Both teams are off to a flying start with two wins each. Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park felt like a real statement performance.
Brighton, on the other hand, can thank Joao Pedro’s needed late heroics from to scrape a 2-1 win against Manchester United and remain undefeated through two games.
The Seagulls have had their moments at the Emirates, with a 3-0 win back in May 2023. But since then, Arsenal’s had upper hand, winning their last two meetings 2-0 and 3-0. The Gunners do look to be the better team, and I’m expecting some goals… maybe from both sides.
With a bit of luck, Brentford were able to get past Crystal Palace in their opening match but faced a tougher challenge against Liverpool this weekend gone. However, they should have some confidence going into the game, winning this fixture to nil in their last three meetings.
Southampton’s struggles continue – they couldn’t even score at home against Nottingham Forest. Plus, they’ve failed to keep Brentford off the scoreboard in their last six games. I’m backing the hosts to get the win here and keep Southampton off the scoresheet.
Everton are currently sit at the bottom of the Premier League. With seven goals conceded in their first two games, it’s tough to see them turning it around anytime soon, especially since they’ve lost this match-up four out of the last six times.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, have managed two points from their opening two games and should be feeling good about their chances. It’s hard to see anything but a Bournemouth win in this one.
Kieran McKenna’s side couldn’t have had a tougher start to their campaign facing Liverpool and Man City in their opening two fixtures. They have never lost consecutive home games under Mckenna, and I’m expecting Portman Road to deliver an electric atmosphere which should help to lift the Tractor Boys.
Fulham are no push over, and have arguably been the better side in both of their opening fixtures. A tight one is on the cards however, both teams have scored in three of Fulham’s last four matches, and five of Ipswich’s last six matches.
Aston Villa are yet to fire on all cylinders so far this season and could be two from two if Ollie Watkins buried his chances against Arsenal last weekend. This weekend proves to be a good opportunity for the English striker to open up his scoring account for this season.
I’m expecting a tight match here from a Leicester side who know that winning at home will be crucial for survival this season, while Aston Villa will look to their main man up top to help them back to winning form.
I’m picking Villa will edge this one out thanks to Ollie Watkins stepping up and delivering for his side.
When taking a look back at the last five times these teams have met, we have seen four out of five finish in a stalemate, with the only other result being a 1-0 win to Wolves.
It seems inevitable that Wolves will continue to leak goals and Forests Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odol and our own Chris Wood will be looking to take advantage of this.
Forest hasn’t been lighting it up either, so given their recent history, I’m happy to take the double chance on Nottingham or Draw as well as both teams to score.
The defending champions are going to be too good for the Hammers this weekend. Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in their last six games against West Ham, and Erling Haaland has started exactly how we expected the Norwegian striker to start with four goals through two games.
With a fit Kevin de Bruyne commanding the midfield, I’d expect City to dominate the full 90 minutes, scoring goals in both halves. Therefore the halftime fulltime double at even money seems too good to be true.
Chelsea put six past Wolves last week thanks to a Noni Madueke hatrick. With some much needed momentum, the Blues will be confident heading into this fixture after winning 14 of their last 14 games against Crystal Palace!
Crystal Palace are yet to register a point this season and I can’t see that changing when they travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend.
This fixture has the ability to produce plenty of goals and I expect Chelsea to be on the right side of it for the 15th time in a row.
The history in this fixture alludes to a high scoring game with seven of their last eight clearing over 2.5 goals as well as both teams scoring in nine of their last ten meetings.
Both teams have had a win and a draw to start the season and this game could go either way as well. If Newcastle want to be playing European football next year, Alexander Isak needs to start scoring goals. This weekend could be a perfect opportunity for the striker to open his account, and maybe even bag a brace.
The match of the round comes at 3am on Monday morning and despite the narrative surrounding both sides, this is a tough one to call. United are unbeaten in their last three meetings against Liverpool, however, in recent years Liverpool have handed the Red Devils some humiliating loses including a 5-0 thumping at Old Trafford.
These teams have been all about second half goals, with five out of their combined six goals coming after the break. While I’m not super confident about picking a winner here, I’m eyeing up both teams to score in the second half. It seems like a solid value play for this matchup.