After the first two Gameweeks, we have four teams with a 100% record, among which Brighton and Hove Albion have emerged as the surprise package.
This week, at least one of Arsenal and Brighton are about to lose their 100% record while Man City travel to West Ham and Liverpool make the trip to Old Trafford in the final Gameweek 3 fixture.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at what we have in store for Gameweek 3 of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
The Gunners exhibited their sheer resilience and determination against a very good and well-coached Aston Villa side to come away with all three points and lay down an early season marker.
With two clean sheets, their forwards and midfielders doing enough to secure two wins from two, and away trips to Tottenham and Man on the horizon, this home fixture against the Seagulls is a must-win match for Mikel Arteta and Co.
Under Fabian Hürzeler, Brighton have started their 2024/25 season in the best way possible. Despite injury concerns regarding some key first-team personnel, the new summer signings seem to have started bedding in nicely and thus should be expected to give Arsenal a tough fight at the Emirates.
Apart from Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who continue being long-term absentees for Arsenal, Arteta will have a fully-fit squad to pick his playing XI from.
Solly March remains the only long-term absentee for the Seagulls, with Bart Verbruggen and Evan Ferguson yet to feature after three competitive games. In Brighton’s midweek EFL Cup fixture, new signing Matt O’Riley hobbled off after just nine minutes into his debut following a £25m move from Celtic.
Arsenal: David Raya; Benjamin White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Jurriën Timber; Martin Ødegaard, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli
Brighton & Hove Albion: Jason Steele; Joël Veltman, Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Valentín Barco; James Milner, Mats Wieffer; Simon Adingra, João Pedro, Kaoru Mitoma; Danny Welbeck
Arsenal 3-1 Brighton
Although the Seagulls have been flying high and making all the right noises, Arsenal’s defensive structure and a growing abundance of decisive players and match-winners should help them see off any potential threat from Hürzeler’s men.
Two games in, and it is safe to say that it’ll be a tough ask for Leicester City to fend off a relegation scrap this term. Against a Fulham side who themselves are struggling to cope with some of their high-profile outgoings, Leicester failed to lay a glove and were chasing the game for the most part. Moreover, with some of their key first-team players still recovering from injury, it’ll be an even tougher ask to contain a potent Aston Villa side.
Unai Emery’s men had their chances against Arsenal. Had they even converted one of those two guilt-edged opportunities, things could have turned out differently. Regardless, given the number of reinforcements they’ve bought into their existing pool of talent, Villa are heavy favourites for this fixture.
The Foxes will once again be without Patson Daka, Conor Coady, and Jakub Stolarczyk, who continue to recover from their respective injury issues, while left-back Luke Thomas made a comeback against Tranmere Rovers in the midweek EFL Cup game.
For Villa, Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara remain long-term absentees, whilst Robin Olsen is a major doubt as well. Against Arsenal, right-back Matty Cash was subbed off in the 16th minute and has since been ruled out for at least a month owing to a hamstring issue.
Leicester City: Mads Hermansen; Ricardo Pereira, Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, Victor Kristiansen; Harry Winks, Wilfred Ndidi; Abdul Fatawu, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Stephy Mavididi; Jamie Vardy
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martínez; Ian Maatsen, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Àlex Moreno; Leon Bailey, Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans, John McGinn; Morgan Rogers; Ollie Watkins
Leicester City 0-2 Aston Villa
Despite scoring in both their opening Premier League fixtures, Leicester’s weakness lies in their fragile defensive structure. The wounded Villains will definitely up the ante against the vulnerable Foxes, making Unai Emery’s side the clear favourites for this one.
It has been a tough start to the new campaign for Sean Dyche and his men. Two defeats, seven goals conceded, and they’re yet to put away one themselves; it’s grim reading. Moreover, having narrowly escaped relegation last season, Dyche will want to halt the slide this weekend as the Toffees welcome a well-coached Bournemouth side.
As for the Cherries, they nearly pulled off a stunning victory against Newcastle United at the Vitality last week. With two draws in two, Andoni Iraola will look to register that all-important victory and pile on some more misery on a dysfunctional Everton side.
For Everton, Ashley Young is suspended after his red card against Brighton, but Sean Dyche hopes to have Jarrad Branthwaite available after injury. Veteran fullback Séamus Coleman made his first start of the season in the midweek game against Doncaster and can make a case for a starting berth.
For Bournemouth, Tyler Adams and David Brooks will be absent through injury.
Everton: Jordan Pickford; Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski, Jake O’Brien, Vitalii Mykolenko; Idrissa Gueye, Tim Iroegbunam, Abdoulaye Doucouré; Jack Harrison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dwight McNeil
Bournemouth: Neto; Adam Smith, Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi, Milos Kerkez; Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie; Marcus Tavernier, Justin Kluivert, Luis Sinisterra; Antoine Semenyo
Everton 1-1 Bournemouth
It’ll be a tight contest that can go either way. Their midweek win in the EFL Cup will give Dyche and his men some confidence, while Iraola’s team have carried on from where they left off last season and will look to take advantage of a fractured Everton backline.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s Nottingham Forest have registered four points from a possible six to open the 2024/25 Premier League season. However, if anything, it is their forward line that has been letting them down. Forest toyed with and carved open Southampton’s defence time and again last weekend, but ended the game with only one goal to show for it.
Wolves, on the other hand, after a respectable performance against Arsenal and a good first 45 minutes against Chelsea, fell apart in their last fixture to succumb to a 6-2 defeat. It is one of the biggest defeats in the club’s history and one that must have given manager Gary O’Neil a few sleepless nights.
Forest will miss midfielder Danilo, who suffered a broken ankle against Bournemouth, while Ola Aina is also a doubt after picking up a knock in the same game.
As far as Wolves are concerned, Nelson Semedo still has one game remaining from his three-game suspension from last season. Daniel Podence (calf) and Leon Chiwone (ankle) are still sidelined with injury, while teenage winger Enso González suffered a devastating ACL injury and will face a lengthy recuperation period.
Nottingham Forest: Matz Sels; Neco Williams, Willy Boly, Murillo, Ola Aina; Ibrahim Sangaré, Ryan Yates; Nicolás Domínguez, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi; Chris Wood
Wolves: José Sá; Matt Doherty, Yerson Mosquera, Toti Gomes, Rayan Aït-Nouri; Pablo Sarabia, Mario Lemina, João Gomes; Jørgen Strand Larsen, Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Based on how both managers have set their teams up, it’ll be a refreshing end-to-end game, with plenty of opportunities for both sets of players to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. On current form, I back Nottingham Forest to win.
Ipswich Town’s supposed baptism of fire is over after negotiating fixtures against both Liverpool and Man City, despite the two games ending in straightforward defeats.
Now tasked with hosting an in-transition Fulham team, Kieran McKenna’s side will be licking their lips in anticipation of what this fixture does for them if they play their cards right.
Marco Silva’s men won their first home game thanks to goals from former Arsenal duo Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi last week. Although defensively they’re yet to strike a balance, their attack will give Silva lots of encouragement ahead of a crucial transitional season.
For the Tractor Boys, Wes Burns remains the only uncertainty after suffering a hamstring injury against Liverpool.
Fulham, meanwhile, have sustained no new injuries and should have a fully-fit squad for this game.
Ipswich Town: Arijanet Muric; Axel Tuanzebe, George Edmundson, Jacob Greaves; Ben Johnson, Massimo Luongo, Sam Morsy, Leif Davis; Omari Hutchinson, Liam Delap, Marcus Harness
Fulham: Bernd Leno; Kenny Tete, Issa Diop, Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson; Tom Cairney, Saša Lukic; Adama Traoré, Emile Smith Rowe, Alex Iwobi; Rodrigo Muniz
Ipswich Town 2-3 Fulham
With both sides showing signs of defensive vulnerability early on, this should be a high-scoring contest with the two teams taking off their shackles and going all-out to secure those all important three points.
Brentford need to find a solution to their Ivan Toney conundrum. Following on from their opening-day victory over Crystal Palace, Thomas Frank’s side hardly offered anything against Liverpool at Anfield, and without a clinical striker like Toney to lead the line, any hopes of pulling off an upset were snuffed out by the Reds defence.
Against Southampton, however it should be a much easier affair, though the Bees’ lack of options up front will also make it a much closer affair. The Saints, for their part, were pretty dismal against Forest, the 1-0 score a saving grace that masked a lot of their defensive issues. Ironing out said issues will take some time, but with fixtures coming left, right, and centre, Russell Martin needs to find answers soon.
Ivan Toney was left out of the squad last weekend as he remains linked with a move away from the club. Brentford have reported no new injuries of late, but Josh Dasilva, Aaron Hickey, Rico Henry, and summer signing Igor Thiago remain long-term absentees.
The Saints, meanwhile, will once again be missing the injured trio of Gavin Bazunu, Adam Lallana, and Kamaldeen Sulemana.
Brentford: Mark Flekken; Mads Roerslev, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer; Christian Nørgaard, Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen; Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa
Southampton: Alex McCarthy; Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens; Yukinari Sugawara, Flynn Downes, Will Smallbone, Carlos Alcaraz, Kyle Walker-Peters; Adam Armstrong, Ben Brereton Díaz
Brentford 2-1 Southampton
Despite their attacking woes, Brentford should have enough firepower to turn over a newly-promoted Southampton side in this game.
After their disappointing defeat to Aston Villa on the opening day, Julen Lopetegui’s side registered an impressive two-nil victory away from home at Selhurst Park last week.
West Ham’s new summer signings have shown early signs of promise and are slowly bedding in. However, they now face the daunting task of hosting the defending champions at the London Stadium.
Man City, on the other hand, have started their season on the perfect note with comfortable wins over Chelsea and Ipswich Town. Defensively, they’ve looked a bit vulnerable and susceptible to the odd attack in transition. But with the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne already firing on all cylinders, it’ll be a tough afternoon for the Hammers.
West Ham may hand first starts to summer signings Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Fullkrüg, Jean-Clair Todibo, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, while midfielder Edson Álvarez is also expected to return.
For Man City, Oscar Bobb is the only long-term absentee, while the likes of Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, and Phil Foden will all be assessed ahead of Friday’s last training session.
West Ham: Alphonse Areola; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman, Emerson Palmieri; Guido Rodríguez, Tomáš Soucek; Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paquetá, Mohammed Kudus; Niclas Füllkrug
Man City: Ederson Moraes; Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol; Rodri, Bernardo Silva; Savinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Jérémy Doku; Erling Haaland
West Ham United 1-3 Manchester City
It should be an easy victory for the visitors with the Hammers still looking to find their feet with their new signings. However, there will be moments for West Ham to capitalise, and converting those chances will decide which way the game will swing.
After an opening-day defeat to Man City followed by a lacklustre first half against Wolves, Enzo Maresca’s team finally hit the ground running in the second-half, with a Noni Madueke hattrick putting the icing on the cake.
Now tasked with navigating a tricky home fixture against an underfiring Crystal Palace side, Maresca will look to build some much-needed momentum as he continues to fine-tune his squad.
Oliver Glasner’s men have certainly fallen off a cliff following their amazing turnaround last season. In the opening two fixtures, the Eagles have looked a shadow of the team that finished so strongly last term. With two defeats in two, this is a must-not-lose game for Palace.
Chelsea will only be missing the services of Reece James as he is suspended for the first three games of the new season after his red card at the end of last season.
For Palace, Joachim Andersen may not be involved as he closes in on a move to Fulham, while Matheus França is believed to be the only fitness concern for them at this stage.
Chelsea: Robert Sánchez; Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella; Enzo Fernández, Roméo Lavia, Moisés Caicedo; Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer
Crystal Palace: Dean Henderson; Chris Richards, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guéhi; Daniel Muñoz, Adam Wharton, Will Hughes, Tyrick Mitchell; Daichi Kamada, Eberechi Eze; Jean-Philippe Mateta
Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace
Having recently dispatched Wolves 6-2 at their own home, Chelsea are currently high on confidence and will be the more decisive of the two sides this weekend. Without reinforcements, it’s going to be a bumpy ride at Selhurst Park for Palace this season.
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Home specialists Newcastle United were exposed in their first away game of the season as Bournemouth shared a deserved point at the Vitality. Now at home, against a side known for struggling against physicality away from home, Eddie Howe’s side have the edge.
Tottenham Hotspur, following their disappointing draw against Leicester City, bounced back emphatically against Everton last week, putting four past them without a reply. Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou knows his side cannot afford to lose further ground on their competitors, thus making this one of the fixtures of this Gameweek.
For Newcastle, Fabian Schär was shown a straight red for violent conduct and so will not be available for selection. Jamaal Lascelles, Lewis Miley, and Sven Botman are all out with long-term injuries, whilst Callum Wilson remains a doubt with a back injury.
Tottenham will almost certainly be without Rodrigo Bentancur after the midfielder appeared to be knocked unconscious against Leicester and consequently substituted. Spurs will also be sweating over the availability of Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie, the latter having hobbled off late on against Everton.
Newcastle United: Nick Pope; Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schär, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall; Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimarães, Joelinton; Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon
Tottenham: Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Archie Gray, Pape Matar Sarr, James Maddison; Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min, Dominic Solanke
Newcastle United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
The Magpies have recently had the better of their fellow European aspirants, especially when playing at home. Moreover, their physicality, ruthless pressing, and set-piece expertise will give Postecoglou’s side a lot of headache. Thus, on the balance of play, Howe’s side take the edge here for me.
Manchester United certainly gave a good account of themselves against a spirited and high-flying Brighton despite enduring heartbreak in the 95th minute when João Pedro slotted home the winner for the hosts. This leaves United with one win and one defeat from their first two fixtures, with perhaps their biggest challenge so far awaiting them this weekend.
Arne Slot’s reign as the new Liverpool manager has gone off to the perfect start: two wins out of two, four goals scored, and none conceded. With their forwards showing potency of the yesteryears and their defensive structure showing early signs of solidity, a trip to Old Trafford has come at the perfect time for the Reds.
Erik ten Hag reported no fresh injury concerns from the trip to the Amex, meaning apart from the likes of Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Rasmus Højlund, and Leny Yoro, the Dutchman has a fit-enough squad for Sunday’s showdown.
Liverpool and Slot, on the other hand, should have a fully fit squad to choose from for this game.
Man United: André Onana; Noussair Mazraoui, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martínez, Diogo Dalot; Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo; Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford; Joshua Zirkzee
Liverpool: Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarell Quansah, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz
Manchester United 2-2 Liverpool
Although Ten Hag’s team have shown signs of defensive vulnerability in their opening two fixtures, one of which cost them the game against Brighton, against the big boys, especially at Old Trafford, the Red Devils usually turn up more often than not. Thus, it won’t surprise me if this turns out to be a high-scoring draw.
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