Two teams coached by highly rated younger managers meet at the Vitality Stadium for a clash on the South Coast. Bournemouth are only in 12th position after a recent defeat to Brentford, but they have a superb home record which has seen them beat Man City and Arsenal already this season. The Cherries arguably play better against some of the top teams, which bodes well because Brighton will be a big challenge this weekend.

Many were skeptical when the visitors appointed 31 year old boss Fabian Hurzeler in the summer. He has more than held his own though and produced some brilliant second half comebacks already this season. Hurzeler is clearly a very good in-game tactical manager and not afraid of changing things drastically if needed. The Seagulls have only lost twice this season which were tough fixtures away to Chelsea and Liverpool.

There’s a sprinkling of injury doubts across both squads and this might be the sort of match which ends in a closely battled draw. 1-1 or 2-2 seem plausible score lines considering the quality from both sides here.

We should expect a tight and tactical battle as high flying Nottingham Forest travel to the Emirates Stadium this weekend. You would’ve got big odds for both teams to have the same number of points heading into this contest at the start of the season, with each team on 19 points as it stands. Arsenal haven’t won any of their last four league games, so there is an imperative need for them to get the victory here. They are already nine adrift of Liverpool at the top and four behind Man City.

Both teams rank in the top five for xGA this season with Forest surprisingly better in this metric than the Gunners. The Arsenal defence hasn’t been as strong as it was last season, but still looks very formidable on paper. The hosts have had Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard not involved in international duty with the aim to get back fighting fit for this fixture.

Only Crystal Palace have been involved in the same number of under 2.5 goal matches this season in the Premier League than these two (seven), and we can expect a low scoring encounter here. Arsenal to get back to winning ways with a 1-0 or 2-0 victory looks likely.

Sean Dyche’s Everton side have been in good form, losing just one of their last seven Premier League games. They have lacked victories but been tough to beat following what was a difficult August for the club. The Toffees have only conceded four goals in that aforementioned seven game stretch and have relied on defensive stability. Key man in attack Dwight McNeil missed the last match due to injury and they will hope to have him back fit again here.

Everton have the second worst xG in the Premier League and creating a lot of chances is their obvious weakness. Meanwhile, Brentford are poor away from home and have lost all five road games in the Premier League so far this season. They have played against some tough opponents but their recent trip to Fulham highlighted their issues when they were dominated. This team simply doesn’t travel well so must be favoured to lose at Goodison Park. They have lost here 0-1 on both of their last two trips so that outcome could be considered.

However, Brentford have scored in all but one of their Premier League games this campaign, so perhaps 2-1 is a more realistic scoreline. Key attackers Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa are both slightly doubtful with injuries, which won’t help their cause.

For the first time under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola at Man City, they’ve lost four straight games in all competitions so will be desperate to find some form here. Spurs were one of the teams that beat them in that run in the EFL Cup, but this is a different situation at home and in the Premier League. City should be fired up to prove a point here and show everyone how good they are. They are unbeaten at home facing a Spurs side who only have one road win so this might be a chance for City to rebound.

Let’s not forget that the defending Premier League champions are still second in the table. Their underlying metrics are still strong, especially offensively with an xG of 23.88, only topped by Liverpool. Spurs are down in 10th position, although they have underachieved their expected points by 2.51. Perhaps there is more in the tank from Ange Postecoglou’s men and they can take some positives from the 3-3 draw they obtained here last season.

Erling Haaland found some form during the international break for Norway, so this could be a high scoring encounter. Perhaps a 3-1 or 3-2 Man City victory is possible if we factor in their expected rebound.

On the face of things, this should be a routine victory for Arne Slot’s league leading Liverpool side. The Reds lead most of the significant metrics in the Premier League, they have the best xG (24.62), the best xGA (10.82) and are top of the expected points charts. With 9 wins out of 11 it’s been a brilliant start for the new Dutch coach at Anfield, which is why they are a short price to prevail in this game.

Southampton won their most recent home game 1-0 vs another Merseyside club, Everton, but this is a far more difficult prospect. The Saints are the lowest scoring team in the division and have desperately struggled in front of goal. They have massively underachieved in attack, only scoring seven times from an xG of 14.17. They quite simply don’t have enough proven reliable finishers at Premier League level which suggests Liverpool will probably win to nil.

The visitors are an efficient team at the moment, getting the job done with minimum fuss. 0-1 or 0-2 could be the most likely scores at St Mary’s.

All eyes will be on Ruben Amorim who takes charge of his first Man United match this weekend away to newly promoted Ipswich. The home team will be buoyant after registering their first win of the campaign, which was a shock victory at Spurs just before the international break (2-1). Ipswich have looked good on the eye at times but have actually been one of the poorest teams on the underlying metrics. They have the lowest expected points (7.79) and by far the worst xGA in the division (6.18).

United, of course, have by far the better squad on paper and now a new manager which could give everyone a boost. Amorim also has the unknown factor as to how he will set up tactically. Plenty of questions will be answered after this game but on his debut in the United dugout you’ve got to think he will want to make an impression.

Because of Ipswich’s poor defensive numbers, goals might flow at Portman Road. One of the big problems of the Ten Hag regime at Man United was a lack of goals but the new boss could change that entirely. If the Red Devils show their class they should get the win, 2-1 or 3-1 look potential scorelines to consider.