Time for Tonali to take centre stage?
Dilemmas, dilemmas. Eddie Howe has a few in advance of Arsenal’s visit to Tyneside on Saturday as Newcastle aim to correct a run of five league games without a win. Wednesday’s restorative Carabao Cup victory against Chelsea has surely created competition for places, particularly at right-back where Emil Krafth’s strong performance suggests he arguably should start in front of Tino Livramento. Significantly, with Bruno Guimarães benched for most of the evening, Sandro Tonali shone at the heart of midfield. Is now the moment to leave the Italy international in the centre and relocate Guimarães to Tonali’s right or even start the Brazil midfielder on the bench again? Similarly Joe Willock impressed on the left of that department, pressing well and carrying the ball considerable distances. Can Newcastle’s manager afford to drop Willock? Then there’s Lloyd Kelly who did very well on a rare left-sided central defensive outing. Should Kelly get the nod ahead of Dan Burn? Dilemmas … Louise Taylor
Newcastle v Arsenal, Saturday 12.30pm
Iraola gets a City audition
While Pep Guardiola’s future is still up in the air and with Rúben Amorim not under consideration, despite his Sporting sporting director Hugo Viana heading to City in the new year, many will be wondering who could step into the Catalan’s shoes. Andoni Iraola will likely be on City’s radar, as he shares a similar philosophy to the man in the visiting dugout on Saturday. Both are disciples of Marcelo Bielsa; Iraola played under the Argentinian successfully at Athletic Bilbao and has since shown many traits picked up from his former manager in Bournemouth’s high-energy play. Guardiola looks increasingly likely to stay for a further season but Iraola is a patient man, knowing he still has plenty to learn after six full seasons of management. What will help his chances is the ability to go toe-to-toe against City to give the club’s hierarchy a first-hand idea of what they could expect if Iraola were ever to be appointed. Will Unwin
Bournemouth v Manchester City, 3pm Saturday
Competition for places hotting up at Anfield
Arne Slot says he is worried about his striking options but the violins are not playing yet for a head coach who still has Mohamed Salah, Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez at his disposal, 12 wins in 14 matches at Liverpool and a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals courtesy of Wednesday’s win at Brighton. Gakpo produced two finishes of the highest quality at the Amex Stadium, where Slot started with an innovative front two of Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai. That pairing is unlikely to be repeated when the teams meet again at Anfield but it will be intriguing to see whether Gakpo retains his place on the left. The competition between the Netherlands international and an in-form Díaz is growing, although the former has been handed only two starts in the league this season. Both had a telling impact at Brighton and Gakpo’s versatility also ensures Slot’s options remain the envy of most. Andy Hunter
Liverpool v Brighton, Saturday 3pm
A pivotal clash at Portman Road
The meeting between Ipswich and Leicester on Saturday afternoon feels like a tone-setter for the season. Last weekend’s defeats were gut punches: Ipswich’s surrendering of a 2-0 lead at Brentford leaves them winless after nine games, while for Leicester, two wins and five points better off than their opponents, the comprehensive 3-1 home defeat against Forest was a reminder that this is likely to be a long challenging season. The Championship’s top two last season drew 1-1 in both fixtures in 2023-24, though that does not quite tell the full story. It took an injury-time Sam Morsy equaliser to rescue Ipswich on Boxing Day at Portman Road, and less than a month later Jeremy Sarmiento struck with an 89th-minute equaliser to do likewise at the King Power. Defeat for either side in this one would be tough to take. John Ashdown
Ipswich v Leicester, Saturday 3pm
Southampton’s search goes on
Southampton are in desperate need of a win. Russell Martin’s side are slowly on their way to keeping company with that Derby team, a sight no fan wants to see. They may be buoyant going into this weekend against Everton, given the visitors are historically weak at St Mary’s and having secured their spot in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. But they let a 2-0 lead slip against Stoke, after persisting with Martin’s possession-based attacking style, and the manager has made it clear he is unwilling to compromise. “For us, the challenge and the learning is about trying to remain who we want to be and trying to improve and be better at that and grow under the big spotlight and scrutiny. Then the rest will take care of itself and I’ll be fine and comfortable with whatever happens.” All well and good to say, but they sit bottom with one point from nine games. Everton’s pragmatic, gritty approach over the past couple of seasons has shown that they are willing to survive ugly. Is it time for the Saints to do the same? Yara El-Shaboury
Southampton v Everton, Saturday 3pm
Will Gibbs-White return for Forest?
Morgan Gibbs-White has not played for almost a month through injury. The midfielder has been Nottingham Forest’s standout player since joining the club in 2022 and many feared his absence would be a huge problem. Contrary to those worries, Forest have been in fine form, winning the two matches without Gibbs-White. Elliot Anderson has stepped into the void and impressed further up the pitch behind Chris Wood. If Gibbs-White is eventually declared fit, Nuno Espírito Santo will have to decide whether he should immediately return the England international to the starting XI or put faith in the players that defeated Crystal Palace and Leicester. It is an indication of the strength in depth Forest accrued over the summer that the manager has various options of how to set up the team and which personnel to use. If Forest are to maintain their top-half position, they will need everyone and there is no shortage of quality to help the push. WU
Nottingham Forest v West Ham, Saturday 3pm
Wolves look to begin turnaround
Wolves remain one of three winless teams but head into the home game against Crystal Palace with a spring in their step after a late fightback salvaged a point at Brighton. Gary O’Neil will hope that draw proves a turning point and he has stayed upbeat despite a demoralising start. Even a fortnight ago, when they had a sole point from seven games, he painted a more positive picture than most, inventing a word along the way. “It’s easily turnaround-able,” the Wolves head coach said. Now his team have two points from nine matches. “When we do turn it around, which we will, it will be a real nice feeling that we know we had to dig deep, having gone through a tough moment and come out at the other end.” Defeat by Palace would surely pierce such optimism. Ben Fisher
Wolves v Crystal Palace, Saturday 5.30pm
Werner hopes to kick on
Timo Werner’s renewed confidence might be the spark Tottenham need as they prepare to face an in-form Aston Villa. The German scored his first goal of the season in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over Manchester City, underscoring his commitment to his instinctive, aggressive runs. The striker’s scoring has been marred by recent struggles, but Werner seems determined to kick on. “Of course when you are a striker and don’t score, you think too much in front of the goal but I never think about not doing the runs to come into this situation. I think it would be stupid to stop those runs only because being scared to score.” Spurs high-risk, front-foot style has at times left their defence exposed. Ange Postecoglou’s side have lost nine of their last 16 league games, with only Wolves losing more since but if Werner can channel his newfound confidence, their chances look slightly more promising against Villa’s clinical attack. YE-S
Tottenham v Aston Villa, Sunday 2pm
Ugarte to stake his claim
The early stages of Manuel Ugarte’s Manchester United career have been somewhat of a struggle. It is not his fault he was welcomed in the dying embers of Erik ten Hag’s reign when neither performances nor results were good enough. At 23, the Uruguayan could be at the heart of the midfield for years to come, so onlookers should accept this is all part of the learning curve. In Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup victory over Leicester, Ugarte put in his best performance thus far, providing plenty of energy and bite. It was the morale-boosting game Ugarte required but he knows Sunday will be a tougher test, against Chelsea and Cole Palmer. He has an advantage over his teammates as he knows what Rúben Amorim wants from his players, having spent time with him at Sporting and will be desperate to be a key individual under the new manager by showing what he can do. WU
Manchester United v Chelsea, Sunday 4.30pm
Bees hope to finally hold on away from home
Brentford’s past three away games have all ended in narrow defeat after impressive starts. Thomas Frank’s side led against Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United but were unable to hold out when their opponents stirred. Still, perhaps that had something to do with the standard of the opposition, and the level will not be quite as high at Fulham on Monday. Frank will hope his team can defend with more organisation if they go ahead against their west London rivals. That said, Brentford have not picked up a point on the road this season and they will not underestimate Fulham, a highly entertaining team with a fine record at home. Jacob Steinberg
Fulham v Brentford, Monday 8pm
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 9 | 11 | 23 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 9 | 12 | 22 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 9 | 7 | 18 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 9 | 5 | 18 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| 6 | Brighton | 9 | 4 | 16 |
| 7 | Nottm Forest | 9 | 4 | 16 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | 8 | 13 |
| 9 | Brentford | 9 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 | Fulham | 9 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | AFC Bournemouth | 9 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 9 | -1 | 12 |
| 13 | West Ham | 9 | -3 | 11 |
| 14 | Man Utd | 9 | -3 | 11 |
| 15 | Leicester | 9 | -4 | 9 |
| 16 | Everton | 9 | -6 | 9 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 9 | -5 | 6 |
| 18 | Ipswich | 9 | -11 | 4 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton | 9 | -13 | 2 |
| 20 | Southampton | 9 | -13 | 1 |
