By Robert Wheeler
- Arsenal play Spurs in the North London derby
- Crystal Palace are up against Chelsea in a London derby
- City face United in the Manchester derby
UK – Following the international break, this weekend sees two London derbies and a Manchester derby.
Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur, Saturday 1 October, kick-off 12:30
Arsenal is still the league leaders but Tottenham Hotspur could leapfrog them with a victory on Saturday. Spurs are undefeated and come into the game having beaten Leicester City 6-2 last time out.
Against Leicester, Harry Kane scored his 6th goal of the season whilst Son Heung-min came off the bench to bag a hat-trick. Antonio Conte‘s side is looking very dangerous going forward.
The Gunners were also victorious in their last match, Mikel Arteta‘s responded to losing to Manchester United with a 3-0 victory over Brentford. Gabriel Jesus scored his 4th goal of the season in that game but the headlines were grabbed by 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri becoming the youngest ever Premier League player.
The North London derby is always a hotly contested tie and both sides come into it on good form. We can look forward to a feisty encounter.
Score prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Tottenham
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea, Saturday 1 October, kick-off 15:00
For the first time, Graham Potter will be in the dugout for Chelsea in the Premier League. Potter has already taken charge of Chelsea in the Champions League where they drew 1-1 with RB Leipzig.
Potter’s last game in the Premier League was a fantastic 5-2 victory over Leicester City with Brighton, so will be looking to hit the ground running in the competition with his new team.
Thomas Tuchel did take all three points in his last league game for the Blues against West Ham, although they were heavily helped out by VAR disallowing Maxwel Cornet’s late equaliser. Substitutes Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell were key to their victory but Chelsea will be hoping its starting XI will do the business this weekend.
The victory over the Hammers was not the most convincing, and it got worse for Tuchel when they lost to Dinamo Zagreb. Along with two defeats in the league so far this season this was too many for Chelsea. They have new owners in Todd Boehly but have the same regime of being brutal when it comes to deciding to get rid of a manager.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is likely to make his Chelsea Premier League debut after playing against Dinamo Zagreb and RB Leipzig with a protective mask. It is a shame for Aubameyang to see Tuchel go as he was his manager at Borussia Dortmund and would have been looking forward to playing under him again.
Crystal Palace has not had the best of starts to the season, Patrick Viera‘s side lies in 16th place with just one victory so far. The Eagles are up against it but anything can happen in a derby.
Score prediction: Crystal Palace 0-2 Chelsea
Manchester City vs Manchester United, Sunday 2 October, kick-off 14:00
Manchester United defeated the league leaders Arsenal 3-1 at Old Trafford in their last Premier League game and could make it five wins in a row in the league if they beat Leeds on Sunday. However, United have since suffered a shock defeat in the Europa League as they fell to a 1-0 defeat by Real Sociedad but picked themselves up to defeat FC Sheriff 2-0.
The Red Devils themselves have shown great attacking intent recently with Marcus Rashford scoring twice against the Gunners whilst new signing Antony also got off the mark. Cristiano Ronaldo managed his first goal of the season against Sheriff from the penalty spot. Although Jadon Sancho was left out of the England squad he did star in that win in Europe and also found the back of the net.
Manchester City is currently undefeated in the league and sits second in the table just one point behind Arsenal. Their last game saw them dispatch Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0. Erling Haaland scored again against Wolves which puts his tally for goals up a very impressive 11.
Pep Guardiola‘s side has also been on form in Europe beating Sevilla 4-0 and Borussia Dortmund 2-1 with Haaland netting the winner against his former side. This weekend’s class of the titans in the Manchester derby will be an intriguing one and could go either way.
Score prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Manchester United
Last Matchweek’s predictions vs actual results
| Rob’s prediction | Actual result |
| Brentford 1-2 Arsenal | Brentford 0-3 Arsenal |
| Tottenham 2-0 Leicester | Tottenham 6-2 Leicester |
| Wolves 1-3 Manchester City | bster City |
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