Saturday 2nd November – Brighton vs Norwich
This is a certain relegation six-pointer as both clubs have been flirting with the bottom three since the beginning of the season. It is the visitors who sit in the relegation zone at the time of writing though and what may worry Daniel Farke is their inability to perform on the road, which will no-doubt please Graham Potter and his men.
The Canaries picked up their first point away from Carrow Road last weekend as they drew 0-0 with Bournemouth and Farke will be desperate to improve their performances away from East Anglia. He will also be keen to solve the current goal crisis going on at the club, which at the start of the campaign, didn’t seem like would be an issue. With Temmu Pukki getting off to a blistering start Farke’s men scored nine goals in their first five fixtures. Three of those came in their outstanding victory against Manchester City, yet since then goals have been hard to come by for Farke’s men, having only scored once in four fixtures.
As for the Seagulls, their form has been rather unpredictable so far this season but it’s fair to say that Graham Potter’s men have shown glimpses of what it takes to be a consistent Premier League side. Their two victories this season have come in the form of 3-0 wins, against Tottenham and Watford respectively, yet they have been disappointing in fixtures against Newcastle and Southampton. Before this fixture with Norwich, Brighton welcome Everton to the Amex and picking up points from these two fixtures will be crucial as after this fixture they face United, Leicester, Liverpool and Arsenal, three of which are away from home.
Saturday 9th November – Leicester vs Arsenal
This season’s favourites to break the traditional ‘top-six’ welcome Arsenal to the King Power Stadium in what will surely be an entertaining affair. The Foxes have managed to hit Arsenal for three goals in the past two seasons at their home whilst the Foxes have conceded three on both occasions they have travelled to the Emirates.
It seems like there will no doubt be goals in this fixture and with Arsenal’s defensive structure being continually questioned this campaign, Rodger’s and his men may be confident in hitting the Gunners for three once more.
The Foxes have been flying high this season and despite losing to Manchester United and Liverpool, they picked up three points against Tottenham and a point away to Chelsea. They are also yet to lose at the King Power this season having won four of their five fixtures. This bodes well for the men in blue as they welcome an Arsenal side who haven’t travelled too well this season. Their shock loss to Sheffield United on Monday night highlighted the weakness in their defence and perhaps their reliance on Gabonese striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
After their meeting with Arsenal, Leicester don’t meet another ‘top-six’ side until the 21st December when they travel to the Etihad. During this time, they face two of this seasons newcomers in the form of Norwich and Aston Villa as well as facing Watford and Brighton – fixtures they will fancy themselves in. If Rodger’s and his men can find results in these then come Christmas they could find themselves still in the top-four – but picking up three points against Arsenal will be crucial.
Sunday 10th November – Liverpool vs Manchester City
Undoubtedly the biggest game of the season so far comes on Sunday 10th November as current champions Manchester City travel to current league leaders, Liverpool in a must-win match for both sides.
This same fixture finished 0-0 last season with Riyad Mahrez’s 86th minute missed penalty proving to not be too costly as Manchester City pipped Liverpool to the Premier League title. This season the Citizens have been rather unpredictable and already sit six points behind their rivals having lost to Wolves and Norwich. As for Liverpool, their 100% record was halted at the hands of Manchester United last weekend and the lead of six points could be less by time the champions visit. This weekend, Liverpool host Tottenham at Anfield in another huge match for Jurgen Klopp’s men; they then travel to Villa Park and welcome Genk before this fixture with Guardiola’s men.
As for the Citizens, they welcome both Aston Villa and Southampton in the league and travel to Atlanta before traveling to Liverpool. The two Premier League fixtures are both winnable and should see Manchester City pick up six points and keep the pressure on the league leaders.
Whoever comes out on top in this one could just be this seasons Premier League winners and a Liverpool win could see them increase their gap to the current champions. If Salah and co are firing on all cylinders and Alisson has settled back in then Klopp’s men could just about be favourites for this one but be sure not to look away from the TV as anything could happen in Merseyside.
Saturday 23rd November – West Ham vs Spurs
This is an intriguing London derby as both West Ham and Spurs have been yo-yo sides so far this season. Spurs’ recent poor form does not need to be pointed out by anybody yet after their demolition of Red Star Belgrade during the week, that may be just what Spurs need to really kick start their Premier League campaign.
They do face a number of difficult fixtures before they travel to the London Stadium, none more so than when they travel to Anfield this weekend. Having said this, by time they visit West Ham, their fortunes may have turned and Harry Kane and co may be back.
As for West Ham and Pellegrini, they have frustrated fans this campaign and have not registered a win in three games, losing to Everton last time out. Before this barren run they picked off Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United side in an impressive performance in front of their home crowd. They have performed better in front of their home crowd this season which will please Pellegrini but depending on what Tottenham turn up to the London Stadium, this could be an extremely difficult fixture to negotiate for the Hammers.
They currently sit level on points with their London rivals yet have a number of winnable fixtures before welcoming Spurs. This weekend they welcome Sheffield United before they entertain Newcastle – fixtures which Pellegrini will hope his side can convert into six points.
If the Hammers do perform in these games, then taking Tottenham’s difficult upcoming fixtures into account, they could find themselves above Pochettino’s side and they will be hoping for a similar performance to last years visit to Tottenham when a Michail Antonio goal separated the two sides.
Saturday 23rd November – Manchester City vs Chelsea
Despite an international break during November, Manchester City still face six fixtures across the month, the penultimate of those sees them welcome Chelsea to the Etihad.
Frank Lampard’s men have impressed this season and after a rocky start, they have won six games on the trot in all competitions, most recently in the Champions League against last season’s semi-finalists Ajax. Lampard’s young guns have truly been a breath of fresh air, with Abraham and Mount particularly impressive so far this campaign. Aside from the meeting with Tottenham, Manchester City will not have faced a tougher test than Lampard’s men, despite losing to Wolves and Nuno Santo already this season.
Taking in mind their transfer ban, nobody really expected Chelsea to perform this season but they have done everything right and look like a team to be reckoned with – especially in the forward department. As for Manchester City, their result against Liverpool will be a huge one for confidence coming into this one and despite Lampard’s side looking impressive, you can never right off a City thumping against any side.
It is both sides forward play which has impressed this season so this fixture may be a case of ‘we can score more than you’. If that is the case, it will certainly make an entertaining spectacle and a win for either side would be a significant step in their respective Premier League campaigns.
