of emotion in their first three matches, a rather uninspiring win against Everton, a pretty inspiring draw with Tottenham, and an incredibly disappointing loss against Leeds. On the other hand, Leicester have been very disappointing in their early matches, blowing leads on two separate occasions when they drew 2-2 with Brentford from being 2-0 up and when they lost 1-2 to Southampton after going 1-0 up. While the Foxes can still score goals, their defence has been shaky. But Chelsea's defence hasn't been too incredible either, or their attack, which has looked flat, with none of the players they'd rely on to score goals getting off the mark yet. So while Chelsea are deserved favourites, I wouldn't rule out Leicester from sneaking away with a result here with neither of these teams in great form and the foxes arguably looking better in front of goal.

Liverpool vs AFC Bournemouth

Liverpool returns to Anfield to host Bournemouth after their loss to Manchester United on Monday night and will be expecting to make easy work of Bournemouth, who have been dispatched quite easily by Arsenal and Manchester City since their promising home win over Aston Villa in the first match of the season. Liverpool are winless in their opening three, and while it can't be said that Klopp is under pressure per se, if they don't manage to beat Bournemouth, you'd expect quite a few eyebrows to be raised. However, with the return of Darwin Nunez from suspension, I would expect Liverpool to comfortably win this one.

Manchester City vs Crystal Palace

Manchester City host Crystal Palace at the Etihad on Saturday after dropping points against Newcastle in their exciting 3-3 draw last Sunday. Crystal Palace will hope to use the same formula they did against Liverpool at Anfield, solid defence backed up with an effective counterattack. Manchester City are likely to have the majority of possession, which they like. It will be interesting to keep an eye on whether they can link up play with Erling Haaland a bit better than they have in the past couple of matches, in which the striker has had very few touches overall despite registering a goal and an assist. I'd expect a Manchester City win, but Crystal Palace are a tough test for any side.

Arsenal vs Fulham

Our league leaders Arsenal host Fulham at the Emirates on Saturday in what will be a tough test for Arsenal despite how impressive they've looked over the past few weeks. Fulham will be hoping that if they set up well and contain Arsenal, they'll be able to nick something from the game. Fulham have been able to play very direct with Mitrovic and have provided a significant threat from set pieces that will be useful when coming up against a team likely to have the bulk of possession and chances. It should be a good match-up, with Arsenal expected to hold onto their record as the only Premier League team yet to drop points.

Aston Villa vs West Ham

Two of the biggest underperformers of the season so far will be hoping they can get a result on the board at the expense of the other when Aston Villa host West Ham on Sunday. West Ham are the only team yet to pick up a point following losses to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, and Brighton. New signing Gianluca Scamacca has scored in both legs of their UECL qualifying match but hasn't translated this form to the Premier League. At the same time, last year's stars like Jarrod Bowen and Antonio haven't hit the heights yet either. Aston Villa have lost twice, to Crystal Palace and newly promoted Bournemouth, while beating a lacklustre Everton side. You would think David Moyes has more credit in the bank with West Ham fans than Steven Gerrard. With it being at Aston Villa, a loss for Aston Villa would likely be more detrimental for them than for West Ham. Still, if David Moyes loses all four of their opening matches, people may ask questions about how a side that performed so well last campaign looks so shaky this season.

Wolves vs Newcastle

Wolves host Newcastle in the second match of our Sunday slate. Newcastle will be full of steam following their 3-3 cracker with the champions last weekend and hoping players like Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron can replicate their brilliant performances against Manchester City. Wolves have had a bit of a tepid start, with some good attacking play not leading to enough goals and some disappointing defending, meaning they have yet to win a game, with their best result being a 0-0 draw against Fulham. Wolves certainly can go and get a result at home here, but Newcastle will undoubtedly be the more confident side going into this match.

Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham

When Nottingham Forest beat West Ham at home to earn the first points of their return to the Premier League, luck was most definitely on their side, with West Ham having loads of unconverted chances, not even including the penalty Dean Henderson saved. It's unlikely they will have that kind of luck again, and I would expect Tottenham to capitalize on the chances that Everton missed in Forest's last match. Tottenham have looked solid in their early matches but haven't looked as sharp in the goalscoring department as they would have hoped. So this match should be a good chance for some of those attackers to strut their stuff. It will also be interesting to keep an eye on the reception Nottingham Forest promotion star Djed Spence gets on his return to his former club.

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