Preview

Oct

2025

Preview: Monaco welcome Man City to the principality

Monaco and Manchester City go head-to-head at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday night, as Pep Guardiola’s side look to continue their impressive form over the last few weeks.

By Matt Smith

Monaco got off to a dismal start in the Champions League, suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat against Club Brugge. Maghnes Akliouche missed a penalty early on, with Brugge scoring four without reply, before Ansu Fati hit a consolation late on.

City secured a 2-0 victory over Napoli in their opening match, with Kevin De Bruyne making his return to the Etihad Stadium.

Team news

Monaco will be without a host of players for this one, with Lamine Camara, Denis Zakaria, Aleksandr Golovin, and Lukas Hradecky among those unavailable. Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is building his way back to full fitness, but he’s likely to miss out.

Rodri is in a race against time to prove his fitness to face Monaco after he missed their home Premier League clash with Burnley. Abdukodir Khusvano, Rayan Aït-Nouri, and Omar Marmoush are all unavailable, while Rayan Cherki is a doubt.

City back to their best in the final third

Man City have looked back to their best going forward this season, with Erling Haaland enjoying an impressive start to the campaign. Pep Guardiola’s men have scored 2.3 goals per game in the Premier League, creating 11.4 expected goals so far.

The resurgence in form of Phil Foden has certainly helped their cause, while Jérémy Doku is beginning to show why Guardiola wanted to bring him to the club. The Citizens are seeking a fifth win from their last six games in all competitions, as they aim to continue their perfect record in the Champions League.

Champions League display an anomaly for Monaco

Monaco’s performance against Club Brugge in the opening game of the Champions League campaign was a bit of an anomaly for the French side, who have enjoyed a strong start in Ligue 1. Their loss against Lorient last time out ended a run of three wins on the bounce, as they sit fourth in the table.

No team has scored more goals than Monaco in Ligue 1 this term, while they’ve also created 10.8 expected goals, finding the back of the net on 14 occasions. They’ll be desperate to bounce back against City after such a disappointing start in the Champions League.

Phil Foden the one to watch

As previously mentioned, Foden is starting to find his rhythm after a difficult 2024/2025 season. The England international has provided eight goals and assists combined in just 10 games so far this campaign, and he’s becoming undroppable in Guardiola’s side.

With De Bruyne departing, there’s been more of an emphasis for Foden to be the goalscoring and creative threat from midfield, and he’s showing signs of being able to slip straight into the Belgian’s shoes.

Prediction

Man City should have too much for Monaco in this one, so we’re going for a 2-0 victory to Guardiola’s men.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, physical metrics, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Oct

2025

Preview: Barcelona meet PSG in massive early Champions League clash

The second round of this season’s UEFA Champions League league phase is headlined by a showdown between the Spanish and French champions.

By Neel Shelat

A 13th meeting in as many years

Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have been quite well-acquainted with each other in recent years. Of their 15 previous meetings, all but three have been played since 2013, and every single one of those has been in the UEFA Champions League.

The Spanish giants have a slight upper hand in the Champions League head-to-head record with five wins, four losses and three draws. However, they were the losers in the last two ties – both in the 2024 quarter-final and 2021 Round of 16. So, their last aggregate win over PSG came in March 2017 on a famous night at Camp Nou, which has been subsequently immortalised as La Remontada.

No showdown between Ballon d’Or frontrunners

PSG and Barcelona’s attacking stars finished first and second in the latest Ballon d’Or, as Ousmane Dembélé came away with the award while Lamine Yamal had to make do with just the Kopa trophy. However, as their two teams face off just over a week after the ceremony, they will not be having a showdown on the pitch.

The French forward is not expected to return until after the international break due to his hamstring injury, so he is sure to miss this match. Lamine Yamal only returned from his groin injury on the weekend and made a telling contribution off the bench, but his minutes might well remain limited this week.

Long injury list

Besides the two big-name forwards, there is a sizeable list of absences for this match.

Barcelona are once again undergoing a mini-crisis in the goalkeeping department as Marc-André ter Stegen was recently joined by summer signing Joan García on the sidelines, so Wojciech Szczęsny will start and Diego Kochen will serve as a backup after being recalled from the Under-20 World Cup. Attackers Raphinha and Fermín López remain unavailable, while Gavi is not expected to be back until the new year following his latest setback.

The visitors’ captain Marquinhos and young forward Désiré Doué are both sure to sit this game out, while midfielders Vitinha, João Neves and Fabián Ruiz as well as winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are all listed as doubtful. So, they could well end up fielding quite a depleted line-up.

A stern test for PSG’s new signings

Having won the treble with one of the youngest squads in Europe last season, Paris Saint-Germain did not see a need to do much in the transfer window. They just made a couple of signings, replacing Gianluigi Donnarumma with Lucas Chevalier from Lille and bringing in Illia Zabarnyi to add some youth and depth to the right centre back position.

Both of them are set to start against Barcelona, so this will be their first serious defensive test against an opponent of equal calibre.

Prediction

Neither side is going to be at full strength, but that should not keep us from being treated to a cracking contest. Both attacks should have enough quality to get on the scoresheet, but Barcelona might just have enough to edge out a narrow win.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, physical metrics, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Oct

2025

Preview: Arsenal face Greek side Olympiacos at the Emirates

The Greek champions are in North London as Arsenal aim to make it two wins from two games in the Champions League.

By Graham Ruthven

Solid starts

Arsenal started their Champions League campaign with an impressive 2-0 away win over Athletic Club and can follow that up with another victory at home to Olympiacos on Wednesday, a match for which the Gunners will be firm favourites.

Mikel Arteta’s team face the Greek champions just a few days after a potentially season-changing win over Newcastle United. It was a result and performance that highlighted the strength – technical, physical and mental – of an Arsenal team fighting on multiple fronts.

That game at St James’ Park could result in a slightly lethargic performance by Arsenal against Olympiacos, although Arteta now has the depth to rotate his squad. He must find ways to keep his team’s energy levels high.

Olympiacos were held at home by Pafos in their opening Champions League fixture, but are unbeaten in all competitions and have found their scoring touch in the Greek Super League, notching 13 goals in just five games.

Less encouraging is that Olympiacos have lost 10 consecutive away Champions League matches and have won just two of their last 21 games at this stage of the competition.

Key players

Arteta could rotate his squad after a draining match away to Newcastle United on Sunday, meaning Arsenal’s lineup to take on Olympiacos might be difficult to predict.

Viktor Gyökeres is a good bet to start with Kai Havertz still sidelined through injury. The Swedish striker has made a decent firm impression after joining Arsenal in the summer, but could do with increasing his goals-to-game ratio.

Eberechi Eze will be a threat if he is selected. The England international started against Newcastle and was a danger in the final third of the pitch, giving Arsenal a different dimension with his natural creativity on the ball.

At the back, William Saliba could feature after making his return from injury at St James’ Park on Sunday. David Raya will also keep his pace in goal with the Spaniard averaging 2.5 saves per 90 minutes this season.

*Raya’s goalkeeper stats, Premier League 2025/26*

Chiquinho is an all-round threat for Olympiacos in the final third and is fresh from bagging a brace against Levadiakos at the weekend. Arsenal must keep tabs on the Portuguese number 10.

Former Wolves winger Daniel Podence will start and has the ability to hurt the Gunners down the left side. Mehdi Taremi, who joined Olympiacos from Inter Milan in the summer window, is another experienced performer who could make an impact at the Emirates Stadium.

Team news

Havertz is still out through injury with Gabriel Jesus and Noni Madueke also unavailable for the Gunners at the moment. Piero Hincapié is also a doubt and will face a fitness test before Wednesday’s match.

Roman Yaremchuk is injured, but the veteran forward is the only unavailable player for Olympiacos’ trip to North London. Otherwise, José Luis Mendilibar has a fully fit and available squad to choose from.

Prediction

Considering the Greek side’s dire away record in this competitions and the Gunners’ improvement this season, this should be a straight forward win for the Arsenal, and probably another clean sheet for David Raya: Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the 2025/26 Champions League with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Sep

2025

Preview: Inter Miami start home run against Chicago

Inter Miami enter a run of three home games when they face Chicago Fire on Tuesday night at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

By James Nalton

Lionel Messi’s side still have a chance of topping the overall table in MLS and retaining their Supporters’ Shield title, but they have made things more difficult by not winning as expected in Toronto at the weekend.

This will be Inter Miami’s seventh game in 18 days as they continue to play catch-up both in terms of games played and, they hope, points earned.

This game itself is one that was rearranged due to Miami’s participation in the Leagues Cup final at the end of August.

Philadelphia did what Inter Miami couldn’t

Just when it looked like Inter Miami were on a run that could see them challenge for the Supporters’ Shield, they failed to capitalise in a game that, on paper, should have been an easy win.

Tadeo Allende scored the only goal in a 1-1 draw in Canada on Saturday, as Miami stumbled on their charge to the top of the table.

While Javier Mascherano’s side failed to get the win against a Toronto FC team that are stuck down in the lower end of the Eastern Conference, league leaders Philadelphia Union had no such problems against similar opposition.

The Union dispatched bottom-of-the-table DC United 6-0 in the capital on Saturday night.

Miami’s game against DC United in August also finished 1-1, and this failure to get maximum points against these two struggling teams could be the difference come the end of the season.

Messi’s run ends

As Inter Miami’s winning run ended, so did Messi’s run of goals and assists in consecutive games.

A Messi goal usually means a Miami win. He has scored in 16 MLS games for his club this season, and they have won 13 of those.

On the other hand, in the 14 games in which Messi hasn’t scored, including those in which he didn’t feature at all, Miami only won three times.

It is not a surprise that the form of Messi and the results of Inter Miami are so closely intertwined.

This is why, if they do win the Supporters’ Shield, it is almost certain that Messi will also be named the league’s MVP.

Going into this game against Chicago, both of these things remain in the balance.

Opposition watch: Chicago Fire

Chicago would secure postseason qualification with a win against Inter Miami, so they have plenty to play for themselves.

They will be trying to ignore the noise around their high-profile opposition and concentrate on their own goals for the season. The focus on Miami could even be good for them, taking off some of the pressure.

The Fire are managed this season by former United States men’s national team boss Gregg Berhalter, and have improved under his watch.

Whatever happens in their last three games, 2025 will see their highest league finish in six seasons.

They also have some quality players on their books these days, including their top scorer, Hugo Cuypers, who has 17 goals this campaign, and 2025 signing Philip Zinckernagel.

Berhalter’s side have a game in hand over a New York Red Bulls side that are looking to add to a 15-season playoff streak, but still need two points to make sure of playoff qualification.

Prediction

Inter Miami to return to winning ways at home, meaning Chicago have to wait a little longer to secure their playoff spot.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every MLS game live this season with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Sep

2025

Preview: Spurs go to Bodo/Glimt in upgraded rematch

Bodø/Glimt host Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League on Tuesday night as the Norwegian side look to take revenge after their Europa League defeat against the Premier League side last season.

By Matt Smith

Over two legs, Spurs defeated Bodo/Glimt 5-1 on aggregate, securing their place in the final of the competition. Despite being dominated in the possession in the second leg on Bodø/Glimt’s artificial turf, Tottenham secured a 2-0 victory on the road, before they beat Manchester United in the final.

Team news

Bodø/Glimt could be without Brede Moe and Daniel Bassi, who were both substituted in their cup match last time out. The duo were taken off in the first half, and it’s unclear whether they will be fit enough to make this one. Ulrik Saltnes remains sidelined for the home side.

Tottenham have a host of injury issues to contend with, as the likes of Randal Kolo Muani, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski remain on the treatment table.

Glimt formidable on their own turf

So far this season, with the Norwegian campaign already going on for a few months longer than the Premier League, Bodø/Glimt have won eight of their 11 games at home. During that time they’ve scored 34 goals, which is over three per match in the Eliteserien.

Kjetil Knutsen’s side like to dominate possession, with no team in their league having more of the ball this campaign. They’ve also scored more and conceded fewer than any other team, so Spurs will have to be at the top of their game, just like they were in last year’s Europa League semi-final.

Tottenham more resolute at the back

One thing Thomas Frank has done since arriving at the club to replace Ange Postecoglou is strengthen their defensive numbers. Spurs have conceded just 0.7 goals per game so far this season, with only Arsenal and Crystal Palace managing fewer.

The north London club have also scored 1.8 goals per game, but their results have been inconsistent, winning three, drawing two, and losing one in the Premier League so far this campaign. Frank’s side are on a run of two draws in a row in the league.

Richarlison flourishing thanks to injuries

Richarlison has been given a rare run of games in the Tottenham side this season, with Kolo Muani and Solanke both suffering injury problems. It’s paid off for the Brazilian forward, who has produced four goals and assists combined in the Premier League, more than any other Tottenham player.

The former Everton man is likely to lead the line, considering Mathys Tel hasn’t been registered and Kolo Muani and Solanke are sidelined, and it could be an ideal opportunity for him to continue his goalscoring form and keep impressing Frank in front of goal.

Prediction

Despite Bodø/Glimt’s impressive form domestically, it’s difficult not to see a Tottenham win after the performances they produced against the Norwegian side last season.

We’re going for a 2-0 win away from home for the Premier League outfit.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, physical metrics, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Sep

2025

Preview: Chelsea welcome back a hero as Benfica visit in the Champions League

It’s past vs present at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday as now Benfica boss José Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge, hoping to get one up on his former side. Considering Chelsea’s recent form, it could have come at a better time or the legendary Portuguese coach.

By Alex Roberts

Enzo Maresca’s side suffered a second consecutive Premier League defeat with a 3-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday, and just like that, the good work done during the summer’s Club World Cup was forgotten.

Benfica are so far undefeated under Mourinho, with two wins and one draw in their three games together. Sitting third in Liga Portugal, just one point behind the top two (Porto and Sporting), they’ll now test their mettle on the continent.

Just keep eleven players on the pitch, lads

Chelsea were 1-0 up and relatively in control of the game against Brighton before Trevoh Chalobah was shown a straight red card for a last man challenge on Diego Gómez, thanks to a hospital pass from Andrey Santos.

In fact, four of Chelsea’s five defeats this calendar year have featured a red card for one of their players, Nicolas Jackson with two, Robert Sánchez with one, and now Chalobah with one. So, are they in crisis or are they just making some bad decisions?

Maresca has admitted that having to play with ten men is a learning curve for him, but their 3-1 defeat to Bayern in the previous round of fixtures was their only one of the five defeats without a red card. Keeping eleven on the pitch for this one will give Chelsea a better chance of getting something.

An unlikely circumstance

Ironically, Benfica beat Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe in the qualifiers to earn a place in this season’s Champions League league phase, and their 3-2 defeat to Azerbaijani Qarabağ in the previous round was the game that sealed Bruno Lage’s fate.

Benfica were 2-0 up after just 16 minutes before it all went to hell, such a result that Mourinho simply wouldn’t tolerate. He took charge of just 10 Benfica games back in 2000 when he first started his managerial career but never had the chance to lead them out in Europe’s most prestigious club tournament.

Now, he will manage his first Champions League game against the club that he still calls home. As far as footballing narratives go, it couldn’t have worked out better for one of the most iconic coaches in the history of the game.

Team news

Chalobah’s red card against Brighton won’t have any effect on the game here and he is likely to retain his position at centre-back simply due to the lack of options Chelsea currently have in that position. Facundo Buonanotte is also available again after being unable to face his parent club.

Chelsea are still missing talismanic playmaker Cole Palmer due to his ongoing groin problem, with Levi Colwill (knee), Liam Delap (thigh), Dário Essugo (thigh), Tosin Adarabioyo (calf) and Wesley Fofana (head) all also ruled out.

Benfica are also far from full strength, with Manu Silva and Alexander Bah still recovering from ACL injuries, while winger Bruma faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines and may not return until 2026 due to a ruptured Achilles.

Gianluca Prestianni is also away representing Argentina at the Under-20 World Cup in Chile.

Prediction

Sometimes, it’s hard to ignore fate. This has a classic 1-0 Mourinho smash and grab written all over it.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Sep

2025

Preview: Madrid are in Kazakhstan for Kairat test

A derby hammering didn’t make for pretty viewing for Real Madrid fans or new boss Xabi Alonso, but Los Blancos will be hoping for a routine return to winning ways in the Champions League midweek.

By Karl Matchett

A chasm between them

It is in pretty much every way the game with the biggest gaps of the league phase, from financial to geographical – it’s far closer and quicker for the Spanish side to get to most of Africa and plenty of Asia, than it is for them to travel to the eastern side of Kazakhstan, where hosts Kairat Almaty are based. Even a small part of China is closer than this trip – but at the end of it will be a club whose record signing for €1m was made more than half a decade ago. Real Madrid spent ten times as much just to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold a month early from his Liverpool contract, let alone the other €150m spent on squad additions this past summer. As for Champions League history, this is Kairat’s first time in the competition proper – Real have won it 15 times.

Defensive concerns

Still, in 90 minutes anything can happen, as they say. In the last European 90 minutes, no surprises emerged as Kairat went to Sporting and were hammered 4-1, though they held out resolutely until almost half time. Real Madrid will hope that a similar approach of relentless attacking will pave the way to success, because they have a host of defensive injuries right now – two left-backs in the XI looks likely, and Xabi Alonso could even revert to his three-man defensive line given both right-backs are missing too. One name to note from Kairat Almaty will look to exploit that weakness: 17-year-old striker Dastan Satpaev is off to Chelsea next summer and has 11 league goals this season – we profiled him a while back – here.

Recent form

The Kazakh side sit second in their domestic league and have won their last three, though widen it to all competitions and it’s three wins from seven – though that factors in two draws with Celtic and an eventual shootout win to reach the league phase in Europe. Real Madrid’s humiliation at Atlético over the weekend leaves them one point off Barcelona in LaLiga, having won seven straight prior to that beating.

Team news

Élder Santana and João Paulo are out long-term for Kairat, with Alexandr Zarutskiy a doubt.

For Real, Dani Carvajal misses a month, Trent Alexander-Arnold is still missing, Éder Militão is a new injury absence and both Ferland Mendy and Antonio Rüdiger remain sidelined. David Alaba has only played ten minutes this season but might be needed here.

Key player

On the assumption Kylian Mbappé is double-marked more often than not, Arda Güler has been a strong performer with three goals and three assists this term. In LaLiga so far it’s 3.8 chances created per 90, as well as 2 shots. He’s in the top 2% of attacking midfielders for chance creation over the past year.

Prediction

Real Madrid will simply have too much in attack even if the balance in the side isn’t there: Kairat Almaty 0-3 Real Madrid.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Sep

2025

Preview: Liverpool visit unbeaten Turkish league leaders Galatasaray

Just days after suffering their first defeat of the season, Liverpool travel to Istanbul to take on Turkish champions Galatasaray in what is expected to be a hostile environment.

By Sam McGuire

The story so far

The match sees the Premier League leaders take on the Süper Lig leaders.

Liverpool had been perfect this term across all competitions prior to their trip to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon. Despite netting an 87th minute equaliser against Crystal Palace, the Reds lost the game, conceding in the seventh minute of injury time.

How they bounce back from this will be interesting.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Premier League champions haven’t played that well this season despite winning eight of nine. Likely caused by the squad overhaul this summer, the Reds are going to have to start putting in controlled, composed showings sooner rather than later. They aren’t going to be able to coast in the Turkish capital.

Galatasaray, meanwhile, have been perfect in the league, taking 21 points from seven matches. They’ve scored 19 goals and conceded just twice. Domestically, they are utterly dominant. However, in their single Champions League game this term, they were humbled by Eintracht Frankfurt, losing 5-1 in one of the shock scorelines of round one.

Recent form

For the Turkish side, results haven’t necessarily told the entire story.

For example, they lost 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt but the Expected Goals total for that game was 1.21 to 1.09 in favour of the Bundesliga club. Galatasaray even took the lead in what was quite an even game.

Then, in their last league outing against Alanyaspor, a game Galatasaray claimed a 1-0 win in, Okan Buruk’s side gave up chances with an xG value of 2.11. In reality, they would’ve been lucky to claim a draw, let alone snatch a win.

Liverpool haven’t been great though. Following the 4-2 win over Bournemouth on the opening day, Arne Slot’s men eked out seven odd-goal wins on the bounce before finally losing to Palace. They kept finding ways to win, even if performances didn’t warrant the three points.

Key Players

For Liverpool, it’ll be Mohamed Salah. The 33-year-old single-handedly tormented Atlético Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield, having six shots, creating three chances and finishing with an xG involvement of 2.1. He’s struggled in the league but Europe is a different proposition entirely.

*Galatasaray’s top scorers in the Süper Lig*

For the hosts, all eyes will be on whether or not Victor Osimhen is deemed fit enough to start following an ankle injury. If he’s not, his deputy, Mauro Icardi, will be the one to watch. He’s the top scorer in the Turkish league this term with five.

Team News

“We’ll assess his pain and physical condition before thinking about the next match [vs Liverpool].” The words of the Galatasaray manager following Osimhen’s 10 minute cameo off of the bench against Alanyaspor. The likelihood is that the one-time Liverpool transfer target will start on the bench against the Premier League champions.

Other than that, the Turkish champions have a fully fit squad. The Reds, however, are without Giovanni Leoni following his ACL injury against Southampton. Slot will also want to manage the minutes of his key players with a game against Chelsea on the horizon.

Prediction

We’re going to go with a narrow 2-1 win for Liverpool.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Sep

2025

Preview: Arsenal go to St. James’ Park for Newcastle showdown

Newcastle will be aiming to continue their recent dominance over Arsenal when the two teams clash on Sunday afternoon.

By Ross Kilvington

Both teams taking their time to warm up

While this match promises to be an excellent way to end the weekend, both teams are still searching for their best football.

Newcastle finally sealed their first Premier League victory of the season last week with a 1-0 win against Wolves.

The Magpies, however, have found the back of the net just three times across the first five matchdays of the league campaign.

Indeed, Eddie Howe’s men became just the second club in top flight history to record goalless draws in their opening three away matches.

Arsenal began the season convincingly with wins over Manchester United and Leeds, scoring six goals without reply.

Defeat to Liverpool and a draw against Man City since then sees the Gunners sit five points behind the Anfield side.

Key players

Howe signed Nick Woltemade as a replacement for Alexander Isak and it looks as though the German could become a fans favourite on Tyneside.

He scored the winner in the clash against Wolves with a trademark header and the supporters will expect plenty more of those in the months ahead.

Sandro Tonali is continuing to prove his worth to Howe with several superb performances to begin the season. The Italian ranks in the top 12% for both successful passes (224) and chances created (7) when compared to players in his position.

Viktor Gyökeres has scored three times for the Gunners since his summer move from Sporting, but Mikel Arteta will certainly be looking for an improved output as the season progresses.

Elsewhere, new signings Martin Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze have settled in well at the Emirates, registering five goals between them so far. The duo will be key to unlocking a stubborn Newcastle defence.

Team news

Newcastle will be without Fabian Schär after he suffered a head injury against Barcelona last week.

Summer signings Jacob Ramsey and Yoane Wissa are also absent due to injury, although Anthony Gordon returns after serving a suspension.

Meanwhile, Arsenal will be missing Noni Madueke, who is out for around six weeks. Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Piero Hincapié wont be available for selection.

In more positive news, Martin Ødegaard could be set to return to the starting XI after missing the previous three games due to a shoulder issues.

Prediction

Newcastle won three of the four matches they played against Arsenal last season, but the Gunners start this one as slight favourites.

Howe’s misfiring attack is worrying and he will be hoping Woltemade can make a huge difference in this area, using his unpredictability and towering frame to cause chaos in the opposition penalty area.

It will be a tight affair on Tyneside this Sunday, but Arsenal should have more than enough to seal their fourth Premier League victory of the season.

I’m going for a narrow 1-0 win for the visitors.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow all the games from the Premier League on FotMob in the 2025/26 season – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Sep

2025

Preview: Tottenham Hotspur welcome Wolves in the Premier League

By Ross Kilvington

Spurs will be looking to reinforce their Champions League credentials when they welcome Wolves to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening.

Tottenham look vibrant under Thomas Frank

Thomas Frank has enjoyed an excellent start to his reign in North London. After four years establishing Brentford as Premier League regulars, the Dane finally got his big move in the summer.

So far, Spurs have won three of their five league matches, including a solid 2-0 victory over Manchester City and they occupy third place in the table.

Frank even secured Spurs’ first Champions League win since November 2022 with a 1-0 triumph against Villarreal.

Wolves, on the other hand, are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table. With zero wins and 12 goals conceded, a clash against Spurs is the last thing they want to face.

Solace may be found in the EFL Cup. Vítor Pereira’s side dismantled Everton 2-0 in the third round. Now, this type of performance must be displayed in the top flight.

Key players

Under Frank, Spurs’ goals have come from several different sources. Richarlison was on the bench for the 3-0 win over Doncaster in the Carabao Cup, but he should return to the starting XI this weekend.

With three goals in seven matches, the Brazilian could be a key fixture under Frank.

Summer signing Xavi Simons has yet to get on the scoresheet, but he has registered an assist. Elsewhere, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Bergvall have also contributed effectively in the final third, recording six assists between them.

Pereira must end their winless drought in the Premier League sooner rather than later and this could influence his team selection.

Tolu Arokodare came off the bench against Everton in midweek and scored the clincher in the 2-0 victory. Jørgen Strand Larsen may not have a league goal to his name this term, but he did net twice against West Ham in the Carabao Cup last month.

Tenacious midfielder João Gomes will likely return to the starting XI against Spurs. The Brazilian ranks in the top 10% for both tackles (14) and duels won (34) in the top flight this season.

Team news

Randal Kolo Muani missed the cup clash with Doncaster with a minor injury and he could be missing from the clash against Wolves.

Ben Davies may also miss out, while long-term absentees include Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Drăgușin and James Maddison.

Only one player is a doubt for Wolves. Andre was taken off against Everton, but it looks as though his problem is a minor one. It remains to be seen whether he will recover in time for Saturday.

Prediction

Spurs’ early season form shows that they are a different animal under Frank compared to Ange Postecoglou. Last season saw the Old Gold win 4-2 at Molineux while also securing a share of the spoils away from home.

Saturday will be a much harder task given the North Londoners’ form of late. Expect the home side to emerge victorious this time: Spurs 3-1 Wolves.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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