Premier League Matchday 3 Predictions

Two of Attacking Football’s writers, Alex and Yassin, went head-to-head this week ahead of Matchday 3 of the 24/25 Premier League season and gave their thoughts.

Check out last week’s predictions to see how well the lads did!

Premier League Matchday 3 Previews

Arsenal vs. Brighton

Brighton: The Seagulls did not look good in the first half against Manchester United. They looked amazing in the second, though, creating chance after chance. If they concentrated more on taking their chances, they could have easily scored three or four before United equalized. They were also lucky that the ball touched Zirkzee’s knee. Their high-risk/high-reward approach is fantastic when it works and a disaster when it does not.

Arsenal: Arsenal took my surprise with a win at Villa Park over Aston Villa with a solid defensive performance. They won a 2-0 game with Partey and Trossard on the scoresheet to secure all 3 points. Looking ahead to the game vs Brighton, new signing Mikel Merino is injured after a shoulder injury in training; however, apart from him, Arsenal are raring to go!

Predictions

Alex’s Prediction: 2-2 Draw. Thrilling, entertaining, and end-to-end is how I would predict this contest to be, with both sides showing class and sharing Yassin’s points.

Yassin’s Prediction: 2-1 Arsenal. The Gunners rode their luck twice in the first two games and did not play anywhere close to their level yet. Villa wasted two glorious chances that could have hurt them. At the Emirates, Arsenal uses their fans to push them towards a problematic win against Brighton.

Nottingham Forest vs. Wolves

Nottingham Forest: Forest ground out a 1-0 win vs. a poor attacking Southampton side, with Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Elliot Anderson running the show. They have strengthened well in this window, giving Nuno the correct profiles to build a ‘Nuno’ side.

Wolves: Wolves played against Chelsea like a team that did not know how to defend. After putting in an excellent defensive performance against Arsenal, they looked like amateurs against Chelsea.

Predictions

Alex’s Prediction: 3-0 Forest. Wolves have looked open and poor at the back; Forest has been good on the front foot, not necessarily scoring but creating chances with the sheer pace of their widemen. LaYassin’svictory for Forest

Yassin’s Prediction: 2-1 Forest. This game will feel personal for Nuno. Forest is a team that knows how to be set up defensively and hurts opponents on the counter. This is a recipe for disaster for Wolves.

Leicester City vs. Aston Villa

Leicester City: Leicester hasn’t been at its best yet and hasn’t won a game so far. They scored a well-deserved point against the Spurs. Their signings haven’t set the world alight. However, they have got the job done and the positions they need.

Aston Villa: The Villans were the better team against Arsenal but couldn’t take their chances. They play great attacking football, though. With Watkins becoming fitter every game, their attack will improve.

Predictions

Alex’s Predictions: 4-0 Villa. Villa will show their superiority and class over Leicester with an easy 4-0 win, showing total dominance away from home.

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Yassin’s Prediction: 3-1 Villa. Leicester gave away 1.78 xGA and three big chances against Fulham. This is too much to give a Fulham team that isn’t even in the Villa stratosphere. Villa is a much better team than Fulham and Tottenham. Hence, they will create more. Watkins finally getting on the board for the season.

Ipswich Town vs. Fulham

Ipswich Town: Ipswich played a good 45 minutes against Liverpool. They started well against City, scoring first, before they got a taste of Premier League football after City scored three goals in six minutes. It was a difficult start for their season, which they surely would have learned a lot from in their hope of staving off relegation.

Fulham: Fulham have had a very underrated window, with a deadline-day signing for Reiss Nelson looking imminent. They have some real quality to beat teams and could surprise a few even after losing the likes of Joao Palhinha.

Predictions

Alex’s Predictions: 2-1 Fulham. Fulham will edge out this close encounter with their quality and vast Premier League experience over the newcomers, Ipswich.

Yassin’s Prediction: 2-1 Ipswich. Ipswich is starting to play teams closer to their quality, and they will get on the board with a win against Fulham to make them feel good about their team before getting into the international break.

Everton vs. Bournemouth

Everton: Everton has had an awful start to the season, with back-to-back heavy losses and little quality to go on. Some signings have impressed, especially Tim Iroegbunam, who has been a stand-out performer thus far.

Bournemouth: The Cherries put in a good performance against the Magpies. They created chance after chance and were robbed of a thoroughly deserved win. 2.26xG without a penalty against a team like Newcastle shows what type of performance Bournemouth has put in that game.

Predictions

Alex’s Prediction: 4-1 Bournemouth. Another heavy loss for the Toffees is putting more and more doubt into Sean Dyche’s capabilities as an Everton manager at this current time.

Yassin’s Prediction: 2-0 Bournemouth. Everton has been putting in the worst performances of any Premier League team to start the season. They conceded seven goals and did not score any. Except for 30 minutes against Brighton, the Toffees look like a League 2 team. They go into the international break with another loss to the Cherries.

Brentford vs. Southampton

Brentford: The Bees were so bad against Liverpool. They were not good against Palace either. Brentford has looked like a team on a downward slope since last season. After a slight improvement in performance by the end of last season, they look to continue in their downward trajectory to start this season.

Southampton: The Saints struggled with chance creation vs Forest and played out an entertaining 5-3 win over Cardiff midweek in the cup. However, the lineup is unlikely to change with one or two changes for newcomer Aaron Ramsdale and possibly Mateus Fernandes, who oozed class midweek.

Predictions

Alex’s Prediction: 3-0 Brentford. Southampton always seems to lose away from home to Brentford, so that’s the thought process, guesswork, and big chances of it happening again.

Yassin’s Prediction: 2-1 Brentford. The Saints put in a good performance against Newcastle and a not-so-good one against Nottingham Forest. They look like a team that will struggle to score goals, breaking down low blocks and dealing with opponents playing on the counter. Brentford are expert in low blocks and playing on the counter. The Saints had another good performance and scored their first Premier League goal, but Brentford snatches a late win with their Premier League experience.

West Ham vs. Manchester City

West Ham: West Ham had a cracking 2-0 win vs. high-aspiring Crystal Palace, with Bowen showing his class as always. They have also recently added PSG midfielder Carlos Soler to their ranks, boosting what has been a near-perfect transfer window for the London side. One that I’m sure will help them push them far in the race for Europe.

Manchester City: Ipswich angered the Premier League Champions. City then responded in typical City fashion, scoring three goals in six minutes. After that, they remained in control for the remainder of the game. The Citizens could have scored ten against Ipswich if they wanted to. It looks like Ipswich have woken up the beast.

Predictions

Alex’s Prediction: 3-0 Manchester City. Their class is undeniable, and they will dismantle West Ham like they do every club they play.

Yassin’s Prediction: 3-1 Manchester City. West Ham gave away 2.03 xGA against Villa and 1.35 xGA and two big chances against Palace. Good luck against City. Lopetegui’s team is still not well-drilled in his defensive structure. Haaland loves London Stadium, and City goes into the international break as the Premier League leader.

Newcastle vs. Tottenham

Newcastle United: Newcastle’s performances against Bournemouth and Southampton were not good. However, they still got four points from the two games, which is good compared to their previous performances.

Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs will hope they can build on the 4-0 demolition job of Everton and beat a Newcastle side who had a very poor transfer window and haven’t produced anywhere near the performance they should have so far

Predictions

Alex’s Prediction: 2-0 Newcastle. St James’s atmosphere will help Newcastle battle their way through a tough and tight game of football

Yassin’s Prediction: 3-1 Newcastle. Although Newcastle are still not in form, they match perfectly against a team like Tottenham. Disrupt Spurs’ build-up with relentless pressure, then set up in a mid-block while using Isak and Gordon’s pace to hurt Spurs. There is a reason Spurs have been Newcastle’s favorite opponent in the past two seasons. The last two games between these two in St. James Park ended 6-0 and 4-1.

Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace

Chelsea: After making 500 million signings, Chelsea will have a squad of around 40 players to choose from! Chelsea had an excellent win vs. Wolves last time out when they showed how good Enzo Maresca’s football can be at times with sublime attacking football.

Crystal Palace: The Eagles had more possession against their first two opponents, created big chances, and underperformed their 1.35 xG in both games. They couldn’t finish their chances, and Olise’s departure is impacting them. With Andersen departing too, Palace looks set for a problematic rebuild season under Glasner.

Predictions

Alex’s Prediction: 3-1 Chelsea. Crystal Palace haven’t looked anywhere near the levels they did towards the back-end of last season and will face the brunt of Chelsea, who will come out worthy winners at Stamford Bridge

Yassin’s Prediction: 2-0 Chelsea. This is Crystal Palace’s third consecutive London derby to start the season. Chelsea wants to play possession football, but Palace won’t have much of the ball at Stamford Bridge. Even in their worst conditions in the last two seasons, the Blues have beaten Palace. Chelsea knows how to beat Palace, and this streak continues for another game.

Manchester United vs. Liverpool

Manchester United: United looked good in their first game of the season, especially in the first half against Brighton. In the second half, however, the Red Devils looked like the mess of last season. Some would say they were unlucky with the ball hitting Zirkzee’s knee, while others would say they were lucky that they were even in the game at this point, given the barrage of chances Brighton created at the start of the second half.

Liverpool: Liverpool had a decent second performance in their second game under new man Arne Slot and have recently announced the exciting addition of Federico Chiesa, who will look to bolster Liverpool’s attack and regain his pre-ACL injury form ahead of the ‘English Classico’ as Yassin has referred to it as.

Predictions

Alex’s Prediction: 2-0 Liverpool. Ten Hag will lose the battle of the Dutch baldies with Arne Slot’s Liverpool slowly settling into gear and rhythm and defeating a disgruntled and disorganized-looking Manchester United.

Yassin’s Prediction: Manchester United 3-1. The English Classico. The Red Devils and the Reds top the league table for big chances missed, with six each. Anyway, every stat gets out of the window when these two play each other. For some reason, Liverpool struggles massively at Old Trafford. The Reds only won twice in their last 12 visits to Old Trafford. In the battle of Dutch baldies, Ten Hag wins this round. Arne Slot’s first win at the English Classico will have to wait.