Premier Table Match Week 7 Preview

A somewhat lackluster fixtures schedule has many watchers focused on Elland Road where Michael Carrick desperately needs a win by visiting Manchester United to relieve the pressure on the besieged manager. Things have turned quickly for Carrick, who was riding high off a third-place finish last season but now, with a well-earned contract in hand, cannot seem to do anything right. The Red Devils have but one Premier League victory in six tries, managed to only draw versus relegation zone resident Spurs last weekend and lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in the Champions Legue mid-week for good measure. Leeds lost for the first time last weekend when the Whites squandered an early lead in a 2-1 loss to defending champion Arsenal. The Whites will be looking for a strong rebound in front of the home supporters on Sunday.

Arsenal moves on to Nottingham Forest this week. Tricky Trees Manager Oliver Glasner is smarting from taking a beating at his former club Crystal Palace this past week and the defending champions are not welcome visitors as Glasner tries to gain traction with City Ground supporters.

Manchester City returns to the friendly confines of the Etihad after hearing nothing but vitriol from Liverpool supporters at Anfield last weekend. Despite the sticks and stones, City powered by the homestanding Reds and can be expected to provide a rude welcome to visiting Ipswich.

The little understood rivalry between Brighton and Crystal Place rekindles with another M23 derby on Sunday. The enmity between the clubs dates to a long-ago manager feud and not geographic proximity between two clubs separated by over 40 miles. Despite its odd origination, the rivalry continues with a passionate dislike between the supporter groups.

Brentford is only three points behind Brighton as both are unusual occupants of top four positions in the table. The Bees are home Saturday to a club which is usually found in those places but this year not so much. Liverpool is still adapting to the new Andoni Iraola era and suffered an embarrassing 3-0 Anfield whitewashing last week versus Man City. Brentford has crept into the top four despite winning just twice, identical 3-0 scorelines over Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, while drawing the rest of its matches.

Spurs is still looking for a first win as Manager Roberto De Zerbi’s club are home to Coventry on Monday. The Sky Blues are suddenly on a two-match winning run as they look to extend Spurs’ misery. Coventry pummeled Newcastle last week, raising questions about new Magpie manager Matthias Jaissle, whose side has been beaten 4-1 in two of its last three matches. Aston Villa visits St. James Park Saturday.

Chelsea seemed rejuvenated by the international break when the Blues rolled to an easy 5-1 win over Bournemouth. A tougher test awaits at Everton this weekend with David Moyes working wonders with his Toffee squad to date. Everton has not lost yet this season despite ownership having shortchanged the club in the recent transfer window and the club now being openly proclaimed for sale by The Friedkin Group. The Toffees are currently fifth in the table, well beyond where anyone would expect them to be right now. Lacking in attacking flair, Moyes has his thin squad playing disciplined football as no one has conceded fewer goals than the Toffees this season.

Bournemouth will try to pick up the pieces when they return home to Vitality Stadium after being non-competitive away at Stamford Bridge last week. Sunderland will be in town trying to snap a three-match losing run which has landed the Black Cats just a point above currently relegation bound opponent Bournemouth. Sunderland’s poor streak is just a bit misleading, of course, as the losses came against the top three teams in the table. Bournemouth presents a much tastier opportunity for the Cats.

A good start to the season has placed newly promoted Hull six points above the relegation line as the Tigers travel to London to face Fulham on Saturday. The Cottagers are reeling at the bottom of the table with Manager Alvaro Arbeloa feeling the heat. A loss to Hull and then Coventry the following week would almost assuredly put a premature end to the Spaniard’s debut Premier League season.

Premier Table Match Week 6 Results: Unfazed Manchester City Flexes Versus Liverpool; Arsenal Shakes Off Rust, Defeats Leeds; Crystal Palace Wins Glasner Derby; Carrick’s Seat Grows Hotter With Spurs Draw; Chelsea Feasts On Cherries; Coventry Thrashes Newcastle

Unfazed by guilty verdicts and rumored penalties, Manchester City seemed gleeful to return to the pitch and hang a home loss on the club which has greatest reason to despise the Manchester City juggernaut. Liverpool supporters at Anfield were understandably vocal in reminding the visitors of their now official status as “cheaters.” Manchester City calmly dealt with the vitriol and toxic atmosphere as Liverpool failed to capitalize on the emotion of their supporters. The homestanding Reds then went down to 10 men in the 62nd minute on a Ryan Gravenrberch foul and it was all over. Erling Haaland opened the gates with his sixth goal of the season just three minutes after Gravenberch’s exit. Manchester City then laid on two more goals to remain atop the Premier League table.

Arsenal, meanwhile, stayed three points back with a comeback 2-1 win over Leeds. Arsenal’s depth was on full display when former Newcastle star Bruno Guimaraes came on as a substitute and won the game for Arsenal with his 70th minute strike.

ARSENAL TURN IT AROUND 😳 Bruno Guimarães first goal at Emirates 🔥 🔴 Arsenal: 2 🟡 Leeds United: 1 ⏱️ 70’ https://t.co/5KQw4eD19M

— USA Sports (@usasports) October 10, 2026

Chelsea exploded from the gate after the international pause to batter Bournemouth 5-1 at Stamford Bridge4. Has Xabi Alonso finally got through to his charges and is Chelsea’s massive financial investment ready to show a return? Or is Bournemouth just dreadful? There is certainly an element of the latter as the ancient one, Jordan Hendersen had two goals and an assist for the Blues. That cannot be expected to happen again when the Blues face stouter competition than the winless Cherries. Joao Pedro also scored twice against the hapless visitors.

Brighton, meanwhile, has been consistently good, the Seagulls remaining third in the Premier League table after a 2-0 win at Sunderland. Brighton’s goal output versus the Black Cats was even a touch below their lofty standard. The Seagulls continue to lead the league with 18 goals in their six matches, an eye popping three goals per game average. That high flying attack is complemented by a defense which is tied for the league best in fewest goals conceded. Sunderland, however, was by no means cowed and threatened to derail the Brighton parade when the Seagulls went down to 10 men in the 53rd minute while protecting a one goal advantage. The Brighton defense held and the undermanned Seagulls extended the lead in stoppage time as left back Jaouen Hadjam scored his first goal for the club. A more veteran Seagull also made the scoresheet on Saturday when veteran Pascal Gross assisted the Seagulls’ first goal and became the oldest Premier League player since Ryan Giggs to register an assist in three consecutive matches.

Giggs’s former club, Mancheter United, is currently laboring under the managerial reins of Giggs’ former teammate Micheal Carrick. After a remarkable third place finish last season which put the Red Devils back in the Champions League and secured Carrick a permanent contract, United has struggled this season. Woeful Tottenham Hotspur should have been an easy mark at Old Trafford. That was not the case as Spurs dominated much of the play and emerged with a point when Dominic Solanke netted an equalizer in stoppage time for the visiting north Londoners who were down a man from the 78th minute onward. Boos rained down upon Manchester United at the end of each half as the mood has fully turned from the optimism which Carrick inspired last season. Manchester United, its only win coming over newly promoted Ipswich, has made its worst start to a Premier League season since 1986.

Another manager seemed poised to have as ugly a day as Carrick when Crystal Palace Manager Pierre Sage saw his Eagles go down a goal to Nottingham Forest in the early going at Selhurst Park. Standing on the opposite touchline was Oliver Glasner, the man who brought European football and an FA Cup trophy to south London before bolting the Eagles for the Tricky Trees after last season. A win by Glasner in his return would have been poor optics for the new Eagles gaffer whose side had been largely unimpressive in the initial stages of the post Glasner era. Palace responded in a big way, however, by scoring three consecutive goals to chop down the Trees. Glasner limped out of Selhurst with a result that saw his new side fall below his former side in the table.

The very bottom of that table now has no promoted side inhabiting the dreaded three relegation spots. Hull has lost but once this season and remains in the top half of the table after a 2-2 draw with visiting Everton. Mohamed Belloumi scored the 73rd minute equalizer which kept Hull undefeated at home this season.

Ipswich Town won for a second time this season and cranked up the heat on Fulham Manager Alvaro Arbeloa with the Tractor Boys 2-1 defeat of the Cottagers at Portman Road. Winless Fulham sits at the bottom of the Premier League table with but two points from its six matches. On Saturday, the Cottagers seemed headed for that elusive first victory until Ipswich scored twice after the 87th minute of play to take all three points.

Newly promoted Coventry City emerged from the relegation zone with a second consecutive victory. After edging Nottingham Forest 1-0 before the break, the Sky Blues exploded for four goals Monday in a raucous home win over Newcastle. It marked the first Premier League home win for Coventry in 25 years. There may be hope after all for a Coventry side which had seemed doomed after failing to score a goal in losing its first four matches.

Aston Villa scored a single goal in its first four matches but has scored five in its last two outings after drawing 2-2 with Brentford at Villa Park. Unfortunately for Manager Unai Emery’s side, the Villans squandered two leads to a Brentford side which stayed in the top four with Saturday’s away point.

Premier Table Match Week 6 Preview: The Premier League Returns

The Premier League returns to action after a lengthy international break. The time away tends to cloud exactly where things stand.

Manchester City is undefeated with five wins in five outings to date. The Citizens were also the focus of news stories of a less pleasant nature in the intervening weeks. The independent commission, which seems like it has been investigating Manchester City for decades (it has been years), has finally made some decisions and found Manchester City guilty of 114 out of 115 charges for violating financial fair play guidelines across a tile laden nine-year span. Punishment is expected to be determined within weeks, but Manchester City will be appealing as the club’s ownership continues to maintain its innocence. Somewhat comically, one of the defenses is that the United Arab Emirates government and not the principal owner Sheik Mansour was channeling money to the club through bogus sponsorship fronts. In any event, Manchester City will take to the pitch on Saturday with many of its players waiting for the next shoe to drop. The Citizens will be at Anfield where Liverpool players and supporters will likely both be angered by having twice lost the Premier League title by a single point to a cheating Manchester City.

Back to it 🫡 https://t.co/j8ic5R2vv5

— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 8, 2026

 

Arsenal, meanwhile, will be rooting for the Reds to take a measure of revenge on their visiting rivals as the Gunners will be more than happy to take advantage of any slip by front running Manchester City. The Gunners are three points back from the table lead and will be anxious to put their demoralizing pre-break defeat to Brighton behind them. Arsenal will be hosting Leeds at the Emirates.

Brighton are just two points back of the Gunners after their 3-0 win over the defending champions three weeks ago. The Seagulls will be at the Stadium of Light to face a Sunderland side which is struggling after a promising promotion season which saw them qualify for Europe. The Black Cats have now stumbled out of gate to lose three of their five league matches before adjourning for the break.

Brentford, on the other hand, is a surprise top four club after five matches. The Bees travel to underperforming Aston Villa on Saturday. The Villans got their first win of the season in their last match but that was over a deplorable Tottenham Hotspur side.

Spurs manger Roberto De Zerbi would normally be feeling the heat with a winless side which has scored only two goals after some heavy offseason investment. The club, however, lured him with a lucrative deal to save them from relegation last season. They would surely pause before triggering a massive termination package. Things would instantly look brighter for Spurs if the bedraggled side could steal a win at Old Trafford on Sunday against a Manchester United side which has also underperformed, winning just once.

Disappointment hovered over Stamford Bridge during the break as well after Chelsea captured just a single point from its last three matches before getting the merciful international breather. The Blues will host Bournemouth which is trying to overcome the loss of beloved Manager Andoni Iraola who left for the greener patches of Anfield. New man Marco Rose has big shoes to fill, and it is not going great with the former RB Leipzig manager still seeking his first Premier League win.

Former Crystal Palace Manager Oliver Glasner returns to Selhurst Park where he delivered unrivaled success before walking out on Crystal Palace and taking a surprise posting at Nottingham Forest. The Tricky Trees visit Selhurst with both sides looking similar and swimming hard to stay above the relegation fray. Will Palace supporters hail their former hero or deride Glasner as an unloyal zero whose new pastures are not all that much greener?

Smoke meets mirrors at Hull City when the Tigers host Everton. Neither roster is impressive, particularly in attack. Hull was just promoted and Everton is for sale. But somehow the Tigers and Toffees both sit in the top half of the table. Kudos to Hull Manager Sergej Jakirovic, a newcomer to the Premier League, and Everton sage David Moyes who is celebrating 20 years in the league.

Newly promoted Ipswich Town sits just outside the top half after scoring two victories in the early stages of its promotion season, rocking Sunderland on opening day and later going into Selhurst Park to take three points from Crystal Palace. Next up for the Tractor Boys is a visit form Fulham where new Manager Alvaro Arbeloa has seen a response from his side in posting draws with bigger clubs Liverpool and Manchester United after starting his tenure in London with three straight losses.

Frank Lampard finally saw a sign of life from his Coventry squad when the Sky Blues defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 before the break, ending a run of four losses. Lampard still faces a challenging year, however, with the goal against Nottingham Forest being the only time his side has found the net in five matches. Coventry hosts Newcastle on Monday to close out the Premier League weekend.