Chart showing oldest players to make three goal contributions in a Premier League match for Chelsea<\/a><\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n Bees a tougher test than Lask<\/p>\n Still unbeaten in the top flight, Brentford are being served well by their commitment to pragmatism. Keith Andrews\u2019 side like to sit deep, close off the middle of the pitch and force opponents to play around them, while flooding the opposition box at set pieces and throw-ins allows them to create the chances from which most of their goals arrive. In spanking six past Lask<\/a>, the Austrian champions, Liverpool showed how good they can be on the front foot, but they will face far less obliging hosts at the Gtech Community Stadium. If Andoni Iraola\u2019s side can dominate the ball and move it quickly enough to penetrate Brentford\u2019s rearguard, they could win comfortably. However, the Bees\u2019 efforts to turn the afternoon into a saloon brawl and capitalise on dead-ball situations may help to maintain their unbeaten run. Barry Glendenning<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda needs to find finishing touch<\/p>\n Gonzalo Garc\u00eda has one league goal from 18 shots this season. The striker joined Fulham from Real Madrid in the summer and has looked promising in patches. Garc\u00eda is 22 and capable of getting on the end of chances. He has an expected goals tally of 3.60 but is underperforming with his finishing. The challenge is to become more clinical. Fulham, bottom of the league, have six goals in six games and Garc\u00eda is without a goal since scoring on his debut, against Chelsea<\/a>. \u00c1lvaro Arbeloa has put a lot of faith in his fellow Spaniard. The head coach is under increasing pressure and winless Fulham need Garc\u00eda to fire when they host Hull. Jacob Steinberg<\/p>\n Fulham\u2019s Gonzalo Garc\u00eda (second left) attempts a shot on goal against Manchester United. Photograph: PA Images\/Alamy Stock Photo\/Alamy Live News.<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n City still free-flowing after guilty verdict<\/p>\n Even when losing for the first time this season in Wednesday\u2019s 4-2 Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain<\/a>, Manchester City appeared the real deal as they rallied from 3-0 down after 32 minutes to give the European champions a scare. Enzo Maresca deserves credit for following Pep Guardiola serenely; his City, so far, are a free-flowing attacking machine and invigorating to watch. If not for the guilty verdict against the club for serious financial breaches of Premier League rules, the perma-twinkling Italian might be more widely lauded. Ipswich last won at City in the competition in November 2000: do not expect the statistic to change on Saturday. Jamie Jackson<\/p>\n Predicted outcomes of Premier League matches on 17 October 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Jaissle should find his \u2018inner Rafa\u2019<\/p>\n Newcastle\u2019s latest attempt to play vertical football left Matthias Jaissle\u2019s side horizontal at Coventry on Monday night. That 4-1 defeat<\/a> has prompted quite an inquest on Tyneside, where Jaissle could do without his players falling flat on their faces once more when Aston Villa visit St James\u2019 Park. Jaissle maintains that his vertical football is the brand of high-octane, aggressive attacking that Newcastle\u2019s hierarchy believes should become the club\u2019s default, and is the way fans want to see the team play. That argument is not without validity but it is also worth remembering that, less than a decade ago, under Rafael Ben\u00edtez\u2019s charge, Newcastle often played a low block bolstered by three at the back, rarely took unnecessary risks and improved steadily. Admittedly resources were thinner then but the fans almost universally adored Ben\u00edtez and were heartbroken when he eventually tired of Mike Ashley\u2019s ownership and resigned. Quite apart from making his dislike for chaotic football plain, the Spaniard was a realist who knew a gung-ho approach would spell relegation. Granted, tactical fashions have changed, but Jaissle could do worse than slow things down a bit and search for his inner Rafa against Villa. Louise Taylor<\/p>\n Chart showing which teams have conceded the most shots in fast break situations in the 2026-27 Premier League<\/a><\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Eyes on Kluivert and Brobbey<\/p>\n With nine games each scheduled for the month between international breaks, Bournemouth v Sunderland will give an early indication of how both will cope during their first experience of such a relentless Thursday-Sunday autumnal grind. Sunderland are 17th, Bournemouth are 18th, and with seven points between them after six Premier League<\/a> rounds, scaling similarly dizzy heights to last season already seems a lofty goal. For both clubs, European campaigns are far too much of an exciting novelty to be considered anything like a chore. In circumstances where squad depth is crucial, the returns of Justin Kluivert for the hosts and Brian Brobbey for the visitors will be welcomed by Marco Rose and R\u00e9gis Le Bris. It would be no great surprise to see either Dutch international make a game-deciding contribution in what is already a six-pointer on the south coast. BG<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter |Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Football Daily<\/p>\n Kick off your evenings with the Guardian’s take on the world of football<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Brighton must buck Palace trend<\/p>\n Brighton\u2019s momentum appears unstoppable at the moment, although supporters will be wary of Sunday\u2019s showdown against Crystal Palace<\/a> given their recent history. They haven\u2019t beaten Palace since a 4-1 thrashing at the Amex in February 2024, when Roberto De Zerbi was in charge, while Fabian H\u00fcrzeler managed only a point in four encounters with the Eagles under Oliver Glasner. Both are having to juggle European commitments this season and Brighton will start as heavy favourites against Pierre Sage\u2019s side after their superb start to the campaign. Palace have big concerns in defence, but can the Frenchman defy the odds against the Premier League\u2019s top scorers? Ed Aarons<\/p>\n Jaouen Hadjam fires home Brighton\u2019s final goal in their 2-0 victory at Sunderland. Photograph: Craig Cowan\/Every Second Media\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n Carrick confronts old nemesis Farke<\/p>\n Michael Carrick has lost five of his past six technical-area duels with Daniel Farke. Indeed the only time Manchester United\u2019s manager has bested his Leeds counterpart was in a League Cup tie during his Middlesbrough tenure. If such statistics are not sufficient to put Manchester United\u2019s currently beleaguered manager off a trip to West Yorkshire on Sunday, there is a sense that Leeds are overdue a first victory at Elland Road since 2002 against their arch-enemies from across the Pennines. One thing is certain; it will be a typically raucous latter-day War of the Roses. But, right now, while the White Rose blooms, its red counterpart is wilting alarmingly. Will Carrick survive this latest meeting with a manager who, at Championship level during his Middlesbrough days, proved something of a nemesis? He will not care to remember that last January a 1-1 draw at Elland Road<\/a> proved to be Ruben Amorim\u2019s final game in charge of Manchester United. LT<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n Forest a genuine threat to champions<\/p>\n Despite losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace<\/a> last weekend, Nottingham Forest played some excellent front-foot football only to be let down by extreme profligacy in front of goal and vulnerability to their hosts\u2019 counterattacks. Oliver Glasner attributed his side\u2019s defeat to karma upon his return to Palace, saying: \u201cIt was like I didn\u2019t deserve to win at Selhurst Park, because the players did everything.\u201d When they welcome Arsenal to the City Ground on Sunday they will give the champions plenty to ponder if they can play as well again. Mikel Arteta\u2019s side were unconvincing for 65 minutes against Leeds<\/a> last weekend and failed to impress until they brought on their heavy artillery about the same time against Lille<\/a> on Tuesday. If one or both of Morgan Gibbs-White and Liam Delap can convert the kind of chances they missed at Selhurst Park, Forest have every chance of getting something. BG<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792138932_24_500.jpg\")
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