Premier League: Match Week 23 Preview

Michael Carrick faces another formidable challenge just one week after defeating Manchester City in his interim manager role for Manchester United. Having knocked off second place Manchester City, Carrick now travels to north London for a matchup with table leading Arsenal. It may be a good time to face the Gunners who have lacked pop in their attack in their last two Premier League matches. Arsenal has failed to score a goal in two successive goalless draws, the second of which was to lowly Nottingham Forest. Gabriel Jesus revived Arsenal’s attack with two goals in a 3-1 Champions League defeat of Inter during the week. Can that spark carry over Saturday against Carrick and the Red Devils? Manchester United is riding the high of its Manchester derby conquest and still has opportunity to qualify for next year’s Champions League competition. Can Carrick lead them there or was last weekend’s victory nothing more than a new manager bounce?

Manchester City should be wary of Wolves this weekend. The Citizens added an embarrassing Champions League flop during the week to their recent spate of poor Premier League play. A 2-1 loss in Norway to Bodo/Glimt resulted in the club offering to refund the ticket cost to poor supporters who had made the icy trek to witness nothing but dreck. Wolverhampton visits the Etihad riding a four-match unbeaten run in the league and is playing much better football under Manager Rob Edwards.

Newcastle, presently eight in the Premier League table, is only three points from a top four position in the congested league table. The Magpies will have a chance to show their mettle and Champions League worthiness when Aston Villa visits St. James’ Park this weekend. Villa will be anxious to put a damaging loss to Everton last week behind them. The home loss at Villa Park ruined an opportunity for the Villans to move within four points of Arsenal in the title chase.

Liam Rosenior will be managing his second Premier League match for Chelsea on Saturday. Opposing manager Oliver Glasner seemingly cannot wait to manage his last match, whenever that may be, with Crystal Palace. The Palace manager destroyed his relationship with club ownership with scathing commentary that followed public announcement that he will not return to the club next season. Glasner is now not just the lamest of ducks but a volatile problem for the Eagles who are riding a ten-match winless run under their petulant leader. Everything would seem to point towards a Chelsea victory over an unsettled Palace squad which also sold cornerstone captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City last week and is reportedly also shopping striker JP Mateta. Rosenior’s side was impressive last week in stopping a Brentford squad which had been on a six-match  unbeaten run.

Are you enjoying this Liam Rosenior ball ? 👀 pic.twitter.com/O9H9r4VHKV

— Dennoh (@CFC_dennoh) January 21, 2026

The Bees return to their home G-Tech Community Stadium this weekend to host Nottingham Forest. The battle at the bottom of the table between Nottingham Forest and West Ham, for the final safe position ensuring a Premier League return next season, is made more interesting by Hammer Manager Nuno Espirito Santo having started the season in charge of Forest. Santo rebounded quickly from his sacking by the Tricky Trees to land the West Ham gig, at the expense of Graham Potter, in a move which looked like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

West Ham raised some eyebrows last weekend, however, by grabbing a rare win, only its fourth of the season, at Tottenham Hotspur. To its’ credit, Nottingham Forest mitigated that body blow by drawing with Arsenal. This Saturday’s match at London Stadium could be pivotal when West Ham hosts Sunderland. Can Nuno build some momentum for the Hammers to escape the zone at the expense of his former team? The current gap to safety is now five points.

Sunderland, meanwhile, has been one of this season’s feel-good stories as the Black Cats have returned with every intention of staying for a while. The Black Cats are in the top half of the table, far from the relegation rumble.

Leeds is also surprising observers with a recent run of form which has seen the Whites lose only one of its last nine Premier League matches. The Whites go to Everton on Monday to face a Toffee side which took some of the starch out of Aston Villa with a 1-0 win at Villa Park last week.

Things look grim for Burnley, but the relegation side has not yet rolled over, drawing three of its past five league matches. The Clarets are home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Spurs Manager Thomas Frank may have bought some time with a Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund during the week but his chair heats up again if he falters versus relegation bound Burnley.

Liverpool, out of the running for a Premier League title, remains a threat in the Champions League after a 3-0 win at Marseilles. The Reds are currently fourth out of 36 Champions League clubs, having secured their place in the tournament’s playoff phase. The Reds are also fourth in the Premier League standings but trail Arsenal by an insurmountable14 points. Liverpool heads to the south coast o face Bournemouth Saturday.

A tasty mid table match features Brighton on the road at Fulham. The two clubs are separated by just one point as they try to keep hope alive for a European place. The congested table sees ninth place Fulham just three points below sixth place Chelsea, though four clubs reside between the two. Everything is still on the table for a Conference League or even a Europa League spot for all those clubs.