Premier League 2024/25 Matchday 3 - Preview & Predictions
The last round of fixtures before the first international break of the season throws up some interesting clashes in the Premier League.
Each matchday I’ll be focusing on a couple of Premier League matches from an in-depth perspective - with the help of Opta data - and then giving score predictions for the rest. At the bottom of each article will be a running count of how many winning results and correct score lines I mange to pick out throughout the season.
The pick of the bunch
Manchester United vs Liverpool
The latest edition of the Premier League’s most fierce rivalry gets underway on Sunday afternoon as Manchester United welcome old foes Liverpool to Old Trafford.
For the Red Devils, a 2-1 last minute defeat to Brighton last time out in the league will have done a lot to dent confidence. Throughout, United played fairly well but again, defensive shortcomings let valuable points slip and for that, Erik ten Hag once again came into the firing line for his team selection.
Despite joining the club a few weeks back, Matthijs De Ligt has yet to start a match for his new club and in truth, the Dutch international should be one of the first names on the starting XI list for this latest clash in the wake of Lisandro Martinez’s recent drop in form.
Regardless of whoever starts though, United will have to be at their very best to take anything from this match against Liverpool who have made another perfect start to the season. Under new manager Arne Slot they’ve so far beaten both Ipswich Town and Brentford 2-0 whilst playing some scintillating and free-flowing attacking football which will be on show again in Manchester this weekend. That’s seen them rack up both the highest number of shots (37) and highest xG tally (5.3) in the competition so far and interestingly, the last time that the visitors made the same start to a Premier League season in terms of results, they went on to beat United 1-0 on matchday three which was ironically also played on September 1st.
But in fairness, the Red Devils look markedly better equipped to deal with the away side this time around as they try to improve upon their dismal record of returning just one win across their last 12 league meetings with the Anfield outfit. Although defensively there are still question marks surrounding this Manchester United line up, it’s in the attacking areas where ten Hag’s side have thrived so far with players like Amad Diallo and new signing Joshua Zirkzee stepping up alongside Bruno Fernandes to both create and take chances.
There’s no doubt that the home side should have at least returned from Brighton last weekend with a point at the minimum and if they can get in Liverpool’s faces here from the off in front of a packed-out Old Trafford crowd, they could find some joy this time around.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool
Newcastle United vs Tottenham
Two sides who have made comfortable starts to their respective seasons so far clash on matchday three at St James’ Park as Newcastle United face their toughest test of the season so far.
Before defeating Nottingham Forest on penalties in League Cup action in midweek, Eddie Howe’s side had beaten Southampton on matchday one despite playing for the majority of the match with ten men after Fabian Schar was sent off. The Magpies then backed that up with a solid 1-1 draw on the road to Bournemouth last weekend in which they came from behind to salvage a point and as such, they should arrive back home in a confident mood for this match against Tottenham.
That should only be improved upon with a glance at their recent form against the London side, most notably as they’ve won three of their last four league head-to-heads - as many as in their prior 13 such matches combined - with the two home wins in that time coming via a combined 10-1 scoreline.
Their free scoring approach could continue here too, especially as they’ve netted in each of their last 20 home Premier League outings which remains as their longest in the Premier League since February 1996.
But this latest duel with Spurs should prove by far their hardest match of the campaign to date, especially as Ange Postecoglou’s side put Everton to the sword last weekend in a dominating 4-0 victory. That made up for the visitors’ 1-1 draw with Leicester the match prior, a fixture in which they should have easily taken all three points, but that result was indicative of life on the road of late for Spurs who have won just three of their last 14 away league matches.
What instead is guaranteed here is goals and there’s one main reason for that assessment. That’s because Newcastle vs Tottenham is the Premier League’s most played fixture to never feature a 0-0 draw, a 58-match long streak which has witnessed 186 goals scored in total. As such, it’s the competition’s third-highest scoring fixture in history and that’s been especially true of late with the last seven meetings averaging 4.9 strikes per game alone!
Prediction: Newcastle United 2-2 Tottenham
Arsenal vs Brighton
After defeating both Wolves and Aston Villa 2-0 so far to kick off their 2024/25 Premier League campaign, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be desperate to keep his side in the winning column as they look to chase down the title this time around.
It’s been a case of so far, so good for the Gunners who have looked extremely solid at the back once again, even despite the fact that new key signing Riccardo Calafiori has been afforded little playing time to this point. Arteta’s side have also proved themselves to be an attacking powerhouse at the other end of the pitch again, with Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka proving to be the pick of the bunch after both scored and assisted on the opening day against Wolves.
In this latest outing they face another side who have enjoyed a perfect start to their own campaign, Brighton, and have taken six points from six available for the third time in the last four campaigns. Much of that success has been underpinned by the Seagulls’ attacking output as they defeated Everton on their travels 3-0 on matchday one before Joao Pedro netted an injury time winner against Manchester United last weekend.
Brighton also continue to strengthen from a transfer perspective too, as Turkish defender Ferdi Kadioglu joined from Fenerbahce this week to take their spending to over £200million this summer, a simply unbelievable figure for a side who were languishing in the lower reaches of English football at the start of this century.
They’ll prove a handful for Arsenal on this latest trip to the Emirates Stadium without question, especially after winning three of their last seven Premier League matches at this venue, but with the Gunners’ backline looking to be in formidable form, the hosts should still steal all three points on this occasion.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Brighton
Predictions for the rest of the matchday
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Wolves
Leicester City 0-2 Aston Villa
Ipswich Town 2-0 Fulham
Brentford 2-0 Southampton
Everton 0-1 Bournemouth
West Ham 1-2 Manchester City
Chelsea 3-1 Crystal Palace
Predictions outcome so far this season
