Crystal Palace vs. Fulham

Selhurst Park, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Easter

The Eagles play host to their London neighbors at Selhurst Park this Saturday afternoon. Palace nearly held on for a draw at Aston Villa last weekend before allowing two late goals - one to a narrow penalty. Roy Hodgson will return to the sideline, and there’s a chance that Matheus França will make his debut. The South London outfit have started well this season and will see vulnerability in Fulham. This is the sort of match Crystal Palace will need to win to improve on their 11th place finish last season. If Eze, Mateta, and Édouard can keep up their promising starts to the campaign, there’s no reason to bet against Roy’s boys. 

While Fulham came away from their match against Luton with a win, there are signs that the Cottagers have taken a step back from last season. They’ve put up a decent return of points so far, and they’re nowhere near a crisis - however, their only two victories have come against Everton and Luton and both were 1-0. Carlos Vinícius brought a spark with him in their last match, which may give him the opportunity to start. So far the West London team have lacked consistency and balance, but this weekend’s match is a chance to find their rhythm.

Luton Town vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Kenilworth Road, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

Luton Town host their second ever Premier League match at the Kenny on Saturday against Wolves. The Hatters have had a difficult start to life in the top flight, with no points after 4 matches. This matchup may be exactly what they’ve been waiting for, however, with a chance to welcome a struggling side to their home ground. Despite coming away from their last match empty handed, Luton created chances against Fulham and will look to convert in front of their fans. In particular, Jacob Brown and Carlton Morris worked well together as a front two which may be the key to nabbing a lead over Gary O’Neil’s club. Put a win on the board and the season begins to look much brighter for Luton.

Wolves sit on the precipice of the relegation dogfight, which is why this match is so key for their season. Sheffield United, Everton, Burnley, and Luton are all struggling - there’s a very real chance those four could be fighting over 17th place. Wolves, however, are only one point above Sheffield United and will be desperate to pull away from the crew near the bottom. A win here would be a big step in that direction. Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto have been early bright spots for a club that has found hitting the back of the net a challenge, and Luton have yet to keep a clean sheet. Look for Pedro Neto to attack Issa Kaboré on Wolves’ left wing, which will be a main offensive avenue with the added benefit of keeping Kaboré pinned back and unable to help in Luton’s build up. 

Manchester City vs. Nottingham Forest

Etihad Stadium, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

Who will be the first club to take points off City this year? Could it be plucky Nottingham Forest, riding the momentum of their late equalizer on Monday night? If we’re honest, probably not - but Forest’s fast start and clear jump up in quality both on the pitch and on paper shouldn’t be scoffed at. New signing Callum Hudson-Odoi looks to have settled in quickly, and the likes of Divock Origi and Ibrahim Sangaré raise the level of Steve Cooper’s side significantly. With Forest’s speed on the counter through Taiwo Awoniyi and Anthony Elanga, there’s definitely a chance that they can catch City on the break. Keeping the champions off the scoresheet as well is a much more difficult proposition.

Manchester City have been on another level so far this season. That’s not to say they’ve looked infallible - they had a minor scare in midweek and have conceded the odd goal. But what is remarkable about this incarnation of Pep Guardiola’s side is that they seem capable of turning ruthless in a heartbeat. Haaland may miss a slew of chances, but while he’s honing his strike Álvarez has somehow already netted two of his own - and that’s all before the large Norwegian gets his nearly guaranteed goal. Someone will catch this City side cold; someone will have just the right game plan or get just lucky enough one of these weeks to take points off the sky-blue juggernaut. It doesn’t seem likely this weekend, but when does it ever?

Brentford vs. Everton

Gtech Community Stadium, Saturday, 5:30pm Local, 12:30pm Eastern

The Bees of Brentford return home after a disappointing defeat last time out in the Northeast. It was the West London club’s first defeat of the season and it came against a Champions League side, so it’s a credit to Thomas Frank’s side that they can feel genuinely aggrieved to have lost. This week’s matchup provides an excellent chance to get back on track with a win, with Everton coming to town after yet another defeat of their own. Brentford, for all their quality, have drawn three of their first five matches, coming off last season where they were the joint leader in ties with fourteen. Converting Bryan Mbeumo’s hot start into victories will be key if they want to improve upon last year’s position, which they certainly have the quality to do. One challenge for the Bees is that stalwart left-back, Rico Henry, is out with a long term injury and Aaron Hickey will need to deputize despite mostly playing on the right since arriving from Bologna. 

Sean Dyche and Everton are under tremendous pressure. With the possibility of an ownership change looming, the Toffees absolutely need to start performing on the pitch. They’ve had a slew of narrow losses and a fair helping of misfortune, but wins need to come if they have any hope of pulling out of the relegation battle. It’s still quite early and the table doesn’t yet tell the full story, but the mood on the blue half of Merseyside is already bleak. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has returned and Beto has had a few games to get up to speed. An Everton renaissance may seem far-fetched, but they can at least begin to show signs of life at the Gtech this Saturday.

Burnley vs. Manchester United

Turf Moor, Saturday, 8pm Local, 3pm Eastern

Vincent Kompany’s side earned their first point of the young campaign on Monday and had plenty of chances to leave the City Ground with a win. While they may still be feeling disappointed, they’ll also finally be feeling a bit more like themselves. Enter chaos personified in Manchester United. Kompany, despite their slow start to the season, will feel that United are there for the taking. Burnley have shown shades of incisive counter attacking play, and Erik Ten Hag’s side has shown they can be played through. There is definitely a quality gap on paper, but it’s hard to imagine a less unified club than Manchester United right now. A disciplined performance could bring the Clarets success on Saturday night. 

To an outside observer, there seems to be about as much comradery in Manchester United’s camp as a student body during a competitive race for class president. Each new day brings more bad news: poor results; fresh injuries; upset in the dressing room. That said, the Red Devils need to believe that they can beat Burnley. Their identity depends on it. There is too much quality on their roster for them not to believe that. It’s up to these players to show it. Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Højlund, and Alejandro Garnacho have all brought flashes of brilliance this campaign - can this crew of footballers perform up to their potential and change the narrative for United?

Liverpool vs. West Ham United

Anfield, Sunday, 2pm Local, 9am Eastern

Both Liverpool and West Ham came from behind to record 3-1 victories in their opening Europa League match. Now the two clubs face off at Anfield this Sunday morning. The Merseyside club has continued a worrying habit from last season by conceding first, allowing the first goal in 4 of their 6 matches in all competitions. The difference so far has been that they’ve been able to come back and adjust during the match - all 4 of those matches have ended with a Liverpool win. West Ham are perhaps a different proposition, however, and Jürgen Klopp will be aching to open the scoring this time around. On the bright side and unlike last season, the Reds are suddenly rich with depth across a number of positions with as many as 7 senior midfielders available. In particular fans will want to see Ryan Gravenberch given significant minutes this weekend as he was a standout performer in their midweek European adventure. 

While they lost for the first time this campaign last time out, David Moyes’ Hammers will feel they have an ideal gameplan to grab a result at Anfield. Their aptitude for counter attacks and the quick integration of new signings all bodes well for them. Outwardly they certainly seem confident, with striker Michail Antonio calling into question what Liverpool even have to play for this season. And their confidence isn’t out of place, the Jamaican striker has looked sharp alongside Jarrod Bowen, James Ward-Prowse, and Lucas Paquetá. One small concern for the club is that David Moyes has never won an away match against the so-called “Big Four” - a statistic he’ll look to relegate to the history books Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Emirates Stadium, Sunday, 2pm Local, 9am Eastern

The North London Derby is one of fixtures that gets even casual fans circling their calendar, and the first of this campaign promises to be scintillating. Both teams are on the rise, with Arsenal maintaining their strong form from last season and yet to lose a match. Tottenham have been just as impressive, also undefeated after rallying for a late victory last time out. This match, whatever the result, will be a great barometer of where both teams stand. Very few visiting teams have won the North London Derby recently, and the Gunners can feel good about their chances. While they’ll be worried for Gabriel Martinelli’s health, Leandro Trossard has stepped into his boots and delivered across the last two games, and the club absolutely swept aside Royal Antwerp in their first Champions League match.

It would be foolish, however, to underestimate Spurs. It’s becoming repetitive to say, but Ange Postecoglou has transformed the energy of the club, and Tottenham are eminently capable of winning this match. Son is revitalized. Udogie, Sarr, and Bissouma have taken massive leaps forward. James Maddison is the main man, and Richarlison is showing signs of coming into his own. A sense of optimism is sweeping through the Tottenham faithful, which would soar to new heights with a Spurs win this weekend. This match is appointment viewing for any fan of the Premier League.

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Bournemouth

Amex Stadium, Sunday, 2pm Local, 9am Eastern

Brighton had a rude awakening in the Europa league this week (losing at home to AEK Athens) and will be looking to shake off that result as quickly as possible. This could prove to be very unfortunate for Bournemouth, who make the trip to the Amex on Sunday morning. The Seagulls have been perfect in the league except for a comprehensive loss to West Ham, who undid them with counter-attacking play. In theory, Bournemouth are set up to play this way under Andoni Iraola, but the Cherries are still experiencing growing pains while adjusting to his tactics. Roberto De Zerbi will need to make sure his players perform following their first midweek challenge - but there’s no reason to doubt that he can do just that. 

Bournemouth fans will be pleased that their side kept the first clean sheet of the young season; their transitional attack can’t be successful without defensive rigor. The next step in the Cherries evolution is pairing a solid base with clinicality in attack. A good foundation without anything built on it is just a hole in the ground. They have quality in attack, and Dominic Solanke in particular will be eager to get back on the score sheet. If the English striker can net them 15 goals this season, there’s little reason to worry for the South Coast club.

Chelsea vs. Aston Villa

Stamford Bridge, Sunday, 2pm Local, 9am Eastern

Chelsea remain a confounding team. Their underlying metrics aren’t awful, yet they simply don’t seem capable of putting it all together on the pitch. There are reasonable explanations for this: the team is young; there’s a new manager. But with all the investment plowed into the club, fans may be justified in asking how much better the club is for all the spending. To focus on some of the positives, Raheem Sterling looks more dangerous than he has in years, and Nicolas Jackson seems like he’ll end up scoring quite a few goals despite missing some sitters. The manager also has experience building squad cohesion, but it’s not out of order to say that Chelsea are very much in need of a result this weekend.

Enter Unai Emery and Aston Villa. The Birmingham outfit have had a rollercoaster start to the season, hammering clubs and getting hammered in nearly equal measure. It took resilience to snatch all three points last time out against Palace, but they stumbled at their first hurdle in Europe. Emery’s side match up well against Chelsea, who have been susceptible to quick attacks in transition. Jhon Durán has come alive and Moussa Diaby, Leon Bailey, and Ollie Watkins are ideal players to break through Chelsea’s fragile defense. If Villa were to lose this match, it would be far from the end of the world for the club. If Chelsea lose, the simmering bad start could boil over to a full on crisis. 

Sheffield United vs. Newcastle United

Bramall Lane, Sunday, 4:30pm Local, 11:30am Eastern

The Blades are likely still smarting from their capitulation to Tottenham deep into added time. They’ve surprised a few people so far this season by being the promoted club with the most points and put in a few eye-catching performances. Despite this, they’re stuck on 2 points and rumors have started to surround the club of the possible return of Chris Wilder, who helmed the club during its last stay in the Premier League - keeping them up before a murky second season. Gustavo Hamer has proven to be a smart addition, chipping in goals, and Wes Foderingham provides a very solid foundation in goal. Newcastle will provide a tough challenge for the Blades, who will need to find a way to hold on in the match to the bitter end - a task they haven’t been up to so far. 

The Magpies, for their part, are coming off the high of Champions league football for the first time in many years. They perhaps didn’t perform to their potential on Tuesday, but came away from the San Siro with a respectable 0-0 draw. Eddie Howe’s side began to right the wrongs of their early season struggles last time out, but we’ve yet to see the club put together consistent showings in the league. Howe will feel his attack should have too much for Sheffield United, with Anthony Gordon, Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak, Miguel Almirón, and Harvey Barnes all vying for starting positions. On paper this match looks easy to call, but the Blades are capable of delivering a surprise, especially at Bramall Lane.