Nottingham Forest vs. Sheffield United

City Ground, Friday, 7:45pm Local, 2:45 Eastern

Both Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United kicked off their seasons with narrow losses. If you’re a glass half full kind of person, this match represents an early opportunity for two unfavored sides to get points on the board. If you’re more glass half empty (and most football fans are), failing to get three points from this match would squander a major opportunity to bolster your survival bid.

Forest showed flickers of a potentially great counter attack, with Anthony Elanga and Taiwo Awoniyi already forming a speedy partnership. Back at the City Ground, where the Nottingham side expects to earn most of its points, they will be clear favorites. Sheffield United avoided a lopsided scoreline in their first run out, and created a few decent chances. The Blades have even added a few more players, with Gustavo Hamer, Tom Davies, and Vinícius Souza joining up. However, it’s an open question how this side - which still feels weak on paper - can perform away from home.

Liverpool vs. Bournemouth

Anfield, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

Liverpool host the Cherries in their home opener, with both clubs coming off of 1-1 draws. The Reds have been in the headlines for the wrong reasons since their match with Chelsea, missing out on multiple transfer targets publicly. However, they appear to be regrouping, with additional reinforcements rumored to be arriving soon. While Bournemouth showed resilience in coming back to earn their draw against West Ham, Liverpool will view this match-up as a good opportunity to try out some of their formational flexibility, and it’s likely that we’ll see a thoroughly attacking lineup from the Reds. 

This will be new manager Andoni Iraola’s second opportunity to lead the Cherries. His tactics will likely take a bit of time to settle in, and - while winning or even drawing the match isn’t a must - he will want to see progress each week Bournemouth play. With Liverpool still trying to find their footing, this may be an opportunity to showcase the quality of his counter attacking strategy.

Fulham vs. Brentford

Craven Cottage, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

It’s a West London showdown! Fulham, coming off a fortunate win against Everton, can make an early mark on the season with another victory. Brentford, however, earned a quality draw against Tottenham where they seemed the more likely team to earn all three points. Both of these clubs have questions about where they stack up to last year’s versions of themselves, so this will be a great bellwether of where they stand. 

It’s not all positive for Fulham, as it’s looking like Aleksandar Mitrović may indeed be departing after it seemed a move to Saudi Arabia had stalled. Raúl Jiménez carved out a few opportunities, and they’ve added Adama Traoré on a free - but these two additions from Wolves have not shown consistent scoring ability recently. Brentford have shown they can score without Ivan Toney, but will need to prove that point again versus a team who will force them to take a bit more initiative and may well be less open to counter attacks. 

Wolves vs. Brighton & Hove Albion

Molineux, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

Wolves shocked viewers by being the better team against Manchester United, despite losing 1-0. New manager Gary O’Neil had only been in the midlands for a few days before that match, and now has more time on the training ground under his belt plus a home crowd behind him. While their performance was surprising, their inability to capitalize on good scoring opportunities wasn’t. Matheus Cunha in particular showed his quality on the ball without demonstrating his finishing. If he continues to improve, Wolves’s prospects look much brighter that they did going into the campaign.

But, let’s not forget that Brighton is coming to town. The Seagulls defeated Luton Town comfortably, pulling away with late goals by wunderkinds to win 4-1. They seem to have lost none of their attacking prowess despite selling on most of their midfield. With respect to Luton, this match should give viewers more information on where Brighton’s level is this season. If they’re able to defeat Wolves easily away from home, they’ll be well on their way to entrenching themselves in the upper reaches of the table.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

Spurs’ home opener brings a seriously exciting early season clash with the Red Devils. Both clubs will feel that they’ve yet to show their best, and this matchup has the power to dictate the discourse for two recent powerhouses. Manchester United have a win under their belt already, but the performance has been dissected and derided - and it could easily have been a different result barring a howler from the VAR. Most of the focus has been on the revamped midfield, with Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes’ partnership exposing Casemiro. It was only one game, but as much as the Red Devils will have worked to try and solve the issue, Spurs will also have worked on ways to exploit that dynamic. 

Tottenham have had another week on the training ground to bed in their new tactics, and some of their players - Yves Bissouma in particular - already seem suited to the changes. Spurs’ challenge remains the same, however, and they’ll need to adapt to a new style without falling away from the top of the table. These clubs are far from their final forms, and in that way this matchup perhaps comes too soon. That said, for neutrals this game is a juicy prospect this early in the season.

Manchester City vs. Newcastle United

Etihad Stadium, Saturday, 8pm Local, 3pm Eastern

Looking over the menu of games, this one just pips Spurs v. United for the match of the weekend. How could you not look forward to last year’s champions versus the club who crashed the top four, especially with both coming off dominant victories? City will need to make do without Kevin De Bruyne for 3 to 4 months, and this will absolutely tax their squad. They have a top level replacement available in Mateo Kovačić, but Guardiola likes to operate with a slightly smaller squad so any injury concerns can add up quickly. All that said, the Manchester outfit still has the most dominant attacking player in the world in Erling Haaland and they’ve found a way to start him and World Cup winner Julián Álvarez together. 

Newcastle have come out of the first Match Week with more hype than anyone, after absolutely demolishing Aston Villa - a side many have picked to challenge this season. We shouldn’t read too much into single performances, especially this early in the campaign, but it’s a mouthwatering prospect to see these two early favorites square off. Unlike Spurs and United, this match feels more like two clubs facing each other at the top of their powers. If we get a winner, they’ll end the second weekend of the Premier League in the early driver’s seat.

Aston Villa vs. Everton

Villa Park, Sunday, 2pm Local, 9am Eastern 

Both clubs are stinging from first weekend defeats - but in unique ways. Everton will feel they left a golden opportunity for three points slip through their fingers (or more aptly crash against the goal post), while Villa will be regrouping after an absolute humbling at St. James Park. Despite the difference in their margins of defeat, the pressure in this match lands squarely on Everton’s shoulders. After narrowly avoiding relegation two seasons in a row, potentially starting a new campaign with two straight losses is a terrifying proposition. They need to sort out who is going to score their goals, and they need to do it quickly. Neal Maupay has done nothing to convince, and fans of the Toffees will be desperate to see Dominic Calvert-Lewin or new signing Youssef Chermiti lining up for the club. Winger Jack Harrison has joined up as well, but is not yet fit to play. 

Aston Villa will look to erase their first performance from their memories as quickly as possible. That may prove easier said than done, especially considering they’ll be missing the veteran leadership of Tyrone Mings, who has confirmed that he tore his ACL against Newcastle. They’ve added a positional replacement in Pau Torres, but Mings offered more on the defensive side than the new signing. The Birmingham club will look to their star striker, Ollie Watkins, to turn the tide of their first week struggles and hope that the budding partnership he has with Moussa Diaby will be enough to fire them ahead of the Merseyside outfit. 

West Ham United vs. Chelsea

London Stadium, Sunday, 4:30pm Local, 11:30am Eastern

Two clubs looking for their first victory square off in a London Derby on Sunday. Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea side showed signs that they’re adapting well to his new style of play and will be especially encouraged by how well they grew into their match against Liverpool. Enzo Fernández looks to be enjoying his new role and will finally be joined by long-term transfer target Moisés Caicedo. The young man from Ecuador should give Fernández license to roam into more dangerous parts of the pitch without opening the team up to counter attacks. There are plenty of reasons for this Chelsea team to feel they’re moving in the right direction, and this matchup in East London is a chance to lay down a marker.

West Ham are one of a few clubs leaving their major business late in the transfer window. Edson Álvarez and James Ward-Prowse have completed their moves to the Hammers, and they may both be ready to contribute this weekend. However, their attempt to sign Harry Maguire has fallen through and Manchester City is still circling for Lucas Paquetá. Selling players for a profit is all well and good, but if they leave the sales too late in the window they’re in danger of not having time to adequately replace them. No alarm bells will be ringing in the West Ham camp after their decent draw with Bournemouth, but a big loss here could pile stress on the club. 

Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal

Selhurst Park, Monday, 8pm Local, 3pm Eastern

In the third and final London Derby of the weekend, the Eagles host the Gunners at Selhurst Park. Both teams began their campaigns with victories and will look to compound their good starts on Monday night. Crystal Palace ultimately won away comfortably at Sheffield United, and will be boosted by star youngster Michael Olise spurning Chelsea and signing a new contract. Olise is still injured, however, and it will be up to Eberechi Eze, Jordan Ayew, and Odsonne Édouard to prove they can hold their own with Arsenal. 

Arsenal won behind two flashy goals in their first match, but underlying stats showed that it was far from a dominant victory. They conceded a late goal to a counter attack and will look at some of the talent in Palace’s side with trepidation. This is not to say that the Gunners should be panicking at all, but they may feel pressure to not only win this match but to do so ruthlessly - especially when they see that all their fellow top 4 finishers last season also started with wins. Whether or not they can harness this extra motivation will play out under the lights in South London, and Crystal Palace will look to create some home field magic. 

Luton Town vs. Burnley

Postponed to later date to allow for Luton Town to complete stadium upgrades