Arne Slot suffered his first setback last week when Forest came to Anfield and claimed a shock 1-0 win. The Reds were stifled and Slot criticised their inability to create many chances. Liverpool bounced back magnificently in midweek though by beating Milan 3-1 away from home in the Champions League. It felt like a big result for the manager but he will be eager not to drop any further points in the Premier League.

The Merseyside outfit have looked more solid, compact and in control under Slot. They have the best xGA of any team in the league (2.89) and from a defensive perspective feel upgraded this season.

Perhaps Forest showed the blueprint for beating Liverpool here at Anfield last week. Quite whether Bournemouth are capable of such tactics is questionable though. Andoni Iraola is an excellent coach and will probably approach this game differently in an attempt to get a result.

The Cherries were given two big beatings by Liverpool last season 3-1 and 4-0 which begs the question of whether any lessons have been learned this time around. Bournemouth are one of the biggest underachieving sides in front of goal so far this season only netting five times from their xG of 8.94. New signing Evanlison missed a penalty last week and they could do with him firing here.

Liverpool should bounce back with a win. A final score of 2-0 or 2-1 perhaps feels like the most probable outcome.

Spurs must wonder how they only have four points. They could have arguably won all four league games but shot themselves in the foot in various ways. Ange Postegoglou will argue that they outplayed Newcastle before probably deserving at least a draw in the North London derby against Arsenal last week.

In crucial situations Spurs have let themselves down and will be eager to get back to winning ways here. A midweek EFL Cup win at Coventry 2-1 thanks to some late goals might have done wonders for their confidence at least.

Recent meetings between these two teams have been high scoring. In the last couple of seasons there have been a pair of 2-2 draws, Spurs won this fixture 3-2 last season and Brentford claimed a shock 3-1 win at this stadium to end the season in May 2023.

Thomas Frank’s men have lost both their away games so far, but those were at Liverpool and Man City. They gave a strong account of themselves at the Etihad last weekend.

Some bad news for The Bees is that influential attacker Yoanne Wissa is ruled out for 2 months with injury. He scored last week and will be greatly missed. Perhaps Spurs can win this match to nil as a result. We would say 2-0 or 3-0 could be possible against a team missing its best attacker.

This should be a feisty affair in what is a big West Midlands derby at Villa Park. Unai Emery’s men won this fixture last season and will be aiming to build on their excellent midweek Champions League success away to Young Boys.

Villa have some superb metrics already in the early stages of the season, racking up the second best xG of any team so far. Only Arsenal have managed to take any points off them and it looks like business as usual. In further good news for the hosts, last season’s top scorer, Ollie Watkins, got his season up and running last week with a brace of goals which should serve him well.

Wolves are looking for their first win of the season. They haven’t played that badly and their overall metrics are decent but manager Gary O’Neil could do with a maximum point haul here. Wolves have lost three out of four games but letting a 1-0 lead slip against Newcastle last weekend will really sting.

The visitors are by far the biggest underachieving side defensively in the Premier League conceding 11 goals from just 6.55 xGA. Only Everton have conceded more goals at the back. Rayan Ait Nouri and Toti Gomes are both doubtful for this game which wouldn’t help their cause.

Wolves will fight hard but Villa are the better team. A home win is likely but without a clean sheet. 2-1 or 3-1 to the Villa could be on the cards.

Palace won this fixture 4-0 last season, a result which nearly cost Man United boss Erik Ten Hag his job. The Dutch manager remains very much in the hot seat and has enjoyed a strong start after the international break, first beating Southampton 3-0 and then thrashing Barnsley 7-0 in the EFL Cup.

This will be a tougher game than both of those two, but perhaps Man United can gain some confidence and rhythm from those results. There are no new injury concerns apart from the long term absences.

Palace are looking for their first win of the season. It’s not been a great start for Oliver Glasner this term although they managed to rescue a couple of draws against Chelsea and Leicester recently to boost their confidence somewhat.

The Eagles backline has yet to keep a clean sheet this season which suggests that the visitors should get on the scoresheet. Striker Jean-Phillipe Mateta bagged a brace of goals last week which should improve his confidence, increasing the likelihood that the hosts will also find the net here.

United haven’t won here on any of their last three visits to Selhurst Park so we would suggest backing either 1-1 or 2-2 in what feels like a close game.

Two strong defences play against each other at the Amex Stadium and there might not be much between either side come the final whistle. Brighton have had a solid enough start to the season and remain unbeaten under the leadership of Fabian Hurzeler.

The Seagulls were left frustrated by Ipswich last week though and failed to break them down, having to settle for a 0-0 draw. Attacker Joao Pedro is doubtful after missing the game last week.

Nottingham Forest shocked everyone by winning 1-0 away to Liverpool. It was a brilliant tactical performance by the Midlanders, who are still unbeaten after four games having conceded just two goals. We know how Forest are going to try and play and it will be very similar to their approach at Anfield last week.

The visitors will try to frustrate Brighton just like Ipswich did here and that ended in a 0-0 draw. Something similar can’t be ruled out again, or perhaps a 1-1 outcome. A low scoring contest is expected on the south coast.

The big match of the round comes from the Etihad Stadium on Sunday where defending champions Manchester City host Arsenal. A massive fixture so early in the campaign usually means both sides are more concerned with avoiding defeat than grabbing all three points.

The same game ended 0-0 in the previous campaign, whilst Arsenal won the other match 1-0. Could City get some revenge? They have looked imperious in the league, the only side still sporting a 100% record, whilst Erling Haaland is in magnificent form upfront.

Arsenal can take some comfort that Inter Milan managed to hold the Citizens to a 0-0 draw in the midweek Champions League. The Gunners scraped a 1-0 away win to local rivals Spurs last week and might need to lean on their backline again here. Captain and playmaker Martin Odegaard is likely ruled out of the match which is a big blow. The Gunners lacked attacking threat without him last week and needed a set piece goal to prevail.

Both sides head into this match off the back of a Champions League match but Arsenal have had one less day to recover and were away from home vs Atalanta. That could play into City’s hands and they will be eager to beat The Gunners after twice failing last year. This looks set to be a low-scoring affair, but a 1-0 or 2-0 City win looks the most likely outcome.