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Ten BIG questions for the weekend’s matches
Alex Keble takes a close look at the main talking points for each of the Matchweek 10 fixtures
Football writer Alex Keble analyses where the weekend fixtures could be won and lost, including:
– Can Arsenal keep their composure at Newcastle?
– Will Postecoglou risk dropping Maddison?
– How will Van Nistelrooy approach Chelsea match?
– Can Bournemouth finally beat Man City?
– Will Ipswich get first league win of the season?
– West Ham face Wood threat at Nott’m Forest
– Chaotic Brighton to test Liverpool’s control
– A clash of styles as Southampton face Everton
– Can Palace build on momentum at Wolves?
– Will Brentford duo extend Fulham’s winless run?
Can Arsenal avoid St James’ Park repeat?
Two wins from five, with nine goals conceded in that time – as many as in the previous 19 combined – is cause for mild alarm as Arsenal slip to five points behind leaders Manchester City.
Things feel a little twitchy at the moment. The last thing the Gunners need is a trip to St James’ Park where Arsenal were handed their first defeat in 2023/24.
The match had a sharp edge long before the VAR spent 246 seconds deliberating on what would prove to be Newcastle’s winning goal.
What Arsenal need now is composure; a victory to get this season’s red cards and dropped points out of their minds.
Newcastle United, sensing vulnerability, might be happy to lean in to another feisty contest.
After all, they’re under a bit of pressure themselves following five consecutive Premier League games without a win.
Nevertheless it’s Arsenal feeling the heat. They need to keep cool heads, hope Gabriel passes a late fitness test, and calmly dispatch of an off-form Newcastle.
They need a win. But more than that, they need to avoid any drama that might open them up to further accusations of being too emotional.
Will Postecoglou risk dropping Maddison?
This feels like an important juncture in the Ange Postecoglou project.
The 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend reopened questions regarding his tactical flexibility and whether Tottenham Hotspur are making adequate strides forward in 2024/25.
In the 4-1 victory over West Ham United a fortnight ago Spurs pulled away after replacing James Maddison with Pape Sarr at half-time, solidifying the base in central midfield, and yet Postecoglou returned to Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski together in the middle at Selhurst Park.
How Spurs line up against Aston Villa will be crucial.
Unai Emery’s team are very midfield-focused, with one or two wingers drifting into attacking midfield positions to receive straight passes from Youri Tielemans; Villa have attacked through the middle 32 per cent of the time, more frequently than any other Premier League side.
That means Spurs must be solid here, so fielding Maddison and Kulusevski as dual No 8s could leave Yves Bissouma to track Jacob Ramsey, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn all on his own.
Emery, as ever, will have devised a detailed tactical plan to expose his opponent’s weaknesses. It’s up to Postecoglou to show he can do the same thing.
How will Van Nistelrooy approach Chelsea encounter?
Manchester United’s 5-2 victory over Leicester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening had all the classic hallmarks of a new (interim) manager bounce.
There was nothing especially unusual about United’s tactical approach under the guidance of a suited Ruud van Nistelrooy, but the goals flowed freely as Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes excelled as if unshackled for the first time this season.
But it told us very little about how Van Nistelrooy – widely expected to be in the dugout on Sunday – will approach facing Chelsea.
Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro are likely to continue in a more stoic and defensive midfield setup, but otherwise we will just have to wait and see if Van Nistelrooy continues with an attacking approach or makes conservative concessions.
One thing’s for sure – this is a much tougher fixture for Chelsea than it looked a week ago.
Nevertheless, Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson will fancy their chances against a United defence that conceded 16 shots against Leicester and two goals.
Can Bournemouth build on Arsenal win?
History suggests AFC Bournemouth have little hope in this match.
They have yet to win any of their 20 league matches against Man City, which is the most one side have faced another without ever winning in English Football League history.
Indeed, Man City have won all 14 of their Premier League matches against Bournemouth by an aggregate score of 45-7, which includes 6-1 and 1-0 successes against Andoni Iraola’s side last season.
But as ever, the continued absence of newly-crowned Ballon d’Or winner Rodri might turn the dial a little.
Bournemouth’s tactics focus predominantly on fast transitions as Antoine Semenyo and Justin Kluivert dribble through the thirds; their 20 shots following a high turnover is a division-high this season.
Those turnovers have helped Bournemouth win their last two Premier League home matches, including a 2-0 victory against Arsenal, and there is an outside chance Pep Guardiola’s team will struggle without Rodri breaking up the play.
Then again, Bournemouth have lost all 11 of their Premier League matches against sides starting the day top of the table, the worst 100 per cent such loss rate in the competition’s history.
Can Ipswich earn vital first win?
For all the praise Ipswich Town have received for their competitiveness in Premier League matches, there comes a time when a winless start begins to affect morale.
Matches against fellow promoted sides are practically must-wins and Ipswich, who drew 1-1 at Southampton last month, simply have to win this one.
Their next three Premier League matches after this are Spurs (A), Man Utd (H), and high-flying Nottingham Forest (A).
Points will be hard to come by there.
Unfortunately for Kieran McKenna, both of Ipswich’s fixtures against Leicester finished level in the Championship last season, and after the Foxes came back from 2-0 down to beat Southampton 3-2 in their last away match, they enter this encounter full of confidence.
Can West Ham stop Wood?
West Ham United were thoroughly outplayed by Man Utd in the first half last weekend and lucky to go in at 0-0 at the break, only to burst into life in the second period thanks to a surprise formation change from Julen Lopetegui.
He switched to a hybrid 5-4-1/4-3-3 formation with Edson Alvarez stepping into midfield when West Ham had the ball, and retreating into the back five when Lopetegui’s side were defending.
Man Utd looked thoroughly confused and West Ham, for the first time this season, had numbers in attack and a solid defensive structure.
It bodes well for the trip to Forest, because a three-man central defence certainly sounds like a good way to handle Chris Wood.
Since October Barclays Manager of the Month nominee Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed Forest head coach, only Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer, with 23 and 22 respectively, have scored more than the 18 goals of Wood. Incidentally, Wood has scored seven goals against West Ham, more than any other top-flight side.
Lopetegui needs a strong plan to stop him. Against Man Utd, he might have discovered the right one.
Will Brighton test Liverpool’s control?
Arne Slot keeps passing the tests put in front of him, although in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal the match perhaps became a little more stretched than he would have liked.
It certainly wasn’t quite the controlled Liverpool we saw in previous matches, at least not until Dominik Szoboszlai came on and Curtis Jones was moved into a deeper role.
Brighton & Hove Albion are agents of chaos. There have been 28 goals in Brighton league matches this season, an average of 3.1 per match, but the speed with which the ball is moving from one end to the other isn’t captured in the statistics.
The starkest example yet was, of course, that crazy moment at the end of the 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, when four Brighton players poured forward on the counter-attack despite Fabian Hurzeler’s side leading with just seconds on the clock.
Most likely, then, this will be an end-to-end encounter that sees Liverpool drawn into the madness. Slot might not enjoy that – but that doesn’t mean his team won’t benefit.
Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, and – most of all – Mohamed Salah should revel in the open spaces.
Salah has been involved in 15 goals in 14 Premier League appearances against Brighton, with nine goals and six assists. His 11 goal involvements this season also mean that he has had a hand in 65 per cent of the team’s total.
Will clash of styles raise more questions for Martin?
Conversations about the suitability of Russell Martin’s proactive possession football will continue for as long as Southampton remain winless in the Premier League, but the tactics talk is likely to go up a notch for the visit of his antithesis, Sean Dyche.
Saints have completed 4,131 passes, the fourth-most in the division, compared with Everton’s 2,487, the fewest.
Southampton have also completed the second-fewest long passes with 245, compared to Everton’s competition-high of 376.
Everton are top of the league for percentage of passes played forward, with 41.9 per cent, with Southampton’s 28.0 per cent the second-lowest.
The clash of styles will no doubt be a talking point, no matter the outcome, but if Everton win and go 11 points clear of Southampton then fresh questions will be asked of Martin’s approach to the relegation battle.
Are Wolves the perfect opponents for Palace?
It’s vital Oliver Glasner uses the 1-0 victory over Spurs last weekend to kick-start Palace’s season, and Wolves could be obliging opponents.
Palace’s problem this season has been creating chances and scoring goals. Only six Premier League teams have conceded fewer goals than their total of 11, which is a remarkable statistic considering Palace hadn’t won a match until last Sunday.
Beating Spurs, then winning 2-1 against a second-string Villa in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, could be enough to get the goals flowing again – and Wolves should be obliging opponents.
Gary O’Neil’s side have conceded 25 goals in nine Premier League outings so far, becoming just the third side to concede 25 or more goals at this stage after Southampton in 2012/13, with 26, and Fulham in 2018/19, with 25.
Wolves have also lost their last five Premier League home matches. This feels like one for Eberechi Eze, if he can recover from the knock he took at Villa. Despite having the third-most shots in the division this season, with 37, hasn’t scored a goal since 1 September.
Will Brentford duo continue Fulham’s slide?
Fulham’s three-match winless run in the Premier League is a false flag.
They were the better side in the 3-2 defeat to Man City, missed a penalty at 1-1 against Villa, and conceded a 94th-minute equaliser in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Everton.
Nevertheless, if the streak goes on much longer Fulham could lose momentum. Defeat in the derby, which would plunge Fulham into the bottom half for the first time this season, could have a big effect on Marco Silva’s side.
And Brentford stand a good chance of victory, with Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo continuing their hugely impressive partnership, netting two goals each in the 4-3 victory over Ipswich.
Wissa has been involved in 10 goals in his last eight league matches, averaging a goal or assist every 52 minutes, while Mbeumo is second in the Premier League goalscoring charts, with eight.
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