EPL Game Week 9 – 2026/27 Season Premier League Tips – John Newsome

The highlight fixtures for the next set of EPL matches are CHELSEA versus MANCHESTER UNITED and LIVERPOOL versus ARSENAL. Our feature columnist, John Newsome, brings you his unique and insightful previews of these and all Game Week 9 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-9

This week’s scary set of fixtures is headlined by the heavyweight blockbuster at Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool v Arsenal.

Added to that there is the misfits of Chelsea v Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in the early Saturday Afternoon kickoff.

As the 2026/27 Premier League campaign hits its stride, Game Week-9 delivers a magnificent fixture list packed with tactical subplots, local pride and critical battles at both ends of the table.

There’s plenty of opportunity to have a spooky punt over the Halloween weekend.

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.

Saturday 31st

CHELSEA v MANCHESTER UNITED

12.30 in England

TNT Sport

Chelsea suffered a devastating defeat to their arch-rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

That was only the second time in 36 years that the Blues have lost against Spurs on home soil.

To compound the 2-0 loss, Chelsea also had a man sent off, with Cole Palmer receiving 2 Yellow Cards and the subsequent Red for, what can only be described as, silly challenges.

Xabi Alonso needs to regroup and move on to the next big game which is against Liverpool on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.

Following another poor performance, this time in the Champions League against Como, Bruno Fernandes came out afterwards and criticised Michael Carrick and his coaching staff for the way that they asked the players to play.

It was then a ‘will he or won’t he (Bruno)’ play against Bournemouth on Sunday.

Well, news came through about an hour before kickoff that Captain Bruno Fernandes was not in the starting lineup and was on the bench, with Harry Maguire skippering the team.

The bench is where Bruno stayed!

There have been conflicting opinions regarding the decision not to pick Mr Fernandes, whether it was disrespectful of Michael or whether Micky C was cutting his nose off to spite his face.

John Newsome’s opinion is that Mr Carrick did right.

Bruno Fernandes is a great player, no doubt about it but his attitude, especially as Captain, is horrendous.

There’s a certain Sir Alex Ferguson who would have sorted BF out!

There is the possibility that Manchester United will turn up at Stamford Bridge, without Michael Carrick after Sunday’s disastrous performance against Bournemouth which resulted in another defeat, this time by a 3-0 scoreline.

After the week on and off the pitch which saw losses against Como (not Perry) and Bournemouth (the Cherry), it’s probably the end of the road for Michael but as of writing this column, there hasn’t been any White Smoke coming out of Old Trafford.

Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada, the supposed Director of Football and Chief Executive, were in the stands at Old Trafford on Sunday and heard the fans’ annoyance with the team and themselves, however, not with Michael as the fans know how much the hierarchy has let MC down.

So if Michael Carrick is sacked, good luck to the next guy.

It’s whether the next person in will improve United and from watching the team at the moment, Paul Daniels couldn’t sort the situation.

That next person could be Eddie Howe, who has supposedly been sounded out about the job.

That said, despite the toxicity at Old Trafford there will still be a queue of ex-managers lining up to take the job (and the dollars) as whatever happens, if the next person fails and gets sacked, he’ll still get rewarded for the said failure.

Julian Nagelsmann, Antonio Conte, Fabian Hurzeler, even Cesc Fabregas, as well as Eddie, are all on the list to be the next guy in the Manchester United (very) hot seat.

Now the difficult task is predicting the score as, if United have Michael in the dugout on Saturday, it’s more than likely that Chelsea will win, however, if there is a new Manager, the legendary ‘new Manager bounce’ will no doubt come into play.

At the moment, Mr Carrick is still the Manager, so the prediction is based on that.

However, if there is a new Boss before Saturday and after this column has been published, then United could at least get a draw.

Betfred offer Chelsea at slight Odds On 5/6, the Draw at 3/1 and 11/4 for Manchester United to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 8/5 that Joao Pedro Scores Anytime and 11/8 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.

Home Win 3-1- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

BOURNEMOUTH v LEEDS UNITED

15.00 in England

Bournemouth smashed Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, becoming the first away team to score 3 or more goals at United’s home in 4 consecutive games.

Marco Rose’s Cherries were simply too good for Michael Carrick’s Casuals, who are living up to that tag by being too casual on the pitch.

Goals from Rayan, Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson gave Bournemouth the brilliant victory from a 3-0 scoreline.

After a tricky start to the Premier League campaign, which saw 3 losses and 3 draws, that’s now 2 straight wins, added to back-to-back Europa League victories, so 4 wins in a row.

The latest Europa League outing, just before the United savaging, saw a magnificent performance against the Italian Giants AC Milan, with the Cherries getting a 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

Ironically, Milan are managed by the ex-Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim.

Bournemouth take on Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, in 1 of 6 all Premier League ties in the last-16 of that particular competition.

Bradford face Peterborough and Fleetwood host Arsenal in the other 2 games.

John Newsome checked on Sunday, as to whether B and Q was still open at around 17.15 when the half-time whistle went at the Stadium of Light.

John was going to nip down, buy some paint, put it on the walls and watch it dry, as it would have been more exciting than watching Sunderland v Leeds United.

From the first minute, the game had 0-0 written all over it, which was eventually borne out, with both teams failing to find the back of the net, or as the Yorkshire Puddings would say, ‘back of t’onion!’

The weather was horrendous up on Wearside, so probably the lack of goals and quality could be attributed to the poor conditions.

The Marching On Together crew then headed off into the local McDonald’s and ordered 3 Happy Meals to share between 7.

It’s a fair old journey for the Puddings, down to the south coast retirement village, where the Bournemouth faithful are still having nightmares about the dreaded fixture back in May 1990.

(That story can be read in last season’s Game Week-34 EveryTip column published on April 21st, 2026.)

It emerged on Saturday that a true legend of Barnsley Football Club, Barry Murphy, sadly passed away at the age of 86.

When John Newsome first started watching Barnsley as an 8-year-old back in 1978, Barry was finishing his career, playing the last of his 569 record appearances in a Reds Jersey, aged 38.

The lad then joined Allan Clarke’s coaching staff at Oakwell, subsequently following Allan to Elland Rd, when ‘Sniffer’ headed to Leeds United to become the Manager of the Whites.

John had the pleasure of meeting Mr Murphy on several occasions, as Barry fittingly worked in the Legend’s Lounge at Oakwell in the later years of his life.

Rest in peace, Barry.

Betfred offer Bournemouth at 11/10, the Draw at 13/5 and 23/10 for Leeds United to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 5/1 that Evanilson Scores First and 13/5 that Bournemouth Win To Nil.

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BRENTFORD v NOTTINGHAM FOREST

15.00 in England

Brentford gained a point from a draw from a 1-1 score, against Hull at the MKM Stadium on Sunday.

After conceding a penalty, which Hull converted, to lead at the break, Dango Ouattara scored in the 63rd minute to level the game.

With no further goals, both teams got a well-earned point.

Brentford are now winless from their last 3, which Keith Andrews will want to address and a home win is on the cards today.

Brentford face Sunderland on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup.

Nottingham Forest also gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Ipswich at Portman Rd on Friday Night Football.

Neco Williams, who is technically a Left Back, has now been encouraged to be a Wing Back and get into the box more, which is what the Welshman did in the 13th minute to score and give the travelling Tricky Trees something to cheer.

Unfortunately for those fans who had made the long journey to Ipswich, an error by Nikola Milenkovic let in Julio Enciso to score an equaliser just before the half-time whistle.

With no further goals after the break, both teams gained a point apiece from the Friday Night stalemate, as predicted in this EveryTip column last week.

Betfred offer Brentford at Evens 1/1, the Draw at 11/4 and 5/2 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 7/4 that Kevin Schade Scores Anytime and 7/4 that Brentford Score in Both Halves.

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COVENTRY v SUNDERLAND

15.00 in England

It’s amazing to think that these two played each other back in March 2020, just before the COVID lockdown, in League One or Division Three in old money.

Added to that, the fixture was a home game for Coventry, however, the match was played at Birmingham’s St Andrew’s Stadium, due to the Sky Blues’ dispute with the owners of the Coventry Building Society Arena, or the Ricoh Arena if one remembers.

Coventry won the League One Title that year, gaining automatic promotion to the Championship.

Sunderland had to wait until May 2022 to get promotion to the Championship, following a Playoff victory over Wycombe.

Sunderland then gained entry into the Premier League, by beating Coventry in the 2025 Playoff Semi- Final before getting a victory over Sheffield United in the showpiece fixture at Wembley.

Coventry followed Sunderland into the Promised Land back in May 2026, by winning the league and avoiding the dreaded Playoff lottery.

Now Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues host Regis Le Bris’ Black Cats in the best league in the world.

Coventry have now lost their last 2 games following a narrow 1-0 defeat against Fulham on Saturday, which came off the back of a loss against Tottenham last Monday.

This EveryTip column did predict a 0-0 draw as one just couldn’t see many goals in the game, adding that both teams wouldn’t score and that there would be under 1.5 goals, which was the case in the end.

Coventry dropped to 19th following Saturday’s game, now facing the 20th-placed team in El-Rubbish-io today, albeit at home.

Due to Storm Boela, the game at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, didn’t produce any quality with both Sunderland and Leeds struggling with the strong wind.

In the end, both teams gained a point apiece from a 0-0 scoreline.

After Storm Austen and Storm Boela, the next storm coming has to start with the letter ‘C’ (A, B, C etc) and is expected to be named Storm Chloe.

John Newsome has another word for the storm beginning with ‘C’ but as this is a family-friendly bit of reading, one will leave it at that.

Unfortunately, for the Sky Blues and Black Cat faithful in attendance at the CBS Arena, one cannot see many goals going into the back of t’onion.

Sunderland face Brentford on Wednesday in the last-16 of the Carabao Cup.

Betfred offer Coventry at 15/8, the Draw at 5/2 and 11/8 for Sunderland to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer Evens 1/1 that Both Teams DON’T Score and 9/4 that there are Under 1.5 Goals.

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HULL v IPSWICH

15.00 in England

After 2 brilliant wins from the opening 2 games, Hull are now finding out how tough the Premier League is.

Sergej Jakirovic’s Tigers drew their 4th game of the campaign, against Brentford on Sunday, gaining a point from a draw by a 1-1 score.

Ollie McBurnie converted a penalty in the 1st-half to give Hull a lead at the break.

Brentford got an equaliser just after the hour mark and with no further goals, both teams gained a point apiece.

Hull’s last 7 games, including the Carabao Cup, have resulted in a Draw, a Loss, a Draw, a Loss, a Draw, a Loss and a Draw.

With that set of results, it looks like a loss is on the cards today, however, more than likely, this game will finish in a stalemate.

Ipswich also gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score, against Nottingham Forest at Portman Rd on Friday night.

After conceding a Forest goal, Julio Enciso capitalised on a bad back pass and slotted home just before the break to make the score level.

With no further goals in the 2nd-half, both teams earned a point apiece.

These two met in March in a Championship game with Ipswich getting the win from a 1-0 score.

It’s now action in the Promised Land for the 2 newly promoted clubs.

Betfred offer Hull at 8/5, the Draw at 13/5 and 6/4 for Ipswich to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 8/5 that Ollie McBurnie Scores Anytime and slight Odds On 10/11 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.

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

GOALKEEPER- Lukas Hornicek- Newcastle

RIGHT-BACK- Matty Cash- Aston Villa

CENTRE-BACK- Gabriel- Arsenal

CENTRE-BACK- James Hill- Bournemouth

LEFT-BACK- Neco Williams Nottingham Forest

MIDFIELDER- Rayan- Bournemouth

MIDFIELDER- James Maddison- Tottenham

MIDFIELDER- Oscar Bobb- Fulham

FORWARD- Evanilson- Bournemouth

FORWARD- Mathys Tel- Tottenham

FORWARD- Nicolas Jackson- Aston Villa

STAR MAN- Michael Carrick- Manchester United

***Last Week’s Winning Tips***

Ipswich v Nottingham Forest To Draw- 13/5
Arsenal To Win- 7/10
Newcastle To Win- 11/8
Sunderland v Leeds United To Draw- 12/5

Correct Scores-

Ipswich v Nottingham Forest 1-1- 6/1

Correct Tips-

Arsenal v Everton-
Arsenal Win To Nil- 21/20

Coventry v Fulham-
Both Teams DON’T Score- 6/5
Under 1.5 Goals- 3/1

MAN CITY v BRIGHTON

15.00 in England

So the 100% record has gone for Man City, following the defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.

After conceding a Villa goal and trailing at the break, the main man Erling Haaland headed an equaliser in the 52nd minute which should have given City the momentum to kick on, however, it was the home team that scored a 2nd and ultimately the winner on the hour mark.

Enzo Maresca’s Blues did look off the pace and may have been feeling the effects of the Champions League game on Tuesday.

However, that said, Aston Villa also played in the Champions League and for that matter, played a day after City but put in a great shift with Unai’s Claret and Blues being the better team in every department.

This will be another tough game for Enzo’s Blues against the High Flying Seagulls who are pecking everyone at the moment (apart from Liverpool).

Added to that, Man City will have faced Brighton three days prior to this Premier League game, as the two meet in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, so it will be interesting to see how the 2 games pan out.

Brighton suffered a setback on Sunday, going up to Anfield and losing 2-0 against Liverpool.

That’s the first loss since August, over 9 games in all competitions.

Fabian Hurzeler will quickly put the game to bed and move on to 2 tough games against Man City.

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

Betfred offer 5/2 that Erling Haaland Scores First and 11/10 that Man City Score in Both Halves.

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TOTTENHAM v CRYSTAL PALACE

17.30 in England

Sky Sports

Tottenham got probably one of their best results in years, following the 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night.

It was only the 2nd time that Tottenham have won at Chelsea’s home in the last 36 years, with the other coming in the 2017/18 campaign, where Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs beat Antonio Conte’s Blues 3-1.

A 2nd Tottenham goal from Mathys Tel added to the opener which was credited to the Chelsea Goalkeeper, gave Tottenham their brilliant victory over Chelsea from a 2-0 scoreline.

Roberto De Zerbi has always believed in his style and the team are beginning to bear fruit, however, that does coincide with the return of James Maddison who was brilliant in the 50 minutes he was on the pitch.

Added to James’ injury problems, Dejan Kulusevski is slowly being integrated back into the team, getting another 10 minutes or so at the end of the game.

With those two, the only way is up for Tottenham, as Yazz and the Plastic Population would say.

Crystal Palace didn’t have the legs on Sunday following the Europa League exploits the previous Thursday.

The leggy legs took their toll on the pitch against Newcastle who were quicker in every department, ultimately scoring 2 to inflict the defeat on Palace from a 2-0 scoreline.

Crystal Palace are also in Carabao Cup action in midweek, taking on Fulham on Wednesday, in another ‘all Premier League’ tie.

Betfred offer Tottenham at Odds On 1/2, the Draw at 7/2 and 5/1 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 15/2 that James Maddison Scores First and 7/4 that Tottenham Win To Nil.

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ASTON VILLA v FULHAM

20.00 in England

TNT Sport

This is a great game for the single boys and girls out there, that don’t have a partner who makes them watch Strictly Come Dancing on a Saturday night.

Added to that and given the date, the BBC ‘light entertainment’ show will just be some Halloween drivel.

Strictly is on BBC 1 from 18.30 to 20.30, lasting longer than an actual game of football.

No doubt the Manchester Dog Walker will be watching SCD due to her indoors having power over the remote control.

If one has only got the Council Telly and doesn’t have access to TNT Sport, the BBC are showing the Milan Derby on 2, between AC and Inter, so all is not lost for the ‘under the thumb’ brigade of which John Newsome is not one of!

Aston Villa continued their improved form from the beginning of the season by gaining a brilliant victory over the Premier League leaders Man City on Saturday.

Nicolas Jackson scored twice to give Villa the impressive win from a 2-1 scoreline.

City had scored an equaliser after Nic’s opener.

The Villa players were on it from the kickoff and simply outplayed Man City who looked leggy from their midweek exertion in the Champions League.

However, as mentioned in the Man City v Brighton preview, Aston Villa also played in midweek and played a day later, so had less recovery time.

Villa have won 4 of the last 5 Premier League games against City since the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

Three of those 4 wins have been at Villa Park with Unai’s men winning 1 and losing 1 at the Etihad.

That’s now 7 unbeaten games in all competitions for Villa this season, with 6 wins (3 in the Premier League, 2 in the Champions League and 1 in the Carabao Cup) added to a Premier League draw.

Both Aston Villa and Fulham are in
Carabao Cup action on Wednesday, with Villa facing Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium and Fulham hosting Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage.

After apparently being given 2 games to save his job, Alvaro Arbeloa stepped up to the plate and got his Fulham team to win those 2 games.

Following last week’s 1-0 victory over Hull, the Cottagers then gained another 1-0 win over Coventry at the CBS Arena on Saturday.

Oscar Bobb scored the solitary winning goal in the 80th minute to give AA’s boys all 3-points and stave off a trip to the Job Centre for the time being.

The back-to-back victories have definitely come at the right moment, however, this will be a tougher trip up the M6 to Villa Park, to face a much improved Aston Villa side.

Betfred offer Aston Villa at Evens 1/1, the Draw at 11/4 and 5/2 for Fulham to come away with all 3 points.

Betfred offer 9/2 that Nicolas Jackson Scores First and 13/5 that Aston Villa Win To Nil.

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Sunday 01st

LIVERPOOL v ARSENAL

16.30 in England

Sky Sports

Liverpool got probably one of the best results of the weekend, gaining a victory over high-flying Brighton at Anfield on Sunday.

A deflected Florian Wirtz shot went into the net off the back of Pascal Gross, who unfortunately for both players, was credited with an Own Goal.

That’s always a bone of contention for fans as Florian’s shot was on target and the lad wants the goal, whereas Pascal doesn’t.

Just give the goal to Mr Wirtz!

Alexander Isak scored just after Pascal’s OG and despite there being over 70 minutes left, Liverpool held on for the win from a 2-0 scoreline.

Andoni Iraola’s Reds have only lost once this season, in all competitions (12 games- 8 Premier League, 3 Champions League and 1 Carabao Cup) and that was against the league leaders Man City, so it’s good to see (if one is an Anfield Rapper) that AI is getting his intelligence over to the players.

Liverpool face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Chelsea will be smarting after the defeat against Tottenham on Saturday, so it could be a tough old night at Anfield, especially with the ex-Red Xabi Alonso returning to his former home.

After seeing Man City lose earlier on in the day, it was imperative that Arsenal got the victory over Everton at the Emirates on Saturday, to not only keep the pressure on City but to join them at the summit.

In a tough affair against the Toffees, the Gunners needed their Centre Backs to get the goals, with both Ezri Konsa and Gabriel scoring to give Arsenal the win from a 2-0 scoreline.

Man City are still top but now just on goal difference, both having 21 points.

It will be an emotional occasion on Tuesday, as Arsenal are back at Highbury, taking on Fleetwood in the Carabao Cup.

Just to explain, Fleetwood Town’s home ground is called Highbury.

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

Betfred offer 6/1 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 7/4 that Kai Havertz Scores Anytime.

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

Monday 02nd

NEWCASTLE v EVERTON

20.00 in England

Sky Sports

Newcastle got back to winning ways at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Goals from William Osula and Harvey Barnes gave the Magpies the victory over the Eagles in the Battle of the Birds from a 2-0 scoreline.

After back-to-back defeats, Matthias Jaissle will be pleased to get back on track and will be wanting another good performance today at St James’s Park in front of the passionate Toon Army.

As with Man City v Brighton, these two meet on Thursday in the Carabao Cup, however, that particular game is at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Everton put in another decent shift against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday, however, like last week’s game against Chelsea, it was another defeat by a 2-0 scoreline.

That’s back-to-back losses for David Moyes boys who will hope to get back on track in the 2 games coming up against the Magpies.

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

Betfred offer 9/5 that Harvey Barnes Scores Anytime and 16/5 that Newcastle Win To Nil.

Home Win 2-0- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

Current Premier League Standings

1 – Man City – played 8, points 21

2 – Arsenal – played 8, points 21

3 – Brighton – played 8, points 16

4 – Liverpool – played 8, points 15

5 – Chelsea – played 8, points 13

6 – Brentford – played 8, points 11

7 – Leeds United – played 8, points 11

8 – Newcastle – played 8, points 11

9 – Aston Villa – played 8, points 11

10 – Hull – played 8, points 10

11 – Everton – played 8, points 10

12 – Ipswich – played 8, points 10

13 – Bournemouth – played 8, points 9

14 – Tottenham – played 8, points 9

15 – Fulham – played 8, points 8

16 – Manchester United – played 8, points 7

17 – Crystal Palace – played 8, points 7

18 – Nottingham Forest – played 8, points 6

19 – Coventry – played 8, points 6

20 – Sunderland – played 8, points 5

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