England Round 6

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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Crystal Palace:
Henderson; Guehi, Richards, Lacroix; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino; Mateta

Liverpool:
Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak

Crystal Palace will welcome Liverpool to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon. They are the two remaining unbeaten sides in the 2025-26 Premier League season. This is going to be their third mutual game in the last four months. Interesting, the Eagles are more successful, they won the FA Community Shield on penalties and drew at Anfield previously. It is clear the manager Oliver Glasner is doing a fantastic job and the fans are pleased. Strong defense is base for the success, the Eagles have conceded just two goals, the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League alongside Arsenal. In the last round Palace beat 2:1 West Ham United thanks to goals scored by Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell. But not everything was positive against the Hammers. Yeremy Pino came off at half time with a knee complaint, and he is rated as doubtful for this game. Five players remain sidelined - Cheick Doucoure, Chadi Riad, Walter Benitez, Odsonne Edouard and Caleb Kporha.

Liverpool have started the new season in excellent way. They won the opening five matches of the Premier League, plus two more in cup competitions. The Reds beat Bournemouth at Anfield, then Newcastle at St James Park, Arsenal at home, Burnley at Turf Moor and city rivals Everton. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent, while the players confidence is high. Liverpool also started victorious in the Champions League, beating 3:2 Atletico Madrid. The Reds progressed in Carabao Cup after winning 2:1 against Southampton. But Liverpool paid a high price. The young centre-back Giovanni Leoni, who came this summer from Serie A side Parma, have suffered a devastating ACL injury. Most probably he will miss out the rest of the season. Slot was already short on that position, with Joe Gomez as only backup solution now. Furthermore, Hugo Ekitike was sent off. The 23-year-old scored the winner for the Reds but was then sent off for a second bookable offence after celebrating by removing his shirt.

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool Prediction:

Liverpool have a dream start of the season - five matches, five victories. The players confidence is high and they will go for another victory. But if any side is able to upset the reigning champions, that's Crystal Palace. The Eagles have lost just one of the last four mutual games with Liverpool. I think they are able to produce lot of problems to the current leaders. The Reds have won all seven competitive matches, but rarely keep clean sheet. Liverpool kept the net untouched only against Arsenal and Burnley. On the other side, Bournemouth have scored two, just as Newcastle and Atletico Madrid. Even Southampton, who play in the Championship Division, scored at Anfield. Plus, they missed some clear opportunities. I expect Palace to score, but I also expect Liverpool to find the back of the net. Slot has too many options in attack.

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.64 with Pinnacle

 

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Chelsea vs Brighton Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Chelsea:
Sanchez; James, Adarabioyo, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Pedro

Brighton:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, De Cuyper; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Gomez, Mitoma; Rutter

Chelsea will welcome Brighton to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. The Blues have collect eight points from the opening five rounds. First they played a goalless draw with Crystal Palace. The Eagles are not a naive side, but Maresca's players have to win such games. At the end they dropped two points. The second and third round brought two victories. They beat West Ham 5:1 and Fulham 2:0. But then came a big disappointment. Chelsea conceded a late goal at Brentford to drop another two points, while last weekend they suffered a painful defeat at Old Trafford. The match was virtually decided by Robert Sanchez's fifth-minute red card. The inconsistency continue to be a huge problem for Maresca. In the meantime, Chelsea lost 3:1 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but won 2:1 against League One side Lincoln in Carabao Cup. Maresca has some injury issues as Dario Essugo, Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile and Liam Delap are all sidelined. Mykhaylo Mudryk is still serving his lengthy suspension for doping. Finally, Buonanotte is ineligible to face his parent club on Saturday. On the positive note, the goalkeeper Sanchez served an one-game suspension.

Brighton are currently sharing the 14th place with Nottingham Forest. Both teams have 5 points, three less than sixth-placed Chelsea. Considering the fans expectations, this is a poor record. Indeed, many pundits were expecting to see Brighton fighting for a Champions League spot. But their manager Fabian Hurzeler has one big problem - the away form. While Hurzeler's men are unbeaten on three matches at Amex, the situation is quite opposite away from home. have played two games on road and lost both - to Everton and Bournemouth. Chelsea are much better and I predict difficult time for Brighton. Nevertheless, the Carabao Cup victory at Burnsley could bring some confidence. Brighton won 6:0, with Diego Gomez the key name on the match. The ex-Inter Miami midfielder scored four of the Seagulls' six goals - including two thunderbolts from outside the penalty area - and became the first player to net four goals in a League Cup away game since Julio Baptista for Arsenal against Liverpool in 2007. Gomez will probably start here, replacing Gruda. At the end few words about the injury situation, Hurzeler has three injury worries as Jack Hinshelwood, Solly March and Adam Webster remain sidelined.

Chelsea vs Brighton Prediction:

Brighton won the last mutual game played in February with 3:0. However, it was at Amex Stadium. The situation is completely different at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have won the last three mutual games. That's the first reason for my pick. Second reason is connect with the actual results of Brighton. The Seagulls have played two league matches on road and lost both - to Everton and Bournemouth. Their poor away form is a big problem for Hurzeler ahead of the match. Finally, the quality is on Chelsea side. After all, they are FIFA. Club World Cup winners and their ambitions are high. Collecting three points here is very important for Maresca.

Chelsea vs Brighton Pick: Chelsea to win @ 1.79 with Pinnacle

 

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Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Nottingham Forest:
Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Zinchenko; Sangare, Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood

Sunderland:
Roefs; Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Masuaku; Rigg, Xhaka, Sadiki; Talbi, Isidor, Le Fee

Nottingham Forest will welcome Sunderland to the City Ground on Saturday evening. The Tricky Trees were the biggest surprise last season. Until the last round they were fighting for a Champions League spot, but few poor results in the finish of the season prevent them to participate in the European top competition. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo did a fantastic job, something like Claudio Ranueri with Leicester City in 2016. The fans were pleased with his job, but owner Evangelos Marinakis started a "war". As a result, Nuno was sacked few weeks ago. Just to mention, he was handed a new contract this summer, but admitted that his relationship with Marinakis was "not the same" and "not so good as it was last season". Nottingham have taken just five points from their opening five Premier League games. They beat Brentford in the first round of the season, while shared the points with Crystal Palace and Burnley. The defeat from West Ham on August 31 have triggered the change as the former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was appointed as new manager. Forest remain unbeaten at Betis in the Europe League on Thursday. The Australian tactician has three injury worries - Ola Aina remains out with a hamstring injury, while key defender Murillo and Douglas Luiz are doubtful.

Sunderland are newcomers in the Premier League, so the start of the season could be evaluated as good. The Black Cats have two victories, two draws and one defeat on the opening five matches of the new season. Sunderland managed to beat West Ham and Brentford, shared the points with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, while the lone defeat came at Burnley. It is too early for any conclusions, but the fact they are sharing the sixth place on the table is very positive. Manager Regis Le Bris is doing a solid job and I believe the fans are satisfied. And if he save the club from relegation, he will be a hero. But Le Bris has a huge issues ahead of this match. Reinildo Mandava was sent off against Aston Villa and he is suspended. That's not all as almost a half team is out injured. The biggest handicap is the absence of club-record signing Habib Diarra. He is ruled out until December after undergoing groin surgery. In addition, Leo Hjelde, Romaine Mundle, Aji Alese, Luke O'Nien and Dennis Cirkin are also out injured.

Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland Prediction:

Postecoglou was under constant pressure last season with Tottenham. It seems the current season is not an exception. The fans are desperate for victory, as well as Marinakis. And this is an ideal opportunity, against newly-promoted side. Sunderland have shown some good performances and won't give up easily. Nevertheless, Nottingham are favorites for two reasons. First is the home advantage, while the second reason is connect with the fact Sunderland have some injury and suspension problems. Finally, player like Wood is able to make a difference in this match.

Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland Pick: Nottingham Forest to win @ 1.79 with Pinnacle

 

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Newcastle vs Arsenal Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Newcastle:
Pope; Trippier, Botman, Burn, Livramento; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Elanga, Woltemade, Gordon

Arsenal:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze

Newcastle will welcome Arsenal in a derby match of the Premier League sixth round derby. The Magpies didn't start very good in the new season. They have six points after the opening five rounds. Newcastle have just one defeat in the process, a 3:2 home loss to Liverpool. Losing to champions isn't a catastrophe, but the problem is they have just one win, against bottom-placed Wolverhampton. In the meantime Newcastle suffered a 2:1 home defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League. Howe is doing a solid job, but the reason for the poor results are strongly connect with injuries and suspensions. Key striker Anthony Gordon was sent off against Liverpool and skipped three domestic matches. His absence was a big handicap, but the good news is he's now available. The injury situation looks much better as only three players remain sidelined - Fabian Schar, Yoane Wissa and Jacob Ramsey. Jacob Murphy is managing an Achilles niggle, although the 30-year-old will play if necessary.

Arsenal have stared the season in solid way, with three victories, one draw and one narrow defeat. They beat Manchester United at Old Trafford and then destroyed Leeds United and Nottingham Forest at Emirates, However, they lost to the reigning champions Liverpool at Anfield and shared the points with Manchester City last weekend. Nevertheless, the Gunners were solid on both derbies, but the gap to the leaders Liverpool is now five points. Arsenal were excellent in Europe, too. They visited Athletic Bilbao in the first round of the Champions League and won 2:0 at San Mames. The players confidence is high, so they will go for a victory at St James Park. The Gunners simply can't afford to lose more points. Arteta has some injury worries, but he also has a long roster this season. Noni Madueke will be out for at least two months due to a knee injury, but Bukayo Saka is ready to deputize. Captain Martin Odegaard has recovered from a shoulder injury an could start here, while Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus remain long-term injury victims.

Newcastle vs Arsenal Prediction:

Newcastle and Arsenal faced four times last season, twice in the Premier League and twice in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup. Arsenal were clear favorites, however Newcastle recorded three victories, including both matches at St James Park. But that was last season, now is different. It is clear Arsenal are stronger, while Newcastle aren't at the same level after they lost Alexandar Isak. The Magpies have won just one of their opening five Premier League games. Furthermore, they have failed to score in three of those five games. Arsenal should take advantage of their weaknesses. The quality is on their side and I expect to win.

Newcastle vs Arsenal Pick: Arsenal to win @ 2.15 with Pinnacle