Despite positive results, Newcastle’s performances have been underwhelming, so Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Fulham was not a major surprise. Eddie Howe did not refute recent claims that his team had been intentionally “undercooked” in pre-season training to mitigate the injuries that plagued them last spring. The issue now is that they seem incapable of executing the high, intense press that brought them considerable success under Howe’s tenure at Bournemouth. Howe might be trying to adapt Newcastle’s style to something more measured, but this squad appears to lack the technical and tactical sophistication needed. Hosting Manchester City at this juncture is probably not ideal. Perhaps Howe should consider altering his malfunctioning midfield by shifting away from his 4-3-3 formation, but the time may have come for Sandro Tonali to start his first Premier League game since returning from a 10-month suspension for breaching betting regulations.
Despite being dismissed from the touchline during last weekend’s draw with Nottingham Forest, Fabian Hürzeler has avoided suspension and will be on the sidelines when Brighton travels to Chelsea. However, he will have to plan without João Pedro, who fell victim to a Morgan Gibbs-White tackle that sparked a touchline fracas, resulting in Hürzeler and Nuno Espírito Santo receiving red cards. Danny Welbeck, in excellent early-season form, has scored in three of his last four games against Chelsea and will be eager to add to that tally at Stamford Bridge, especially if Kaoru Mitoma can replicate his dazzling performance from last weekend. With threats across the pitch, Brighton has a good chance of maintaining their unbeaten start to the season, despite Chelsea’s formidable form.
Brentford, having become the first Premier League team to score within the opening minute of consecutive games, will be confident of making it three in a row when they face West Ham’s struggling defense at the Gtech Community Stadium. Under pressure after just seven games, Julen Lopetegui took responsibility for his team’s poor defending against Chelsea but insisted that the 5-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup did not reflect their performance. Against Chelsea, Lopetegui brought in Guido Rodríguez and Edson Álvarez for defensive cover, only to replace Rodríguez at halftime. With Rodríguez yet to impress and Álvarez suspended, another reshuffle of West Ham’s midfield is on the horizon.
There is hope for Everton fans as the Friedkin Group has agreed to end Farhad Moshiri’s tumultuous ownership. Until the takeover is finalized, however, many may fear it’s another false dawn, given Moshiri’s track record. This deal should go through, bringing added pressure on Sean Dyche to turn around a dismal start to the season against a Crystal Palace side also without a Premier League win. Dan Friedkin has not hesitated to make managerial changes at Roma, so scrutiny on Dyche’s long-term viability will be intense. Dyche’s options have been limited, but with Jarrad Branthwaite in contention for his first start and Vitalii Mykolenko back in training, he may finally have a solid defensive unit at his disposal. His prospective employers will be watching closely.
Mikel Arteta’s decision to part ways with academy products Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe, and Reiss Nelson (albeit temporarily on loan) was difficult. While Smith Rowe might have been a solution to Martin Ødegaard’s injury absence, the rapid rise of Ethan Nwaneri has justified Arteta’s faith in the 17-year-old from Enfield. Nwaneri’s two goals against Bolton in the EFL Cup on his full debut capped an impressive display, putting him in contention to feature again against Leicester. Arsenal’s starting lineup on Wednesday included five academy graduates, with goalkeeper Jack Porter becoming the youngest player ever to start a game for them. Neto is likely to replace Porter on Saturday if David Raya is sidelined with a thigh injury, but Porter and Nwaneri have shown that Arsenal’s future is secure.
Is it too early for Fulham to aim for a European spot? Perhaps, but things are finally falling into place in west London. A disappointing Carabao Cup exit was followed by an emphatic win against Newcastle, their first in eight years. Marco Silva has skillfully assembled pieces from other Premier League sides to fit his system. Against Eddie Howe’s side, the former Wolves duo Adama Traoré and Raúl Jiménez combined to score Fulham’s opener after five minutes. Alex Iwobi assisted his former Arsenal teammate Emile Smith Rowe for the second. Joachim Andersen, previously at Crystal Palace, stood out as Fulham’s best defender with seven clearances and two interceptions. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
After defeat to Newcastle at Molineux earlier this month, Wolves captain Mario Lemina did not mince words. “I’m really unhappy,” he said. “We need to change this losing mentality now and get back to work.” Since then, Wolves have lost twice more – 3-2 to Brighton in the League Cup and 3-1 to Aston Villa – and dropped to the bottom of the table with the joint-worst goal difference (-9) and goals conceded (14) alongside Everton. After a challenging summer that saw Max Kilman and Pedro Neto leave, and with Yerson Mosquera likely out for the season, Gary O’Neil has been dealt a tough hand. Facing Liverpool twice last season and with Arne Slot’s side in fine form, Wolves will need to rediscover their resilience to weather the storm this weekend.
With glamorous fixtures against Bayern Munich and Manchester United on the horizon, Aston Villa’s players might be tempted to overlook their trip to Ipswich. While Emi Buendía played his first full game in midweek after more than a year out with injury, Unai Emery must now cope with the loss of John McGinn, who is expected to be sidelined for at least eight weeks with a pulled hamstring. Leon Bailey is likely to deputize for the Villa captain against an Ipswich side unbeaten in three league games and visibly improving. It’s only a matter of time before Ipswich fans celebrate their first top-flight win since April 2002, and Sunday afternoon against a team missing arguably their most important player seems as good a time as any.
Manchester United, in 11th place, host Tottenham, who are 10th, each having seven points after five matches: hardly the ideal scenario for two teams aiming for a top-four finish. Erik ten Hag and Ange Postecoglou have their sides stuck in a cycle of deja vu. Ten Hag’s United struggle to finish and close out winning positions, while Spurs’ high line and refusal to adapt, as Postecoglou puts it, “it’s just who we are mate,” create intriguing dynamics. Sunday’s 4.30pm kickoff at Old Trafford will be fascinating.
The fixture list has not been kind to Bournemouth. Back-to-back defeats against Chelsea and Liverpool have heightened the importance of matches against Southampton and Leicester. These games are crucial, especially with encounters against the defending champions and former runners-up looming. Andoni Iraola impressed in his first season but his side still faces teething problems, particularly after the sale of Dominic Solanke. Bournemouth have often held their own but a lack of a clinical forward has hindered them. They rank fourth in the expected goals table, trailing only Liverpool, Manchester City, and Aston Villa, with an xG of 10.41 – more than double their current goal tally of five. While chances are being created, fans will need to be patient with the Brazilian striker Evanilson, who missed a penalty against Chelsea and failed to impose himself at Liverpool. The club has a history of showing patience with young talent; Solanke took 18 months to score his first top-flight goal for Bournemouth, a decision that ultimately paid off.
