Hello Prem Reporters!
Welcome to matchweek 24’s Prem Report; flying in like a Benefican (not a word) Goalie in the 98th minute.

Oh and if you didn’t catch the Australian Open semi-finals, do yourself a favor and watch the highlights. Djokovic is G.O.A.T.-ING pretty hard at the moment. Come on Jock, just one more...

Enjoy
-Gabe

In this edition

• Fixtures

Matchweek 24 Fixtures

Saturday

• 🦉 Leeds vs 🔫 Arsenal — 7:00 AM — Peacock

  🐠 “Just keep swimming”🎵 - Arsenal (probably)
  Arsenal is going through a “bit of a rough patch”, winless in their last three games (1L, 2D) and only four points clear of 2nd+3rd place City/Villa, tensions are getting…well a bit tense. Hold off on panicking just yet; the Gunners have won their last six Premier League meetings with Leeds by an aggregate score of 20–5, and are unbeaten in their last six visits to Elland Road.
  
  Leeds, are no pushover right now, Daniel Farke’s side have lost just once in their last 10 league matches and are unbeaten in five at home. However Leeds have never (yes never) won a PL home game against a team starting the day top of the table (D7 L7). For Arsenal.
  
  

• 🐺 Wolves vs 🍒 Bournemouth — 7:00 AM — Peacock
  

• 🦁 Chelsea vs ⚒️ West Ham — 9:30 AM — NBC
  The “new coach rebound” is a real thing.
  Liam Rosenior has led the team to two straight victories, as well as a midweek Champions League win in Naples. League victories over Brentford (2-0) and Crystal Palace (3-1) put them on the brink of three consecutive league wins by 2+ goals for the first time since 2020.
  
  West Ham arrive with some momentum after consecutive league wins for the first time since December 2023, but sadly the Hammers also rank among the league’s worst for shots faced. History also leans heavily the blues way: they’ve won their last four league meetings with West Ham by an aggregate score of 15-2, while West Ham have won just one of their last 19 away League games at Stamford Bridge.

• 🔴 Liverpool vs ⚫️ Newcastle — 12:00 PM — NBC
  “… Cause I’m a little unsteaddyyyy”🎵 - Liverpool
  Liverpool head back to Anfield battered, and lets be honest a bit bruised. Zero winds in their last five matches. But the odds still lean their way. The Reds are unbeaten in their last 18 PL meetings with Newcastle (W13 D5) and have lost just once at home to the Magpies in the league since 1994.
  
  Newcastle’s away form remains a concern too: only Sunderland and Wolves have failed to score in more away league games this season, with six blanks on the road and 70% of their away goals coming in just two wins.
  
  Mohamed Salah has more PL goal involvements against Newcastle than any other opponent (19), while Dominik Szoboszlai’s league-leading 33 shots from outside the box could. Newcastle arrive needing a response after back-to-back scoreless league games, but that looks like maybe too tall of an order.

Sunday

• ⭕ Aston Villa vs 🐝 Brentford — 6:00 AM — Peacock
  

• 🟥 Manchester United vs 🏠 Fulham — 6:00 AM — Peacock

  “I wan’t you to stayyyyy” - Rihanna Man U Fans
  It feels as if Michael Carrick is making United’s decision on their next coach, for them. Carrick has won three of his first four league matches across his two caretaker spells and can now match Ruben Amorim’s longest winning streak at United, with the side currently unbeaten in six league games and sitting fourth. The return of Bryan Mbeumo has been pivotal (United’s win rate jumps from 20% to 50% when he starts )
  
  Fulham ain’t no scrubs though, they have taken 17 points from their last eight matches, matching their total from the opening 15 games, while Harry Wilson has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last 11 appearances. Fulham’s surge in set-piece output and attacking efficiency gives the matchup an edge that makes it feel like anyone’s game.
  

• 🌲 Nottingham Forest vs 🦅 Crystal Palace — 6:00 AM — Peacock
  

• 🐓 Tottenham vs 🌙 Manchester City — 8:30 AM — USA
  “Guess who’s back, back again, Spurs are back….”
  Tottenham Hotspurs otherwise known as Pep’s Bane, take on City in a matchup that is always exciting. The City boss has lost more league games against Tottenham than any other opponent (eight), and Spurs already beat City at the Etihad earlier this season.
  
  That said, this version of Tottenham is not as good as they once were… Thomas Frank is averaging just 0.82 points per home Premier League game, the worst record of any Spurs manager in the competition’s history.
  
  City will want to take advantage of Arsenal’s stumble at the top, and make a statement over a Spurs team who’s winless in their last five.

  Should be a good game.

Monday

• 🐈‍⬛ Sunderland vs 🟣 Burnley — 12:00 PM — USA

^{Times are in Pacific Standard Time and channels are based in the U.S.
Stats are supplied by Opta Analyst.}