England Round 7

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Arsenal vs West Ham Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

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

West Ham:
Areola; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf; Magassa; Bowen, Fernandes, Paqueta, Summerville; Fullkrug

Arsenal will welcome West Ham to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Gunners have four victories, one draw and one narrow defeat after the opening six rounds. They beat Manchester United, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, while last weekend secured a late victory against Newcastle at St James Park. In the meantime Arsenal lost to Liverpool at Anfield and shared the points with Manchester City. The Gunners were solid on both derbies, but collected just one point. However, the gap to the leaders Liverpool is now just two points after the Reds lost at Crystal Palace. Arsenal are good in Europe, too. They beat Athletic Bilbao and Olympiakos in the opening two rounds of the Champions League. The players confidence is high, so they will go for a victory against struggling West Ham. The Gunners simply can't afford to lose points in match like this. Arteta has some injury worries, but nothing serious. Noni Madueke will be out for at least two months due to a knee injury, but Bukayo Saka is ready, which is even better option. Captain Martin Odegaard has recovered from a shoulder injury and took part in the victory against Newcastle. Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus remain long-term injury victims.

West Ham have started the season with four defeats in five matches. It was clear something had to be changed and the club officials decided to sack Graham Potter. The former Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed as Hammers head coach on Saturday, just two days before the clash with Everton. Without a proper training session, Nuno managed to leave the Hill Dickinson Stadium unbeaten. West Ham felt behind to Michael Keane's 18th-minute header, but managed to equalize after 65 minutes thanks to Jarrod Bowen's strike. But there's no time for celebration, Arsenal are the next opponents on Saturday, exactly one week after Nuno started his job. According to me, Arsenal are the worst possible side to face at the moment. The atmosphere in the club is not at desired level. The majority of the fans chanted "sack the board", while West Ham were losing from Everton. Of course, owner David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady weren't enjoy listening the fans. Nuno has the majority of his players ready, though two of them are sidelined. Tomas Soucek serves the third and final match of his suspension for his sending-off in the loss to Tottenham Hotspur, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is still nursing a stomach problem and is rated as doubtful for the London derby. James Ward-Prowse has already been told that he has no place in the new boss' plans. The 30-year-old has accepted the decision with professionalism and he will sign for another club in January.

Arsenal vs West Ham Prediction:

Arsenal are in excellent form, they beat Newcastle and Olympiakos in the last seven days. The players confidence is high and I expect the winning series to continue. West Ham, meanwhile, had a turbulent week. The club officials sacked Potter due to poor results and hired Nuno Espirito Santo. His debut was against Everton. The Hammers remained unbeaten playing an 1:1 draw thanks to Bowen's fantastic strike. But let's be honest, Arsenal are class above Everton. The Gunners should enter the match fully motivated and without underestimation. They know how difficult this fixture could be. Last two seasons West Ham managed to upset Arteta and his players at the Emirates, winning 1:0 on 22.02.2025 and 2:0 on 28.12.2023. It is hard to swallow that Arsenal, who scored 11 goals versus West Ham as guests, were unable to find the back of the net at home. It is clear they will enter the match fully motivated and I expect a high victory for Arsenal.

Arsenal vs West Ham Pick: Arsenal -1.5 AH @ 1.65 with Pinnacle

 

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Chelsea vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineup:

Chelsea:
Sanchez; James, Acheampong, Badiashile, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Estevao, Buonanotte, Neto; Pedro

Liverpool:
Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Isak

Chelsea will welcome the reigning champions Liverpool to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. The Blues have collect eight points from the opening six rounds. They have a balanced record of two victories, two draws and two defeats. Maresca's players beat West Ham and Fulham, shared the points with Crystal Palace and Brentford, but suffered a painful defeats to Manchester United and Brighton. The inconsistency continue to be a huge problem for Maresca. In the meantime, Chelsea lost 3:1 to Bayern Munich and won 1:0 against Benfica in the Champions League. Finally, Chelsea won 2:1 against League One side Lincoln in Carabao Cup. Maresca has big issues ahead of Liverpool visit as seven players are struggling with injury. That includes the key player Cole Palmer and his absence is a huge handicap. Palmer is simply irreplaceable, he's the main creative force in the team, but also the best goalscorer. In addition, Andrey Santos, Dario Essugo, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo and Liam Delap are also sidelined, while Wesley Fofana is rated as doubtful. Trevoh Chalobah will sit out the fixture through suspension following his red card against Brighton. Mykhaylo Mudryk is still serving his lengthy suspension for doping.

Just seven days ago the things looked ideal for Liverpool. They lost the FA Community Shield from Crystal Palace, but nobody care about that. What was important, they had all five victories in the Premier League. They didn't play at desired level, but somehow managed to beat Bournemouth, Newcastle at St James Park, Arsenal, Burnley at Turf Moor and city rivals Everton. The atmosphere in the squad was excellent, while the players confidence high. Liverpool also started victorious in the Champions League, beating 3:2 Atletico Madrid. But then a disaster happened. First they lost 2:1 to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Not only lost, but were outplayed. Goalkeeper Alisson Becker saved at least four clear opportunities and he's the reason why Liverpool's defeat was narrow. On Tuesday Slot's men traveled to Istanbul to face Galatasaray in the Champions League. Poor performance mixed with some strange referee decisions led to another defeat in just three days. But there is more bad news. First-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker suffered a groin injury and won't play here. Hugo Ekitike also left Galatasaray game, but he is rated as doubtful. Finally, Giovanni Leoni is long-term injury victim.

Chelsea vs Liverpool Prediction:

Both teams are in crisis. Liverpool lost twice in the last seven days, first from Crystal Palace in the Premier League and then to Galatasaray in the Champions League. Chelsea, meanwhile, lost to Manchester United and Brighton in the last two domestic fixtures, but managed to beat Jose Mourinho's Benfica in Europe. However, I think Liverpool are closer to the victory. Maresca confirmed that Cole Palmer will miss the Liverpool clash due to a persistent groin problem. His absence is a huge blow given his creativity and set-piece quality. Palmer joins an already lengthy list of injury or suspension absentees. Liverpool will also miss some players, most notably goalkeeper Alisson. However, Mamardashvili is also good and I expect solid performance from the former Valencia keeper. Finally, Slot has lot of players able to make a difference in such derby. They don't forget to score goals. It is just a matter of time when they will shine.

Chelsea vs Liverpool Pick: Liverpool to win @ 2.28 with Pinnacle

 

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Brentford vs Manchester City Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Brentford:
Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Hickey; Henderson, Yarmolyuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago

Manchester City:
Donnarumma; Nunes, Stones, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Gonzalez; Savinho, Foden, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland

Brentford will welcome Manchester City to Gtech Community Stadium for their Premier League 2025-26 fixture. I expect an interesting and intense contest between these sides. The Bees are coming in after beating 3:1 Manchester United in their previous league fixture. Brentford performed very good and completely outplayed the Red Devils to secure three crucial points. Igor Thiago puts Brentford 2:0 up in opening 20 minutes. However, Benjamin Sesko pulled one back with his first goal since arriving this summer from Red Bull Leipzig. The fans were hoping United could escape a defeat, but captain Bruno Fernandes was denied a penalty by former Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher. The Bees secured the win with a sensational long-range goal from Mathias Jensen in the stoppage time. Brentford now have seven points and sit on the 13th place. The fans are not fully satisfied as they want to see their club fighting for Europe, not in relegation battle. New manager Keith Andrews, who replaced Thomas Frank, is well aware about that and I am sure he is feeling some pressure. He has good news ahead of City match as Reiss Nelson and Fabio Carvalho are both back in contention, while Gustavo Nunes is rated as doubtful.

Manchester City were inconsistent last season and it was a traumatic experience for Pep Guardiola. It seems the current season is not an exception. The Citizens beat Wolverhampton 4:0 in the opening round. But then City suffered two painful defeats from Tottenham and Brighton. It was a repetition of the inconsistency City displayed throughout last season. The return of Rodri didn't impact the result immediately. Many fans are afraid how City will continue, though the last results were solid. They beat 3:0 Man United, then shared the points with Arsenal at the Emirates and then demolished Burnley. Manchester City had a solid start in the Champions League too. They beat Napoli 2:0 at the Etihad, while shared the points with Monaco. The atmosphere in the squad is better now, but this match is very important for Pep and his players. Some players are still struggling with injuries. This match comes too soon for Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki, Abdukodir Khusanov and Rayan Ait-Nouri. Their absence is definitely a problem as Guardiola can't rotate the players in the most intense period of the season.

Brentford vs Manchester City Prediction:

Many believed Brentford will struggle for goals after Mbeumo and Wissa left the club. Losing such talented players usually means a massive issue for the club. And don't forget Frank, one of the most successful managers in the club history, also left. However, the last weekend clash with United showed Brentford have new good striker in the name of Igor Thiago. The Brazilian is now on four Premier League goals this season, a tally only bettered by Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. Man City are also in good form, they beat Burnley 5:1 last weekend and played a 2:2 draw with Monaco. Haaland is easily scoring, but another player should also be mentioned. Phil Foden has scored seven Premier League goals against Brentford in the past, including six at the Gtech Community Stadium. I expect goals from both sides.

Brentford vs Manchester City Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.61 with Pinnacle