Preview

Sep

2025

Preview: Palace and Liverpool meet again

Welcome to part two of three meetings in two-and-a-half months between two of last season’s trophy winners – who are also the Premier League’s last remaining unbeaten sides this term.

By Karl Matchett

Crystal Palace and Liverpool opened the 2025/26 season when they met in the Community Shield – a part of preseason in truth, but a Wembley silverware addition for the south east London club all the same after they won on penalties. In October, they’ll meet again in the League Cup. And first, on Saturday, they lock horns in the Premier League.

Renewing rivalries

Oliver Glasner’s team are becoming a familiar foe for Arne Slot – this will in fact be three against Palace in just ten competitive games for the Reds, as the two faced off in the final league fixture last term. Both that game and the August Wembley meeting were draws, and with neither side giving up much ground in fixtures this season it could be another tense and tight match-up. Liverpool have won six games in a row by a single goal margin; Palace haven’t scored or conceded more than one in any home fixture this term. The odds are on it being another fiercely fought and close encounter and options from the bench could well be key.

Guéhi tug of war

At the centre of attention will be Palace centre-back Marc Guéhi, wanted by Liverpool in summer but denied a move at the last minute in the transfer window. With the Reds now down to three centre-backs there’s every chance a move is resurrected in January but for now the Eagles’ skipper remains in excellent form and intent on trying to stop the new most expensive British signing ever, with Alexander Isak set to make his first league start for the Reds.

It’s not only Guéhi in the spotlight though. Adam Wharton has been linked with Liverpool, Ismaïla Sarr has a personal history of scoring plenty against them (four so far) and Nathaniel Clyne played over 100 times as a Liverpool player.

Recent form

Palace have played nine matches in four competitions already this season and haven’t lost any – while Liverpool have won all seven of their competitive fixtures, following on from a draw and shootout loss in the Community Shield.

Team news

Several out for both teams, with Yeremy Pino a doubt and each of Chadi Riad, Walter Benítez and Cheick Doucouré missing for the hosts and Hugo Ekitike suspended for the Reds. Centre-back Giovanni Leoni is out for the season with an ACL tear.

Key player

Alexander Isak, is it?! The £125m man won’t be at top speed yet but over the past year he’s ahead of 85% of strikers around Europe’s top leagues for taking shots, 88% for creating chances and 94% for actually scoring. Taking a chance here might be key for the points in a tough game.

Prediction

Certainly the hosts have the capacity to trouble the champions but we’ll say only one unbeaten run comes to an end here: Palace 1-2 Liverpool.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Sep

2025

Preview: Manchester City host Burnley

Premier League title contenders Manchester City are playing catch up after a mixed start to the campaign.

By Neel Shelat

A crucial run of fixtures for Manchester City

We are five matches into the new Premier League season, but Manchester City have surprisingly still dropped points more often than not. Despite the late concession, last weekend’s draw with Arsenal was not such a disappointing result, but losses to Tottenham and Brighton have left them on the back foot compared to the other title contenders.

Pep Guardiola’s side are now entering a relatively easier stretch of matches starting this weekend. Brentford, Everton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth will be their subsequent opponents in the league, leading up to a huge clash against early leaders Liverpool in November. City simply have to pick up 15 points from their next five games if they are to avoid drifting too far from the title race again.

Red-hot Haaland hoping to lead City’s attack

Erling Haaland missed City’s midweek Carabao Cup match due to a minor back injury but is likely to return to the line-up for this game. He has been in unstoppable form this season having netted 12 times in his last six appearances for club and country, and last going goalless over a month ago in the loss to Spurs.

The Norwegian striker has an even greater goalscoring responsibility in the absence of the likes of Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki, so all eyes will be on him yet again.

*Haaland’s shot map, Premier League 2025/26*

Another resolute defensive showing needed for Burnley

Burnley have the lowest possession average in the Premier League so far this season at barely over 33%, but their defensive record is far from the worst. The match against Liverpool stands out as the Clarets saw less than 20% of the ball but resisted waves of pressure and restricted the defending champions in open play before being undone by a late red card and stoppage-time penalty.

Burnley will surely be similarly starved of the ball at the Etihad Stadium, so Scott Parker must have spent the week drilling his defence into being as solid as possible.

City’s dominant head-to-head record

Burnley might take a little encouragement from Manchester City’s recent inconsistency, but they certainly will not want to glance at their head-to-head record. The Clarets have lost each of their last 13 meetings across all competitions, with just two goals scored and a whopping 46 conceded!

Their fortunes have been even worse in Manchester as they got a result over a decade ago with a 2-2 draw in 2014, while their last away win against City was at Maine Road all the way back in 1963. The hosts would go on to get relegated that year, while Burnley finished in the top three.

Prediction

By all metrics, City are massive favourites in this game and should coast to a comfortable win, likely with Haaland on the scoresheet.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Sep

2025

Preview: Atlético out to end Alonso’s perfect start at Real Madrid

LaLiga’s leaders face their arch-rivals at the hostile Metropolitano.

By Filip Mishov

Atleti can kick-start their season with a positive result in the Madrid derby

Los Rojiblancos waited until after September’s international break for their first win of the season, which does not bode well for Diego Simeone after the club spent over €175 million in the summer transfer window, with only their cross-town rivals and next opponents, Real Madrid coming close to that level in LaLiga.

With that being said, El Cholo’s jubilant run down the touchline after Atlético Madrid’s comeback win against Rayo Vallecano did not come as a surprise, as the under-fire coach was desperate for a midweek victory ahead of the Madrid derby.

Some have mentioned that the difficulty of Real Madrid’s early season fixtures has given Xabi Alonso something of a grace period but nevertheless, they’ve won all seven of their competitive games, a run that concluded with Kylian Mbappé & co. securing a dominant win at Levante during the week.

Now, the biggest test of the new era awaits, and the newly-appointed coach is tasked with improving Real Madrid’s record (4L, 4D, 2W) at the Metropolitano, as Los Blancos have witnessed only two wins in all competitions since Atlético moved to the stadium in 2017.

Key players

Julián Álvarez is Atleti’s top scorer with four goals this season and the Argentinean striker scored an incredible hat-trick against Rayo Vallecano to lift his team up to eighth ahead of the weekend. La Araña recorded a near-perfect FotMob rating of 9.7 by displaying his full attacking repertoire and finding the back of the net both from inside and, more spectacularly, from outside the box to complete the comeback. The 25-year-old also has a good record in the derby having scored a couple of goals against Real Madrid last season.

Even though Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé are stealing the headlines, Franco Mastantuono is quietly evolving into a key player since arriving at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The Argentinean prodigy has started all but one match this season and the 18-year-old scored his maiden goal with an exquisite strike against Levante, earning him a FotMob rating of 8.2.

Team news

Diego Simeone did not have the luxury to rotate during the week given recent results and no major changes are expected in Atletico’s starting lineup this weekend, with José Giménez, Johnny Cardoso and Thiago Almada all missing the Madrid derby through injury.

With Daniel Carvajal, Éder Militao and Aurélien Tchouaméni earning a well-deserved midweek rest, all three are expected to return to Real Madrid’s starting XI on Saturday, while it will be interesting to see whether Jude Bellingham will be included after just coming back from injury. Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy and Trent Alexander-Arnold are sidelined and not expected to return before next month at the very least.

Prediction

Despite Atlético Madrid’s troubles this season, Diego Simeone will inevitably fire up the squad to get a result in the derby, while Xabi Alonso will be cautious and look to defend his perfect start, leaving a feisty draw as the most realistic outcome.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Sep

2025

Preview: Chelsea welcome Brighton to the Bridge

Neither Chelsea nor Brighton have really got going in the early stages of the 2025-26 season. Both will doubtless be hoping to earn a morale boosting win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

By Alex Roberts

Fabian Hürzeler’s side can take confidence from a comfortable 6-0 midweek Carabao Cup win over Barnsley, thanks to a terrific four-goal performance from Diego Gómez, going into this one.

As for Chelsea, a laboured 2–1 victory over Lincoln saw them go 1–0 down before scraping two unconvincing goals in quick succession just after half-time. The result posed more questions than answers, with pre-season confidence in Enzo Maresca’s young side beginning to wane.

Chelsea still have a goalkeeper problem

Filip Jörgensen was given a chance to put the pressure on Robert Sánchez against Lincoln following the Spaniard’s ridiculous red card in the 2-1 defeat to Man United in the previous game week, he did not take it.

The Dane flapped at every single cross, was bullied on several occasions by the Lincoln players and nearly killed the already fragile Wesley Fofana with a flying punch early, ending the game having made zero saves, one punch, and just one high claim.

Calls for Jörgensen to replace Sánchez had already fallen quiet, now they’re completely silent. Sánchez is likely to get his place back for the game against his former club now that his suspension is over, but that won’t fill fans with confidence either.

If Chelsea want to be challenging for the big titles, they need a ‘keeper they can depend upon.

Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh love playing Chelsea

Brighton faced Chelsea in two consecutive games last season, first in the FA Cup and then in the Premier League, winning 2-1 and 3-0 respectively. Across those two games, Mitoma and Minteh providing four goal contributions.

Minteh in particular has started the season well, bagging an assist in the 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth and then scoring in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham. With 14 successful dribbles, 36 touches in the opposition box and the fact he’s only been dispossessed seven times so far this season, he’s clearly brimming with confidence.

Mitoma hasn’t quite started the season as well, although he did score the goal against Bournemouth, provided to him by Minteh, but considering his recent scoring record against Chelsea, don’t be surprised if he gets another here.

Team news

It remains to be seen whether Cole Palmer, whose long-standing groin issue flared up in the defeat to Man United, will make an appearance. Facundo Buonanotte would be a like-for-like replacement for the England international, but the Carabao Cup match-winner is ineligible to face his parent club on Saturday.

Dário Essugo (thigh), Roméo Lavia (unspecified), Benoît Badiashile (unspecified), Liam Delap (thigh) and Levi Colwill (knee) are all still absent and don’t look to be returning any time soon.

As for Brighton, Hürzeler could have left-back Maxim De Cuyper back in contention after a minor knee issue, while Jack Hinshelwood (foot), Solly March (knee), and Adam Webster (knee) remain sidelined.

Prediction

Chelsea vs. Brighton has a tendency to produce plenty of goals, although we don’t think there will be anything to separate the two here. We’re going with a 2-2 draw at the Bridge.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Sep

2025

Preview: Manchester United travel to Brentford for early kickoff

Manchester United travel to West London on Saturday lunchtime to meet a Brentford side who’ve become victims of their own success.

By Ian King

It’s been a stop-start season so far for both teams

Manchester United arrive in West London for the first Premier League match of the weekend with The Old Trafford Rollercoaster on an upwards trajectory following their win against Chelsea last Saturday night, a result that brought a flicker of optimism back to the club following another underwhelming start to the season.

Brentford were denuded of some of their best players, as well as head coach Thomas Frank, during their summer and so far have paid a price for that, with just one win from their first five games and a feeling growing that they could be on for a long, hard season. Their 3-1 defeat at Fulham last weekend left them hovering inelegantly just above the relegation places.

The Bees have stung Manchester United plenty of times before

With Brentford’s ascent to the Premier League having coincided with Manchester United: The Perennial Crisis Years, their record against the Red Devils is decent. When the two teams met at the end of last season at The Brentford Community Stadium, the Bees won 4-3. Indeed, of the four meetings between the two teams at Brentford since their promotion, United have only won once, and that was the first meeting of the two clubs here, in January 2022.

*H2H results for Brentford home games in the Premier League*

The return of Bryan Mbeumo

There’ll be one name who’ll be causing more concern to the Brentford head coach Keith Andrews than anyone else. Bryan Mbeumo left for Old Trafford for a fee worth up to £71 million during the summer, and it’d be understandable if Bees fans were a little nervous at the prospect of him returning to plunder a goal or two. The good news for them there is that he’s only scored once in five games for his new club in the League so far this season.

Brentford’s main goal threat so far this season has been the Brazilian striker Igor Thiago, who’s scored three times in all competitions and has stepped reasonably confidently into their first eleven after having only made eight appearances for the Bees last season. United haven’t kept a clean sheet yet this season, so there’s space to be got into if they can get the ball forward into those attacking midfield positions.

Brentford pair could return from identical injuries, while Manchester United will be missing a suspended Casemiro

For Brentford, both Gustavo Nunes and Paris Maghoma have had matching hamstring injuries, and either or both could return for this match and will be facing fitness tests. Otherwise, expect Keith Andrews’ team selection to be largely influenced by his opposite number Ruben Amorim’s obdurate devotion to a 3-4-3 formation.

Diogo Dalot also faces a fight to get fit after missing United’s last two games. Noussair Mazraoui or Amad Diallo will deputise at right wing-back if he’s not ready. Casemiro is suspended for a game following his careless red card against Chelsea and will most likely be replaced by Manuel Ugarte, while Lisandro Martínez remains a long-term injury, though could be back in a few weeks.

Brentford know what’s coming, but can they do anything about it?

Other managers know fully well what’s coming with Manchester United this season, but what do they do about it? That’s the most fundamental question, ahead of this match. It’s unsurprising that Brentford have struggled so far this season, considering their personnel exodus during the summer, and Keith Andrews hasn’t quite got a revamped team right yet.

Manchester United, meanwhile, remain a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. United still have it in them to pull something out of the bag in a big match, as they did against Chelsea last weekend, but it’s been years since they demonstrated any ability whatsoever to turn those little sparks of optimism into something more consistent.

It feels like these two teams are more likely than anything else to cancel each other, and with the tendency of Saturday lunchtime matches to err towards the soporific, I’m going to go for a 1-1 draw in this one, though as so often with Manchester United in recent years, the most realistic score prediction is “who knows?”

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Sep

2025

Preview: Barcelona visit newly-promoted Real Oviedo

Barcelona’s first midweek league match of the season sees them travel to Asturias to take on new boys Real Oviedo.

By Neel Shelat

Barcelona’s first visit to Oviedo in 24 years

Real Oviedo spent close to a quarter of a century outside the Spanish top-flight following their relegation from LaLiga in 2001, quite literally bouncing back from the brink of death before eventually winning the Segunda División promotion play-offs last term.

As a result, this will be the first time Oviedo host FC Barcelona in 24 years. A brace from Patrick Kluivert powered the Blaugrana to a 2-3 win on that occasion, but Oviedo were the winners in each of their previous three home head-to-heads.

Lamine Yamal likely to remain sidelined

Lamine Yamal must be raring to go again a couple of days after finishing second in the Ballon d’Or rankings and winning the Kopa trophy, but he missed the last training session prior to the match and is expected to remain unavailable. Fermín López and Gavi also suffered recent injury blows, while Alejandro Balde and Marc-André ter Stegen are still on the absence list as well.

Ferran Torres on fire

Robert Lewandowski is fit and firing for Barcelona again, but Ferran Torres has been the team’s top goal scorer in the early weeks of the season. The ex-Valencia forward doubled his tally with a brace against Getafe on the weekend, showing great scoring instincts both as a main or second striker.

*Torres shooting stats in LaLiga, 2025/26*

He also scored 14 goals across all club competitions in the second half of the 2024/25 season following the turn of the year, so he has really stepped up to the mantle in Barcelona’s hour of need.

Given Lewandowski’s age and recent return from injury, the 25-year-old Spaniard may well get another chance to lead the line this week.

Wing attacks the key for Real Oviedo

No team in the world can reasonably hope to completely shut out Barcelona even for 90 minutes, so all of their opponents have to come up with a counterattacking plan before taking them. Based on their work early on in the season, Real Oviedo will likely look to deal their damage down the wings.

Veljko Paunović’s side have focused less than a quarter of their attacks down the centre so far this season. Their main striker, 36-year-old Salomón Rondón, is not the most mobile of players, so he operates as more of a target forward. Out wide, the likes of Haissem Hassan and Ilyas Chaira pose more of a dribbling threat, so they will be tasked with getting the ball up the pitch. Against a somewhat depleted Barcelona back line, they might just find a bit of joy.

Prediction

Regardless of how much they rotate the side, Barcelona will surely be overwhelming favourites in this game. They should manage to come away with a comfortable win and take Real Oviedo’s record to five losses in six matches this season.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Sep

2025

Preview: NYCFC host Inter Miami in MLS

Inter Miami can confirm their place in the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs with a win or a draw against New York City FC on Wednesday night, but this team have much bigger ambitions and expectations than mere qualification.

By James Nalton

Having played at Yankee Stadium last season, this will be Lionel Messi’s first visit to New York City’s other baseball home at Citi Field, Queens, home of the New York Mets.

There should be plenty of buzz in the World’s Borough ahead of Messi’s appearance, as Inter Miami continue their quest to retain their Supporters’ Shield title.

Lionel Messi is back in MVP form

For much of this season, other players in Major League Soccer have had better cases than Messi to be named the league’s MVP at the end of the year.

Messi won the award in 2024 despite missing numerous games throughout the campaign, so good were his performances when he did play.

This season has been similarly impressive at times, but Miami as a team have often lacked momentum.

There was the run of fixtures where Messi was scoring twice in every game, and flashes of genius here and there, but there was always a strong case for someone like Anders Dreyer of San Diego, or Evander of Cincinnati, to claim the award.

In the past two games, Messi’s all-round play has been back at a level above everyone in MLS and, indeed, above most people playing the game regardless of the league in which they play.

He has scored three goals and assisted two more in those games, and more often than not, these goal contributions involve moments of brilliance.

Starting as a striker in place of the suspended Luis Suárez seems to have suited him.

Can Inter Miami still win the Supporters’ Shield?

Javier Mascherano’s side are whittling away at their games in hand, and after this midweek fixture, they will be only two behind the teams at the top of the table.

Going into this game, they still have three games in hand on Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union, who also happen to be leading the overall Supporters’ Shield Standings.

Miami are eight points behind the Union, so three points from each of those three games would give them a one-point edge.

As Miami have shown in recent months, though, they are not a team that can put a run of wins together, and they have not won three games in a row since July.

However, they have the chance to do so in this game against NYC, and, from here on out, they only have to focus on MLS, which has not been the case for much of the season so far.

With Messi back in top form, they could make a late push to retain their Shield.

Opposition watch: New York City FC

NYCFC are on a run of three consecutive wins, which is part of a wider impressive spell of form which has seen them win seven of their last nine games in MLS.

Post Leagues Cup, they have won five of six and have already secured their place in the playoffs.

Though the focus will be on Miami’s Supporters’ Shield push, New York themselves are still in that race, too.

Pascal Jansen’s side are also the form team in the league, just ahead of Charlotte FC, whom they defeated 2-0 at the weekend thanks to two penalties from Costa Rican striker Alonso Martínez, who now has eight goals in his last seven league games.

Martínez is five off Messi at the top of the scoring charts, with 17 goals, and has the second-highest xG and xG per 90 in the league.

Prediction

This should be an entertaining game between two teams in good form. A score draw could be on the cards.

(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 entertain Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao

If Spurs are serious about building on their Europa League win in May, their League Cup match against Doncaster Rovers is the sort of match they need to win comfortably.

By Ian King

Spurs have been cutting things fine, while Doncaster have had a blip

Spurs have been cutting things a little fine of late, scrambling back from two down to salvage a point with a 2-2 draw against Brighton on Saturday and dependent on an own goal to get past Villarreal in the Champions League the previous Tuesday, though they do still remain an improvement on last season’s team.

After winning the League Two title last season, Doncaster had a very strong start to their League One season, only losing one of their first seven matches and beating Middlesbrough 4-0 away in the First Round of this competition. But they’ve had a blip of late, losing their last two, including a 2-1 home defeat to Wimbledon on Saturday.

It’s been almost 90 years since Doncaster last beat Spurs

When these two clubs met each other for the first time, on the 21st December 1935 in the old Second Division, Doncaster won 2-1 at Belle Vue. They’ve met eight times since. The teams drew in 1937 and 1948, but Spurs have won the other six. They’ve only met twice in the last half-century. In December 1975, they clashed in the quarter-finals of this competition and Spurs won 7-2. The last time they met was also in the League Cup, in August 2009, when Spurs won 5-1 at The Keepmoat Stadium.

Archie Gray has a chance to prove a point to Thomas Frank

Spurs will be expected to shuffle their pack for a fixture such as this, and someone like Archie Gray might well be a beneficiary of such rotation. He made 46 appearances in all competitions for Spurs last season, but he’s only appeared twice in the league so far this time sound and it seems clear that Thomas Frank prefers him as a squad player, so this is an opportunity for him to go out and prove a point.

With six goals in 11 matches from midfield so far this season, Owen Bailey is Doncaster’s top goalscorer. He’s already scored as many league goals this season – five – as he did throughout the whole of 2024-25, when he was an ever-present in their title-winning team. His statistics for this season are highly impressive, with an average rating of 7.44.

*Doncaster’s best rated players in League One this season*

Their best-known player is the now 39-year-old Billy Sharp, whose senior career started 21 years ago and who made 377 appearances for Sheffield United over three spells between 2004 and 2023. For a little context, Sharp made his League debut two years before Archie Gray was born!

Loanee set to miss out for Doncaster while Spurs set to shuffle their pack

Yves Bissouma, Kota Takai, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Drăgușin and James Maddison are all out long-term and Dominic Solanke didn’t make the bench for Saturday’s draw at Brighton, though Ben Davies and Randal Kolo Muani, who both missed that match, could return. Spurs have loaned a lot of their talented youngsters out this summer, but this should still be a very different team to the one that started at The Amex.

One of those sent out on loan was Damola Ajayi, who went to Doncaster and is therefore ineligible for this game. But since Ajayi was only on the bench for the Wimbledon game, it shouldn’t make much difference to their plans. In a more serious disruption, midfielder Harry Clifton sustained a hamstring tear in their recent defeat against Wigan Athletic, and will be unlikely to return before the end of next month.

Doncaster could cause a scare, but Spurs should have enough to get through

Spurs have shown signs of a wobble in both of their recent Premier League performances and their opening match of their Champions League mega-group campaign. We all know that there should be a vast gulf between these two teams and that Spurs should win this one comfortably, but Doncaster are a decent team and, despite their recent blip in the league, they’re capable of making life uncomfortable for the Premier League club, so let’s go for a 3-1 home win and little bit more of a scare for the home fans than they may consider necessary.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Sep

2025

Preview: Man City visit League One Huddersfield

Manchester City will be expected to take the game to Huddersfield Town after Sunday’s back-to-the-walls job away to Arsenal.

By Graham Ruthven

Firm favourites

Pep Guardiola didn’t look much like Pep Guardiola on Sunday. At least, his Manchester City didn’t play like a team of his, defending with their backs to the wall for much of the 1-1 draw away to Arsenal.

The ends would have justified the means had it not been for Gabriel Martinelli’s stoppage time leveller, but City will be expected to take the game to Huddersfield Town in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie.

Having already knocked out Leicester City and Sunderland, Huddersfield are aiming to continue their giant-killing in this season’s Carabao Cup.

Lee Grant’s team have made a decent start to the season, winning five of their opening League One fixtures, although their current run of just one win from four games hints at a drop-off.

Guardiola could rotate his squad for the trip to the John Smith Stadium after two matches against Napoli and Arsenal in the last week, but City have such strength in depth that they remain firm favourites to make the next round.

Key players

Joe Taylor will likely start in attack for Huddersfield Town. While the 22-year-old hasn’t scored in his last two appearances, he has notched three goals in nine league outings this season.

Will Alves, Leo Castledine and Alfie May, who has a combined four goals and assists this season, could also be in line to start for the home team, giving Huddersfield creativity and attacking threat behind the central striker.

David Kasumu will partner Daniel Vost in the centre of the pitch, giving the pair arguably the toughest task of any two Huddersfield players. They will be key to ensuring the hosts aren’t overrun in midfield.

Guardiola could set up his Manchester City side in a number of different ways to make good use of his squad options. This makes it difficult to predict who could start for the visitors.

Savinho could use this as an opportunity to stake a claim for a more regular spot having been squeezed out of the team by Jérémy Doku and Phil Foden this season. Nico González might also get a chance from the start on Wednesday night.

Team news

Huddersfield are expected to be without Herbie Kane, Lynden Gooch and Jack Whatmough for the visit of Manchester City to the John Smith Stadium, although the trio could return from injury in the coming weeks.

Guardiola has a number of injuries to contend with. Rayan Aït-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, Mateo Kovačić and Omar Marmoush are all sidelined for City and will play no part in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie.

Erling Haaland could sit out after suffering a knock in the weekend draw against Arsenal while James Trafford could come back into the City lineup after recently losing his spot to Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The likes of Oscar Bobb, Gonzalez, Rico Lewis and Savinho could be among the rotation options given an opportunity to prove their worth from the start against the Terriers.

Prediction

Similarly to the other big Premier League teams that have entered the Carabao Cup at this stage, we’re expecting Pep Guardiola to make wholesale changes to his starting XI but we don’t see City slipping up here: Huddersfield Town 0-2 Man City.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Sep

2025

Preview: Arsenal visit League One side Port Vale

Arsenal fans seem split over a late weekend draw at home to Manchester City, but with a trophy high on the list of requirements perhaps Mikel Arteta can’t quite write off a midweek League Cup clash as a chance to simply rotate everybody.

By Karl Matchett

Mix and match for Arteta

The Gunners were again the biggest net spenders in the summer transfer window and the onus is on Arteta to now land significant silverware after spending a billion pounds on his rebuild. Sure, the north London side have come relatively close to prizes in position terms, but his cautiousness and pragmatism has ultimately blocked any legitimate title tilt so far. Right now, any trophy will do. As such, hosts Port Vale may not escape as easily as they might have done had the Gunners been five from five in the Premier League so far – though of course even a second-string XI would make for a tough evening for League One opponents.

The likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Christian Nørgaard have had limited minutes so far – the latter precisely one minute in Europe – but in the interests of finding top gear, Arteta might be well-served by keeping a number of starters involved. William Saliba is just back from injury, while the season-starting right flank of Ben White and Bukayo Saka could get much-needed game time and would be far from considered a backup duo. Add in Gabriel Martinelli starting after back-to-back goals as sub plus the temptation to let striker Victor Gyökeres plunder a few goals – no natural No. 9 alternative is fit – and it could well be an unusually strong visiting side which starts at Vale Park.

League Cup oddity

A slightly strange stat from the history of the second cup competition concerns Arsenal. They have, of course, won the FA Cup more times than any other club – 14. Yet in the League Cup it’s another matter entirely: they are level with Norwich and Wolves, and behind Leicester and Spurs, with just two wins ever – the last of which was more than three decades ago. It’s time, surely?!

Recent form

After a poor start to the season Port Vale have won four of their last six, including away at Birmingham in the last round of this competition. Arsenal have won four of their six so far this term in all competitions, losing only to Liverpool.

Team news

Port Vale are likely to keep the back three setup but Darren Moore may make a few changes in personnel. Ronan Curtis will hope to start after scoring the winner off the bench at the weekend. As well as the above-named players, teenager Max Dowman and backup keeper Kepa will hope to feature for Arsenal. Noni Madueke picked up a weekend injury.

Key player

If he starts, then Bukayo Saka is obviously the best player on the pitch. But in 45 minutes against Man City, Eberechi Eze showed why he should be Arsenal’s master key this term. He tops the squad stats for xA per 90, big chances created, shots per 90 and actual assists. Play him!

Prediction

No chance Arsenal fall at the first hurdle surely: Port Vale 0-3 Arsenal.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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