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Premier League Round 28 Full Preview - Team News, Form Guide and What’s At Stake This Week

With the run-in beginning to crystallise, the upcoming Premier League fixtures carry the potential to shape seasons, either derailing campaigns entirely or propelling sides towards defining achievements.

Champions Arsenal easily overcame rivals Tottenham Hotspur last week, as they ran out a comfortable 4-1 win, with the PGMOL equipment causing controversy.

Manchester City kept within five points of the league leaders with their win against Newcastle, whilst Champions League chasing Aston Villa and Chelsea could only be held to draws against relegation candidates Leeds and Burnley.

This led to Manchester United and Liverpool capitalising, with the North-East sides both winning their games and taking one step forward to Europe’s premier competition.

Down towards the foot of the table, Wolves’ wretched campaign lurched on with a 1–0 defeat to Crystal Palace, another afternoon where toil brought no reward. West Ham United inched closer to safety after grinding out a goalless draw against AFC Bournemouth, a point that felt more pragmatic than pretty.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest were left crestfallen as Alexis Mac Allister struck in the 97th minute to snatch victory for Liverpool F.C., handing Vítor Pereira the first league defeat of his tenure at the City Ground in the most brutal fashion imaginable.

All of this leaves this weekend’s fixtures poised delicately on a knife-edge, where every touch, tackle, and turning point could redraw the contours of the season once more.

Wolves vs Aston Villa

For fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers, you have just five league home games left before this nightmare is over.

So far this season, Wolves have played 13 league matches at the Molineux, with their players picking up just six points.

Beyond dismal.

Their next test comes tonight against Aston Villa, a side still entrenched in the Champions League conversation despite a slight dip in form in recent weeks.

Between the 28th September and 27th December, won 12 of their 13 league games, surging into third place and establishing themselves not only in pole position for a Champions League berth, but also as genuine dark horses in the title race.

Unfortunately for fans of the Villains, just one win in their past four league matches has seen their progress grind to a stop, and with a high-flying Manchester United sitting just three points behind, Villa have to step on the gas to ensure their league position.

Friday night football... IT'S MATCHDAY 🟣👊 pic.twitter.com/uTO612DoCj
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 27, 2026

Bournemouth vs Sunderland

Many critics thought that when star player Antoine Semenyo left Bournemouth for Manchester City in the January transfer window, the Cherries would crumble.

Between the 27th October and 6th January, Semenyo and co were unable to muster a single league victory, enduring a bleak run of six defeats and five draws.

In this time, Andrei Iriola’s side tumbled from 2nd to 15th in the league.

In his parting act for the club, the Ghanaian winger authored a fittingly dramatic farewell—striking in the 95th minute to sink Tottenham Hotspur, and deliver Bournemouth their first league win since October.

But since Antoine Semenyo’s departure, AFC Bournemouth have looked revitalised.

In the six matches following their 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth have accumulated 12 points in the form of three wins and three draws—seeing them shoot up the table into 8th.

They now face a Sunderland side who have the opposite form. After a fantastic start to the season, which saw the Black Cats as high as 4th, Sunderland’s European dreams have come crashing down in the 2026 calendar year, winning just two of their seven games.

They now languish behind rivals Newcastle in the Premier League table.

ANTOINE SEMENYO OH. MY. WORD.
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) January 7, 2026

Liverpool vs West Ham

Perhaps not the most glamorous matchup on paper, but certainly the most consequential.

Whilst every team always goes into a fixture wanting a win, this may be the only match of the weekend where both teams are desperately in need of a win.

The clubs have similar parallels to draw from. Both endured alarmingly poor starts to the season—by their own standards, at least—and have now been stuck in a position that they would not have foreseen prior to the start of the campaign.

Both Liverpool and West Ham are slowly turning the cogs to change their season around.

The start of 2026 was not glamorous at all for Liverpool. In their first five league games, they managed four draws and one loss, making it the first time they were without a Premier League win in five games for the first time in five years.

They soon corrected their poor form, winning three of their past four league fixtures.

West Ham did one worse than Liverpool. They started 2026 in a dire situation, handing Wolves their first league win of the season, before rolling over to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.

Yet, much like Liverpool F.C., they recalibrated. In the six matches following that defeat to Forest, the Hammers have taken 11 points and suffered just a single loss

That is why this fixture carries such weight. For one, it is an opportunity to consolidate a Champions League push; for the other, a chance to edge closer to mathematical safety.

The margins are fine, while the consequences will be grim.

🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/43YFSRXeKw
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 26, 2026

Newcastle vs Everton

It has been strange watching Newcastle in the Champions League over the past week and a half, as you would not think a side that struck nine past the champions of Azerbaijan would be struggling in the Premier League.

Okay, fair enough. I hear you shouting at me whilst I am writing this. Yes, Qarabag are just the champions of Azerbaijan. Not France, not Spain, nor Germany. Azerbaijan.

But regardless of which country they play their fixtures in, Qarabag held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw, whilst also defeating Benfica, FC Copenhagen, and Eintracht Frankfurt.

All of this for Newcastle, a side that has scored just six goals in their last six league games, to put nine past them?

And to make matters worse, this Newcastle side has had an appalling season thus far, they sit 11th in the table—12 points behind 4th—and have won just once in their past six league matches.

They host an Everton, a side whose form has tailed off in recent weeks, yet still possesses a sharp attacking edge capable of cutting through opponents when afforded even the slightest margin for error.

4 - Anthony Gordon is only the second player in UEFA Champions League history to score four goals in the first half of a game, after Luiz Adriano for Shakhtar Donetsk against BATE Borisov in October 2014. Another. pic.twitter.com/wPmYvPSCDb
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 18, 2026

Burnley vs Brentford

The battle of the B’s.

The second consecutive week Brentford has faced off against a side beginning with B—last week they lost 2-0 to Brighton—and coincidentally, they will face Bournemouth on March 3, in just four days.

They are really putting their club nickname, ‘The Bees,’ to good use.

The home side, Burnley, has found some revitalisation in the past few weeks, but has left it too late.

After picking up just 12 points in their first 20 matches, Burnley have accumulated eight points from their past seven, but still sit six points behind 18th-placed West Ham, and eight points below Nottingham Forst who are currently safe from the drop.

However, a win against Brentford could see them climb the table, and if other matches were to go their way, Burnley could find themselves with a sliver of hope.

They face a Brentford side who are flying high in the table—currently in 7th, chasing European glory—but have won just five of their 13 away matches this season.

Plenty to smile about for Keith 😀🐝 pic.twitter.com/J0S78N2dma
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) February 27, 2026

Leeds vs Manchester City

After the first 13 games of the Premier League season, it seemed that Leeds were destined to face the drop yet again.

Just 11 points picked up, 18th in the table, and they were on a five-match losing streak.

Daniel Farke was under mounting pressure, and it appeared as though Leeds United were nowhere near lifting the lid off a situation that had begun to simmer dangerously close to boiling point.

Their loss to Manchester City—the fifth in their losing streak—felt particularly corrosive. After battling back from 2–0 down to restore parity, Phil Foden drove the knife in, striking in the 91st minute to snatch the points.

But since that fateful match, Leeds have turned the tables.

14 games, 20 points, and the Whites have dragged themselves away from relegation.

Manchester City, by contrast, have surged into formidable form as they attempt to salvage yet another Premier League crown.

Since their 2–0 defeat to rivals Manchester United, City have collected 13 points from a possible 15, trimming the gap to just five points to league leaders Arsenal, with a game in hand still to play.

Man City score from offside, only to be demolished by Leeds. The true Man City. #lufc pic.twitter.com/ZVUOldtGZp
— LUFC Legacy (@LUFCbornandbred) September 18, 2024

Brighton vs Nottingham Forest

A match between the sides who have been struggling to find form throughout the 2025/26 campaign.

Brighton, despite fighting for European football and ending the 13th matchweek in 5th place, have struggled throughout this season and has won back-to-back league games just once.

After their 2-0 win against Brentford last weekend, a win against a Nottingham Forest side who are desperate for points would be enough to ensure that back-to-back victory.

The seagulls may sit 14th in the league, but if they were to win, and other results around them were to go their way, they could find themselves sitting as high as 9th by the time the weekend ends.

Nottingham Forest, however, will be a big obstacle in their way. Under new manager Victor Pereria, Forest qualified for the round of 16 in the Europa League as they beat Fenebache 4-2 on aggregate.

Their minds will be split, however, as they fight for their first piece of European silverware since 1980, and battle relegation.

A war on two fronts.

Ryan Yates’ finger in Nottingham Forest’s clash with Fenerbahce tonight 🤢 #NFFC | #UEL pic.twitter.com/WnOBarfNSC
— Football Park (@FP_CentreCircle) February 26, 2026

Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur

A second successive London derby awaits Tottenham Hotspur, and anything less than a point would deepen the unease that has been quietly building. Fail to take something from this one, and concern may begin to harden into genuine alarm.

Put it this way: if West Hama nd Nottingham Forest both win their match, while Spurs suffer yet another loss, the Europa League holders would plummet to 17th, perched just a single point above the relegation zone.

Precarious doesn’t even begin to cover it; they would be balanced on a knife-edge.

The only Premier League side yet to pick up a win in 2026, Spurs have managed to accumulate just four points from nine matches, suffering embarrassing defeats to Manchester United, West Ham, and most recently, rivals Arsenal.

They face a Fulham side who are gunning for a European spot. After three losses on the bounce, the Cottagers refound their form as they blew Sunderland away 3-1 to give the Black Cats just their second home loss of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur deserve to get relegated
— One (@HeadieOne) February 22, 2026

Manchester United vs Crystal Palace

Since Michael Carrick took the reins as interim manager at Manchester United, the Red Devils have been the premier side in the league.

Six games, five wins, and the only time they dropped points was a 1-1 draw to West Ham.

It has seen United fly up the table to occupy a Champions League spot for the first time this season. If Aston Villa loses to Wolves this evening, Manchester United could leapfrog them into 3rd.

Crystal Palace stands in their way.

A sort of bogey team in the past few years, Manchester United defeated Crystal Palace for the first time in the league since 2023 earlier in the season.

Palace themselves have been on a bad run of form. Despite winning two of their past four matches, if we pull the scope back and look at their form in their past 12, they have picked up just nine points.

Michael Carrick will be hoping for an easy match as his side strengthens their Champions League ambitions.

Last time out against Crystal Palace ⏮️🦅 pic.twitter.com/MeIIRmWxYt
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 27, 2026

Arsenal vs Chelsea

For the second week in a row, Arsenal will face a London rivalry and be the premier match up the weekend.

This time, they face Chelsea.

A side gunning for the Premier League title vs a side battling for a Champions League spot.

A fixture steeped in history, where players have crossed the divide and animosity runs deep, straight down to the very marrow of both clubs.

Arsenal, of course, will be hoping for a win to calm the nerves in the title race. After dropping four points in two disappointing matches against Wolves and Brentford, Mikel Arteta's side looked over their shoulders to find the machine that is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City just two points behind.

The Gunners steadied the ship with a momentous 4-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur, but as City have a game in hand, they are effectively just one loss away from gifting the league lead to City.

Chelsea will be motivated on two fronts. On one side, they do not want their rivals to clinch Premier League glory for the first time since 2004, and on the other side, they have their own personal goals to achieve by qualifying for the Champions League.

Chelsea have scored just once in their last five appearances vs. Arsenal at the Emirates.

The goal was scored by former player Noni Madueke 😅 pic.twitter.com/bpz35jQJ1d
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) February 25, 2026

Journalist

Joe Ryan

Features Journalist