A big weekend: Chelsea host Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime, Manchester City face Brighton for the second time in four days, Rangers and Aberdeen meet in a Hampden semi-final and the Milan derby rounds off Saturday night. On Sunday, Liverpool welcome Arsenal to Anfield.
All times are UK time (GMT). League positions are as the tables stood on Friday 30 October, and team news comes from the managers’ press conferences and club updates. This is analysis only. There are no selections or odds here, because those come from the Tips Desk.
Chelsea v Manchester United – Saturday 12:30, Stamford Bridge
Chelsea are fifth on 13 points, but they come into this off a 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham and a Carabao Cup exit on penalties at Liverpool on Wednesday. Their last six league games read L D L W W L, with wins over Bournemouth (5-1) and Everton (2-0) in between.
United are 16th on seven points, with one league win from eight, and were beaten 3-0 at home by Bournemouth last Sunday. Bruno Fernandes was an unused substitute that day after criticising the tactics following the defeat at Como. Michael Carrick has since held clear-the-air talks with his captain, and Fernandes is expected to return.
Xabi Alonso has lost Lacroix for a few weeks with a hamstring injury, and João Pedro, Chelsea’s top league scorer with five, is listed as out with a thigh problem. Cole Palmer is available after a one-game ban. Alonso said Chavarría is back in the squad, while The Guardian still lists him as a doubt.
United are without Benjamin Šeško (shin) for a long spell, plus Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte. Luke Shaw and Martínez are doubts, and Kobbie Mainoo has done some training. Peter Bankes referees the TNT Sports game. What to watch: whether Fernandes is restored, and how Chelsea respond after a difficult week.
Manchester City v Brighton – Saturday 15:00, Etihad Stadium
City sit top on goal difference with 21 points, level with Arsenal, despite losing 2-1 at Aston Villa last weekend, their first league defeat of the season. Erling Haaland has nine league goals. Enzo Maresca made nine changes for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against the same opponents, which finished 2-2 before City went through on penalties.
Brighton are third on 16 points and have scored 23 league goals, more than anyone else, though they drew a blank for the first time this season in the 2-0 defeat at Liverpool. Ferdi Kadioglu, Chema Andrés and Babis Kostoulas missed the cup tie but are back in contention. Pascal Struijk is still out with a thigh injury, and Kaoru Mitoma remains sidelined.
City have only Antoine Semenyo (knee) out. Brighton have never won a league game at City in 16 attempts, although they have avoided defeat in their last two visits. The club’s own figures also have these two as the top two in the league for expected goals, so it is worth reading up on what xG measures and where it falls short before kick-off.
Fabian Hürzeler said Brighton need to be “tough, tight, precise, and at the highest physical and mental level” against City. Craig Pawson is the referee. What to watch: how much rotation either side makes after Wednesday’s extra time and penalties.
Rangers v Aberdeen – Saturday 17:30, Hampden Park
This is the first Premier Sports Cup semi-final, live on Premier Sports, and the winners meet Hearts or Hibernian in the final in mid-December. Rangers are second in the Premiership on 24 points from 11 games and have not lost in at least nine matches in all competitions, though Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Tynecastle was their second in three games.
Aberdeen are ninth on 11 points and come in on the back of league defeats by Dundee United (3-2) and, at home on Wednesday, Falkirk (1-0). Rangers have won six and drawn one of the last seven meetings.
Derek McInnes is without Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin, Daisuke Yokota, Youssef Chermiti and Ross McCrorie, and Tochi Chukwuani is a doubt after a knee scan. Stephen Robinson’s Aberdeen are missing Lewis Mayo, Mats Knoester and Connor Ronan, with Dan Happe suspended and Chris Cadden and Tony Yogane doubts. What to watch: whether Aberdeen sit deep and try to make the most of the occasion against a stronger squad.
AC Milan v Inter – Saturday 19:45, San Siro
Inter lead Serie A on 25 points, level with Lazio but ahead on goals scored, after late own goals settled their win at Venezia on Wednesday. Milan are fifth on 18, seven points behind, after a 4-2 home defeat by Bologna in midweek that ended their unbeaten league run.
Ruben Amorim is waiting on scan results for Fikayo Tomori, but Mario Gila, Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira trained and are expected to be available. Inter are without captain Lautaro Martínez, so Marcus Thuram is set to lead the line. Reports differ on Inter’s goalkeeper: La Gazzetta dello Sport expects Josep Martínez back, while Tuttosport’s expected line-up has Ivan Provedel.
Milan won both league derbies last season 1-0, but Inter went on to win the title and the Coppa Italia under Cristian Chivu. What to watch: how Milan’s midfield copes with Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Nicolò Barella, both expected to return to the Inter side.
Liverpool v Arsenal – Sunday 16:30, Anfield
Arsenal are second on 21 points, behind City only on goal difference, after a 2-0 win over Everton last weekend. Their week was less comfortable, with a cup defeat at Fleetwood on Tuesday in which Max Dowman was sent off; he is now suspended.
Liverpool are fourth on 15 points and have won their last five matches in all competitions, including a 2-0 win over Brighton and Wednesday’s shootout win over Chelsea. Their last league defeat was the 3-0 home loss to City on 11 October. A home win would take them to 18 points, three behind Arsenal.
Andoni Iraola said Dominik Szoboszlai and Daniel Muñoz both “have a chance” of playing, but Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Hugo Ekitike are out. Alexander Isak has six league goals.
Mikel Arteta said Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis trained and should be available, while Noni Madueke depends on Saturday’s session. The Guardian still lists Tzolis as injured. Bukayo Saka is unlikely to play before the international break, and The Guardian lists William Saliba as injured. Arteta noted, “It’s 14 years that we haven’t won there.” Andy Madley referees the Sky Sports game.
Also this weekend
Premier League
- Saturday 15:00: Bournemouth v Leeds, Brentford v Nottingham Forest, Coventry v Sunderland (19th v 20th), Hull v Ipswich
- Saturday 17:30: Tottenham v Crystal Palace. Spurs won 2-0 at Chelsea last weekend; Rodrigo Bentancur serves the last game of his ban, and Palace are without Ismaïla Sarr
- Saturday 20:00: Aston Villa v Fulham, moved because of Villa’s Champions League game on Tuesday
- Monday 20:00: Newcastle v Everton
Championship (Saturday)
- 12:30: Lincoln v Birmingham, Norwich v Watford, Stoke v Preston (bottom of the table on five points)
- 15:00: Middlesbrough (top, 25 points) v Charlton, Swansea (second) v Blackburn, West Ham v West Brom (third v fifth), Southampton v QPR, Wolves v Cardiff
- 15:00: Bolton v Bristol City, Burnley v Portsmouth, Millwall v Derby
Scotland
- Saturday 15:00: Kilmarnock v St Johnstone, Motherwell v St Mirren. Dundee United v Hearts is postponed because of the cup semi-finals
- Sunday 13:00: Falkirk v Celtic. Celtic lead on 28 points, four clear of Rangers; Falkirk are sixth after winning at Aberdeen on Wednesday. Martin O’Neill is without Auston Trusty, Alistair Johnston and Yang Hyun-jun
- Sunday 15:00: Hearts v Hibernian, Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden
Europe
- Saturday 17:30: Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund. Both have 17 points after seven games, with Bayern top on goal difference. Vincent Kompany is still recovering from health issues, so assistant Aaron Danks takes charge, and Luis Díaz is out
- Saturday: Levante v Atlético Madrid (13:00), Barcelona v Alavés (20:00)
- Sunday: Racing Santander v Real Madrid (15:15), Juventus v Napoli (19:45), Marseille v Toulouse (19:45), Athletic Club v Real Sociedad (20:00)
Line-ups are confirmed an hour before kick-off, and with so many midweek cup games, rotation is likely across the Premier League. If you are building a multiple, our guide to accumulator risk explains why every extra leg adds risk, and our responsible gambling page sets out the tools available to keep it under control.
Further reading: the full Premier League table, Scottish Premiership table and Championship table are on BBC Sport. For more on goal-based markets, read our explainers on both teams to score and how Asian handicaps work, or browse every match preview in our Football Previews section.
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