Noah Sadiki is always one of my favourite players to watch when Sunderland play, he covers so much ground and does a lot of work for the side that goes unnoticed. He’s been overshadowed by the importance and stature of Granit Xhaka in Sunderland’s midfield, but has still managed to be an effective operator for the Black Cats.

Sadiki has committed 22 fouls across his 24 starts in the Premier League this season, working out to an average of 0.94 fouls committed per 90. He’s picked up two yellow cards across his last five appearances for Sunderland across all competitions, and I think he could be in for a busy afternoon here with the number of rotations that Brighton put together in the middle of the park.

Brighton really pack that area of the pitch, and managed to draw 15 fouls from Sunderland when the sides met earlier in the campaign. Sadiki didn’t feature in that game, but both Le Fee and Geertruida in midfield for Sunderland on that occasion committed at least one foul.

Trai Hume has played all over the place this season, but is expected to line up at left back here with Sunderland missing both Reinildo Mandava and Dennis Cirkin. Hume’s versatility is a very valuable part of his game, and moving between his various roles doesn’t appear to affect his foul numbers too much.

Hume has committed 22 fouls across his 27 starts in the Premier League this season, producing an average of 0.82 fouls committed per 90. This may not look too appealing, but Hume is more aggressive than his record suggests and playing on the opposite side to his usual role is bound to lead to a few mistakes with Brighton targeting Sunderland down that side of the pitch.

Hume lined up as a left back in Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Leeds last time out, committing one foul from nine duels in that clash.

Robin Roefs has been out injured for the last few games for Sunderland, but I was impressed with his deputy in Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Leeds last time out.

Melker Ellborg has taken over from Roefs temporarily and made four saves against Leeds to earn Sunderland all three points. He was awarded Player of the Match for his display, and ended the game with a goals prevented tally of 0.73.

Roefs may well come back into the starting lineup here, but either keeper is likely to face a similar output from Brighton. Fabian Hurzeler’s side drew four saves from Roefs in the initial league meeting between the sides, which ended 0-0, and can test the Sunderland goalkeeper to a similar degree in this clash.

Fabian Hurzeler has tweaked how Brighton approach games when out of possession this season, now mirroring the style of Andoni Iraola. The main issue that Brighton and Bournemouth both find with this high energy style, is that it is hard to sustain it over the course of a 38-game season - and without some very quick defenders.

Brighton push their defensive line really high to allow the forward players to press with that intensity that Hurzeler is after. This tactical aspect of Brighton’s game, combined with the relatively youthful overall profile of the squad, leads to the Seagulls regularly ending up with a high card count.

Only Tottenham (74) have picked up more yellow cards in the Premier League this season than Brighton (72 - 2.48 per game). Brighton collected two yellow cards inside just 35 minutes when the sides faced off earlier in the campaign, and committed 11 fouls overall in the contest.

I earmarked Junior Kroupi before the season as a player to keep an eye on, and he’s settled into Premier League football much quicker than I expected. 

He’s Bournemouth’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with eight goals to his name - and this is despite playing fewer matches than most of Bournemouth’s forwards, and having to play behind Evanilson at times.

There aren’t many better players in Europe when it comes to getting shots away under pressure than Kroupi. From a technical point of view, he barely needs any wind up or backlift to get real power in his shots, which gives him a unique ability to shoot from unlikely and awkward angles. 

Kroupi has taken 29 shots across his 13 starts in the Premier League this season (2.45 per 90), seeing an impressive 15 of those attempts find the target (1.27 per 90). Eight of those shots on target have ended up in the back of the net, so it may be worth looking at Kroupi to score here, given how accurate he has been this season.

Tyler Adams is part of an aggressive Bournemouth side that regularly post a hefty foul count. Only Wolves have committed more fouls than Bournemouth in the Premier League this season, with the Cherries averaging 12.1 fouls committed per game.

Andoni Iraola’s side committed 11 fouls when the sides met earlier in the season, with Tyler Adams being out of the squad due to injury in that clash. He should come into the starting lineup here, having started the last three matches for Bournemouth alongside Alex Scott in midfield, with Adams picking up two yellow cards across those starts.

Adams has committed 28 fouls across his 18 starts in the Premier League this season (1.77 per 90). He’s often left on his own in the middle of the park, with Bournemouth opting to send most of their attacking players forward as part of an intense press. This leads to Adams being outnumbered at times in midfield, and having to make tactical fouls, which may make it worthwhile to look at Adams for a caution, too.

Only Brighton (72) and Tottenham (74) have picked up more yellow cards in the Premier League this season than Bournemouth (69 - 2.37 per game). Andoni Iraola’s side collected the 2nd most yellow cards in the Premier League last season (97 - 2.55 per game), so this is clearly a key part of their game.

Bournemouth committed 11 fouls and picked up a card when the sides met earlier in the season and played out a 1-1 draw. I do think the price for this is slightly generous, and leans on Burnley not being a side that tend to draw high numbers of fouls and cards from their opponents - but Bournemouth’s approach to matches doesn’t tend to change too often, which can lead to the Cherries picking up at least two cards in this clash.

Corners have been the talk of the Premier League this season, with this campaign seeing a higher percentage of goals from non-penalty set pieces (29%) than there's been in any of the last 10 Premier League seasons. The highest it’s been aside from this season was 23%, back in 2016/17.

Bournemouth’s high energy approach to matches usually leads to a decent corner count, with the Cherries seeing 10.83 corners per game in the Premier League this term. This metric rises to 12.29 corners per game when looking at their away matches in the Premier League this season, which is a higher match corner tally than any other side on the road in the top-flight this term.

Burnley should be able to pitch into the corner count as well, with Scott Parker’s side averaging over 5.0 corners per game when at home in the Premier League this season. Burnley are seeing 9.73 corners per game at Turf Moor this season, so there should be opportunities for both sides to pitch in towards this corner line in this clash.

Leyton Orient are fighting for survival at the bottom of League One, and their recent results offer plenty of hope for this angle.

Leyton Orient have seen BTTS & No Draw in each of their last five matches across all competitions, winning two and losing three of these games. Their 17 home games in League One have produced 48 goals, with a near equal split in the number of goals scored and conceded (25 scored, 23 conceded - 2.82 goals per game).

Peterborough have seen a similar number of goals in their away games in League one this season, with 47 goals across their 18 away matches (2.61 per game). Peterborough have seen BTTS in four of their last five matches, with two of these games seeing BTTS & No Draw.

Furthermore, Peterborough have only drawn one of their 18 away matches in League One this season - matching up quite well with Leyton Orient’s record of only seeing six draws across their 35 matches in League One this term (17%).

The initial league meeting between these sides produced five goals as Mansfield ran out 3-2 winners over Barnsley as the away side. Each of the last three head to head meetings since 2024 have seen BTTS & No Draw, with Mansfield winning all three of these games.

The most recent meeting saw the sides combine for nine shots on target, and there should be action at both ends again here. Barnsley have seen 50 goals across their 16 away matches in League one this term, working out to an average of 3.1 goals per game. Barnsley have also seen BTTS in four of their last five matches in League One, with three of these games seeing BTTS & No Draw.

Enzo Fernandez was one of Chelsea’s better players during their 5-2 loss to PSG during the week, with the Argentine registering a goal and an assist - as well as two shots in the meeting.

Fernandez has been playing higher up this season, with his role in the side now effectively being a box crasher with Caicedo and Santos forming a pivot behind him under Rosenior. Fernandez has scored eight goals in the Premier League this season, from a shot count of 55 (2.06 per 90).

Fernandez should continue in this more advanced role here, giving him a good chance of getting away a few shots at goal. Newcastle have been quite shaky at the back for some time, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 matches across all competitions.

Andrey Santos is clearly a favourite of Liam Rosenior, which isn’t that surprising as the pair worked together at Strasbourg prior to joining Chelsea. Reece James took his spot in midfield during the week, but that turned out to be a mistake by Rosenior - and we know that James doesn’t often play back to back matches given his fitness issues.

Santos has committed 11 fouls across his 10 starts in the Premier League this term, working out to an average of 1.02 fouls committed per 90. He’ll be facing up against a Newcastle midfield that includes Joelinton and Tonali - who combine to win 3.08 fouls per 90 in the Premier League this season.

Aaron Ramsdale has been thrust back into the action as Newcastle’s number one keeper, with Eddie Howe constantly switching between Ramsdale and Pope throughout the campaign. This partly explains why Newcastle have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 matches across all competitions - and have only kept four clean sheets across their 14 away matches.

Ramsdale has been called into action 14 times across his seven starts in the Premier League this season (1.96 per 90), but this isn’t the most accurate sample size as Pope has been chosen ahead of Ramsdale for nearly all of Newcastle’s games against top quality opposition, so Ramsdale’s save numbers will naturally look a bit off putting as he’s been deployed in matches against lesser sides so far.

Pope’s save numbers in the Premier League provide a more accurate data set of the threat that the Newcastle goalkeeper is likely to face here with Pope being called into action 67 times across his 22 Premier League starts this season (3.07 per 90).

Newcastle are a strong side when it comes to winning fouls, with only Aston Villa drawing more fouls than Eddie Howe’s side over the last two Premier League seasons. This isn’t that surprising when looking at the profile of Newcastle’s players, particularly their midfield trio who are difficult to deter without hauling them to the ground.

Chelsea committed 14 fouls when these sides clashed at St James’ Park earlier in the campaign, a game that saw Chelsea come from 2-0 down to earn a draw against Newcastle. Only four sides in the Premier League have committed more fouls than Chelsea this season, with the Blues currently averaging 11.2 fouls committed per game. 

Furthermore, Newcastle’s most recent visit to Chelsea saw the Blues commit 13 fouls - showing a consistency in the small rise that Chelsea see in their foul numbers when taking on a side like Newcastle who are very capable when it comes to winning fouls.

Arsenal were able to squirm from the BayArena with a draw last time out, as Kai Havertz scored against his former club in the 89th minute to equalise. 

The Gunners are in an excellent position this season - they are in the EFL Cup semi-finals, FA Cup quarters and also sit seven points clear at the top of the Premier League. They have won three straight league matches coming into this clash, picking up big wins against London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham, respectively, which means confidence in the camp should be high. 

Knowing that Man City aren’t out of the hunt just yet, the Gunners will need to keep their foot on the gas, and they will hope for another positive result against Everton this weekend. They came away with a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, as Viktor Gyokores scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot. 

It wasn’t the most entertaining game in terms of chances, but Arsenal were the dominant side throughout, and they kept Everton penned into their own defensive third. The Toffees managed just five shots worth 0.2 xG in front of their home crowd, with just one effort hitting the target. 

Everton also only registered four fouls in the entire game, but that still translated to two yellow cards. The Toffees have struggled in recent years against Arsenal, and haven’t won any of their last six matches, failing to score in four of those games. This selection has landed in each of the last four head-to-head meetings, and Everton picked up three yellow cards on their last visit to the Emirates. 

They were shown three yellows in their last Premier League away day, which was against Newcastle, so Everton are averaging exactly 2.0 cards per game on their travels this season.

James Tarkowski is averaging just 0.75 fouls per 90 this season, which is notably lower than his numbers last season, but he seems to take things up a gear when playing against the top sides, and he accounted for one of those bookings in the reverse fixture against Arsenal. 

In fact, the centre back has been carded in four out of seven meetings against Arsenal in total, and he has committed at least one foul in all of those. He clearly doesn’t like facing the Gunners very much, and he is averaging 1.43 fouls per 90 against them. 

Tarkowski should have his hands full on Saturday evening, trying to contain the Arsenal front line. Gyokores is the prime candidate to start up front, and he is not one to shy away from a physical contest. The Swedish international is averaging 1.11 fouls drawn per 90 this season.

Leandro Trossard suffered an injury against Mansfield in the FA Cup, so he has emerged as a doubt to feature this weekend. The Belgian international has fallen into a rough patch of form, and is yet to score in 2026. Gabriel Martinelli looks set to occupy the left wing against Everton here. 

The Brazilian international, by contrast, has five goals under his belt this calendar year, and has looked much sharper on the flank. He is averaging 2.79 shots per 90 across all competitions this season at the Emirates, and he found the back of the net in his last home outing. Even though that was only against Wigan in the FA Cup, Martinelli did land this selection in his last matchup against Everton at the Emirates. He had two shots in that game, both of which came from close range, and he was denied by Jordan Pickford. 

Arsenal were able to squirm from the BayArena with a draw last time out, as Kai Havertz scored against his former club in the 89th minute to equalise. 

The Gunners are in an excellent position this season - they are in the EFL Cup semi-finals, FA Cup quarters and also sit seven points clear at the top of the Premier League. They have won three straight league matches coming into this clash, picking up big wins against London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham, respectively, which means confidence in the camp should be high. 

Knowing that Man City aren’t out of the hunt just yet, the Gunners will need to keep their foot on the gas, and they will hope for another positive result against Everton this weekend. They came away with a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, as Viktor Gyokores scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot. 

James Tarkowski is averaging just 0.75 fouls per 90 this season, which is notably lower than his numbers last season, but he seems to take things up a gear when playing against the top sides, and he accounted for one of those bookings in the reverse fixture against Arsenal. 

In fact, the centre back has been carded in four out of seven meetings against Arsenal in total, and he has committed at least one foul in all of those. He clearly doesn’t like facing the Gunners very much, and he is averaging 1.43 fouls per 90 against them. 

Tarkowski should have his hands full on Saturday evening, trying to contain the Arsenal front line. Gyokores is the prime candidate to start up front, and he is not one to shy away from a physical contest. The Swedish international is averaging 1.11 fouls drawn per 90 this season.

Aaron Ramsdale has been thrust back into the action as Newcastle’s number one keeper, with Eddie Howe constantly switching between Ramsdale and Pope throughout the campaign. This partly explains why Newcastle have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 matches across all competitions - and have only kept four clean sheets across their 14 away matches.

Ramsdale has been called into action 14 times across his seven starts in the Premier League this season (1.96 per 90), but this isn’t the most accurate sample size as Pope has been chosen ahead of Ramsdale for nearly all of Newcastle’s games against top quality opposition, so Ramsdale’s save numbers will naturally look a bit off putting as he’s been deployed in matches against lesser sides so far.

Pope’s save numbers in the Premier League provide a more accurate data set of the threat that the Newcastle goalkeeper is likely to face here with Pope being called into action 67 times across his 22 Premier League starts this season (3.07 per 90).

Joao Pedro has been one of the few shining lights for Chelsea so far this season, and seems to have improved even further under Liam Rosenior. Joao Pedro netted a hat trick in his last Premier League match as Chelsea ran out 4-1 winners over Aston Villa on the road - taking his overall tally to 14 Premier League goals.

Only Erling Haaland (19) has scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League this season than Joao Pedro, so it is fair to say that he is one of the elite strikers in the division at the moment. This is already his best ever return in a Premier League season, having netted tallies of nine and 10 whilst at Brighton.

Joao Pedro scored a superb goal when these sides met earlier in the season, taking the ball down brilliantly from a long ball and creating the goal himself by rolling the centre back and slotting under Ramsdale. This is an example of how Joao Pedro can create these goalscoring opportunities all on his own, and should be able to continue his goalscoring streak for Chelsea as the man in form.

Man City cruised to a 3-0 victory when these sides last met, meaning they have now won each of the last seven consecutive head-to-head meetings against West Ham. They have dominated this matchup over the years, and the aggregate score from those matches is 22-4.

Pep Guardiola’s men come into this clash in a real rich vein of form - they have won seven of their last eight matches across all competitions, and the only result to tarnish that flawless record was a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest. City were unfortunate to leave the Etihad with just a point in that one, as they racked up 21 shots worth 2.12 xG, while Forest managed just nine efforts worth 0.97 xG. The hosts also had a shot cleared off the line by Murillo in the final moments. Man City still have a gap to close on Arsenal, so will need to bounce back here.

West Ham have improved significantly in recent weeks, and they have lost just two of their last eleven matches across all competitions. However, those defeats came against Liverpool and Chelsea - Man City have been a cut above the level of those two this season, so this promises to be a tough test for the Hammers.

With that being said, they did score exactly twice in both of those respective losses, which shows that they can pose a threat going forward. Man City have also kept just one clean sheet in their last seven away matches across all competitions. They were picked apart by Real Madrid midweek, and were dealt a 3-0 defeat at the Bernabeu. Fede Valverde bagged himself a hat-trick, which is sure to hurt City’s confidence.

Man City had scored in 12 straight matches prior, but they did still find chances against Madrid - Thibaut Courtois finished the game with four saves.

Nico O’Reilly was unlucky to be denied by an excellent reaction stop from Courtois late on, as he managed one shot at the Bernabeu. O’Reilly is averaging 1.27 shots per 90 across all competitions this season, which is impressively high considering he has played at left back for large parts of the campaign. The 20-year-old has been pushed forward to start in more advanced areas recently, which has brought about an uptick in shots. He was on the scoresheet against Fulham in a 3-0, accounting for five of his sides’ 12 shots, before following that up with a brace against Newcastle in the league.

O’Reilly has been a consistent threat in the final third this season - he strikes the ball cleanly and often tries his luck from distance, but he also is an aerial threat from set-pieces. He has hit this mark in each of his last six appearances in a row.

Antoine Semenyo has been a key player for Man City since joining in January, and was afforded a rest against Newcastle prior to City’s Champions League match against Real Madrid. The 26-year-old already has seven goals under his belt as a City player, despite only making 13 appearances across all competitions.

In addition to his contributions going forward, Semenyo also likes to get stuck into duels, and he is averaging 1.51 fouls per 90 for City. His foul numbers were equally as impressive for Bournemouth, with 1.85 fouls per 90, but City naturally exert a lot more control on games, and usually dominate possession.

Semenyo will play on the same side as Crysencio Summerville here, who has drawn the most fouls for West Ham this season. The Italian international is averaging 2.36 fouls drawn per 90 across all competitions this season, and has been fouled six times in his last two starts alone.

Manchester United have a 100% win record at home under Michael Carrick, and I think they’ll extend that here. Manchester United have beaten Manchester City, Fulham, Tottenham and Crystal Palace at home so far under Carrick’s guidance and have looked pretty convincing in all of those victories.

Aston Villa have really struggled since the turn of the year, they built real momentum in the busy winter period but Villa consistently outperforming their underlying numbers has now caught up with them. Unai Emery’s side have scored fewer goals than any other Premier League team since the turn of the year (9) and have won just one of their last five matches across all competitions, losing heavily to Newcastle and Chelsea in this run.

Manchester United’s main advantage in the race for a Champions League finish is that they aren’t in any European competition. This means that they’ll also have a fitness advantage over Aston Villa here, given that Unai Emery’s side travelled to take on Lille in the Europa League during the week. I think United have more firepower than Villa, which can see them to victory when combined with the natural fitness advantage they’ll have over Unai Emery’s side.

The initial league meeting between the sides produced five goals as Sevilla ran out surprise 4-1 winners over Barcelona. Each of the last four head to head meetings between the sides has seen 3+ goals, and the way Barcelona set up always lends itself to an exciting encounter.

Barcelona could easily cover this line on their own, they’ve netted 41 goals across their 13 home games this season (3.15 per game) - winning all 13 of these matches. However, Sevilla can definitely contribute to the goal count here given how they dismantled Barcelona in the most recent head to head with Sevilla managing to generate an xG of 2.80 from just 13 shots - suggesting that they will have a formula to try and expose Barcelona’s high defensive line.

Tottenham really are struggling at the moment and come into this clash having lost each of their last five matches across all competitions, most recently losing 5-2 to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

It doesn’t look like Tottenham will get anymore joy here given that they haven’t won in the Premier League at Anfield since 2011. Igor Tudor’s side have sunk dangerously low in the Premier League table, to the point where relegation from the top flight is a very real possibility.

Liverpool haven’t been flying themselves this season, but have managed to maintain a decent record at Anfield in the Premier League. Arne Slot’s side have lost three of their 14 matches at home this season, winning eight of these games and netting 26 goals in the process.

There’s real potential for Tottenham to crumble here, it looks like the players have already checked out under Igor Tudor and this game is likely to be his final one in charge if Liverpool can really pile more misery onto Tottenham.

This is usually an entertaining encounter, each of the last eight head to head clashes between the sides have seen BTTS - with seven of these games seeing 3+ goals.

The initial league meeting between the sides this season saw Leipzig run out 3-1 winners over Stuttgart in a game that saw a combined xG of 3.58 from 30 match shots in total. 

The sides are evenly matched in a lot of areas, and that is reflected in the current league standings with the sides level on points ahead of this game and locked in a battle for a Champions League spot next season.

It’s worth noting Stuttgart’s impressive home record in the Bundesliga this season. They’ve only lost one of their 12 home matches in the German top flight this term, winning nine of these games and scoring 21 goals in the process.