Premier League 2025/26 Gameweek 9: Preview and Predictions
Premier League action returns with Gameweek 9 after the European competitions midweek. While the UCL games were high-scoring and entertaining fixtures, Premier League games are generally feisty and closely contested.
The big games to watch this weekend would be Aston Villa hosting Manchester City, Arsenal welcoming Crystal Palace and Everton playing Tottenham Hotspur at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Let’s take a look at preview and predictions of all the PL fixtures from Gameweek 9:
Leeds United vs West Ham United
Leeds United will host the Hammers at Elland Road this weekend.
Both Leeds and West Ham are coming off two consecutive losses in the league and while Leeds have a win in their last five games, the Hammers are having a nightmarish season, languishing in the bottom two and would be stuck in a relegation battle If they don’t turnaround their form soon. In their last PL fixture, Leeds lost to Burnley while the Hammers lost at home to Brentford.
As for player availability, Leeds will miss the services of Noah Okafor and Wilfried Gnonto due to injuries, West Ham will miss George Earthy and Niclas Füllkrug for this game.
Considering their current form, this is a difficult game to call but if we look at the head-to-head record between the two, the Hammers have an edge. However, I I don’t think either team will win this encounter and hence this would most likely end in a draw.
Score Prediction: Leeds United 1-1 West Ham United
Chelsea vs Sunderland
Chelsea will host a tricky Black Cats at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
The Blues have picked up great form in the last five fixtures, winning four on a trot in all competitions. They produced a five-star performance against Dutch side Ajax in the Champions League midweek and are looking strong. Sunderland on the other hand also returned to winning ways last weekend against Wolves after defeat against Manchester United in the previous gameweek.
Chelsea have been decimated with injuries in their backline with long-term injury to Levi Colwill and injuries to Malo Gusto and Benoit Badiashile as well. Cole Palmer and Liam Delap have also been out for a while now. Sunderland also has a few players out with Habib Diarra, Romaine Mundle, Leo Hjelde, Ajibola Alese and Dennis Cirkin.
Looking at the current form and team strength, Chelsea still has a massive advantage over Sunderland. However, the Black Cats are a prickly opponent and can’t be taken lightly but the Blues have enough firepower to secure the three points at home.
Score Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Sunderland
Newcastle United vs Fulham
Newcastle United will face a struggling Cottagers at St James’s Park this weekend.
While Newcastle did lose their last league game away to the Seagulls, they returned to winning ways in the UCL midweek with a comfortable victory against Portuguese giants SL Benfica at home. Fulham on the other hand, are coming into this fixture on the back of three straight defeats with Marco Silva’s problems compounding every week.
From a player availability perspective, the Magpies have Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Yoane Wissa out of contention while Fulham has a long list of players on the sidelines with Joachim Andersen, Tom Cairney, Antonee Robinson, Rodrigo Muniz, Saša Luki? and Samuel Chukwueze all dealing with injury issues.
Though Fulham won both fixtures against Newcastle last season, considering the form of the two teams and the fact that Fulham has been decimated with injuries, this could be another defeat for the Cottagers. St James’s Park is also one of the most hostile stadiums in the league and hence I believe this could be a comfortable win for the Geordies.
Score Prediction: Newcastle United 2-0 Fulham
Manchester United vs Brighton and Hove Albion
A highly confident Red Devils will face the Seagulls at Old Trafford in this gameweek.
Manchester United secured a massive victory beating old rivals Liverpool at Anfield last weekend while Brighton also beat a tough opponent in Newcastle last weekend. The United team is starting to pick some momentum now with two wins in a row after the loss to Brentford while the Seagulls haven’t lost in their last five games and gotten two big wins in the league against Chelsea and Newcastle recently.
On the injury front, United have most of their players back with the exception of defender Lisandro Martínez while Brighton has a slew of players out with Kaoru Mitoma, Joel Veltman, Jack Hinshelwood, Brajan Gruda, Adam Webster and Solly March all injured.
While going away to Old Trafford isn’t easy as United dominate play and possession at home but they do not have a great record against Brighton in recent seasons. United have lost four out of the last five games against the Seagulls and should be vary of their attacking threat. However, considering that Brighton does have attacking players out with injuries, this could end in a close win for the hosts.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion
Brentford vs Liverpool
Brentford will host Liverpool at the GTech Community Stadium this weekend.
The Bees are going into this home fixture on the back of two wins in their last three games while defending champions are going through a mini slump having lost 4 out of their last five games in all competitions. However, Liverpool did look better in their UCL fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt with a thumping 5-1 away win. Premier League is a different matter though and it will be interesting to see how they line up for this game.
On the injury front, Brentford have Aaron Hickey and Gustavo Nunes ruled out while Liverpool have some important players in Alexander Isak, Alisson Becker and Jeremie Frimpong missing due to injury issues.
The Bees do have attacking threat that can exploit Liverpool’s defensive frailties but Liverpool have great attacking prowess themselves and will surely create chances. However, Brentford hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Reds even though they secured a late win here last season. Also, considering Liverpool’s current form, this could be a difficult away game for them and could end in an entertaining draw.
Score Prediction: Brentford 2-2 Liverpool
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Burnley
This is the matchup between two teams who might end up in a relegation scrap in the latter half of the season.
Wolves’ form has been abysmal both home and away and are struggling at the bottom of the league table with not even a single win so far. Burnley are in slightly better position with two wins and a draw from their opening eight fixtures. While Burnley beat Leeds United in their last league fixture, Wolves lost away to Sunderland last weekend.
As for the available personnel, Wolves will miss the services of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Hee-Chan Hwang. Burnley on the other hand has Jacob Bruun Larsen, Lyle Foster, Connor Roberts, Jordan Beyer and Zeki Amdouni all out with injuries.
Even at home, Wolves haven’t shown the kind of form that can induce any confidence in their ability to get the three points and hence this could be a tight affair with not so many scoring chances. My prediction for this game would be a draw as Burnley haven’t shown great form away from home either.
Score Prediction: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Burnley
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
League leaders Arsenal will face Crystal Palace at the Emirates this weekend.
While the Gunners are in commanding form, having won all of their last five fixtures in all competitions, the Eagles have lost momentum and are without a win in their last three games. While Arsenal thrashed a hapless Atletico Madrid at home, Palace suffered a home defeat against Cypriot club AEK Larnaca.
From an injury perspective, Arsenal have two long-term injury issues in Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz while Noni Madueke and Martin Ødegaard have been ruled out with short-term issues. Palace do not have a first choice player missing, hence they are fine on the personnel front.
Looking at the current form of the two teams and considering the home advantage, Arsenal is the overwhelming favourite for this game. However, even though Palace are struggling, they aren’t a team to be taken lightly as they showed incredible mentality in their last PL game against the Cherries to come back from 2-0 down early on to draw 3-3 in stoppage-time. Having said that, the Gunners’ defence is highly stingy and it would be a surprise if Palace can get even a point from this game.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Crystal Palace
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
The Villans will host the Cityzens at the Villa Park in a mouth-watering clash this weekend.
While City have finally built some momentum with a string of victories in the past month, Villa’s form has improved as well except for the most recent defeat in the UEFA Europa League. In the league particularly, both teams have been doing well, having won their last three fixtures.
As for the injury issues, Villa have most players recovered and back with the exception of Youri Tielemans while City still have Rodri, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico González doubtful for this game.
Aston Villa plays particularly well at home and it’s not going to be easy for Man City. Both teams like to play on the front foot and it should be a free-flowing game from either side. Both teams have incredible forwards in Erling Haaland and Ollie Watkins that can trouble opposition defences but the City striker has been in sublime form while the Villa centre-forward hasn’t really turned up so far. Also, both teams have defensive vulnerabilities that can be exploited hence, it could be a high-scoring encounter. Expect City to grab a close win in this game.
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 2-3 Manchester City
Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest
The Cherries will face Nottingham Forest in Gameweek 9 this weekend.
While the Cherries would rue conceding a draw after going 2-0 up in the first half and then conceding an equaliser late in stoppage-time to share a point against Palace when they could have gotten all three. Forest on the other hand have been abysmal this season. Barring the latest 2-0 win against Porto in the UEFA Europa League, they have lost all four of their previous five fixtures leading to the sacking of two of their head-coaches (Nuno Espírito Santo and Ange Postecoglou) already this season. New coach Sean Dyche has a tough job on his hands now.
From a player availability perspective, Bournemouth has Evanilson, David Brooks and Enes Ünal out while Forest have Ola Aina and Dilane Bakwa out injured.
The Cherries front line has been threatening this season with winger Antoine Semenyo in incredible form and they have been unbeaten in their last five. Forest’s latest win against Porto will give them some confidence but going away to Vitality and getting a result isn’t easy against Andoni Iraola’s men. Hence I believe the Cherries should get the three points in their fixture, though Forest can nick a goal or two.
Score Prediction: Bournemouth 3-1 Nottingham Forest
Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur
Everton will welcome Spurs to the Hill Dickinson Stadium this weekend.
While Spurs have lost one game in their last five fixtures, Everton have three losses in their last five in all competitions. However, two of those losses were tough away games to Manchester City and Liverpool. Spurs’ only loss came against Aston Villa last weekend. Their most recent outing was in the UCL against Monaco where the Lilywhites played out a goalless draw. Spurs would also go into this game being fatigued playing away midweek while Everton players have been fully rested.
Injury-wise, Everton only has Jarrad Branthwaite and Nathan Patterson out while Spurs have a long list of sidelined players with Mathys Tel, Christian Romero, Ben Davies, Destiny Udogie, Dejan Kulsevski, Yves Bissouma and Dominic Solanke all out along with Radu Dr?gu?in and James Maddison out with long-term injuries.
The Toffees are a very tough opponent to play at home and they are defensively solid as well, making it difficult for the opposition to score against them. Though Spurs do have great attacking players in Mohammed Kudus, Brennan Johnson and Xavi Simmons to trouble the Everton backline. However, Spurs haven’t beaten the Toffees away in a while and hence this game could end in another draw.
Score Prediction: Everton 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
