EPL Game Week 8 – 2026/27 Season Premier League Tips – John Newsome

The highlight fixtures for the next set of EPL matches are ASTON VILLA versus MAN CITY and MANCHESTER UNITED versus BOURNEMOUTH. Our feature columnist, John Newsome, brings you his unique and insightful previews of these and all Game Week 8 matches. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.

Be sure to check out John’s new book, entitled “Three Days At Anfield“, a riotous and heartfelt tribute to Barnsley FC that blends football nostalgia, fan memoir, and a love letter to the beautiful game. Available on Amazon now. 

Please note all prices quoted below were correct at the time of publication.

Game Week-8

The weekend kicks off under the Friday Night lights at Portman Road as Ipswich Town host Nottingham Forest, with both sides desperate for points after an inconsistent start.

Saturday’s spotlight falls squarely on Villa Park as an in-form Aston Villa lock horns with high-flying, unbeaten Man City, while Arsenal welcome Everton to North London.

Sunday brings a blockbuster lineup of television fixtures, capped off by a fascinating tactical battle at Anfield where Liverpool welcome high-flying Brighton, alongside Manchester United hosting Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

Dive into John Newsome’s full, unvarnished breakdown of the weekend’s fixtures, complete with expert tactical analysis, sharp banter and his signature Betfred-backed correct score predictions!

Remember Betfred’s ‘Double Delight/Hat-trick heaven promotion.’

If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.

If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.

One can find all of the teams’ current Premier League position and the points on the board from the games played so far, at the end of this column.

Friday 23rd

IPSWICH v NOTTINGHAM FOREST

20.00 in England

Sky Sports

Ipswich did score twice against Man City at the Etihad on Saturday, however, despite Daizen Maeda and a Zian Flemming converted penalty, Ipswich suffered a defeat from a 3-2 scoreline.

In truth, the current Premier League leaders were the better team but Gary O’Neil’s Tractor Boys did put in a decent shift and will feel they have plenty of belief for the games moving forward.

Nottingham Forest suffered a narrow defeat against Arsenal at the City Ground on Sunday.

A single Gunners goal, conceded in the 2nd-half left Oliver’s Tricky Trees with a loss from a 1-0 scoreline.

That’s now 3 straight defeats in a row for Nottingham Forest which leaves them in the relegation zone.

Liam Delap will look to score against last season’s employers.

Evangelos Marinakis isn’t known for being patient with his Managers so although Mr Glasner has a little bit of credit in the bank, the Big Greek lad won’t give Oliver too much more time to get things right and if the losses continue, there might just be another new Manager in at the City Ground.

Betfred offer Ipswich at 2/1, the Draw at 13/5 and 5/4 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 9/1 that Leif Davis Scores Anytime and 11/8 that Liam Delap Scores Anytime.

Draw 1-1- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

Saturday 24th

ASTON VILLA v MAN CITY

12.30 in England

TNT Sport

Aston Villa gained a brilliant victory over Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday Night.

The new boy Johan Manzambi scored the only goal of the game to give Villa the win from a 1-0 score.

Unai Emery is starting to get his tactics over to the new signings and following a slow start to the campaign, Villa have now got the same points as last Saturday’s hosts.

That was Unai’s 100th Premier League win as a Manager, with both Arsenal (25) and Villa (75).

After a brilliant 6-0 win over Fenerbahce at Villa Park, Aston Villa are once again at home in Matchday 3 of the Champions League, facing the Norwegian side Vikings on Wednesday.

Vikings by the way, were 2-0 up against Bayern Munich last week, and whilst conceding 3 goals to trail, did score a 3rd themselves to gain a brilliant draw against the German Giants.

Man City continued their perfect start to the season, by gaining a brilliant win over Ipswich at the Etihad on Saturday.

Despite the noise and controversy off the pitch, City are putting the work in on the grass.

Phil Foden, who was starting his first Premier League game since the match against Crystal Palace in Game Week-2, scored the opener in the 19th minute to settle the nerves of the banana-waving Citizens in attendance.

The main man Erling Haaland scored twice to give Enzo Maresca’s Blues the home win from a 3-2 scoreline.

Ipswich scored their goals at 1-0 and 3-1 to give City cause for concern going into the final few minutes.

That’s now 7 wins from 7 in the Premier League so far, leaving City at the summit of the table, 3 points ahead of Arsenal.

Following Everton and Brentford’s defeats over the weekend, City are now the only team in the league that remain unbeaten.

It makes Enzo Maresca the first manager ever to win their first 7 games in charge of a club, surpassing Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who won their first 6 with City, Chelsea and Manchester United respectively.

Only Chelsea in 2005/06 with 9 straight wins and Liverpool in 2019/20 with 8 have had longer successful runs to kickstart campaigns than this one.

Man City are also in Champions League action on Tuesday, with City hosting AEK Athens at the Etihad.

City suffered a setback against Paris Saint-Germain last Wednesday, suffering a defeat against the holders from a 4-2 scoreline.

Despite the loss, it was a great game to watch with both teams playing some scintillating football on the night.

Betfred offer Aston Villa at 10/3, the Draw at 16/5 and Odds On 7/10 for Man City to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 9/4 that Erling Haaland Scores First and 16/5 that Man City Win Both Halves.

Away Win 1-3- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

ARSENAL v EVERTON

15.00 in England

It was a tough watch at the City Ground on Sunday Afternoon, with a single Noni Madueke goal, scored in the 80th minute, being the difference between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.

The win by a 1-0 scoreline leaves Mikel Arteta’s men on the coattails of Man City, with the 2 heavyweights set to meet at the end of November.

Arsenal head to Germany on Wednesday, to take on Harry Kane and Bayern Munich in the Champions League-League Phase.

The two met in last year’s competition with the Gunners getting the victory from a 3-1 scoreline.

That game was at the Emirates so it’s Bayern who have the home advantage this time.

Arsenal got a comfortable 3-0 win over Lille on Matchday 2.

Everton suffered a home defeat against Chelsea on Saturday, from a 2-0 scoreline.

Probably the annoying part of that for everyone connected with the club, is the fact that the Toffees are the first team this season, who haven’t scored against the Blues.

David Moyes needs to put the game behind him, regroup and get ready for this tough fixture against the Premier League Champions.

Betfred offer Arsenal at Odds On 2/5, the Draw at 18/5 and 15/2 for Everton to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 4/1 that Kai Havertz Scores First and 21/20 that Arsenal Win To Nil.

Home Win 1-0- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

COVENTRY v FULHAM

15.00 in England

Coventry’s Jack Rudoni did score in the 2nd-half on Monday Night Football at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium, to equalise an earlier Tottenham goal, however, the home team immediately replied, then scored a late 3rd, to get the win over the away team from a 3-1 scoreline.

The result meant that Coventry dropped below Tottenham on goal difference, with both teams having the same 6 points.

Frank Lampard’s team did play well but were ultimately beaten by 3 great goals, all scored from the edge of the box.

Fulham got their first win of the campaign, against Hull at Craven Cottage on Saturday, with a single Alex Iwobi goal being the difference, giving the Cottagers a 1-0 victory.

Alvaro Arbeloa was reportedly given 2 games to save his job.

Well, that’s game 1 ticked, temporarily staving off the dreaded walk down the concrete.

Double A needs to continue the momentum with another good performance today.

Betfred offer Coventry at 15/8, the Draw at 13/5 and 13/10 for Fulham to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 6/5 that Both Teams DON’T Score and 3/1 that there are Under 1.5 Goals.

Draw 0-0- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

CHELSEA v TOTTENHAM

17.30 in England

Sky Sports

Pedro Neto was the main man at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, with the Portuguese winger scoring both goals to give Chelsea the win over Everton from a 2-0 scoreline.

Goals were predicted for both teams, based on the fact that Chelsea have failed to keep a clean sheet up to now, so Xabi Alonso will be pleased with his Blues boys for not conceding, which moves Chelsea into the top four.

Three great goals from James Maddison, Omar Marmoush and Ben Davies gave Tottenham a home victory over Coventry on Monday Night Football from a 3-1 scoreline.

James started for the first time in almost 2 years since picking up a knee injury back in August 2025 and was superb throughout the 70 minutes that the lad was on the pitch before being taken off by Roberto De Zerbi.

Dejan Kulusevski made an appearance for the last 10 minutes or so after 526 days on the sidelines due to injury.

The rare home win lifted Tottenham from the bottom of the table, up to 16th just above Coventry on goal difference.

If James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski stay fit, then Tottenham’s results should improve over the coming months.

Betfred offer Chelsea at slight Odds On the Draw at 3/1 and 16/5 for Tottenham to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 4/1 that Joao Pedro Scores First and 5/4 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.

Home Win 3-1- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

***Premier League Team of the Week***

GOALKEEPER- Zion Suzuki- Aston Villa

RIGHT-BACK- Tarik Muharemovic- Leeds United

CENTRE-BACK- Calvin Bassey- Fulham

CENTRE-BACK- James Hill- Bournemouth

LEFT-BACK- Olivier Boscagli- Brighton

MIDFIELDER- James Maddison- Tottenham

MIDFIELDER- Alexis Mac Allister- Liverpool

MIDFIELDER- Phil Foden- Man City

FORWARD- Pedro Neto- Chelsea

FORWARD- Noni Madueke- Arsenal

FORWARD- Erling Haaland- Man City

STAR MAN- Erling Haaland- Man City

***Last Week’s Winning Tips***

Chelsea To Win- 23/20
Man City To Win- 1/5
Brighton To Win- 4/7
Arsenal To Win- 4/7
Tottenham To Win- 4/9

Correct Scores-

Correct Tips-

Fulham v Hull-
Under 2.5 Goals- 11/10

Man City v Ipswich-
Erling Haaland To Score Two Plus Goals- 8/5

Bournemouth v Sunderland-
Under 2.5 Goals- 10/11

Brighton v Crystal Palace-
Diego Gomez to Score First- 7/1
Brighton Win To Nil- 15/8

Nottingham Forest v Arsenal-
Arsenal Win To Nil- 6/4

Sunday 25th

CRYSTAL PALACE v NEWCASTLE

14.00 in England

Sky Sports

Crystal Palace were smashed 5-0 by Brighton at the Amex on Sunday.

Following a brilliant win over Nottingham Forest the week before, it did appear that Pierre Sage was beginning to get his tactics over to the players.

However, the Seagulls easily beat the Eagles in the ‘Battle of the Birds’ to leave Palace with their 4th loss of the campaign so far.

Crystal Palace head to Turkey on Thursday to take on Besiktas in Matchday 3 of the Europa League.

Palace lost by a narrow 3-2 scoreline against Lyon (once managed by Pierre Sage) in France last week, so they will be wanting to get back on track in the European competition.

Newcastle have now lost 3 of their last 4 Premier League games following the 1-0 home defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday.

There were moments of good play in the game but the Newcastle team lacks a certain level of quality.

Lewis Hall is a decent player and despite conceding goals, the defence is pretty solid with Dan Burn coming back from injury.

However, because there’s no Bruno Guimaraes or Sandro Tonali at the side of Joelinton, who were a fearsome threesome for a couple of seasons, there’s no creativity in the midfield, with 2 of the last 3 goals scored coming from defenders (Lewis Hall and Sven Botman).

Matthias Jaissle has to try and make his midfield and strikers more effective in games.

Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 7/4, the Draw at 11/4 and 11/8 for Newcastle to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 5/1 that Yoane Wissa Scores First and 11/4 that Newcastle Win/Both Teams To Score.

Away Win 1-2- Get 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

HULL v BRENTFORD

14.00 in England

Sky Sports

After 2 wins from the opening 2 fixtures, Hull have drawn 3 and lost 2 in the last 5, with the latest game resulting in a defeat against Fulham from a 1-0 scoreline.

Sergej Jakirovic’s boys don’t need to panic just yet as there are goals in the team with 2 of the draws being 2-2.

It’s just a matter of converting the draws into wins and trying to stop the losses.

A Keane Lewis-Potter goal scored in the 44th minute gave Brentford a lead against Liverpool at the Gtech Stadium on Saturday.

However, the turning point of the game came 8 minutes into 1st-half stoppage time, when Yegor Yarmolyuk was shown a straight Red Card for head-butting Liverpool’s Jeremy Jacquet, leaving the home team with a man down for all of the 2nd-half.

Liverpool took advantage of having the extra man by scoring twice to inflict a defeat on Brentford from a 2-1 scoreline.

That was the Bees’ first loss of the season.

With time virtually up on the clock, Vitaly Janelt received a 2nd Yellow Card and the subsequent Red to leave Brentford with 9 men for the remaining few minutes.

It was a bad day at the office but Keith Andrews will know that his lads can compete with the likes of Liverpool, if they remain disciplined and don’t have a player sent off for the old ‘Grimethorpe Kiss’.

Betfred offer Hull at 10/3, the Draw at 3/1 and Odds On 8/11 for Brentford to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 11/2 that Kevin Schade Scores First and 21/10 that Brentford Win To Nil.

Away Win 0-2- Get 17/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

LIVERPOOL v BRIGHTON

14.00 in England

Sky Sports

Liverpool gained a narrow win over Brentford at the Gtech Stadium on Saturday.

Second-half goals from Victor Munoz and Alexander Isak gave Andoni Iraola’s Reds the victory over Keith Andrews’ Bees from a 2-1 scoreline.

Brentford did score in the 1st-half to lead at the break but the 2 Liverpool goals gave the Bees their first loss of the campaign.

Liverpool were helped along the way when Yegor Yarmolyuk was shown a straight Red Card on the stroke of half-time for sticking his head in to Jeremy Jacquet.

Liverpool got a brilliant away day victory over LASK in the Champions League-League Phase, with Bradley Barcola getting a hat-trick in the 6-3 win in Austria.

The Reds now host Villarreal at Anfield on Tuesday.

Brighton continued their fine form with another brilliant win over Crystal Palace at the Amex on Sunday.

An own goal credited to the Palace player Jaydee Canvot gave the home team an early lead after just 4 minutes.

Diego Gomez made it 2-0 within 3 minutes of the OG, then Yasin Ayari scored a 3rd Brighton goal, to give the Seagulls a comfortable lead with just 10 minutes on the clock.

Charalampos Kostoulas made it 4-0 early in the 2nd-half, with Jack Hinshelwood rounding off the goals scoring the 5th in the 80th minute.

Another brilliant performance by Fabian Hurzeler’s men who have 5 wins, a draw and just 1 loss from the opening 7 games.

If one remembers, the loss was against Chelsea who scored 3 early goals before Brighton started to play and eventually lost by the odd goal in the 4-3 defeat.

It’s mentioned above in the ‘Correct Tips’ section that ‘Diego Gomez To Score First- 7/1’ came in.

Because the first goal was credited as an ‘Own Goal’ Diego’s ‘First Goal Scorer’ bet was still in play, meaning Betfred paid out.

Brighton are also in European action and head to the Czech Republic on Thursday to face Jablonec in Matchday 2 of the UEFA Conference League.

The Seagulls comfortably beat Kauno Zalgiris last week from a 4-0 scoreline.

Rest in peace, Doug Loft.

Betfred offer Liverpool at 11/10, the Draw at 3/1 and 21/10 for Brighton to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 2/1 that Victor Munoz Scores Anytime and 3/1 that Diego Gomez Scores Anytime.

Draw 2-2- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

MANCHESTER UNITED v BOURNEMOUTH

14.00 in England

Sky Sports

At least Manchester United didn’t lose against Leeds United at Elland Rd on Sunday, however, it was the 4th Premier League game of the season where United have scored first but have failed to hold onto the lead (the Manchester Dog Walker holds onto Enzo’s lead).

Bryan Mbeumo scored in the 35th minute to give United a lead at the break.

Leeds then scored an equaliser just after the restart and with no further goals both Uniteds gained a point apiece from a 1-1 scoreline.

Carrick’s Casuals scored first against Everton (Bryan Mbeumo) but conceded a goal before Benjamin Sesko added a 2nd to give United the lead going into the final minutes.

Everton scored a late equaliser (2-2) to deny Manchester United the win.

Against Tottenham, Bryan again scored the opener for United before Tottenham scored another late equaliser (1-1).

Mr Mbeumo then scored the opener against Leeds (there’s a pattern developing) and once again United conceded to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory.

The only difference from the previous drawn games was that Fulham took the lead and it was United who scored a late equaliser.

Added to that set of results, United scored 1st against Brighton in the Carabao Cup, even scoring a 2nd to take a comfortable lead but then conceded 3 goals to ultimately lose the game and get knocked out of that particular competition.

Michael Carrick is still under pressure but just needs to keep working hard and continue to make sure his players also work hard in the game.

Lisandro Martinez came out with an explosive statement straight after the defeat to Atletico Madrid last Tuesday.

Basically, Lisandro said-

‘Really poor, really poor.

I have to control myself a lot but sometimes it is a reflection in the mirror of how our club is at the moment.

We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well.

Atletico have an amazing team and they deserved the win today.

I expect more investment, I expect more from our Technical Director (Jason Wilcox).’

The incendiary comments did spark outrage from some of the old United players such as Wayne Rooney, Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand and of course Gary Neville.

Gary always has something to say about United, usually ending the boring rant with-

‘This is Manchester United!’

Apparently, Lisandro got a fine for his comments.

As the Manchester Dog Walker said-

‘Got a fine for telling the truth!’

The lad is currently sunning himself in Rhodes at the moment, so little Enzo hasn’t had a walk for a fortnight.

Get ready on Thursday Enzo, the Ball Thrower will be back and that lad won’t throw away the lead.

Going back to Lisandro Martinez, the Argentinian might have been fined but sometimes a comment in the back door, does speak volumes and opens the front door.

So even though he’s fined and the old United players (Gary, Roy, Wayne, Rio etc), who are all United Sycophants, think he’s wrong, he may just kick the board into gear.

Regarding Mr Neville, the boy, who is a Sky Sports commentator, doesn’t want to commentate on any more Man City games.

One would like to say a few non-complimentary words about Gary, however, this is a family-friendly column, so John Newsome will keep his thoughts to himself.

Following the disappointing result against Atletico Madrid last week, which saw Manchester United lose 2-0 and also saw Leny Yoro get sent off, United face Como in Italy on Wednesday.

Regardless of the outcome, the trip to the Lake City should be aesthetically pleasing.

Bournemouth gained a brilliant victory over Sunderland at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson scored the goals, 1 in each half, to give Marco Rose’s Cherries their first win of the season from a 2-0 scoreline.

Sunderland did have a player sent off just after Marcus scored the opener, giving Bournemouth a man advantage for well over 70 minutes.

Bournemouth host AC Milan at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday, in Matchday 3 of the Europa League-League Phase.

One has not read that incorrectly, the 7-time European Cup/Champions League winners are heading to the retirement town of Bournemouth.

It should be a momentous occasion for everyone connected with the Cherries.

The Cherries got a great win over Sturm Graz last Thursday to keep up their 100% record in the Europa League.

Betfred offer Manchester United at Odds On 9/10, the Draw at 11/4 and 11/4 for Bournemouth to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 5/1 that Bryan Mbeumo Scores First and 7/5 that Manchester United Score in Both Halves.

Home Win 2-1- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

SUNDERLAND v LEEDS UNITED

16.30 in England

Sky Sports

Sunderland slumped to the bottom of the table following another defeat on Saturday, this time against Bournemouth on the south coast.

The 2-0 loss, is the Black Cats’ 5th defeat of the campaign so far, with just 1 win and 1 draw from the other 2 games.

Kevin Danso was shown a straight Red Card in the 17th minute for bringing down Evanilson and denying a goal-scoring opportunity, when the score was 1-0 to Bournemouth.

Brian Brobbey was absent again through injury but is expected to play at some stage this week.

Sunderland are once again in Europa League action on Thursday and head to Poland to take on Lech Poznan.

The coincidence in that, is Lech faced Crystal Palace in Matchday 1 and then Palace took on Leeds in the next game.

Sunderland did get a win against Torreense last Thursday and like Bournemouth, are 2 wins from 2 in that particular competition.

Up the Mackems.

Leeds gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Manchester United at Elland Rd on Sunday.

After conceding a goal to trail at the break, Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored an equaliser early in the 2nd-half to give both teams a point apiece.

In truth, the game wasn’t that exciting for the Sunday Afternoon football fans with both teams being fairly average at the moment.

After the boring draw, the West Yorkshire Puddings all headed off to the local Wetherspoons and ordered a bottle of Rose Wine with 6 straws.

Marching On Together.

Betfred offer Sunderland at 9/5, the Draw at 12/5 and 6/4 for Leeds United to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 8/5 that Brian Brobbey Scores Anytime and 7/4 that Dominic Calvert-Lewin Scores Anytime.

Draw 1-1- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

Current Premier League Standings

1 – Man City – played 7, points 21

2 – Arsenal – played 7, points 18

3 – Brighton – played 7, points 16

4 – Chelsea – played 7, points 13

5 – Liverpool – played 7, points 12

6 – Brentford – played 7, points 10

7 – Leeds United – played 7 points 10

8 – Everton – played 7, points 10

9 – Hull – played 7, points 9

10 – Ipswich – played 7, points 9

11 – Newcastle – played 7, points 8

12 – Aston Villa – played 7, points 8

13 – Manchester United – played 7, points 7

14 – Crystal Palace – played 7, points 7

15 – Bournemouth – played 7, points 6

16 – Tottenham – played 7, points 6

17 – Coventry – played 7, points 6

18 – Fulham – played 7, points 5

19 – Nottingham Forest – played 7, points 5

20 – Sunderland – played 7, points 4

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