Premier League Week 10 Preview

Is it time to give some respect to Bournemouth? The Cherries are riding the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League, having not lost since opening weekend. An aggressive, pressing style has also made them a good watch as they have piled up their points. The best start in the club’s history has put Bournemouth behind only Arsenal in the Premier League table. The streaking Cherries now face a litmus test Sunday at the Etihad, a venue where the Cherries have never won a Premier League game. Manchester City has lost a third of its Premier League matches this season, seeming less balanced than some of Manager Pep Giuardiola’s vintage sides. Striker Erling Haaland and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma provide the star power for Guardiola.

Thomas Frank has Tottenham Hotspur third in the table in his debut season with the club as Spurs host a London derby with Chelsea this weekend. Surprisingly, however, Frank’s side has taken only one point from the last three Premier League fixtures at its state-of-the-art stadium. Chelsea, which has slid all the way to ninth in the table after losing three of its last five Premier League matches, will try to rebound from a shocking loss at Stamford Bridge to Sunderland last weekend.

Meanwhile, things continue to spiral for Liverpool. The Reds have lost four consecutive league matches and on Wednesday in the EFL Cup lost for a third consecutive time to Crystal Palace. Liverpool Manager Arne Slot was eviscerated by the press for making 10 changes to his lineup and heaping further disillusionment upon his dispirited club.

I think the performance and ultimately the result of the Aston Villa match this weekend could well be a watershed moment for the boss#LIVAVL pic.twitter.com/WF6QiZ4PhN

— James (@HotActionKOP) October 30, 2025

Hopefully, Slot’s resting of key players will bear some benefit at Anfield on Saturday against an Aston Villa side which is trending in a positive direction. Villa has won four straight Premier League contests after failing to win even one of their first five outings. The recent victories have not come at the expense of lesser clubs either. Aston Villa has defeated top five sides Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City for its last two wins.

Perhaps the most surprising winning run has been that of Manchester United. Just as supporters seemed ready to give up on Manager Ruben Amorim, the Red Devils have won four of their last five league matches to creep up to sixth in the table. Manchester United visits Nottingham Forest Saturday. The Tricky Trees have not scored a goal in their last four league matches as they seek to avoid a fifth consecutive loss.

Brentford has won three of its last four matches as it heads to Selhurst Park for a London derby with Crystal Palace. Forward Igor Thiago has six goals in his nine matches for the Bees this season. The Eagles, meanwhile, have lost two of their last three league matches following the end of the club’s historic 19 match unbeaten run across all competitions. Palace was a 1-0 loser at league leading Arsenal last week, falling victim to the Gunners’ sixth clean sheet  of the season.

Arsenal has conceded only three times in its nine matches as it heads to Burnley this weekend. After nine matches, Sunderland has posted the best start for a promoted side in 17 years. The Black Cats are impressively perched fourth in the table as they host an Everton side on Monday which has lost three of its four away matches so far this season.

Leeds has also lost three times on the road this season as the Whites travel to Brighton where the Seagulls have yet to lose a Premier League match at Amex Stadium this season. It is getting late early for Wolverhampton, which has yet to win a single match this season and has captured only two points from its nine matches. The league’s doormat travels to Fulham this weekend with Wolves Manager Vitor Pereira squarely on the hot seat despite receiving a quizzical contract extension earlier this season.

West Ham is already on its second manager of this season as the currently relegation bound Hammers host Newcastle. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo will try to give supporters their first league win of the season at London Stadium on Sunday versus the Magpies. 

Premier League Week 9 Results

A win over Eintracht Frankfurt during the week proved a false positive for the Liverpool revival. The Reds returned to their losing ways with a fourth consecutive Premier League loss, this time losing 3-2 at Brentford. The trouble on Saturday began almost immediately when Dango Ouattara scored in the fifth minute. The Reds would twice fall behind by two goals in the match, a late 89th minute goal by Mohamed Salah proving too little, too late as Manager Arne Slot’s club tumbled to seventh in the table. While Slot struggles to find answers for his defending champions, Brentford Manager Keith Andrews deserves some early season kudos. Andrews is a first-time manager who took the reins from well-regarded current Spurs Manager Thomas Frank. Andrews was also handed a roster stripped in the off season of star forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa and team captain Christian Norgaard. A relegation battle might have been on the cards, but Andrews has guided the Bees to four victories already and kept them solidly in the middle of the table. Credit goes to the entire organization for responding to key departures with some shrewd investments. Among those incoming assets were Ouattara, midfielder Jordan Henderson and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

On we go together 🐝 pic.twitter.com/yGcUJjxV6p

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) October 27, 2025

Astute moves to compensate for the loss of star players is essential to clubs such as Brentford and Crystal Palace who invariably develop players only to see them move on to hoped for better things at larger clubs. Eberechi Eze is one of those players who has climbed the career ladder. Eze became a star at Crystal Palace, earning a place on the English national team, before moving on to title contender Arsenal this summer. It was Eze who scored the Arsenal winner on Sunday to defeat Crystal Palace 1-0 at the Emirates. Eze’s 39th minute goal came from a set piece, the eleventh time Arsenal has scored from a dead ball situation this season. Unrivaled set piece mastery and a stifling defense has fueled Arsenal’s current ten match unbeaten run. The Gunners have not allowed a goal in their past five Premier League matches, all victories, and are one of just two clubs to have lost just once this season.

Bournemouth is the second such club with just that single taste of defeat and the Cherries are now second in the table after a 2-0 defeat of Nottingham Forest. The Tricky Trees, meanwhile, had little time to celebrate a midweek Europa League win over Porto before coming back to earth at Vitality Stadium. Bournemouth remained undefeated at home with two first half goals that put the Tricky trees on their heels and provided a sobering reminder of the challenge that Nottingham Forest Manager Sean Dyche faces to keep his club playing in the Premier League next season.

Another difficult hurdle awaits the Trees next week against in-form Manchester United. Bryan Mbuemo scored a brace, and Matheus Cunha scored his first goal for the club to key Manchester United’s 4-2 win at Old Trafford over Brighton. The Red Devils won their third consecutive match to move up to sixth in the Premier League table and further mute the once deafening criticism of Manager Ruben Amorim. Manchester United is now just two points behind second place Bournemouth in the crowded upper tier of the league table.

Amorim’s much criticized crew is level on points with rival Manchester City after the Citizens’ 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa. Manchester City had not lost since August before Matty Cash’s goal made City the fourth consecutive Premier League opponent to fall to streaking Aston Villa. Villa now takes its four-match winning run to Liverpool next week where the Reds will be trying to snap their own four-match losing skein. Aston Villa moved past Chelsea and Crystal Place into eighth place with Sunday’s win.

Chelsea lost to newly promoted Sunderland in a 2-1 final at Stamford Bridge. Chemsdine Talbi scored in the 93rd minute to claim the three points for the Black Cats who are shockingly a top four club after nine Premier League matches.

The other two promoted sides also won this past weekend. Leeds began the Week 9 slate with a 2-1 win over West Ham on Friday. The Whites are six points clear of the drop line after their second home victory of the season while West Ham remains mired in the relegation zone after its seventh loss in the last nine matches. Burnley kept Wolverhampton winless for the season as the Clarets won 3-2 away at Molineux Stadium where Lyle Foster scored Burnley’s 95th minute winner in front of a Molineaux crowd which notably turned on Wolves Manager Vito Pereira for the first time. Chants regarding his “being sacked in the morning” are something new for Pereira who became a fan favorite in better times last season.

Things are going just fine for Tottenham Hotspur Manager Thomas Frank in his debut season for the London club. Spurs were easy 3-0 winners at Everton Sunday as Micky van de Ven’s two first half headed goals helped to inflict the first loss for Everton at its new Hill Dickinson Stadium. Spurs are third in the Premier League table after being the last club to survive last season’ s Premier League campaign under former manager Ange Postecoglou. Another London side currently sits in the table’s barely safe 17th position.

Fulham lost 2-1 to Newcastle to fall within three points of the drop after the Cottagers’ fourth consecutive Premier League loss. There are thus relegation battle implications when Fulham welcomes Wolverhampton to Craven Cottage this coming Saturday.

Premier League Week 9 Preview

Table leader Arsenal hosts Crystal Palace on Sunday in a matchup featuring two of the three remaining league teams to have lost just once in the league this season. Arsenal sits atop the table intent on putting an end to its run of three consecutive bridesmaid finishes in the league. Arsenal spent heavily in the offseason to reinforce a squad that has finished second the last three seasons. So far, so good as the Gunners stand atop the Premier League table after eight matches. On Tuesday, the Gunners smashed Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, has been a force to reckon with under Manager Oliver Glasner. The Eagles were on a club record 19 match unbeaten run before losing at Everton earlier this month. Palace showed grit last week by closing a two-goal deficit against a quality Bournemouth side in a 3-3 final at Selhurst Park which featured three goals from rising star JP Mateta. A 1-0 Europa Conference League defeat to AEK  Larnaca, however, extended the Eagles’ current winless run to three matches and Mateta will face a difficult challenge Sunday against the Arsenal center back duo of Gabriel and William Saliba.

Manchester City is just three points behind Arsenal as the Citizens prepare for their Sunday matchup at Aston Villa. Erling Haaland is on a tear, having scored in 12 consecutive games across all competitions after his goal in Manchester City’s midweek Champions League win over Villareal. Manchester City’s defense has also contributed to a resurgence in the Premier League standings as only Arsenal has conceded fewer goals than the Citizens’ defense. There could be a problem on Sunday should Nico Gonzalez not recover quickly from a foot injury suffered in the Villareal win. Gonzalez has filled in admirably for the injured Rodri as Manchester City’s holding midfielder. Aston Villa has won three consecutive Premier League matches to begin a slow climb up the table after a tortuous five match winless run to start the season. Villa Park has been a safe haven for the home side as Aston Villa has lost only one of its past 22 matches at its historic venue.

Saturday afternoons at the Etihad... 🤩 pic.twitter.com/GnJwl741NQ

— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) October 18, 2025

Bournemouth is undefeated at home so far this season at Vitality Stadium. Three wins and a draw at home have helped the Cherries crack the top four of the Premier League. Much of the attention on its Saturday match, however, will be upon visiting Nottingham Forest and its new manager. Sean Dyche has replaced the recently departed Ange Postecoglou to right the ship for the Tricky Trees. Dyche’s experience with relegation battles at Burnley and Everton certainly factored in his appointment. More importantly, however, Dyche’s organized approach featuring defensive solidity and swift counterattacking seems a much better fit for the Nottingham Forest squad assembled for the similar style of Postecoglou’s predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo. The madcap “Ange Ball” era ended after eight matches where the Trees conceded 20 times. The anticipation is that Dyche will restore the defensive discipline accompanied by swift counterattacking which helped the Tricky Trees to European qualification last season.

The architect of that European qualification, Nuno Espirito Santo, is onto a new challenge with West Ham. The Hammers visit Leeds on Saturday in a match with potential relegation implications. West Ham is currently in the relegation zone while newly promoted Leeds hovers three points above the drop line after losing back-to-back matches.

Liverpool had shockingly lost four straight matches across all competitions before a breakout 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Tuesday. Manager Arne Slot changed things up by reinserting Hugo Etitike in his starting lineup alongside Alexander Isak and was rewarded when the Frenchman scored against his former club. Isak, however, was again unimpressive and was withdrawn at halftime after sustaining a groin injury. Jeremie Frimpong was also injured in the midweek clash, leaving Liverpool shorthanded as it tries to build on its newfound momentum at Brentford on Saturday.

Chelsea also dominated in the Champions League this week, demolishing Ajax by the same 5-1 scoreline. The Champions League romp followed on a 3-0 victory in league play last weekend which ended the tenure of Nottingham Forest Manager Ange Postecoglou. Fifth place Chelsea faces a league opponent on Saturday which is surprisingly level on points with the Blues.

Sunderland visits Stamford Bridge, having put together one of the more impressive starts by a newly promoted side in recent memory. All three promoted sides have, in fact, experienced better success than what has come to be expected from newcomer clubs. Sunderland, Leeds and Burnley are all presently clear of the relegation zone and their accumulated 29 points in total exceeds that accomplished by any promoted threesome in the last ten years. Burnley hopes to build on that success with a pivotal match at bottom of the table Wolverhampton on Saturday.

Fulham, meanwhile, has lost three consecutive matches to put the Cottagers just three points above the dreaded drop line. The Cottagers did little to strengthen their squad over the summer and could risk be at risk for both maintaining their top tier status and potentially losing well regarded manager Marco Silva. Silva takes his squad to Newcastle this weekend with the Magpies just a point better than Fulham and still trying to kickstart an attack decimated by the transfer loss of Alexander Isak.

Manchester United has suddenly won three of its last three Premier League matches to reduce the din of its unhappy supporters to a dull roar. Last week’s win at Anfield was certainly cause for celebration but this week’s match for the Red Devils against a quality Brighton side should give a hint as to whether there is real progress with Amorim’s squad or if his charges were beneficiaries of Liverpool’s slumping form.

Tottenham Hotspur has for the most part played quality football under new Manager Thomas Frank before a surprising defeat at home to Aston Villa last week. Spurs now takes to the road this weekend to face Everton which is unbeaten in four league matches at its new stadium.