The Carabao Cup threw up some interesting results in midweek but the Premier League takes centre stage once again this weekend.
After rescuing a point against Arsenal last weekend, Manchester City face a tough trip to Newcastle without injured midfielder Rodri, who appears set to miss the rest of the season.
The Gunners, meanwhile, entertain struggling Leicester while the big game of the weekend sees Manchester United entertain Spurs at Old Trafford.
As ever, Betfair Ambassador Alan Shearer previews the action for Metro.co.uk…
Newcastle v Man City
Over the years, we’ve seen some blockbuster games between Newcastle and City at St Jame’s Park, and I’m expecting the same again for a couple of reasons.
Newcastle’s cup game has been cancelled so they have a free week in terms of no midweek football. Man City on the other hand will go into the game without Rodri. Having said that, Man City can still hurt you with the players they have.
It’ll be a really tough game. City will still be favourites for the title and favourites for this game but it’ll be a really good atmosphere and Newcastle will have to feed off that.
When you’re as poor as they were against Fulham, you have a right of response and they have to respond in the right way because, prior to last week, without playing well they were getting results, so the match against Fulham was a bit of an eye opener and a reminder to who and what Newcastle are.
So many games last year and the year before, Newcastle’s identity was about pressing teams, being aggressive, putting teams under huge pressure with energy and determination and we haven’t seen that yet this season so they have to get that back into their game. If they can do that on Saturday then it’ll be really tough for Man City. I’m going to go for a draw.
Chelsea v Brighton
Brighton are unbeaten. I watched the game against Nottingham Forest and they play a really, really high line and have conceded four goals this season and all four have been because of that high line. If they can get it right and make decisions in terms of when and how to do it then I see them continuing to concede goals.
Chelsea are in really good form, Nicolas Jackson is really enjoying himself of late and given the form they’re in, I’ll go for a Chelsea win.
Brentford v West Ham
Two disappointing results for both Brentford and West Ham last weekend. I don’t think anyone really expected Brentford to get anything. If West Ham lose this you’ll hear the noise already there and Brentford are strong at home and very direct so I’ll go for a score draw.
Everton v Crystal Palace
What a tough one to predict. Everton are under huge pressure and they’ve just got news of the new takeover. Palace are not really scoring as many goals as they possibly could or should. I’m going to go for a draw.
Arsenal v Leicester
I can’t see Arsenal being as defensive in this one as they were for the second half at the Etihad! It’d be a huge surprise if Leicester took a point back. I can’t see it happening with the form that Arsenal are in and the confidence and belief they’ll take from last week’s result. I won’t go with anything crazy, I just see a convincing home win.
Nottingham Forest v Fulham
Fulham impressed last week but so did Nottingham Forest. I see Forest winning here. I know they’ll have to do without Gibbs-White but I think they can get a win and carry on their unbeaten run.
Wolves v Liverpool
Wolves did alright for large parts of the game against Aston Villa but I think Liverpool will have too much for them in forward positions so I’ll go for an away win.
Ipswich v Aston Villa
Ipswich are yet to win and I think the form that Aston Villa are in, the confidence they have and the way they’re scoring goals, I think Villa will have too much for them so I’ll say away win. I know Jhon Duran is scoring every time he comes on and Watkins is now up and running but the standout performer has been Morgan Rogers. He’s been absolutely magnificent.
Man United v Spurs
This is a huge game in terms of the top four. Both teams haven’t had the start they wanted albeit Spurs won last weekend, it’s a really tough one to call. Both teams aren’t in great form. It won’t be a great result for either team but I can see this being a draw.
It was really interesting of Ten Hag to leave Marcus Rashford out, which I found really strange. Whether it was because of a knock or for a disciplinary reason, whatever it was, when you’re a forward and you haven’t scored for such a long time, you get your goal and then another two in midweek, then you’re left out three or four days later. I found it really strange.
My guess is that he’ll be back in the team this week and if he can take the form from the last two games, he’ll be a key figure in what happens for Man United. He always is.
Spurs have players that can hurt United. James Maddison is a top player, he’s one of the players that could say he played his part and did okay during Spurs’ slow start to the season. I’m a fan of his, I like what he brings to the team and he got his goal last weekend. Confidence wise, that’ll be great for him and he’ll play a huge part, absolutely.
If Spurs do get into those positions and turn chances into goals then it’ll be tough for Man United as well because they do give you chances and that’s why I see it being a score draw.
Bournemouth v Southampton
It was a real bitter blow for Southampton in terms of conceding so late in the game. They have some good players but are without a win. It’s a South Coast derby so I’ll go for a draw.
For more from Betfair Ambassador Alan Shearer, head to https://betting.betfair.com/football/alan-shearer/.
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