Ten KEY questions for the weekend's matches

Football writer Alex Keble analyses where this weekend's fixtures could be won and lost, including:

- Who will triumph in enormous game for both Maresca and Slot?
- Will Andrews’ defensive set-up stump Man City?
- Will Sunderland ruffle Man Utd’s feathers at Old Trafford?
- Can Nuno mastermind third straight win for West Ham at Arsenal?
- Can Villa build on Fulham result and play Rogers back into form?
- Which of Howe or Postecoglou needs the win more?
- Can powerful Leeds capitalise on Spurs’ tiredness from midweek?
- Will Wolves get their first win before the international break?
- Is Grealish the player to halt the Palace train?
- Can long balls over the top lift Bournemouth into the top three?

Who will triumph in enormous game for both Maresca and Slot?

Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat by Galatasaray in midweek was another wake-up call, another moment to make supporters worry if a summer of major transfer upheaval has knocked Arne Slot’s team out of their flow.

It seems Liverpool’s empty summer of 2024 was the perfect way to handle the transition from Jurgen Klopp – and a more active 2025 window is bringing all the teething problems we expected to see a year ago.

There is pressure to avoid three consecutive defeats on Saturday, and yet, sitting on top of the Premier League table, the result is less consequential for Liverpool than it is for Chelsea and Enzo Maresca.

Consecutive Premier League defeats leave Chelsea on eight points from six matches, five points fewer than at this stage last season. August predictions that Chelsea can challenge for the title seem wide of the mark.

On its own, losing at home to the champions is far from disastrous. But Chelsea haven’t lost three league matches in a row since May 2023 under Frank Lampard, while defeat would almost certainly leave Maresca’s side outside the top 10 over the international break.

Maresca needs the win more than Slot – just about. But Liverpool and Chelsea have both suffered over the last couple of weeks, and both head coaches would love a win to reset the mood over the next fortnight.

Will Keith Andrews’ defensive set-up stump Man City?

It might be a little unfair to Keith Andrews, given the start he has made, but we cannot yet say with certainty whether Brentford will perform above plentiful pre-season predictions of a struggle.

Brentford have won two Premier League matches - and they were big scalps - although Aston Villa and Manchester United did arguably give their worst performances of the season at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The visit of Manchester City is a good test of how Brentford are really doing, and of whether Andrews’ out-and-out defensive football can work in the long term.

The hosts will sit deep and narrow, compressing the space in the hope of slowing Man City into aimless sideways possession of the sort Pep Guardiola no longer wants to see.

But Brentford are tasked with halting one of the best players in the Premier League so far this season, Jeremy Doku, whose direct running on the left offers Man City a route around or through the defensive shell.

He completed eight dribbles in a dominant performance against deep-lying Burnley last weekend.

Watch Doku's highlights v Burnley

Most take-ons completed 25/26

Andrews will hope to counter-attack via Dango Ouattara and Igor Thiago, who already has four Premier League goals this season.

That worked brilliantly against Villa and Man Utd – but Man City is a significant step up.

Will Sunderland ruffle Man Utd’s feathers at Old Trafford?

Ruben Amorim desperately needs a win on Saturday. The reaction to Man Utd’s defeat at Brentford last weekend suggests hope of United evolving this season have been dented.

It was just the latest example of how the scrutiny on Man Utd loads every match with meaning. Only a week before the Brentford loss pundits were wondering if a 2-1 win against Chelsea was the start of the rebirth.

That pressure won’t go away. Sunderland will turn the screw if they can.

The Black Cats are powerful in the air, strong at set-pieces, and up for a physical battle. They have ruffled feathers before this season and will have Man Utd in their sights.

Watch: Why Sunderland are so hard to play against

Regis Le Bris’ side have won 11 points from six games, the best start by a promoted side since West Ham United in 2012/13.

They are yet to be giant-killers. Saturday could be the day.

Can Nuno mastermind third straight win for West Ham at Arsenal?

This fixture has history. Arsenal supporters will want to get it out of the way – and will be a little anxious at the timing of the managerial change at the London Stadium.

West Ham have won their last two Premier League matches at Emirates Stadium. They beat Arsenal 2-0 in late December 2023 in the middle of a poor run of form for the Gunners that ultimately cost them the title, with Mikel Arteta’s side finishing two points behind winners Man City.

A year later, in February 2025, a 1-0 West Ham win effectively ended Arsenal’s title challenge.

It’s fair to say West Ham are their bogey team at home. Arsenal have only lost four of their last 42 home matches, which means 50 per cent of those defeats have been at the hands of the Hammers.

The arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo increases the chances of another away win. Graham Potter masterminded the 1-0 victory in February, but he did so with a low block and ultra-defensive football of the sort that went against his own principles.

Arsenal 0-1 West Ham 2024/25 xG timeline

It aligns well with how Nuno teams face "Big Six" clubs. He will be happy sitting back, letting Arsenal hog possession, and hoping that the hosts are slowed until they come to a standstill.

Gunners fans know from experience that could well happen.

Can Villa build on Fulham result and play Rogers back into form?

This is exactly the fixture Unai Emery will have wanted to build on Villa’s first Premier League win of the season last weekend, get Watkins back in the groove, and play Morgan Rogers back into form.

Burnley have conceded the joint-most goals (13) and have conceded the highest Expected Goals (xG) in the division (12.5). Watkins, who scored against Fulham, will be confident of being able to get on the score sheet again.

Watch Watkins' goal v Fulham

Although Rogers struggled against Fulham, he but might have more luck on Sunday, especially if he is moved into a wider role.

Burnley have conceded nine goals from open play this season and seven of them have been from crosses, low or high, from out wide. They are struggling to defend their full-back areas, which tells Emery where to focus Villa’s attacks.

With Rogers staying wider on the left, and supported by the more assertive overlapping left-back in Ian Maatsen, Villa can get around the outside of the Burnley defensive shell and prise them open.

The visitors are yet to win a point away from home. Villa have to make sure they build momentum.

Which of Howe or Postecoglou needs the win more?

It might not get headline billing but arguably the biggest game of the weekend is at St James Park, where both Eddie Howe and Ange Postecoglou need a positive result.

Postecoglou hasn’t won any of his first three league matches in charge. The last permanent Nottingham Forest manager to fail to win four was Andy Beattie, in 1960.

Newcastle United have won just six points from six Premier League matches this season, their worst start under Howe and their lowest total at this stage since 2021/22.

It’s a poor start that seems to have sneaked up on them. There has been a lot of focus on a potential crisis at Villa Park, yet Newcastle’s top-five rivals are level on points with Howe’s team.

Defeat to Forest could leave Newcastle in the relegation zone for the next fortnight.

Can powerful Leeds capitalise on Spurs’ tiredness from midweek?

Tottenham Hotspur’s bruising 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt on Wednesday might have taken its toll on Thomas Frank’s side, who followed their first UEFA Champions League game of the season with a 2-2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Spurs’ only win in their last four matches was against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup. The good vibes Frank’s new style has brought to Spurs might be in danger if the draws keep stacking up.

Leeds United will look to punish any tiredness. Daniel Farke's side are tall and powerful, and currently boast the fourth-most tackles won in the division this season, with 73. The players feed off the Elland Road crowd brilliantly, too, an intimidating atmosphere helping them go a full year without losing a home match (23 games and counting).

Whether or not Leeds can continue that run might come down to the midfield battle between Sean Longstaff and Joao Palhinha, who are joint-top for tackles made in the Premier League in 2025/26 (19).

It will be a tough, physical game defined by these two players.

Can Wolves get their first win before international break?

Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters are used to this feeling. If they lose this weekend, they will become the first top-flight side in history to lose each of their first four home matches in consecutive seasons.

Their recovery in 2024/25 came thanks to the arrival of Vitor Pereira, whose recently signed new contract suggests Wolves will not try something similar to bounce back from another poor start.

Thankfully things already look to be turning around. Wolves were just a couple of minutes away from beating Spurs last weekend, after sticking with the team that won in the EFL Cup in midweek.

Nevertheless they could still be without a win when the international break starts, because Brighton – who won 2-0 at Molineux last season – have triumphed in four of their last six matches in all competitions. The Seagulls also come into this fixture off the back of a huge win at Stamford Bridge.

Is Grealish the player to halt the Palace train?

Crystal Palace’s victory against the champions last weekend has propelled them into a new space.

Oliver Glasner’s side aren’t seen as plucky outsiders enjoying a brief moment in the sun any more, but a squad capable of challenging for honours and the European places.

Of course, that perspective can easily shift in defeat, and Everton might be the team to deflate Palace a little.

Jack Grealish has created 17 chances this season, more than any other player in the Premier League. He will be attacking Chris Richards’ side, and it was Richards who made the mistake for Liverpool’s equaliser last weekend.

Most chances created 25/26

But if Palace can keep Grealish quiet, they can set a new club record of 13-league games unbeaten, surpassing the 12-match stretch between May and October 1990.

Can long balls over the top lift Bournemouth into top three?

Andoni Iraola has overseen AFC Bournemouth’s best-ever start to a Premier League campaign and victory against Fulham on Friday could secure them a place in the top five as we enter the second international break.

If that were to happen, Bournemouth supporters would start to dream of European qualification for the very first time.

They have the tactical plan to get the win. Fulham looked surprisingly vulnerable to Aston Villa’s newly direct approach in their 3-1 defeat last weekend, with the opener – a hopeful ball over the top that Ollie Watkins flicked over the goalkeeper – symptomatic of a match-long trend.

Fulham’s confused defence might continue this weekend if confidence is low. Marco Silva’s side have collected three points from their last three matches.

Bournemouth can copy Villa’s method. In fact, they will do so by playing their natural game. Only Arsenal and Liverpool have racked up more "direct attacks" than the 10 of Bournemouth this season, while the Cherries are second for long passes attempted (341).

Most long passes attempted 25/26

Antoine Semenyo, who has scored eight of Bournemouth’s last 15 goals, is most likely to benefit from a long-ball approach at Vitality Stadium.

He can fire them into the UEFA Champions League places.