Pereira sacking reflects poorly on board
First the P45, then the pints. Vítor Pereira could be excused for having a drink on Sunday after his departure from Wolves, with the silver lining for the Portuguese being a decent payout. It is the fourth mid-season dismissal this campaign – there have never been more permanent sackings in Premier League history at this stage of the year (3 November). And while Evangelos Marinakis might have something to answer for, trigger-happy owners and directors are becoming increasingly erratic: that Pereira lasted just 45 days into a new three-year contract reflects as badly on the Wolves board as on the manager, just as Erik ten Hag’s sacking this time last year, coming less than three months after his own contract extension, reflected badly on the Manchester United hierarchy. Backing a manager and then pulling the rug so quickly is baffling, while a board’s desire for a “new manager bounce” so early in the season stinks of desperation and should be seen as an admission of guilt. Michael Butler
Match report: Fulham 3-0 Wolves
Gunners aiming to match ancient record
Arsenal have won their past seven matches in all competitions without conceding a goal. If they keep another clean sheet at Slavia Prague on Tuesday, it will match a 122-year club record. David Raya may currently have one of the easiest jobs in professional sport, able to enjoy all the fine defensive work in front of him as Burnley were kept at arm’s length. The Spain goalkeeper had next to nothing to do at Turf Moor apart from taking the odd goal-kick and watching a late free-kick hit the post. “It’s incredible,” Raya said of the record. “Not just the defence, I think it’s a collective achievement, if you want to put it that way. It starts from the striker, finishing with the goalkeeper. So, it’s just incredible to have that work rate from everyone, trying to shut teams down and not concede anything. And that’s just credit to everyone.” Will Unwin
Match report: Burnley 0-2 Arsenal
Dyche not banking on magic dust to fix Forest
The cornerstone of Nottingham Forest’s success last season was defensive solidity but it is now 18 top-flight matches since they kept a clean sheet – against Manchester United on 1 April. Forest lost their ruthlessness under Nuno Espírito Santo and Ange Postecoglou failed to resolve their vulnerabilities. Forest beat Porto 2-0 in Sean Dyche’s first game but conceded two more goals from corners in the draw with United on Saturday. No team in the division has shipped more goals from set pieces this season. Everybody expects Dyche to remedy these issues but, as he told the Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, it is not that straightforward. “We haven’t got any magic wand or magic dust, and we know that it’s a big job to change things,” said Dyche, Forest’s third head coach of the season. “Forest had a brilliant season last year – fantastic for this club – but towards the end it was drifting a bit. They hardly scored a goal in pre-season either, so we’ve got a number of things to address.” Ben Fisher
Match report: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Manchester United
Watkins risks World Cup snub with poor form
For all the heartwarming talk of Danny Welbeck potentially earning an England recall, little positive has been said about the man the Brighton striker would likely replace. That is partly because Ollie Watkins has not given headline writers much to get excited about this season. One goal in 14 appearances in all competitions is not the form that gets you a place in a World Cup squad, with the caveat that we are still a long way from Thomas Tuchel naming his final submissions to get a plane ticket. Against Liverpool, Watkins was limited to just 18 touches and zero shots in 73 minutes. The forward’s expected goals per 90 minutes is down from 0.53 last season to 0.20 this campaign. Villa are creating chances at a similar level to last season (1.28 xG v 1.32 xG) and after a sticky start had been playing well before the visit to Anfield. If Unai Emery’s system is not working for Watkins but is working for the team generally, then it falls to the player to figure out a solution. Tom Bassam
Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Silva’s squad brimming with potential
With all the focus on the fate of his Portuguese compatriot Vítor Pereira after Wolves sank to yet another defeat, Marco Silva was not expecting that much credit for Fulham ending their run of four successive league losses. But while Emmanuel Agbadou’s red card was required to allow the hosts control despite being handed an early lead, there were signs of greater fluency in Fulham’s attack as the new club-record signing, Kevin, was a constant threat. An impressive late cameo from Samuel Chukwueze – the Nigeria winger who joined on loan from Milan with an option to make the deal permanent next year – shows that Silva has options despite his complaints over a lack of investment in the summer. “Now is not a moment to talk about what we missed or not last summer,” he said. “We have to focus on the squad that we have and keep ourselves together. What we need is much more availability from our senior players, because I looked at the bench today and I saw players ready to make an impact.” Ed Aarons
Frank plays down team tensions
The icy look from Thomas Frank said it all. The Tottenham manager did not look pleased when it appeared he was snubbed by Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence after full time against Chelsea. When he has asked about the incident, though, Frank sought to played it down. “I think that is one of the small issues,” the Dane said. “They perform very well so far this season and everyone is frustrated. I don’t think it is a big problem.” The optics were not great, though. Spurs were dreadful against Chelsea, mustering an xG of 0.05, and Frank’s authority seemed to be called into question. Should he have been tougher about it in public? Was the conflict avoidance evidence of a manager still not entirely comfortable in his new surroundings? Perhaps it will be dealt with behind closed doors. Frank will hope his way is enough to maintain respect. Jacob Steinberg
Match report: Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea
Pressure mounts on Nelson to perform
A small footnote to Brentford’s defeat at Crystal Palace was a first league appearance of the season for Reiss Nelson. When the Arsenal loanee signed for the Bees on deadline day, he said he “wanted to go to a club where I know I’m going to play regularly” but form and fitness have meant only two Brentford appearances in the Carabao Cup going into this weekend. Nelson did score in midweek against Grimsby, with Keith Andrews describing him as “dynamic and positive in every action” and that the 25-year-old “showed real moments of quality” when he came off the bench at Selhurst Park. After an underwhelming loan at Fulham last season, the pressure is on for Nelson to prove himself. Should he fail to break into Andrews’ team regularly, the talented winger may not get another chance in the Premier League next year even if his Arsenal contract does extend to 2027. MB
Match report: Crystal Palace 2-0 Brentford
Gómez shows Brighton patience paying off
Brighton’s recruitment is admired globally, but a key part of its success is plain old patience. They recognise that young players unfamiliar with the Premier League will take time, and that progress may come in peaks and troughs. Mats Wieffer, who is now starring at right-back, had his struggles last season in midfield. He performs an important support role for Yankuba Minteh, the winger probably Fabian Hürzeler’s star man this season, adding consistency to the promise of last season. Diego Gómez, signed from Inter Miami in January, can play a variety of roles and, after the usual bedding-in spell, has begun to show a scoring touch that can break Brighton’s reliance on Danny Welbeck’s goals. The Paraguayan scored twice against Leeds and Hürzeler continues to be “very surprised how fast he adapted to the intensity, to the demands from the Premier League”. It is no surprise that Brighton have unearthed yet another player of high talent and rich promise. John Brewin
Match report: Brighton 3-0 Leeds
Howe’s rotation gamble fails to deliver
Eddie Howe was not happy with Newcastle’s performance against West Ham. The Magpies are without an away league win since April – the manager described this showing as the team’s worst in that run. It is hard to put a finger on precisely why, though a lack of focus appeared to play a part. Newcastle were perhaps lulled into a false sense of security after the opening stages suggested victory was there for the taking. West Ham fought back rather than rolling over, however, and Newcastle were disrupted easily, any early rhythm vanishing. Howe said any frailty reflected the challenge of getting a side competing in several competitions ready for every fixture. This match fell between an impressive Carabao Cup win against Tottenham and the visit of Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League. The question remains whether fighting on three or four fronts is possible with the current make-up of the Newcastle squad. The irony here is Howe rested many of his starters against Spurs in order to keep them fresh for the London Stadium, but sometimes rotation can be a gamble that doesn’t pay off. Paul MacInnes
Match report: West Ham 3-1 Newcastle
City’s makeshift full-backs key to victory
Considering the amount of money Manchester City have spent on defenders in recent years, it’s a surprise that Pep Guardiola has settled on two natural midfielders as his first-choice full-backs. Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly are now potent weapons for City at both ends of the pitch: fast, powerful, tidy on the ball and increasingly impressive defensively. O’Reilly, 6ft 3in, scored against Bournemouth in an excellent performance but Nunes was quietly imperious on the right, as his physicality and positioning largely neutralised Antoine Semenyo, the Cherries’ biggest attacking threat. Guardiola’s coaching is obviously paying off, which means others with experience at full-back, such as Rayan Aït-Nouri, John Stones, Nathan Aké and Rico Lewis, have to settle for a place on the bench. MB
Match report: Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| 2 | Man City | 10 | 12 | 19 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 10 | 4 | 18 |
| 4 | AFC Bournemouth | 10 | 3 | 18 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 | 9 | 17 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 9 | 4 | 17 |
| 8 | Man Utd | 10 | 1 | 17 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 10 | 5 | 16 |
| 10 | Brighton | 10 | 2 | 15 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 10 | -1 | 15 |
| 12 | Brentford | 10 | -2 | 13 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 10 | -1 | 12 |
| 14 | Fulham | 10 | -2 | 11 |
| 15 | Everton | 9 | -3 | 11 |
| 16 | Leeds | 10 | -8 | 11 |
| 17 | Burnley | 10 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 | West Ham | 10 | -11 | 7 |
| 19 | Nottm Forest | 10 | -12 | 6 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 10 | -15 | 2 |
