Premier League Fixtures Preview: Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea All in Action This Weekend

Premier League Fixtures Preview: Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea All in Action This Weekend

The English Premier League has well and truly returned, with game week one bringing us nothing but entertaining and fiery affairs, from London Derbies to Sunday’s Arsenal-United thriller.

This week could have even more in store, with Thomas Frank’s first visit to the Etihad as Spurs boss, and Liverpool’s trip up to Tyneside in what is sure to bring a merciless, hostile crowd.

So, with the Reds, Chelsea, and Manchester City all contesting very important matches already, here is what we have to look forward to over the weekend.

West Ham United vs Chelsea – Friday 22nd August (20:00 BST)

The first match of game week two is the Blues’ second London Derby of the season, as they head to east London to take on West Ham.

The Hammers suffered a dreadful defeat on the opening weekend to Sunderland in Wearside, falling 3-0. Graham Potter’s side did threaten but failed to make the most of their chances.

Something Chelsea also did in their opening match with Crystal Palace, as they dropped two points at Stamford Bridge. Heading to the London Stadium, both teams will be desperate to get off the mark and pick up their first win of the season.

"I think the boys played well, we created chances"

Robert Sanchez on Chelsea's draw with Crystal Palace 👇 pic.twitter.com/TzoqDbGZoq

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 17, 2025

West Ham will need to bounce back from that defeat to the Black Cats and a result in east London on Friday evening is necessary to avoid any incoming questions surrounding the safety of Potter’s job.

After the spending of BlueCo over the summer, and with Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho still waiting for their moves, Enzo Maresca is expected to challenge for the title this season, and a victory against an out-of-sorts West Ham will be demanded from the World Champions.

Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur – Saturday 23rd August (12:30 BST)

A seemingly rejuvenated Man City side face their first big test of the 2025/26 campaign, as they host Frank’s new-look Tottenham in Manchester on Saturday lunchtime.

The Citizens got off to a perfect start on the opening weekend, defeating Wolves, with debutants Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki both finding the scoresheet, while Mohammed Kudus impressed on his debut in white.

City’s transfers made in the first of the summer windows have seemed to have gone under the radar, with Liverpool’s and Arsenal big-money transfers taking centre-stage, but Pep has got his team playing very good football, and they can certainly push to reclaim their throne this season.

As for Tottenham, they heavily impressed against Burnley, albeit a side doomed for the drop. But nonetheless, the Lilywhites have a lot still to prove even after last season’s fairytale ending. Victory at the Etihad will make a statement to the rest of the league that Frank’s side are not one to write off.

34' ⚽️ Haaland
37' ⚽️ Reijnders
61' ⚽️ Haaland
81' ⚽️ Cherki

Highlights from our opening day win at Wolves in the @premierleague ✨ pic.twitter.com/pMMaTcv1m1

— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 16, 2025

Bournemouth vs Wolves – Saturday 23rd August (15:00 BST)

The first of the 3 o’clock kick-offs, we have Bournemouth hosting Wolves. Both sides were defeated by Liverpool and Man City respectively.

Antoine Semenyo was by far the best Cherries player on the opening evening, scoring a brace in their 4-2 defeat at Anfield. As for Wolves, it was a disappointing performance to start the season, despite playing the Citizens.

Both teams will be eager to win all three points at the Vitality Stadium, and after both sides have lost so many key players over the summer period, it will be interesting to see which has rebuilt better. Andoni Iraola’s side looked much better against Liverpool than Wolves did against City, but when three points is desperately required, it’s anyone's call.

🍒 ANTOINE SEMENYO HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!! BOURNEMOUTH DRAW LEVEL!

Semenyo picks the ball up deep in his own half and runs to the edge of the Liverpool box before placing it past Alisson! Incredible solo goal! pic.twitter.com/nnBWZZgNIe

— Football Insider (@footyinsider247) August 15, 2025

Brentford vs Aston Villa – Saturday 23rd August (15:00 BST)

The second of three 3 o’clock kick-offs features a new-look Brentford under new coach Keith Andrews welcome Unai Emery’s Aston Villa to the Gtech Community Stadium.

The Bees suffered a 3-1 loss in Nottingham on the opening day, while Villa hosted a stalemate with Newcastle. Brentford were still struggling to find their identity on the opening day, and with the losses of their starting keeper, Bryan Mbeumo and club captain Christian Nørgaard, with Yoane Wissa’s departure imminent, many are tipping the Bees to face the drop in May.

Their incoming set of fixtures look promising, and we will start to understand where they may end up, but this match against the Villains is mightily important. They will have the support of the home crowd behind them, but Emery will set his team out to be ruthless as Ollie Watkins will look to continue his good form against his former club.

📈🔥Ollie Watkins in his last 4 matches vs Brentford: ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽🅰️

5 Goals, 1 Assist, 0 Blanks✅ pic.twitter.com/LVEc8do2fO

— ALLABOUTFPL (@allaboutfpl) August 21, 2025

Burnley vs Sunderland – Saturday 23rd August (15:00 BST)

The last of the non-broadcasted Premier League fixtures features two newly promoted teams who experienced vastly different welcomes to the top-flight, and Saturday’s fixture at Turf Moor has more on the line than some may think.

Burnley were simply outclassed by Tottenham on the opening day, shipping three goals without response in what is looking to be another tricky campaign ahead. Meanwhile, Sunderland thrashed West Ham 3-0, thanks to incredible Premier League debut from Daniel Ballard, who earned a huge 17-point haul for his FPL managers.

This is one of those fixtures that both teams will see as a relegation six-pointer and a must-win. After a major summer rebuild, the Black Cats must stay up to make their purchases worthwhile, and a win here will already make up 15% of the magical 40 points usually required by many teams to stay afloat.

Defeat for Scott Parker’s Clarets, however, will already see some fans giving up hope and fans may turn against Parker who already has a poor top-flight record, while a win would give the team an immense boost and hope to push on.

'It was the perfect start. The lads were so focused.'

Dan Ballard on his goal, the clean sheet and yesterday's three points... 📺⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Xn3U9XHt8t

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) August 17, 2025

Arsenal vs Leeds United – Saturday 23rd August (17:30 BST)

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal meet Daniel Farke’s Leeds in the tea-time kick-off on Saturday evening, with both sides looking to maintain their 100% starts.

Arsenal registered their first three points in a well-fought victory over Manchester United on the opening weekend, which was backed up by sealing a legendary hijack deal over North London rivals Tottenham to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. Leeds themselves had an excellent return to the first tier, beating Everton on Monday night in a controversy-struck match which saw them sneak a 1-0 victory.

Viktor Gyökeres will be eager to find his first competitive strike for the Gunners, and a home match against Leeds looks like a perfect time to achieve that. Arsenal are certainly favourites to take the share of the spoils, and they will look to buffer the goal difference early on, as they look to continue their perfect start as they aim to challenge for the title once again.

Lukas Nmecha was the scorer of Leeds’ opening goal of the 2025/26 season, and he will look to stun Arsenal early on Saturday as they prepare for a shock upset. It’s a long season ahead for Leeds, and that victory against Everton will settle any early nerves as they look to survive this season.

FT: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal.

ARSENAL HAVE WON THEIR OPENING FIXTURE OF THE NEW PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/QCQB37rjTS

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) August 17, 2025

Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest – Sunday 24th August (14:00 BST)

The first of three Sunday fixtures features two surprise European contenders this season, as Oliver Glasner’s Palace host Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Eagles put in a superb performance against Chelsea on the opening weekend and proved that they can compete with the best in the country. Palace could have won the match too, if Eze’s free kick wasn’t controversially ruled out. Midweek, however, they did lose their talisman to Arsenal, leaving fans uncertain as to what they can expect this season without their star man.

Forest kicked off their campaign with an excellent 3-1 win at home to Brentford, with Chris Wood scoring a brace and starting the season where he left off. This game is very close to call, and it could come down to the quality of scoring chances for both sides. With two stubborn defensive lines and two immaculate strikers, this match is definitely one to keep an eye on.

A stunning free-kick goal by Eze was ruled out by VAR for wall interference 👀 pic.twitter.com/NrGwAj8r46

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 17, 2025

Everton vs Brighton & Hove Albion – Sunday 24th August (14:00 BST)

The second 2 o’clock kick-off features two winless sides as David Moyes’ Everton host their first Premier League game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium where they take on Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton.

The Toffees will be distraught by their defeat on Monday evening in Leeds, and they were left furious after James Tarkowski was adjudged to have handled the ball that led to the hosts’ winning penalty. Meanwhile, the Seagulls were denied three points late on on the south coast, with a 97th-minute equaliser forcing Hürzeler’s side to settle with one point.

Out of the 10 Premier League clubs to have played at two different grounds in the top-flight, only one has lost, which bodes well for Everton, who will have a raucous crowd behind them.

Whereas Brighton are currently unbeaten in four visits to Everton, so this game is already looking like a thriller. Hürzeler’s side are also on a good away run heading into this fixture and won 3-0 in Merseyside this time last year.

A feature interview with Jack Grealish headlines our special commemorative programme for Sunday's first #PL game at Hill Dickinson Stadium. 📘

Pre-order your copy online or subscribe for the season. ⬇️

— Everton (@Everton) August 21, 2025

Fulham vs Manchester United – Sunday 24th August (16:30 BST)

Sunday’s main event features Manchester United in action at Craven Cottage against Fulham for a 4:30 kick-off.

Marco Silva’s side scraped a late point against Brighton thanks to Rodrigo Muniz, who will look to be more influential in the scoring department this campaign. As for Man United, they will be pleased with their performance against Arsenal, but they were lacking any final product on the day to get past the Gunners defence.

Fulham do not have a good record against the Red Devils, and Sunday could just add to their pain. They have won just one of their past 19 games against them, so the Cottagers will require a miracle in order to get win three points.

United, meanwhile, have won each of their past eight games at the Cottage, and they will be looking to make history on Sunday by making Fulham the first opponent that they have won nine times against away from home.

📊 Fulham have not beaten Manchester United at Craven Cottage in the Premier League since 2009!#MUFC pic.twitter.com/OlTFGWudb9

— UtdXclusive (@UtdXclusive) August 21, 2025

Newcastle United vs Liverpool – Monday 25th August (20:00 BST)

The final fixture of game week two will certainly be one that Alexander Isak will be tuning into, as his current employers Newcastle host defending Champions and potential future employers Liverpool on Monday evening at St James’ Park.

The Magpies held Villa to 0-0 draw on Saturday lunchtime last week, a result which Eddie Howe would be pleased with considering the drama around the camp at the moment. Liverpool won an incredible match against Bournemouth, with four different scorers in the frontline, with Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, and Mo Salah getting his customary opening day goal.

Howe’s outfit will be eager to give something for their fans to cheer about by taking the scalp of last year's Champions, and given the transfer saga, it will be a highly tense and spicy affair.

Liverpool will be looking to make just another step forward in reclaiming their title crown and might even do a dirty double on Newcastle if they can win and secure Isak’s signature midweek.

🚨⚪️⚫️ BREAKING: Newcastle statement in response to Alexander Isak.

“
We are disappointed to have been alerted to a social media post by Alexander Isak this evening.

We are clear in response that Alex remains under contract and that no commitment has ever been made by a club… pic.twitter.com/mBQuYWdr8R

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 19, 2025