Premier League 2026/27: Gameweek 2 Preview and Predictions

The Premier League began last weekend with huge fanfare and excitement. Some of the results were expected, few upsets but all-in-all some really entertaining affairs. We hope the same continues in Gameweek 2 with some mouth-watering clashes coming up this weekend. 

The Eagles will open Gameweek 2 against the Cityzens, Liverpool will welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield, Chelsea will host the high-flying Seagulls while the Villans will close out proceedings on Monday against the Gunners. 

Let’s take a look at all the preview and predictions from Gameweek 2 of the Premier League – 

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City

The Eagles began their Premier League campaign with a defeat against Everton while Man City escaped at home with a late win against the Cherries. 

Both teams have new managers at the helm and it will definitely take some time to understand their style of play, tactics and implement them to get positive results. Palace has lost a few key players in the summer window while Man City has been on a selling spree, trying to recoup transfer fees for unwanted players which will enable them to make key signings to replace the outgoing players. 

From an injury perspective, Palace could miss Chadi Riad who is out with a knee injury while City has everyone available barring Jérémy Doku who could be doubtful for this game. 

Coming to the two teams, City has the edge in this fixture as Palace hasn’t been able to beat them in the league for a few seasons now. Also, Man City has a superior squad to Palace and even though they struggled against a wily Bournemouth, the Cityzens showed that they can find a way to grind out results. This could be another tight encounter to start with but we feel City would bag the three points yet again. 

Score Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-3 Man City 

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

Late drama ensued at St James’ Park last weekend where Liverpool grabbed a late draw courtesy of a Dominic Szoboszlai spot-kick. Their opponents Nottingham Forest suffered a late defeat against Leeds United at home from a sensational Anton Stach free kick, opening their league campaign with a defeat. The Tricky Trees also suffered defeat to Leeds in the EFL Cup second round midweek. 

Both the clubs have new head-coaches and although Liverpool attacked well against the Magpies, their defensive issues were quite clear in the two goals they conceded. Their midfield was too easy to bypass on the counter. The good thing was the fight they showed until the end, coming back from going behind twice. As for Forest, they were undone by a great free kick in the end after having the better chances in the first half. However, the momentum shifted in favour of Leeds in the second half and they ended up losing. 

Liverpool still has player injuries troubling them since last season. Conor Bradley, Geovanni Leoni, Hugo Ekitiké are still out along with Joe Gomez, Stefan Bajcetic and Vitezslav Jaros. Forest might only miss Ryan Yates and Nicoló Savona for this game. 

Liverpool still has issues that Andoni Iraola needs to address, especially in midfield. Although they drew against Newcastle, at home Liverpool are a different team. However, Forest has secured top results against the Reds and will be hoping for their first win of the season. Difficult one to call but we feel Liverpool will edge Forest in a tight, cagey encounter. 

Score Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Nottingham Forest 

Bournemouth vs Everton

If not for a late loss of concentration, the Cherries could have come away with a famous win from the Etihad but they lost 2-1, starting their league campaign with a defeat. As for their opponents, the Toffees made a fabulous start with an emphatic 2-0 win against Crystal Palace at home. Everton also won their midweek game against Preston in the second round of the EFL Cup. 

The Cherries are an attacking unit and their style of play hasn’t changed under new head-coach Marco Rose. They started with an early goal against City and still created chances while defending solidly. However, they succumbed under late pressure from City to lose the game. As for Everton, they looked comfortable against a tricky Eagles with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry the goal-scorers. Although Palace had a couple of chances, Everton defended well to keep a clean sheet and bag the three massive points. 

From an injury perspective, Bournemouth are still missing a few players in Eli Junior Kroupi, Amine Adli, Julián Araujo and Veljko Milosavljevic. Everton could be without Christian Nørgaard and Tim Iroegbunam for this fixture. 

Since the 2024/25 season, Everton has only beaten Bournemouth once while losing the remaining six fixtures including a loss in the FA Cup as well. Bournemouth has a decent result at home in the last few seasons and it could be a tough encounter between the two. We believe this one could end in an entertaining draw. 

Score Prediction: Bournemouth 2-2 Everton 

Coventry City vs Hull City

After suffering a huge defeat against the defending champions, Coventry City will face a highly confident Tigers who upset Manchester United at home. 

Coventry City went to the Emirates with some hope of finding a positive result but Arsenal was too strong from them. New signing Christos Tzolis was impactful for the hosts causing Coventry all kinds of problems. Arsenal ended up winning 3-0 to begin their title defence in style. As for Hull City, they produced a top-class all-round performance to upset Manchester United at home. In midweek though Coventry returned to form with a 4-2 win against Plymouth in the EFL second round while Hull drew away to Stoke City. 

Injury-wise, Coventry could be without Haji Wright and Ephron Mason-Clark as both are doubtful. On the other hand, Hull City has a slew of players sidelined due to long-term or short-term issues. Eliot Matazo, Óscar Zambrano, Charlie Hughes, Darko Gyabi, Jack Butland, Hidemasa Morita, Matty Jacob, Joe Gelhardt and Lewis Coyle are all out. 

Hull City slightly edges Coventry in the head-to-head encounters in the Championship although last season they played out goalless draws. Since this is a game between two promoted sides who have faced each other several times, this could be a tight affair but we believe that Hull could come away with a narrow win courtesy of a solitary goal. 

Score Prediction: Coventry City 0-1 Hull City 

Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United

The Lilywhites started their Premier League campaign with a humiliating defeat away to Brentford while the Geordies played out an entertaining draw against Liverpool. 

Even after making a host of signings this summer, Spurs looked like a disjointed unit against the Bees. Brentford completely dominated proceedings at the GTech Community Stadium, inflicting a damaging defeat on the visitors. Spurs did show an improved performance in midweek with a 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup second round. As for Newcastle, they went ahead twice against Liverpool but conceded a late penalty to end up with a draw. Forwards Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga looked particularly dangerous in attack and caused Liverpool a lot of issues on the counter-attack. Newcastle too progressed through to the third round after a close victory over West Bromwich Albion in the EFL Cup. 

Spurs still have a long list of injuries with Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro, Dejan Kulusevski, Pape Matar Sarr, Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert all on the sidelines. New signing Savinho would also be out due to illness. As for Newcastle, they could miss Dan Burn, Tino Livramento and Joelinton for this tough away fixture. 

Coming to the prediction for this game, Spurs don’t look like a settled team with almost a new midfield and defence while Newcastle looked a more assured team in attack especially with the threat of Wissa and Elanga. Although they could concede goals, we feel Newcastle could leave the Tottenham Hotspur stadium with an upset and their first win of the new season.

Score Prediction: Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle United 

Leeds United vs Brentford

Leeds United came away with an important three points from the City Ground last weekend while Brentford battered Tottenham at home in their opening fixture. 

Leeds also won their EFL Cup Round 2 fixture this midweek, again beating Nottingham Forest. Brentford too qualified for the EFL Cup Round 3 with a 6-1 thrashing of Birmingham and are looking dangerous in attack. 

From an injury perspective, Leeds will be without Wilfried Gnonto, Mateo Joseph, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Ilia Gruev while Brentford could miss Sepp van den Berg and Antoni Milambo. 

Both Leeds and Brentford are equally matched with both teams having great balance in attack and defence. Also, Brentford were great at home last season but their away record left a lot to be desired. However, scoring nine goals in two games would give them a lot of confidence. We believe Brentford could improve their away record and come away with a win from Elland Road. 

Score Prediction: Leeds United 1-2 Brentford 

Manchester United vs Ipswich Town

Manchester United started their Premier League campaign with an unexpected loss against newly promoted Hull City. In contrast, Ipswich began their campaign with a win against the Black Cats. 

The Red Devils ended the previous league season with a third-place finish and securing Champions League qualification. New head-coach Michael Carrick helped them improve and find the desired consistency. However, United couldn’t carry the same form in the new season, performing woefully to lose their opener to a newly promoted team. The Tractor Boys are back in the Premier League after a season’s gap and have started their season well. In midweek, Ipswich also beat Leicester City in the second round of the EFL Cup to progress to the next round. 

From an injury viewpoint, Man United could miss new signing Carlos Baleba along with Mason Mount, Tom Heaton, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte while Ipswich could be without Florentino and Azor Matusiwa. 

Looking at their current form, Ipswich is definitely the team in form but playing away at Old Trafford is no mean task that too with a relatively weaker squad than their opponents. Also, Manchester United will be looking to get their first win of the season at home. United has the better starting eleven and should win this one comfortably. 

Score Prediction: Man United 2-0 Ipswich Town 

 Aston Villa vs Arsenal  

This is a mouth-watering clash between Aston Villa and Arsenal. Last season, Villa beat Arsenal at home but this season both teams have started differently. While the Gunners began their title defence with a comfortable win against Coventry, Villa had a nightmare start with a thrashing from the Seagulls. 

Villa ended last season superbly, winning the Europa League and also qualifying for the Champions League again after a season’s gap but this season hasn’t started as expected. In contrast, Arsenal started from where they left off last season and are already looking strong enough to go back-to-back. 

Injury-wise, the Villans have a few issues with Tammy Abraham, Leon Bailey, Amadou Onana, Johan Manzambi and Brian Madjo out injured while Arsenal would miss Jurrien Timber, William Saliba and Bruno Guimarães doubtful for this fixture. 

Looking at the two teams, Arsenal would be the overwhelming favourites for this game as they are solid in defence and looking great going forward as well. Villa has lost many key players this summer and their defence looked suspect in the previous game, Arsenal to win this one comfortably yet again. 

Score Prediction: Aston Villa 0-3 Arsenal