Premier League Preview: It’s derby day in the top-flight 

With another international break placed into the archives, the return of domestic action brings with it some tantalising fixtures this weekend. The Premier League has started in typically thrilling style and after eight games played we have already been treated to some classics, with Gameweek 9’s offering serving up plenty more cracking ties – starting with the Merseyside derby on Saturday lunchtime. 

Liverpool seem to have dusted themselves down from what was a disappointing campaign by their usually high standards last term, beginning life in 2023/24 with 17 points obtained from a potential 24 on offer, and on Saturday they welcome their neighbours from across Stanley Park, Everton, sitting pretty in fourth spot and just three points off top. They are firm favourites for victory on Saturday but are perhaps meeting their arch rivals at a bad time, with Sean Dyche’s side having won three of their last four games after a catastrophically poor start. 

The Toffees were slow to get out of the blocks and a lack of cutting edge in front of goal succumbed them to the relegation zone during the opening sprint of this fascinating campaign, but a mini-resurgence has seen their fortunes change somewhat and they have now taken nine points from a possible 12 and are unbeaten on the road in their last four, with back-to-back away wins for the Blues, over Brentford and Aston Villa, seeing seeing them jump up to 16th. 

Liverpool, though, have been typically solid at Anfield this season, winning four of their five league games on home soil and drawing the other. The Reds’ main aspirations will be to secure Champions League football this season but at this stage they can definitely count themselves as serious title contenders alongside Man City, Arsenal and Tottenham given the top-four’s current state of play.

A win here would see them leapfrog City in third, should the Cityzens fail to beat Brighton at home on Saturday, but a defeat would leave them susceptible to tumbling out of the Champions League spots all together with Aston Villa and Brighton firmly chasing their tails. 

Away from the north west and there is another derby (of sorts) in the offing as Chelsea welcome Arsenal to Stamford Bridge in an all-London affair. Much like Everton, Chelsea’s season began slowly and whatever glimmer of hope there may have been for an unlikely title challenge has already been extinguished after a hugely disappointing and inconsistent opening run of results. 

The Blues already find themselves nine points behind leaders Tottenham and Arsenal, rooted exactly where they finished last season – 11th – after eight games, but have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks. 

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have now won three on the bounce and thrashed Burnley 4-1 away from home before the international break, reigniting fresh hope that they can mount a surge towards the top-four and eke their way back into Champions League contention in the upcoming months. The gap currently stands at six points, which is significant but attainable in equal measure should they manage to maintain this new-found level of performance although it must be said, that is the exact thing that this modern day Chelsea side has drastically struggled with in recent times. 

Arsenal, meanwhile, couldn’t have asked for a much better start and are joint-level with north London rivals Tottenham at the summit after the first eight games. Mikel Arteta’s men attained one of the biggest wins in their recent history with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City before the break, which has seen them pull two points clear of Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions heading into the beautifully chaotic winter period. 

Elsewhere on Saturday, there’s a pivotal clash between Bournemouth and Wolves as Gary O’Neil revisits his former stomping ground, looking to heap more misery on his former employers who sit second from bottom in the table and winless after eight games. 

There’s also a rare late kick-off on Saturday, as Sheffield United host Manchester United at 8pm. United needed two last-gasp goals from man of the moment Scott McTominay to beat Brentford last time out but will be hopeful of an improvement heading into a game against the division’s bottom club. A Blades side ravaged by welcome Erik ten Hag’s side to Bramall Lane with just one point to show for their efforts so far and it already looks as though remaining in the Premier League beyond this season will be an uphill task. Work to be done, and quickly. 

Premier League Gameweek 9 – fixtures in full:

Saturday 21 October 2023

12:30 Liverpool v Everton (TNT Sports)

15:00 AFC Bournemouth v Wolves

15:00 Brentford v Burnley

15:00 Man City v Brighton

15:00 Newcastle v Crystal Palace

15:00 Nott’m Forest v Luton

17:30 Chelsea v Arsenal (Sky Sports)

20:00 Sheff Utd v Man Utd (Sky Sports)

Sunday 22 October 2023

16:30 Aston Villa v West Ham (Sky Sports)