Premier League 2026/27: Gameweek 3 Preview and Predictions
Gameweek 3 of the 2026/27 Premier League season arrives this weekend with a host of exciting encounters.
Liverpool will play the opening game of the weekend on Friday night away at Portman Road. Newcastle United will face Bournemouth, Everton will be taking on Manchester United, while London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea will close out the proceedings in a Super Sunday clash at the Emirates.
Here, we present our previews and predictions for all matches of Gameweek 3 of the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool
Ipswich Town arrive into this home game on the back of a huge defeat against Manchester United. They started well against the Red Devils and even took the lead, but United roared back on the back of a Bruno Fernandes hat-trick and ended up winning 5–2. Liverpool, on the other hand, came back twice to earn a point against Nottingham Forest, with newcomer Víctor Muñoz scoring a sensational goal to equalise for the Reds.
Liverpool still have key players out injured in Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké, Joe Gomez, Federico Chiesa, and Giovanni Leoni. Ipswich, meanwhile, will be without Azor Matusiwa, Florentino, and Jaden Philogene for this game.
Liverpool are yet to win a game in the league, having registered two draws in their opening two fixtures, their defence still looking shaky. One good news for them is the arrival of French winger Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain, who strengthens their attack at least tenfold. Ipswich aren’t a team one can take for granted at home, but if Liverpool can stay tight at the back, they should be able to win this one comfortably.
Score Prediction: Ipswich Town 1–3 Liverpool
Newcastle United vs Bournemouth
The Magpies will be confident after their away win against Spurs in North London last weekend. Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa have both been key to their unbeaten run so far.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, are yet to earn their first win under new head coach Marco Rose and must be ruing their missed opportunity against Everton, against whom they dropped two points at home. While they are still playing the same attacking brand of football they became famous for under Andoni Iraola, they remain vulnerable at the back.
From an injury viewpoint, Newcastle have a few key signings out in Dan Burn, Joelinton, Tino Livramento, and William Osula. For the Cherries, meanwhile, the injury list comprises Julián Araujo, Veljko Milosavljevic, Eli Junior Kroupi, and Amine Adli.
These two teams are evenly matched when it comes to their head-to-head record and have played some exciting end-to-end encounters. However, the last league game between these two ended in a win for Bournemouth at St James’ Park. That said, Newcastle have looked better in their last two games, especially their attack. Bournemouth may have to watch out for counter-attacks, although they too have some decent players in attack who can hurt the Newcastle defence.
I think this is a tricky one to call, but since the Tyneside team have the home advantage, they have the edge in this game and should be able to get all three points, though expect a close game.
Score Prediction: Newcastle 2–1 Bournemouth
Brentford vs Sunderland
Brentford come into this game after a draw away at Elland Road last weekend and remain unbeaten after three games. In contrast, Sunderland lost their opening fixture but returned to winning ways at the Stadium of Light, beating Fulham narrowly.
The Bees drew first blood against Leeds but couldn’t double their advantage, allowing the Whites to score in the 80th minute to earn an important point. As for the Black Cats, they kept the Cottagers at bay with Wilson Isidor scoring the winner in the 75th minute.
Brentford will be without Sepp van den Berg and Antoni Milambo for this fixture, while Sunderland could miss Habib Diarra and Simon Adingra for this game.
These two sides’ last league encounter ended in an emphatic 3–0 win for Brentford. Usually, the West London team play well at home, which we saw again against Spurs on the opening day. Sunderland, meanwhile, are still struggling in front of goal; against a Brentford attack that has no such issues, they’ll find it hard to take anything home from the Gtech Community Stadium.
Score Prediction: Brentford 2–0 Sunderland
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur
Nottingham Forest almost pulled off another great result at Anfield last weekend, but Liverpool came back twice to avoid defeat. As for Spurs, they have now suffered back-to-back defeats in their opening two games. Although Spurs dominated the first half against Newcastle, poor decision-making and finishing in the final third hurt them, as the Magpies took advantage to score late in the second half and take away all three points.
Both Forest and Spurs have made considerable additions to their squad. Spurs, in particular, have spent a lot of money on signings this season to ensure they don’t end up in a similar situation like the last two seasons. With this being Roberto De Zerbi’s first full season, along with a sheer amount of new players at his disposal, it’s not a surprise that they are struggling in the initial stages of the season. As for Forest, they also suffered back-to-back defeats before drawing against Liverpool.
From a player-availability standpoint, Forest will be without Nicolò Savona and Ibrahim Sangaré for this match. Spurs, on the other hands, have a fair few out players out, with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons, and Wilson Odobert on the sidelines.
Forest tend to play well at home, though we believe the Spurs attack could pose a big problem for them. That said, if they can keep the North Londoners at bay enough to outscore them, the Tricky Trees could emulate what Newcastle did against Spurs. We believe Forest could earn their first win of the season at home, as the new Spurs players are still trying to gel with each other.
Score Prediction: Forest 2–1 Spurs
Manchester City vs Coventry City
After two consecutive wins in their first two league fixtures, City seem to have settled into their rhythm. Their attack looks good, with Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki in great form. As for Coventry, the jump to the Premier League is looking difficult for them already. After the huge defeat against Arsenal in the opening fixture, they lost to fellow promoted side Hull City last weekend, leaving head coach Frank Lampard with plenty of work to do.
The Cityzens could be without Jérémy Doku and Matheus Nunes for this game, with Coventry missing Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Luke Woolfenden, and Haji Wright.
In this battle of the Sky Blues, Man City are the overwhelming favourites. They are playing at home, have an effective attacking line-up, and have strengthened their midfield considerably with big-money signings of Enzo Fernández, Ayyoub Bouaddi, and Elliot Anderson. We believe City will win this comfortably, handing Coventry a third successive defeat in the process.
Score Prediction: Man City 4–0 Coventry City
Fulham vs Crystal Palace
Fulham come into this game on the back of two league defeats and desperately need a win at home. Similarly, Crystal Palace haven’t had a great start to the season and have lost two on the trot.
Both teams have new head coaches at the helm, so it may take time for them to settle, and this game could be a great way for one of them to get going. The Cottagers did well to come back twice against Chelsea in their opening fixture, but they didn’t create many chances against Sunderland in their previous game. Palace, meanwhile, have been dismal so far, having conceded six goals and scored just one.
Injury-wise, Fulham may miss Hugo Larsson and Tom Cairney, with Palace missing Honest Ahanor, Ben Chilwell, Chadi Riad, Ismaïla Sarr, and Jean-Philippe Mateta for this game.
Fulham do have a slight edge in this match-up as they are playing at home, with the Eagles also missing key players in Mateta and Sarr. With Daniel Muñoz having moved to Forest, Palace’s attack looks that much weaker. Although Palace have had the edge over Fulham as far as their head-to-head record is concerned, we think Fulham could bag all three points this time around.
Score Prediction: Fulham 2–1 Crystal Palace
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Leeds United
The Seagulls lost their last league game against Chelsea in a seven-goal thriller, but they played superbly in the second half and scored three goals to give the Blues’ fans some nervy moments towards the end. As for Leeds United, they drew 1–1 with Brentford at home. After having gone behind in the first half, the Whites rallied to get a point and avoid defeat in their first home game of the season.
Brighton play a very attacking style of football and have scored plenty of goals in their two opening games. However, they too have defensive frailties that Leeds can exploit.
From an injury viewpoint, the South Coast side are in huge trouble and could miss about seven players, with Stefano Tzimas, Evan Ferguson, Jack Hinshelwood, Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma, Yasin Ayari, and new signing Femi Azeez all on the sidelines. Leeds, meanwhile, are set to be without Joe Rodon, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Ilia Gruev, and Mateo Joseph for this game.
Brighton have a superior head-to-head record against Leeds and beat them comfortably at home last season. However, their injury issues are starting to pile up already, and Leeds are quite compact in defence. Hence, we feel this could be a tight affair that ends in a draw.
Score Prediction: Brighton 1–1 Leeds
Hull City vs Aston Villa
The Tigers have opened their Premier League campaign in incredible fashion, winning both their opening games. Last weekend, they defeated Coventry away to earn three crucial points. As for Aston Villa, they have lost both their league games so far. They lost narrowly to Arsenal at home last weekend, with Bukayo Saka scoring the only goal of the game.
Villa have lost key players over the summer, and even though they have made some signings to replace them, it may take Unai Emery some time to turn them into a well-oiled unit. As for Hull, they are full of confidence after the two wins and will look to take advantage of Villa’s predicament.
Hull do have a fair few players out, with Jack Butland, Charlie Hughes, Darko Gyabi, Eliot Matazo, Joe Gelhardt, and Oscar Zambrano all on the sidelines. The Villans, meanwhile, could miss Amadou Onana, Johan Manzambi, and Brian Madjo, with João Gomes suspended.
Looking at this match-up, Villa have the slight edge as far as their head-to-head record with Hull is concerned, but given their current form, we have a feeling Hull could get a positive result here.
Score Prediction: Hull City 1–1 Aston Villa
Everton vs Manchester United
The Toffees have had a decent start to the season with a win and a draw in their two league games. They earned a dramatic late draw against Bournemouth last weekend. As for the Red Devils, they started their season with an upset away against Hull City but came back in sensational style to beat Ipswich with a 5–2 scoreline at home.
Everton will be a tad disappointed that their move for Folarin Balogun from Monaco didn’t materialise on deadline day, and they are further weakened up front with Beto departing this summer for Fiorentina and one of their main creative forces, Iliman Ndiaye, joining Man City. Man United, on the other hand, may have won the game against Ipswich, but they do have defensive issues, especially at fullback, something Michael Carrick needs to sort out.
Everton will be without Christian Nørgaard for this game, with Man United missing Mason Mount, Tom Heaton, Matthijs de Ligt, Carlos Baleba, Manuel Ugarte, and Amad Diallo.
Everton have a solid enough midfield and a defence that could keep Man United at bay, but they might not have the attacking power to trouble even this leaky United defence and may have to depend on set pieces to create scoring chances. In contrast, United’s attack was superb in the last game, and we believe they should be able to walk away with a hard-earned victory against the Merseyside Blues.
Score Prediction: Everton 1–2 Man United
Arsenal vs Chelsea
This is the blockbuster game of the weekend. Both teams have started their league campaigns with back-to-back wins, but while the Gunners have done it without conceding a goal, the Blues have scored a lot more goals (seven goals) while also conceding a lot (five goals).
Arsenal might not have been able to score freely against Villa, but they were effective. Their midfield and defence keep opponents at bay, making sure they have ample chances to score at least one goal. As for Chelsea, currently they are too open at the back. With Moisés Caicedo missing at the heart of their midfield, they’re struggling to deal with opposition attacks and are getting bypassed way too easily, something Arsenal’s wingers will definitely look to exploit.
For this game, Arsenal are set to be without Cristhian Mosquera, Jurriën Timber, and William Saliba for this game due to injury issues, with Chelsea missing Jordan Henderson, Moisés Caicedo, and Marco Palestra.
Calling a result for this one is difficult. We expect a tight, cagey encounter, with Arsenal looking to soak up the pressure early on and then going for the kill in the second half. Chelsea need to be wary of their vulnerable defence. If they can keep Arsenal at bay, they have the forward line to cause the hosts a massive headache. That said, we believe the Gunners have the upper hand and should be able to get all three points, though it won’t be easy.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea
