The Premier League weekend brings a major test for Arsenal as they host Chelsea at the Emirates, with both sides putting their perfect league records on the line, while struggling Tottenham face another difficult challenge as they look to stop a disastrous start to the season.
Defending champions Arsenal and Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea are among the four teams to have won their opening two league matches, alongside Manchester City and newly promoted Hull.
Arsenal have begun their title defence with the same defensive strength that helped them finish last season. Their 1-0 victory at Aston Villa last weekend, following a 3-0 opening-day win over Coventry, made it six clean sheets in seven league matches.
England winger Bukayo Saka has also provided another boost for manager Mikel Arteta, scoring twice after an injury-disrupted 2025/26 campaign.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have made an impressive start to the Xabi Alonso era, winning three matches in all competitions. Their attack has looked dangerous, although defensive weaknesses remain a concern.
Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have scored five of Chelsea’s seven league goals in victories over Fulham and Brighton. However, Alonso will be eager to improve a defence that has already conceded five goals in those matches.
History also favours Arsenal, with Chelsea winless in their last nine Premier League meetings against the Gunners.
Tottenham Desperate For A Spark
Tottenham head into Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest at the bottom of the Premier League table, desperate to reverse a worrying start.
Spurs suffered a 3-0 defeat against Brentford in their opening match before losing 2-0 to Newcastle. The poor start comes despite the club spending more than £350 million in the summer transfer window as part of an attempted rebuild.
Among the high-profile arrivals were Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Savio, but Tottenham have yet to show clear signs of improvement.
They now face a Nottingham Forest side that defeated them twice last season.
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi, however, remains confident his team can avoid another relegation battle.
“After two defeats, maybe somebody can think it’s the same story, the same as the last two seasons,” De Zerbi said.
“I have no doubt it’s not like this. I think I can’t change my opinion after two defeats. I have a big, big confidence in the qualities of my players.”
Iraola Seeks Liverpool Lift-Off
New Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola will also be looking for his first Premier League victory when his side travel to newly promoted Ipswich on Friday.
Liverpool have been held to frustrating draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, while conceding four goals in their opening two matches.
France forward Bradley Barcola could make his debut following his move from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of up to £124 million.
He joins an expensive Liverpool attack featuring Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and the injured Hugo Ekitike.
Despite their attacking options, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes the squad remains unbalanced.
“It does not look like a balanced squad,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “Liverpool are short in the full-back areas and probably a midfield player as well.”
Iraola welcomed the closure of the summer transfer window, saying the squad can now focus fully on football.
“Once the market is closed, we know who we are,” he said. “I think we have a lot of talent in this group of players.
“Now we have to perform, we have to do our job and we have to start from tomorrow.”
EPL Fixtures
Friday
– Ipswich v Liverpool — 1900 GMT
Saturday
– Newcastle v Bournemouth — 1130 GMT
– Brentford v Sunderland
– Brighton v Leeds
– Fulham v Crystal Palace
– Manchester City v Coventry
– Nottingham Forest v Tottenham
– Hull v Aston Villa — 1630 GMT
Sunday
– Everton v Manchester United — 1300 GMT
– Arsenal v Chelsea — 1530 GMT
