The Premier League returns this weekend after the international break, with Arsenal resuming the defence of their title at home to Leeds, Manchester United hosting Tottenham, and Manchester City travelling to Anfield to face Liverpool.
Declan Rice’s withdrawal from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad was intended to manage his workload, and the reasoning behind it looks sound. Gary Lineker had questioned Rice’s future role in England’s midfield after Alex Scott’s impressive first senior international start in the 7-0 thrashing of Croatia, but Rice had only three weeks off after the World Cup before returning to pre-season training, and the 27-year-old has struggled with persistent back problems since suffering a hamstring injury last December. Mikel Arteta will hope the rest has done Rice the world of good as Arsenal prepare to face Leeds on Saturday at 12.30pm. Rice is thought to be close to agreeing a lucrative new contract at the Emirates.
At Aston Villa, Unai Emery may have found a fresh attacking option. Alejandro Garnacho, who joined Villa on loan from Chelsea in the summer with a conditional obligation, has been lesser-spotted in a Villa shirt, playing just 31 minutes as a substitute, and his last cap for Argentina came almost two years ago. But Villa’s remaining squad travelled to Spain for a mid-season training camp during the break, and Garnacho scored in both of their friendlies, against Southampton and Sevilla. The 22-year-old, who has struggled for form since leaving Manchester United, posted “Ready now!” on social media last weekend, and Villa will hope that is the case as they host Brentford.
Bournemouth, sitting 17th and still searching for their first league win, have had a miserable start under Marco Rose, squandering nine points from winning positions across four of their first five games. Alex Scott’s injury on England duty, which will keep him out for two months, adds to the problem, with Eli Junior Kroupi, Amine Adli, Veljko Milosavljevic and Julián Araujo all yet to feature this season because of injury. It seems unlikely that Alex Toth will be handed the task of replacing Scott at Chelsea, given the 20-year-old has just 55 minutes of football behind him this season and the older, more experienced Ryan Christie is available and in good form. Toth did force his way into Hungary’s starting lineup during the international break, though, and with Bournemouth facing nine matches in the next month it would be no surprise to see him used far more often.
Sunderland face a demanding spell with a Carabao Cup run, a Europa League campaign and only four points from their opening five Premier League games to their name. Having lost Dan Ballard and Brian Brobbey to hamstring injuries during the international break, Régis Le Bris must reshuffle against a free-scoring Brighton side who make the 700-mile round trip to Wearside for their first game since embarrassing Arsenal three weeks ago and have already scored 16 goals. Wilson Isidor will almost certainly deputise for Brobbey, while Ballard’s centre-back berth is expected to be filled by either Omar Alderete or Nordi Mukiele. Sunderland shipped five goals against Manchester City last time out, and a defence that has looked porous this season will need total focus.
Manchester United, meanwhile, have their own habit of reviving opponents — they rolled out the welcome mat to Premier League newcomers Hull on opening day, and Brighton were ushered back into a Carabao Cup tie. In United’s final game before the international break, winless Fulham restored some faith, their goal coming via slapstick defending from Lisandro Martínez and Senne Lammens. Tottenham have again assumed the mantle of crisis club this season, as in the previous two, a status Michael Carrick’s January arrival temporarily removed from United. Spurs have done damage at Old Trafford before: a 3-0 win there in September 2024 began Erik ten Hag’s exit, while losing the Europa League final started Ruben Amorim’s downward spiral. Lose to Tottenham and the crisis prefix is likely to be reattached.
All eyes will be on Oliver Glasner as he returns to Selhurst Park with Nottingham Forest on an afternoon charged for both sets of supporters and in the boardroom. Crystal Palace chair Steve Parish sought to defuse tensions last week by urging fans to “buck the trend” and welcome the manager who led the south London club to the first three major trophies in their history in the space of 12 months, saying he “would be mortified if he gets anything other than the roof blown off”. But given the strength of feeling towards Forest and their owner Evangelos Marinakis, still blamed by some for Palace’s demotion to the Conference League at Forest’s expense last season, many have not forgiven Glasner for joining their rivals and could yet make their feelings known when he takes his seat in the dugout before kick-off.
Hull City and Everton bring together two of the more pragmatic managers in the Premier League in Sergej Jakirovic and David Moyes. Renowned for safety-first defensive styles, both sides are happy to surrender possession, rank among the top flight’s lowest for pass completion, and rely on rapid transitions and set pieces for a major share of their expected goals. A contest between two obdurate defences may well be settled by a well-delivered dead ball into a packed penalty area. The last time these sides met in the Premier League, Everton ran out easy 4-0 winners; a decade on, the aerial traffic is unlikely to be quite so one-way.
Manchester City resume playing under the darkest of clouds, visiting their greatest rivals of a golden period now shrouded by a guilty verdict. Five Premier League wins from five under Enzo Maresca had offered hope of success in a post-Pep Guardiola era, but the dial has moved on what constitutes success for a club whose minds are consumed by legal issues, and the band must play on. City lifted a treble, including the Champions League, when the 100-plus charges first came to public light in 2023, and the Anfield crowd will readily remind them of the infamy their club faces down. That Guardiola’s now-disputed dominance came at the cost of Jürgen Klopp’s great team will add to the ire on Merseyside. Can Maresca summon a siege mentality?
Coventry’s win at Nottingham Forest, and Jay Dasilva’s brilliant goal — the club’s first in the top division since 2001 — gave Frank Lampard foundations to build on, a blueprint in which Forest were allowed to blow themselves out before Dasilva struck on the counter. It was Stephen Mfuni, 18, on loan from Manchester City, who starred in that rearguard effort on his Premier League debut. Coventry now seek a first Premier League goal at a stadium opened in 2005, after the club’s long decline had set in. Newcastle this week passed five years of ownership by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a period that has brought two seasons of Champions League football and a trophy, yet also a sense of unfulfilled promise. Matthias Jaissle is leading the second phase of a jagged development process, with this season’s positive signs tempered by reverses such as the 4-1 defeat by Leeds.
Ipswich sit mid-table on six points, earned through victories over Sunderland and Crystal Palace, and Gary O’Neil has not allowed defeats by Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal to dilute team spirit — a successful approach so far, certainly compared with a winless Fulham. Like O’Neil, Álvaro Arbeloa is new to his job, and the former Real Madrid interim has promised progressive, attacking football. An improved performance in the draw against United did not produce the victory Fulham deserved, and much of the burden has fallen on teenager Josh King.