Weekly Premier League Review: Matchday 13

Great to be back after the International break where nations faced off for the Euro 2024 Qualifiers. Many qualified whilst many missed out on participating in the competition next year with Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard’s Norway won’t be seen playing in the tournament. To move ahead we have the Premier League returning with Matchday 13 coming our way with some exciting clashes to be witnessed during the weekend.

Saturday

Manchester City vs Liverpool 

Time: 6:00 pm 

It’ll be the clash of the top two teams in the Premier League this time out when Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will take on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the first match on Saturday. The two good friends and managers will be hoping to win to extend the lead on the top with either of them becoming the number one if they win. The Etihad Stadium will host the match where Erling Haaland would be hoping to show his frustration on the goal for not being able to qualify for Euro 2024.

Manchester City's last 5 matches: L-W-W-W-D

Injury list: De Bruyne, Kovacic, Gomez, Ederson, Haaland, Stones, Nunes

Liverpool's last 5 matches: D-W-W-D-W

Injury list: Thiago, Robertson, Mac Allister, Jones, Gravernbach, Gomez, Konate, Bajcetic

Burnley vs West Ham 

Time: 8:30 pm 

20th-placed Burnley will take on 9th-placed West Ham on Saturday with a hope of gaining some point to climb someplace up the premier league table. Vincent Kompany’s side is struggling badly with a lack of form and pressure competing in the toughest league in the world. West Ham on the other end is in a respectable position and won’t find this competition too hard for themselves as they must be bracing themselves for an easy win.

Burnley's last 5 matches: L-L-L-L-L

Injury list: Cork, Dakhil, Muric, Foster

West Ham's last 5 matches: D-L-L-L-W

Injury list: Antonio, Bowen

Luton Town vs Crystal Palace

Time: 8:30 pm

First-time promoted Luton Town will be given a tough test when they face Premier League regulars Crystal Palace on Matchday 13. Thankfully, the newcomers are in 17th position with Everton dropping points for breaking the FFP rules that got them to 19th position, they can hope to ease up just a little. Crystal Palace on the other hand will be hoping to extend some lead over rivals in the table with some vital points to improve their position.

Luton Town's last 5 matches: L-L-L-W-D

Injury list: Anderson, Potts, Sambi Lokonga, Burk, Woodrow, Doughty, Obgene, Issa Kabore, Amari’I Bell

Crystal Palace's last 5 matches: D-L-L-W-L

Injury list: Rak-Sakyi, Tompkins, Henderson

Newcastle vs Chelsea 

Time: 8:30 pm

The second mouth-watering clash on the same day is between Newcastle playing home to West Londoners Chelsea. A great performance from the London Blues against Chelsea when they drew 4-4 against them in their last match, they’ll be hoping to play with the same charisma against the Saudi-owned outfit as well. Meanwhile, Newcastle is in 7th position with a hearty goal difference in their bad and they’ll hope to collect some vital points to add on the go too.

Newcastle's last 5 matches: D-W-D-W-L

Injury list: Tonali, Murphy, Burn, Wilson, Botman, Anderson, Barns, Hall, Guimares, Almiron, Schar, Longstaff, Isak, Manquillo, Targett

Chelsea's last 5 matches: W-D-L-W-D

Injury list: Fofana, Chilwell, Lavia, Colwill, Gusto, Nkunku, Chalobah, Chukuemeka

Nottingham Forest vs Brighton

Time: 8:30 pm 

The top half has some struggling teams that started pretty well in the season but have not been able to replicate the form for long, and here comes Brighton that comes to mind instantly. Winless in their last more than 5 matches and in dire need to boost their morale with a must-win encounter against host Nottingham Forest who themselves have not been able to play well with so much effort put in the transfer market this time out to build the perfect 11.

Nottingham Forest's last 5 matches: D-D-L-W-L

Injury list: Awoniyi, Hudson-Odoi, Dos Santos, Elanga, Danilo, Filipe

Brighton's last 5 matches: D-L-D-D-D

Injury list: Welbeck, March, Enciso, Dahoud, Dunk, Estupinian, Milner, Ferguson, Mitoma, 

Sheffield United vs Bournemouth 

Time: 8:30 pm 

An encounter, not many people must be excited about but the fact that both the teams have performed at almost the same level since the beginning of the season, it’d certainly be a tough match for both of them with end-to-end drama. 16th placed Bournemouth will face 18th placed Sheffield United in a bid to not drop points since a win or lose points both will impact their standing in the table.

Sheffield United's last 5 matches: L-L-L-W-D

Injury list: Basham, Lowe, Vinicius, Bogle, Ahmedhodzic, McBurniew, Brewster, Norrington-Davies, Egan, Davies, Jebbison

Bournemouth's last 5 matches: L-L-W-L-W

Injury list: Adamas, Aarons, Scott, Billings, Fredricks, Hansen, Randolf

Brentford vs Arsenal 

Time: 11:00 pm

The favorites for title contenders Arsenal are up against a Brentford side who feels no setback for the unavailability of star striker Ivan Toney. Both the team have been doing pretty well with the steatite they have as one has lost just a single game in the last 12 premier league matches whilst the other has been able to cause some major upsets to larger teams. An exciting encounter to finalize your day off in style.

Brentford last 5 matches: L-W-W-W-L

Injury list: Henry, Hicky, Toney, Schade, Collins, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter, Dasilva

Arsenal's last 5 matches: W-D-W-L-W

Injury list: Partey, Viera, Smith Rowe, Raya, Odegaard, White, Soares, Timber 

Cover Credits: Reuters