The Grubby Balls Matchweek 8 Preview

After an inevitably boring International break, the Premier League is back with a bang with a jam-packed weekend of action headlined by two of the biggest derbies in World football.

Arsenal vs Tottenham

We get the ball rolling on Saturday with one of the more interesting North London Derbies in recent memory. Over the past two seasons, the home side has won this Derby every time, with Spurs beating Arsenal 3-0 at home in May, while Arsenal won 3-1 in September. You'd rank both teams relatively equally on form, with only one point separating them in the table. You could say Arsenal have been more convincing than Spurs in some of their victories, with their only negative result being that 3-1 away loss to Manchester United. The positive for Spurs would be that United beat Arsenal with ruthless counter-attacking play, and with their front line, Tottenham could pose a serious threat in these situations. Arsenal are favoured by the bookmakers to win, which is fair considering they're at home. Still, Tottenham's ability to punish teams on the counter-attack makes this an even affair in my eyes. Hopefully, we'll be in for an exciting start to the weekend.

Bournemouth vs Brentford

Bournemouth host Brentford at home on Saturday in a match that doesn't sound incredibly interesting on paper. Bournemouth have strung together a good run of results in the past few weeks, with draws away against Newcastle and at home to Wolves, and an exciting 3-2 win over Forest away in between. However, the Cherries haven't scored in either of their past two home matches. Brentford were comfortably beaten by Arsenal last time out, but they won't be too disappointed with the result, and they showed glimpses of quality in the second half. They've been averaging more than double the goals per match as Bournemouth and will hope that this form in front of goal will propel them to a win this weekend. While on the other end of the pitch, David Raya is ranked first in the league in saves per match. The combination of Bournemouth's poor goalscoring form, Brentford's superior attacking quality, and Raya's form in goal lead me to believe that Brentford should get a result here.

Crystal Palace vs Chelsea

Crystal Palace host Chelsea at Selhurst Park in a slightly less juicy encounter than the other London Derby of the weekend, but it should be interesting nonetheless. Chelsea have beaten Crystal Palace in their past ten meetings, a streak dating back to 2017. While Crystal Palace is exciting to watch, they haven't won a game since they beat Aston Villa 3-1 back in August and need to turn their exciting play into more tangible results. This will be Graham Potter's first Premier League match in charge of Chelsea, after his first match at the helm ended in a relatively disappointing draw with RB Salzburg in the Champions League. I'd expect that new manager bounce to take effect for Chelsea here and would back them to continue their impressive streak of wins against the Eagles. Still, of course, with the exciting attacking talent at Crystal Palace's disposal, they will always pose a threat to teams on the break.

Fulham vs Newcastle

Fulham host Newcastle at Craven Cottage in the next mid-day matchup on Saturday, in what should be a tightly contested contest. It's probably officially fair to say that Newcastle are underperforming. They still haven't won since the first day of the season, and while they were perhaps unlucky, they looked underwhelming against Bournemouth last time out. On the other hand, Fulham remains in good form, logging an impressive 2-3 away win against Nottingham Forest last match, and they are unbeaten in their past five home games. However, Fulham's defence has been leaky, conceding seven goals in their last four games. Newcastle can expect the trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Callum Wilson, and Allan Saint-Maximin all back in the squad for this one, which, combined with Fulham's poor defensive record, should give the away side some much-needed confidence. This one should be close and will hopefully be high scoring.

Liverpool vs Brighton

Liverpool host Brighton at Anfield in the first match of the post-Potter, where we'll get our first look at new manager Roberto De Zerbi. While most Premier League fans might not have heard of the Italian, on paper, it's a very sensible hire for the Seagulls. De Zerbi most recently managed Shakhtar Donetsk but was relieved due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Before this, he successfully managed Sassuolo in Italy. He's known for developing players and encouraging his teams to play with high tempo and confidence. He's another manager with an intricate and exciting play style that fits really well with the Brighton philosophy. This is a challenging introduction for the new man, but Liverpool are still not in excellent form. Despite winning two of their last four, the wins against Newcastle and Ajax were snatch and grab last-minute winners. Between those matches was their underwhelming Merseyside Derby performance and the embarrassing 4-1 loss to Napoli. Liverpool are obviously favourites, but just because Brighton have lost their manager doesn't mean their good form will go away; let's not forget they sit fourth in the league. The international break will have given De Zerbi valuable time with his new squad, and I think they might surprise a few people (again).

Southampton vs Everton

In the final mid-day match of Saturday, Southampton host Everton in what should be a tightly contested game. Both teams sit mid-table with seven points, with Everton resting slightly higher on goal difference. Southampton have lost their last two matches 1-0 on the road following their 2-1 win against Chelsea at home, while Everton are unbeaten in six, having just picked up their first win at home to West Ham. Both teams will be without a high-performing youngster, with Southampton's Romeo Lavia out with a hamstring injury. At the same time, Everton's Nathan Patterson picked up an ankle injury on the international break, meaning long-time captain Seamus Coleman will likely earn his first start. All the signs point to a low-scoring draw, with both teams looking better in defence than attack.

West Ham vs Wolves

In Saturday's evening kick-off West Ham hosts Wolves at the London Stadium in a bottom-of-the-table clash between 17th and 18th. These teams are the league's lowest scorers, averaging just 0.4 goals per match, but hopefully, for everyone's sake, they can ramp this up a bit and give their fans something to cheer about. West Ham are favourites to win this at home, but they'll need to show a lot more attacking threat against Wolves than they did last time out against Everton to get past a Wolves defence that ranks fifth in the league.

Manchester City vs Manchester United

The first match of Sunday is the much anticipated Manchester Derby. However, despite its cultural significance, the only team the bookies believe is less likely to win this weekend than Manchester United is Brighton at Anfield. The formula for United seems simple, sit back and try to contain City, and then hope to hit them on the break like they did Arsenal. Manchester City haven't been rock solid in defence this season, so a United goal would likely rock the champions' confidence a bit, especially now that John Stones looks to be out with a hamstring injury. However, you'd generally expect City to dominate possession and eventually score, likely from an Erling Haaland touch, as that seems almost inevitable at this point.

Leeds vs Aston Villa

Following the Manchester Derby, Leeds host Aston Villa at Elland Road, a fixture Villa won both home and away last season. Both teams have had their share of ups and downs, each having won twice this season. Leeds are slight favourites at home and have shown more attacking flair in the opening matches, but Villa looked solid in their victory over Southampton. At the same time, Leeds were comfortably beaten by Brentford 5-2, but they are unbeaten in their past seven home matches. Stats and form would give Leeds the edge, but Villa still has a strong squad, and maybe they'll be able to build on that win last time out. Either way, both teams are inconsistent, and the result will largely depend on which version of each side shows up on the day.

Leicester vs Nottingham Forest

The third and final match of the weekend is a renewed East Midlands Derby on Monday evening, as Leicester host Nottingham Forest at the Kingpower. Both these sides have lost their past four matches and sit in the bottom two places in the league. The jubilation of being back in the Premier League has largely dissipated for Forest, as they seem to have realized how difficult a task it is to stay in this league. The narratives around each club have been about signings, with Forest signing a colossal number of players while Leicester signed hardly any. It's telling that either end of the spending spectrum can land you in the same place, the bottom. Leicester are favoured, but you'd have to say those odds are based on principle, as they haven't performed better than Forest this season. I wouldn't bet on either of these teams to win, so I suppose I anticipate a draw and for both sides to continue to look not very good.

Thanks for reading this article from Grubby Balls, stay tuned for more articles on the Premier League.

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