New Delhi: The matchday nine of the Premier League started with a Friday night Nottingham Forest winny by a scoreline of 3-1 over Leicester City. The Saturday fixtures will see London clubs Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur take on each other while unbeaten Manchester City will take on Southampton who are yet to win a game in the top-tier of English football. With each matchweek becoming more interesting than the previous one, here’s a preview of how the teams could look on Saturday.
Manchester City vs Southampton (7:30 PM IST)
Almost time! ⏳😤#ManCity | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/IMtgVj9z9w
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 26, 2024
Manchester City are looking to reclaim the top spot of the Premier League table when they play a winless Southampton at home in Etihad Stadium. This will be the first time the two teams will meet since April 2023 where Erling Haaland’s brace had ensured 4-1 Premier League win in St Mary’s. Last weekend City registered a late 2-1 win against Wolverhamtpon Wolves before beating Sparta Prague 5-1 in the Champions League.
Nothing has gone in Southamptn’s favour, as they remain one of the four teams yet to win a game this season. In their 14 encounters with Citizens, they have won only once, a 1-0 win at home in July 2020. They haven’t won a single game in Etihad since a 3-1 win in April 2004.
Predicted Lineups
Manchester City:Ederson; Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Savinho, Bernardo, Foden, Nunes; Haaland
Southampton: Ramsdale; Stephens, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis; Walker-Peters, Aribo, Downes, Fernandes, Manning; Dibling, Archer
Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Southampton
Brentford vs Ipswich Town (7:30 PM IST)
🏡❤️ pic.twitter.com/blxr7u9BkB
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) October 26, 2024
As the two teams face each other for the first time in the Premier League at Gtech Community Stadium, both Brentford and Ipswich Town will be trying to avoid a repeat of last week’s performance. Despite an early lead, the Bees eventually lost 2-1 to Manchester United, while Tractor Boys suffered a 2-0 loss to Everton. Though Brentford may not have had the most brilliant performances recently, all ten points they have taken this season at their home ground.
While Brentford have won three games in the season, Ipswich are yet to register a win this season and are placed 17th with four draws this season. After being promoted this season, Ipswich’s performance in the away games are better but it is their offensive statistics that remains unimpressive. Currently they rank 20th on shots and shots on target. It will be an interesting contest as the two teams meet for the first time since the 2019 Championship, which Brentford won 2-0.
Predicted Lineups
Brentford: Flekken; Van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer; Damsgaard, Janelt, Norgaard; Mbeumo, Schade, Wissa
Ipswich Town: Muric; O’Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Phillips, Morsy; Szmodics, Hutchinson, Clarke; Delap
Predictions: Brentford 1-1 Ipswich Town
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (7:30 PM IST)
Today’s venue ft. today’s programme! 😍🏟️ @The_AmexStadium x @JamieEke 🎨 pic.twitter.com/nm2GRndt0l
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) October 26, 2024
Brighton and Hove Albion will host the button of the Premier League standings at Amex. Brighton are currently sixth in the table after a brilliant 1-0 win Newcastle United. A win will mean that, for some time, they will be in the Champions League qualification position. Fabian Hurzeler will bring a much more confident side, who is yet to lose a single game in the Amex, with four wins and two draws across the competition.
On the other hand, Wolves are ranked last in the Premier League standings collecting just one point so far. Wolves have scored in each of their last nine games across tournaments but have repeatedly converted their scoring into a win and are on the verge of scoring in six consecutive games for a losing cause. Plus Brighton are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games against Wolves.
Predicted lineups
Brighton & Hove Albion: Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Igor, Kadioglu; Baleba, Hinshelwood; Mitoma, Rutter, Ayari; Ferguson
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa; Toti, Bueno, Dawson; Semedo, Gomes, Andre, Lemina, Ait-Nouri; Larsen, Cunha
Predictions: Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Aston Villa vs Bournemouth (7:30 PM IST)
Gameday at Villa Park 👊👊👊 pic.twitter.com/ba148jYRrX
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 26, 2024
Aston Villa will take on Bournemouth at Villa Park with the hosts in a good run this season, winning five games while Bournemouth have stunned Arsenal last week with a 2-0 win. Villains have only lost once this season and have acquired the second most points this season after Man City from losing positions, taking home a total of 10 points.
A win in the last week means Bournemouth are now in 11th place in the Premier League table. This calendar year they have only three wins in Premier League in their away games. The Cherries had enjoyed a four-game winning streak against Villa between 2016 and 2022. However since then they have managed to only take home one point against the Lions with Arsenal winning their last two clashes with a gross scoreline oif 6-1.
Predicted Lineups
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Tielemans, McGinn; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins
Bournemouth: Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson
Aston Villa 2-0 Bournemouth
Everton vs Fulham (10:30 PM IST)
Fulham at home. COYB! ✊#EVEFUL pic.twitter.com/NpY3qrKY9P
— Everton (@Everton) October 26, 2024
Everton is all set to welcome Fulham to Goodison Park tonight. The two teams will be facing each other for the first time since January when they played out a goalless stalemate. Everton will look to extend their unbeaten streak to five matches. The Cottagers had an inconsistent season and slumped to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa in their previous fixture.
The Toffees have also struggled this season and eased past Ipswich Town by a 2-0 scoreline in their previous fixtore and will look to repeat the same result this weekend. Iliman Ndiaye has been a revelation for Everton and will look to make a mark this weekend as well.
Predicted Lineups
Everton: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Gueye, Doucoure; Harrison, McNeil, Ndiaye; Calvert-Lewin
Fulham: Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Pereira; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz
Predictions: Everton 1-1 Fulham
