Premier League: Week 13 Preview

Liverpool’s 4-1 Champions League loss to PSV on Wednesday marked the ninth loss in 12 matches for beleaguered Liverpool Manager Arne Slot. After winning the Premier League title in his first season in charge, the Dutch manager is shockingly now in job jeopardy. It is thus a double-edged sword that a flawed West Ham side awaits Slot in London this weekend. Liverpool on paper should easily handle the humble Hammers. However, a loss to the overmatched London side would evoke even more angst among Liverpool supporters and, just possibly, team ownership.

In any event, far better football will be played elsewhere in London when Arsenal visits Stamford Bridge to joust with a Chelsea squad that has somewhat quietly climbed the table to now threaten the Gunners. Chelsea have been without star Cole Palmer for much of the season, have struggled for goal production from the forward position, yet have found a way to surpass all but Arsenal in the current table standings. Criticism of Manager Enzo Maresca’s conservative ways has subsided with his club posting clean sheets in four of its last five matches across all competitions. Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Barcelona saw Chelsea’s Brazilian starlet Estavao outshine young Barca star Lamine Yamal and featured a first Champions League goal by striker Liam Delap. If Delap can finally break the ice in the Premier League, Chelsea would become measurably more dangerous. Sunday’s titanic clash with Arsenal, pairing the top two clubs in the table, will not be easy for any continued Chelsea success. Arsenal has not been beaten in its last 15 matches across all competitions. Even more ominous is the fact that Chelsea has emerged as the victor in just one of the last 12 matchups between the two clubs across all competitions. The game is pivotal. A Chelsea win brings the Blues within three points of the table leaders. A loss makes the margin a daunting nine points.

Third place Manchester City will make up ground on at least one of the two teams if the Citizens take down Leeds as expected. Four losses in its last five matches have plunged Leeds into the relegation zone as it now faces Haaland and company at the Etihad.

Winless Wolves is likely facing slaughter at top four Aston Villa as Wolverhampton Manager Rob Edwards tries to first win a match and then figure out how to lift his woeful club out of the league basement.

Crystal Palace Manager Oliver Glasner, meanwhile, has his Eagles soaring. The south London side is fifth in the table and yet a familiar problem hounds the club. Its best players are looking for greener pastures. One such player is Daniel Munoz, a talented fullback who earlier this month included Manchester United among the big clubs he was targeting as a future career destination. Munoz will have the chance to impress when the Red Devils visit Selhurst Park to play Crystal Palace on Sunday. The next seven places in the table below Crystal Palace are separated by no more than a point, a logjam which includes Manchester United.

Bournemouth and Sunderland are also among that group of seven. The Cherries visit the Stadium of Light Saturday where the Black Cats have yet to lose in front of the home crowd in six home matches to date for the newly promoted club. As many clubs work to break free of the pack and pursue European places in the table, others are beginning to sweat regarding their survival odds.

No one thinks 14th place Newcastle, away to Everton on Saturday, harbors any relegation concerns but just below the Magpies in the table sits Fulham, an attack-challenged club which has dared fate by not investing in its roster. The Cottagers, who visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend, are just three points above the drop. Nottingham Forest is a point closer to doom than the Cottagers, but the arrow is up for the Tricky Trees after a draw followed by two consecutive victories have pushed the club to a presently safe position. The Trees will try to make it three straight wins when Brighton visits the City Ground on Sunday.

Burnley has dropped three straight and finds itself just above Wolverhampton in the land of the lost. The Clarets will try again at Brentford, but the odds are not great with the Bees having won four times and lost only once in six matches so far at Gtech Community Stadium.

Premier League Week 12 Results: Arsenal Romp; Manchester City Stopped; Liverpool Smashed

Arsenal is different this season. Manager Mikel Arteta has options to overcome problems which may have tripped up his squad in their recent bridesmaid years. Like many clubs, Arsenal has been beset by injuries. Kai Havertz was injured in August. Gabriel Jesus has not returned form a serious knee injury incurred last season. Striker Viktor Gyokeres was absent Sunday with hamstring issues. Martin Odegaard is sidelined. Gabriel Martinelli, nursing a groin injury, made the bench but not the pitch as he recovers from injury. Gabriel Magalhaes was the  latest injury blow, the center back suffering a muscle injury while on international break.

The depth of this squad, however, was on full display when summer signing Eberechi Eze scored a hat trick to make easy work of rival Tottenham Hotspur in a 4-1 waltz at the Emirates. Eze, the former Crystal Palace star, has proved more than capable of stepping in for the injured Odegaard in the center of the Gunner’s midfield. With his weekend production, the English international now has more goal involvements than any other English player in the Premier League this season. Piero Hincapie, meanwhile, made his first start for Arsenal as he ably filled in for Gabriel at center back. The summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen was one of several options Arteta had at his disposal to partner with William Saliba and Hincapie rewarded the manager’s selection with a solid performance. In fairness, Arsenal was not overly challenged by a Tottenham Hotspur side which managed only three shots and seemed most interested in escaping the Emirates with as little damage as possible.

Dreamland. pic.twitter.com/FvlqeGba1G

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 24, 2025

The Arsenal victory opened further distance between the Gunners and Manchester City which lost 2-1 at Newcastle. Harvey Barnes scored a brace for the Magpies to gift wrap Manager Eddie Howe’s first ever win over Manchester City.

The Citizens pursuit of Arsenal suffered a blow as Manchester City fell seven points behind the league leaders and are now third behind Chelsea after the Blues’ 2-0 win at Burnley. Chelsea Manager Enzo Maresca was able to experiment against the overmatched Clarets and get some rest for key players ahead of upcoming clashes against Barcelona and Arsenal. Left back Marc Cucurella drifted several times into a Number 9 position and contributed in that fashion to Pedro Neto’s opening goal. Maresca also rested defensive midfielder Moses Caicedo for the first time this season and got adequate play from his replacement, Andrey Santos. Saturday’s win was a welcome boost following the news that Chelsea player Cole Palmer, already rehabbing from a groin issue, broke his toe in a household incident during the week. Palmer is out for the Barcelona Champions League match and will likely also miss the important Premier League matchup with Arsenal next weekend.

Aston Villa rounds out the Premier League top four after its 2-1 win over Leeds. Morgan Rogers scored both goals for Aston Villa which sent Leeds tumbling into the relegation zone after the Whites’ third straight defeat.

Wolverhampton rules the relegation underworld after losing a fifth consecutive match, 2-0 to Crystal Palace. Wolves have yet to win a match this season as new Manager Rob Edwards’ debut ended like most of Wolves’ matches this season. The abysmal side has lost ten and drawn twice in 12 rotten showings.

Speaking of rotten showings, Liverpool once again delivered a stinker in front of the home fans in a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest. The defeat was the sixth in Liverpool’s last seven Premier League matches and Manager Arne Slot is under fire. Though he won the league last season, that team was widely regarded as a holdover from successful former manager Jurgen Klopp. Slot attempted this offseason to expensively populate the roster with his own additions. The spending spree has been a spectacular failure to date. Alexander Isaak is largely invisible. Florian Wirtz has looked like a horrible signing. Hugo Ekitike has cooled after a bright early season start. Slot appears to have no answers to the problems faced by his expensive and currently spiraling creation, Nottingham Forest Manager Sean Dyche, meanwhile, has been masterful of late in lifting the Trees from the despair of the relegation zone. His direct game plan versus Liverpool worked to perfection as his Trees have now captured seven of the last nine points available to them in league play.

Former Nottingham Forest Manger Nuno Espirito Santo also lifted his new club out of relegation when West Ham drew 2-2 at Bournemouth. There was little in the way of kudos accorded to Santo, however. The conservative manager pulled Callum Wilson in the 52nd minute after the forward had scored both Hammer goals, the manager choosing to insert an extra defender to protect the lead. The plan backfired miserably when West Ham’s two goal advantage was cancelled out by the Cherries while the Hammers attack went quiet after Wilson’s departure.

Fulham supporters were beginning to feel some relegation anxiety after the Cottagers managed only one win in six league matches to slide precariously down the table. Some relief then was felt when the Cottagers defeated Sunderland 1-0 in a driving rain at Craven Cottage. The much needed victory leaves Fulham three points clear of the drop zone. Sunderland is seventh in the table after the Black Cats’ four match unbeaten run ended in the rain.

Manchester United had a five-match unbeaten run ended on Monday when shorthanded Everton hung a 1-0 defeat on the Red Devils at Old Trafford. The Toffees were able to take and protect their one goal margin despite going down to ten men in the 13th minute. The circumstances were a bit unusual as Everton’s Idrissa Gueye was ejected for slapping his own teammate, Michael Keane. While many players might be tempted from time to time, no Premier League player had seen red for striking a teammate since 2008. The Toffees shrugged off the setback, however, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall providing the winning margin in the 29th minute and Everton holding on for dear life after that point. Manchester United launched 25 shots in the match versus three for the Toffees but were unable to get one past Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. After the loss, Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim lauded the spirit that led to the Gueye and Keane spat and the determined Toffee effort which followed, claiming “I hope my players, when they lose the ball, fight each other.” The gutty Everton performance gave manager David Moyes his first win at Old Trafford as a visiting manager and the Toffees also became the first visiting team to win a Premier League match at Old Trafford after having a man sent off.

History of a sort was also made at Brighton where 32-year-old Fabian Hurzeler became the youngest man to manage 50 matches in the Premier League. Technically, however, the suspended manager was relegated to the stands as his Seagulls soared to a 2-1 victory over Brentford when Jack Hinshelwood found the net for the winner in the 84th minute at American Express Stadium. Brighton moved into sixth place in the table as the Seagulls extended their home unbeaten run in the Premier League to ten matches.

Premier League Week 12 Preview

The Premier League returns from international break with a London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners are poised at the top of the table, now closely pursued by Manchester City. Their historic rival, Tottenham Hotspur, has stumbled of late after an encouraging start to the season under new manager Thomas Frank. Spurs still stands fifth in the table despite injured stars James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski remaining sidelined. Arsenal suffered an injury blow of its own when Gabriel Magalhaes sustained a thigh injury on international duty. The center back, who has played every Premier League minute for the club this season, could be missing until January, leaving a hole in the Gunner defense. Mikel Arteta has options on a deep bench but the cohesive partnership between Gabriel and William Saliba will be disrupted for the time being. In addition to defensive solidity, Gabriel’s proficiency in scoring off set pieces will be missed. Arsenal has scored more set piece goals than any other Premier League side this season. Tottenham Hotspur, however, is the club that has conceded the fewest set piece goals and now will not have to deal with Gabriel’s aerial presence in the box.

Arsenal’s season of injuries is officially underway 😭🔴🚑

Gabriel Magalhães is set to miss up to TWO months after picking up an injury while on international duty with Brazil, per @DavidOrnsttein 😟 pic.twitter.com/KaEuCez8EF

— OneFootball (@OneFootball) November 18, 2025

Manchester City has now become Arsenal’s primary title combatant after the startling swoon by early table leaders Liverpool. The Citizens are four points behind the Gunners with Erling Haaland having already shredded Premier League defenses for thirteen goals this season. Manchester City travels to St. James’ Park this weekend to face a struggling Newcastle side which has been unable to overcome the loss of Alexander Isak’s goal production of last season. Newcastle has scored only 11 goals in accumulating just 12 points in its 11 Premier League matches this season. Another title duel between Arsenal and Manchester City seems destined.

The rest of the table, however, is populated with questions. Third place Chelsea, which visits Burnley on Saturday, is just five points removed from 14th place Everton in the Premier League table. The Toffees, who visit Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Monday, are in turn only five points removed from the relegation line.

Wolverhampton provides perhaps the only certainty with respect to how the Premier League season will unfold. Woeful Wolves has accumulated only two points, fired its manager and failed to win a single match. Oddsmakers point to a roughly 90% probability that Wolverhampton, which hosts Crystal Palace on Saturday, will be relegated.

Nottingham Forest still has hope for survival despite its current 19th place position. The Tricky Trees won for the first time under new manager Sean Dyche just before the break. That momentum, however, could be short lived with a visit to Liverpool on the cards for this weekend.

Bournemouth is coming off back-to-back losses as the Cherries prepare to host West Ham this weekend. Perhaps more daunting than the recent losses by the Cherries are the transfer rumors surrounding Antoine Semenyo. A release clause in the forward’s contract leaves the Cherries at risk for their leading scorer to depart in the January window. Liverpool is supposedly one of the suitors for Semenyo despite the Reds’ heavy, and to this point unproductive, investment in Alexander Isak last window.

Sunderland has made the most of modest goal production this season. The Black Cats have scored only 14 goals in their 11 matches but are in the top four with five wins and two draws. One of those draws was with table leader Arsenal in Sunderland’s last match before the break. The Black Cats travel to Craven Cottage this weekend to face Fulham.

Aston Villa will be on the road to face Leeds this weekend in a match between clubs headed in opposite directions. Villa has won four of its last five league matches while Leeds has lost four of five. Aston Villa is in a  gaggle of five clubs all sitting on 18 points this season. Newly promoted Leeds is just a point above the drop line and looks like a candidate for a lower tier return.

Solidly, and perhaps uninterestingly, in the middle of the Premier League table are Brighton and Brentford which will face off at Brighton’s American Express Stadium on Saturday. Brentford does deserve a nod for maintaining its status as a mid-table club despite the departure of its manager, captain and key scoring threats from last season.

Premier League Week 11 Results

Liverpool was exposed once again in a 3-0 loss at Manchester City. Wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid inside of a week had raised hopes that Liverpool was successfully back from a stretch which saw the club lose six of seven matches. Not so much. A frail defense and a disjointed attack were no match for a dominant Manchester City side. Erling Haaland scored as per usual, the Norwegian notching his 14th goal of the season. The Citizens, however, were able to exploit Liverpool in other ways as well. Midfielder Nico Gonzalez scored in first half stoppage time off a Liverpool deflection. Jeremy Doku scored the final Manchester City goal after terrorizing Liverpool defender Conor Bradley all match long.

The victory moved Manchester City within four points of Arsenal after the Gunners dropped points in a 2-2 draw at Sunderland. Brian Brobbey scored in the 94th minute to steal a point for the surprising Black Cats who remained unbeaten after six league matches at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland shows remarkable fight for a newly promoted side as the Black Cats have now scored more goals in added time than any other Premier League team. Arsenal, meanwhile, saw their ten-match winning run across all competitions come to an end.

BRIAN BROBBEY 90+4'.

What a time to score your first Sunderland goal 🤯 pic.twitter.com/sB8poQCw1n

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) November 8, 2025

Sunderland is the only club to have defeated Chelsea in the Blues’ last five league matches after Chelsea notched its fourth win over its last five league outings in an easy 3-0 win over Wolverhampton. Former Manchester United player Alejandro Garnacho assisted two of the Chelsea goals in his best outing to date for the Blues as they eased into third place in the table. Wolverhampton was its usual terrible self, failing once again to secure a victory in its 11th try this season. Interim assistants managed Wolves on Saturday in the  vacuum created by the firing of Vitor Pereira and as a deal for expected new manager Rob Edwards is finalized. Edwards will inherit a dire situation. No club in Premier League history has avoided relegation after capturing only two points from its first 11 league matches as Wolves has done this season.

Spurs is officially sputtering after dropping points for the third time in four matches. Manchester United’s Matthijs de Ligt headed in the equalizer at the 96-minute mark after Spurs thought it had the win after Richarlison scored earlier in stoppage time. It is not a good look for Spurs Manager Thomas Frank to have won only one out of his six Premier League matches at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season, only Wolverhampton having suffered more home futility.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, has been quite comfortable on its home turf. The Villans won a fourth consecutive Premier League match at Villa Park with a 4-0 victory over suddenly flailing Bournemouth. The Cherries have lost their last two matches by an aggregate 7-1 margin to fall into a quagmire of five clubs, all level on 18 points, in the fifth through ninth places in the table. Among those five clubs is Aston Villa, which has won four of its last five matches, including the pitching of clean sheets in its last three league wins. Oddly, the only loss for Aston Villa over that stretch proved to be the only league win for Liverpool over the Reds’ last five matches.

Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, meanwhile, has suddenly become one of the league’s more formidable home fortresses after Igor Thiago scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season to key a 3-1 win for the Bees over visiting Newcastle. Manchester City is the only club to have won at Brentford this season as Manager Keith Andrews has eased the transition from the popular Thomas Frank for the Bees. Newcastle has yet to win on the road this season, a circumstance it shares only with Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Wolves. The Cottagers were 2-0 losers to Everton on Saturday and are now just a point above the relegation drop line.

Things down toward the bottom of the table, excluding the continuing misadventures of woeful Wolves, have gotten more interesting after relegation zone occupants West Ham and Nottingham Forest both won on the weekend. Former Nottingham Forest Manager Nuno Espirito Santo guided West Ham to a second straight league win when the Hammers were 3-2 winners over another relegation threatened side in Burnley. The Hammers drew level on points with the Clarets who are safe for now only by virtue of a better goal differential than West Ham.

Sean Dyche, once a Burnley manager and now Santo’s successor at Nottingham Forest, got his first Premier League win at his new job when the Tricky Trees defeated Leeds 3-1. Nineteenth place Forest is now within three points of 14th place Newcastle in a suddenly compressed bottom end of the table. Drudgery prevailed in the “M23 derby” mid-table clash between Crystal Palace and Brighton. Fatigue was clearly a factor for Crystal Palace, which won its Europa Conference League match over AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and was playing without injured center back Marc Guehi. The shared points leave Brighton a single point behind 10th place Crystal Palace in the table.

Premier League Week 11 Preview

Liverpool snapped a losing run with its Anfield victory over Aston Villa last weekend. The Reds could be in danger of starting a new run, however, when they visit the Etihad to meet familiar rival Manchester City. In the past eight years only Manchester City and Liverpool have won Premier League titles, Manchester City winning six and Liverpool winning two. The current version of Manchester City is somewhat less daunting overall than some of those league champions. Erling Haaland, however, is on a torrid streak of goal scoring, already finding the net 13 times this season and Gianluigi Donnarumma was the Champions League winning goalkeeper for PSG last season. Phil Foden has also shown signs of returning to his former stellar form in recent weeks. All of which could make it premature to claim that Liverpool is back on a winning track after its defeat of a flat Aston Villa side in front of the Anfield supporters last week. City is one point ahead of Liverpool in the standings with the Citizens still six points behind Arsenal after winning four of five matches, the lone blemish coming at Aston Villa two weeks ago.

Aston Villa is back home this week to take on Bournemouth after the Cherries were summarily beaten by Manchester City last week. Despite that defeat, Bournemouth is level on points  with third place Liverpool in the Premier League table.

There are four clubs just a point behind Liverpool and Bournemouth. Two of those will face off on Saturday when Manchester United visits Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Its north London place home not been overly kind to Spurs this season as Manager Thomas Frank’s side have won but one of five home matches so far this season. Conversely, Spurs are the only Premier League club not to have lost an away match. Manchester United have already lost four of their five away matches to date but have been playing better overall in recent weeks and stole a late point at Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

Forest will be home again this weekend in a key relegation rumble with Leeds. The Whites are still four points clear of the drop but have appeared increasingly vulnerable in losing three of their last four matches, culminating in a meek 3-0 submission to Brighton last Saturday. Sean Dyche, meanwhile, is in his element battling to keep Nottingham Forest up, reminiscent of the challenges he faced in managerial stints at Burnley and Everton.

Brighton recommences its unusual “M23 derby rivalry” with Crystal Palace this weekend. Unlike other derbies, there is no geographic proximity between the clubs, just a deep-felt hostility based on battles fought in the lower divisions and animosity between long ago opposing managers. Supporters take it very seriously and emotions will be high at the Eagles’ Selhurst Park. The ninth place Eagles  are currently a point above their rival in the table.

The bottom of the table features a key match between West Ham at Burnley. A second consecutive win at London Stadium would pull currently relegation bound West Ham even on points with currently barely safe Burnley.

All the way up the table, Arsenal will visit surprising Sunderland. The match is another litmus test for the unexpected success of the Black Cats. Premier League leader Arsenal is on a ten-match winning run across all competitions after their Champions League win on Tuesday.

Other matches this weekend will have Fulham making its first visit to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium to face Everton, Brentford facing Newcastle with each club coming off a loss and Chelsea hosting a Wolves side whose winless form saw their Manager Vitor Pereira sacked last weekend. Chelsea recently defeated Wolverhampton 4-3 in the EFL Cup on October 29th.

Premier League Week 10 Results: Liverpool Blanks Aston Villa To Stop Slide; First West Ham Win For Nuno As Hammers Beat Newcastle; Pereira Sacked After Wolves Fall To Fulham; Manchester United Leaves It Late To Salvage Point At Forest; Chelsea Wins At Spurs

Liverpool ended its Premier League drought with a 2-0 victory over visiting Aston Villa. A four-match losing run for the Reds also ended a four-match winning run by Aston Villa in the Premier League. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was gifted an opening goal on a poor clearance by Emi Martinez, a much-needed break for the struggling Salah and the Reds. The goal was Salah’s 250th for the Reds across all competitions, making the Egyptian star just the third player to accomplish that at Liverpool, joining Ian Rush and Roger Hunt. Ryan Gravenberch scored Liverpool’s insurance goal in the second half. Aston Villa threatened in the first half but was thoroughly frustrated in a second half where Manager Unai Emery was red carded for his vocalized discontent.

Arsenal, meanwhile, continued to employ what could prove a championship formula. The Gunners relied on a stifling defense and set piece mastery to defeat Burnley 2-0. The match was the seventh clean sheet for Arsenal and goalkeeper David Raya this season with the Premier League winners having allowed only three league goals all season. Victor Goyerkes scored the opening goal off a corner kick, marking the 12th time this season that Arsenal has converted from a dead ball situation. Declan Rice would score later in the first half to provide more than sufficient insurance for Arsenal and its smothering defense.

Manchester City is now Arsenal’s chief pursuer after the Citizens downed Bournemouth 3-1 at the Etihad. Erling Haaland was unsurprisingly the scoring star with two first half goals while teammate Nico Reilly became the first Manchester City player not named Haaland to score a goal since September. Bournemouth competed better than the final score might indicate but was unable to convert chances when presented, the Cherries’ Eli Kroup, in particular, wasting some good goal scoring opportunities.

Nico's first goal of the season 🩵 pic.twitter.com/nKOv4Z6GS4

— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 2, 2025

Tottenham Hotspur’s struggles at home continued with a 1-0 loss to visiting Chelsea. Spurs has now taken but a single point from its last four home matches. Supporters are beginning to become frustrated with both those results and a style of play which is more pragmatic than pleasing. Things change quickly in the Premier League. After an overall good start to the Premier League season built on road success, Manager Thomas Frank is now coming under criticism for his style of play and the unfortunate results at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Chelsea, meanwhile, will hope Saturday’s goal by Joao Pedro proves a turning point for a player who had been brilliant much earlier in the season before slumping of late.

While Spurs and Chelsea were engaging in their London derby, a man’s job was going up in flames farther south in England’s capital city. Wolverhampton Manager Vitor Pereira was sacked immediately following Wolverhampton’s 3-0 loss to Fulham. Pereira was highly acclaimed for improvement he instituted last season to move Wolves out of relegation danger. He was even awarded a new three-year contract early this season despite signs that the tide was turning. The season has progressed miserably, however, for Pereira and the club as Wolves has yet to win and occupies that nefarious place at the bottom of the Premier League table. The stress was clearly taking a toll as Pereira had to be forcibly removed from a heated discussion with Wolves supporters just a week ago. The pasting at Craven Cottage proved to be the final straw. Whoever will replace Pereira is still a question mark. There should also be some shame on the part of Wolves ownership which stripped Pereira of stars like Matheus Cunha, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo last summer with little to no reinvestment. The new Wolves manager will take over a side which is eight points from safety.

Another manager of a distressed side had a much better weekend than Pereira. Nuno Espirito Santo, himself a one-time Wolves manager and on his second team this season after parting ways with Nottingham Forest, recorded his first Premier League win as manager of West Ham in a 3-1 victory over Newcastle. In addition to the manager’s first win, it was the first home victory at London Stadium this season for the Hammers. West Ham moved to within three points of safe but vulnerable Burnley in battle for league survival.

Leeds, meanwhile, signaled its desire to be part of the relegation battle by losing for the third time in its last four Premier League matches. A 3-0 defeat at Brighton leaves the Whites just four points clear of the drop line. Diego Gomez scored two second half goals for the Seagulls after Danny Welbeck had given the Seagulls a halftime lead.

Nottingham Forest is a point below West Ham in the relegation zone. The Tricky Trees ended a four-match losing run but hoped for even more Saturday until Manchester United’s Amad Diallo scored an 81st minute equalizer in a 2-2 draw. While salvaging a point, the draw at the City Ground ended a three-match winning run for an improving Manchester United side.

It did not take long for Brentford to come back to earth after its impressive 3-2 win at Liverpool last week, part of a three-match winning streak for the Bees across all competitions which ended Saturday. Crystal Palace prevailed 2-0 over the Bees at Selhurst Park as JP Mateta scored his fourth goal in his last two matches for the Eagles. Mateta’s six goals on the season are joint second in the league, albeit well off the 13-goal pace of league leader goal scorer Erling Haaland.

Former Arsenal player Granit Xhaka scored his first Sunderland goal on Monday to give the Black Cats a 1-1 draw versus Everton. Xhaka’s 46th minute strike at the Stadium of Light equalized a match which was dominated by Everton in a first half which saw Iliman Ndiaye score to give the Toffees the halftime lead. Everton, piloted by former Black Cats Manger David Moyes, has now won but once in its last eight matches.