Football writer Alex Keble analyses where this weekend's fixtures could be won and lost, including:
- Can Brighton do the double and add to Man City's woes?
- Can Forest build on City win by ending their poor away streak?
- Is Marco Silva the division’s most under-rated manager?
- Can Wolves get close to the finish line with victory at Southampton?
- How long will Arsenal and Chelsea's goalscoring problems continue?
- Can Leicester build on new 3-4-2-1 with quick counters against Man Utd?
- Are Bournemouth in regression or can Iraola lift them back up?
- Is Moyes going to show West Ham what they’re missing?
Can Brighton do the double and add to Man City's woes?
Defeat at Nottingham Forest last weekend made it two losses in the last three for Manchester City. To lose again would risk heads dropping as City enter a three-week break from Premier League action, plunging them back into the dogfight for UEFA Champions League football.
The most worrying thing about their defeat at the City Ground is that it was not a Rodri problem. Man City looked out of ideas as Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne all struggled.
If they play like that on Saturday a youthful and energetic Brighton & Hove Albion side, on a run of four consecutive Premier League wins, will beat them. They have already done it once this season.
Back in November it was Carlos Baleba coming on at half-time that gave Brighton control of central midfield, pushed Man City back, and allowed the hosts to start pinging diagonals out to Kaoru Mitoma to drive at the defence, as for this equalising goal:
If Man City are passive again, then we could get a repeat at the Etihad Stadium and a result that puts the spotlight back on Pep Guardiola’s problems.
Concede two more goals and it will be the most Man City have ever conceded in a single season under Guardiola. One more defeat and it will be the most Guardiola has experienced in a campaign in his managerial career.
Those aren’t records Man City will want to stew on until April.
Can Forest build on City win by ending their poor away streak?
Forest’s win against Man City last weekend was undoubtedly their biggest result of the season, re-establishing their place in the top four and reaffirming their ability to go the distance.
Yet Nuno Espirito Santo will know it counts for nothing if his side cannot consolidate it with victory at Portman Road on Saturday.
On paper, they ought to do it. Since the start of last season Forest are unbeaten in 10 matches against promoted sides (W7 D3), winning the last six in a row.
What’s more, Ipswich Town are the only side in England’s top four tiers without a league win so far in 2025.
But it’s not as simple as that. Forest tend to prefer playing the bigger teams, who allow them to sit deep and counter-attack, whereas a more defensive side like Ipswich might fancy their chances of extending Forest’s losing streak on the road to four.
This is a deceptively crucial game for Nuno and Forest – and far from a foregone conclusion.
Is Marco Silva the division’s most under-rated manager?
It isn’t the headline fixture in a packed Sunday that also includes the EFL Cup final, but for the Fulham manager it’s a huge milestone: his 200th Premier League match.
As a testament to just how big an achievement that is, Marco Silva will become only the second Portuguese head coach to hit the double century after Jose Mourinho.
Silva is arguably the most under-rated head coach in the division, his reputation held back by our early impressions of him at Hull City, Watford and Everton, where in all three instances his ambitious attacking football was undermined by porous defending and short tenures in charge.
But Silva has matured into a more pragmatic and rounded coach at Fulham and he is rarely given enough credit for turning a Championship club into a top 10 side so quickly, and on such a modest budget.
Silva has the highest win rate of any Fulham head coach in the competition (37.5 per cent), surpassing even Roy Hodgson, who took the Cottagers to a Europa League final in 2010.
They could yet be back in that competition next season.
Can Wolves get close to the finish line with victory at Southampton?
Wolverhampton Wanderers moved six points clear of the bottom three last weekend with a 1-1 draw against Everton - a good result considering Matheus Cunha was absent for Vitor Pereira's side.
A nine-point gap would probably be enough to seal their Premier League status next season.
Ipswich, Southampton, and Leicester City have a combined 43 points after 28 matches, the worst record at this stage in Premier League history.
PL bottom-three lowest combined points tallies
| Season | Points total |
| 2021/22 | 57 |
|---|---|
| 2018/19 | 56 |
| 2023/24 | 49 |
| 2024/25 | 43 |
At the current rate, Ipswich and Leicester are on track to hit 23 points, the figure Wolves are already on.
Either could put a run together, of course, but if the gap becomes nine points this weekend it might feel insurmountable for players at both teams.
Southampton have lost each of their last eight home matches in the Premier League by an aggregate score of 29-5.
A win for Wolves might end this year’s relegation battle.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
28 | -19 | 23 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
28 | -32 | 17 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
28 | -37 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
28 | -48 | 9 |
How long will Arsenal and Chelsea's goalscoring problems continue?
The title might appear all-but over, yet there is still plenty of life in the Premier League and the weekend’s headline match is hugely consequential for the hosts in particular.
Should Chelsea win they will move to within only three points of Arsenal. If that was to happen, all of a sudden Arsenal’s grip on the Champions League places would loosen.
The form guide tells us Chelsea can win, even if it’s been a while since both teams have entered this derby in such poor form.
Arsenal are without a win in three Premier League matches and suffered a 1-0 defeat to West Ham United in their last outing at Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile Chelsea continue to labour under Enzo Maresca, their wins against the bottom two clubs Leicester and Southampton doing little to lift spirits.
Both clubs face similar problems.
No Nicolas Jackson and an out-of-form Cole Palmer has left Chelsea struggling for goals. Arsenal’s well-documented injury crisis has damaged their title bid.
Yet counter-intuitively, both teams might welcome a big match like this.
It should be more open than their average Premier League contest, meaning space for Palmer to pick a pass and space for the returning Gabriel Martinelli to stretch his legs.
At least one of these two sides should put their Premier League goalscoring worries behind them.
Can Leicester build on new 3-4-2-1 with quick counters against Man Utd?
This is the fourth time Leicester and Manchester United have played each other this season. Ruud van Nistelrooy has been in the dugout for each one, twice managing United and now twice at Leicester.
United have won all three, and with Leicester having lost 12 of their previous 13 Premier League matches, including their last six at home by an aggregate score of 15-0, you would think this one will go the same way.
But Van Nistelrooy believes he may have found a solution to Leicester’s poor form, throwing a spanner into the works.
“I can’t praise the players enough,” he said after a narrow 1-0 defeat at Chelsea last weekend in a new 3-4-2-1 formation.
Indeed Leicester did look more solid with five at the back, although taking only three shots on goal suggests they need to work on how to counter-attack quickly in that shape.
Throughout Ruben Amorim’s tenure so far, Man Utd have looked weakest when gifted possession and territory and allowed to spread wide. If Leicester sit back, they might draw out another wayward midfield performance from United.
The 3-4-2-1 brought clear improvements. If it can inspire a big result against a Man Utd side tired from their Thursday night Europa League action, then who knows? It might just be the catalyst for a comeback.
Are Bournemouth in regression or can Iraola lift them back up?
AFC Bournemouth have lost three of their last five in the Premier League, including their last two at Vitality Stadium. Since the start of February only the current bottom three sides have earned fewer than their total of four points.
Are Bournemouth in regression? We might find out this weekend when they host a Brentford side who have won four consecutive away matches. If Thomas Frank’s side make it five, Bournemouth could end the day in 10th place and only three points above Brentford in 12th.
Andoni Iraola’s side looked full of life at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, however, and were unlucky not to win.
Their high-pressing and fast transitions will likely clash with a similar approach from Brentford, creating an exciting end-to-end match for the neutral.
That’s not exactly what Iraola will want, mind. If it’s chaos at Vitality Stadium, then in-form Brentford will likely come out on top, putting Bournemouth’s European ambitions in serious doubt.
Is Moyes going to show West Ham what they’re missing?
When David Moyes left West Ham United for a second time last summer it was widely seen as the right moment for all parties, with the Hammers ready for more expansive football to entertain supporters.
But as we enter the final 10 matches of the campaign with West Ham in line for their lowest league finish in five years, a fair few fans might be having second thoughts.
We are only at the very beginning of Graham Potter’s tenure and it would be unfair to judge him this early, although West Ham are already falling into a familiar Potter pattern: they have failed to score in 37.5 per cent of their Premier League matches under the new head coach (3/8), compared to 20 per cent under former boss Julen Lopetegui (4/20).
They are also averaging 9.3 shots per match under Potter, compared to 14.6 under Lopetegui.
Everton, meanwhile, are unbeaten in eight league matches under Moyes and a victory on Saturday would accelerate them three points clear of his former club.
Everton's last five PL results
Defeat to a Moyes team would be particularly painful for West Ham, making a tough season even more difficult to bear.
