Premier League Gameweek 9 talking points: Halloween horror for Xabi Alonso or Michael Carrick, Basque battle at Anfield, Tottenham Hotspur treble

Manchester City and Arsenal go into Gameweek 9 level on points at the top of the Premier League table after Enzo Maresca's side lost for the first time this season away to Aston Villa and The Gunners beat Everton last weekend.

‘We have suffered enough’ – De Zerbi says Spurs must 'show personality' after Chelsea win

Video credit: SNTV

Elsewhere on Gameweek 8, Tottenham Hotspur impressed at Stamford Bridge to secure a rare win away to Chelsea to earn back-to-back Premier League victories.

Manchester United's woes continued as they were thumped 3-0 by Bournemouth at Old Trafford, piling yet more pressure on Michael Carrick, who remains at the helm for now.

Liverpool underlined their UEFA Champions League credentials with a 2-0 win over high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion, while Fulham got a valuable three points at Coventry City.

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Expect more drama and incident this weekend with some mouthwatering fixtures on the menu. TNT Sports - with the help of Opta - has identified six major talking points from the next round of fixtures.

Date	Match	Kick-off time (UK time)
Sat, Oct 31	Chelsea v Man Utd	12:30 (TNT)
Sat, Oct 31	Bournemouth v Leeds	15:00
Sat, Oct 31	Coventry v Sunderland	15:00
Sat, Oct 31	Man City v Brighton	15:00
Sat, Oct 31	Brentford v Forest	15:00
Sat, Oct 31	Hull v Ipswich	15:00
Sat, Oct 31	Spurs v Crystal Palace	17:30
Sat, Oct 31	Aston Villa v Fulham	20:00
Sun, Nov 1	Liverpool v Arsenal	16:30
Mon, Nov 2	Newcastle v Everton	20:00

Halloween horror for Alonso or Carrick?

Saturday's lunchtime kick-off, live with TNT Sports on HBO Max, feels like a seismic game for both clubs.

Chelsea are looking to bounce back from a potentially damaging defeat to Spurs, while The Red Devils are in dire need of a result.

The Blues have lost both of their Premier League games at Stamford Bridge on Halloween, losing 2-1 to Sheffield United in 1992/93 and 3-1 to Liverpool in 2015/16.

United, on current form, are not particularly scary visitors, though. Carrick's side are without a win in eight games in all competitions - they last had a longer windless run in October/November 1988 (9).

Still, Chelsea have only won two of their past 17 Premier League meetings with United, and no side in the division has lost more games than The Blues (11) since the start of March.

Alonso lost five of his seven matches against United as a player with Liverpool, but he could do with a win here to get his Chelsea side back on track.

First ever top-flight meeting as newly-promoted sides clash

Hull City and Ipswich Town will play each other for the first time ever as Premier League clubs on Saturday, with both sides level on 10 points after promising starts to their respective seasons.

While Championship winners Coventry are languishing in 19th place, runners-up Ipswich and play-off winners Hull have taken well to life back in the top flight.

This is the first time two promoted sides have achieved double figures for points after eight games since 2010/11 (West Bromwich Albion 12, Blackpool 10). West Brom ended that season 11th, while Blackpool were relegated in 19th.

Both Hull and Ipswich will know that there is still a lot of work to do to remain clear of the relegation zone, but a win here would be significant for both.

The Tractor Boys have won two of their past three visits to the MKM Stadium, and The Tigers are winless in six after winning their opening two matches.

Hull have historically had a horrifying time on Halloween, too. They have lost 13 of their 20 league games played on October 31, more than any other side in Football League history.

The hosts will hope for a spark from Mohamed Belloumi, who has completed more dribbles than any other player in the Premier League this season (19).

Can The Seagulls end Etihad struggles?

Brighton, knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night following a penalty shootout, have never won away at City in 16 attempts (drawing four and losing 12), so their fans might be forgiven for feeling pessimistic.

But this is perhaps their best ever chance, given their hugely impressive start to the season. Yes, their winning run came to an end with defeat at Anfield last weekend, but Fabian Hurzeler's side look like genuine Champions League contenders.

Expect goals at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Manchester City (16.7) and Brighton (16.2) are the two highest ranked teams for expected goals so far in the Premier League this season, as well as being the highest goalscorers (Brighton 23, Man City 20).

Lescott claims Guehi’s confidence will be ‘shattered’ after Maresca substitutes him for mistake

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City, who have a 100% home record, have scored in each of their past 24 league games, most recently having a longer run between December 2018 and September 2019 (29) under Pep Guardiola.

Erling Haaland has, of course, contributed many of those goals, and the prolific Norwegian has seven in seven games against Brighton.

Spurs out for long-awaited treble

Not a trophy-winning treble, but simply winning three consecutive league matches, which has not happened for Spurs since February 2025.

If Roberto De Zerbi's side beat Crystal Palace at home on Saturday, home supporters might feel they can begin to look upwards after a worryingly dismal start to the season.

Three wins in a row would be significant for a side that had only won three of their previous 26, and they face a Palace outfit low on confidence.

‘We have suffered enough’ – De Zerbi says Spurs must 'show personality' after Chelsea win

Video credit: SNTV

Pierre Sage's team have lost their past two - to Brighton and Newcastle - conceding seven and scoring none in the process.

They have shipped 19 Premier League goals in total this season, more than any other side, and this figure is the most at this stage of a league season since 1980/81 in the top-flight (22). Of the 24 previous teams to concede 19-plus goals after eight Premier League games in a season, more than half (14) were then relegated.

It has been a difficult start to life in England for Sage, and the prospect of facing De Zerbi is not likely to ease his mind. He lost two of his three games against the Italian while both coached in France.

Can Emery's Villa 2.0 continue revival?

It was another slow start to the season for Villa, who lost several key players in the summer, and looked set to endure a period of transition.

But, as always seems to be the case, Unai Emery has got things going again at Villa Park, and the Villans are unbeaten in four Premier League games, three of which - including last weekend against Man City - have been wins.

When they get on a run, Villa can be difficult to stop. They are looking to win three in a row for the first time since a run of eight in November and December last season.

Emery has 'rebuilt a new Aston Villa' after statement Man City win

Video credit: TNT Sports

But they face a Fulham side beginning to show some steel after a poor start. Alvaro Arbeloa's side earned back-to-back 1-0 wins against newly-promoted Hull and Coventry heading into this clash.

Getting a result at Villa is a far more challenging prospect, though. Fulham have won only once there in 18 league meetings - a 2-1 victory in April 2014 - and Emery has won eight of his nine games against The Cottagers.

Basque battle at Anfield as Liverpool welcome champions

Andoni Iraola faces Mikel Arteta on Sunday in a clash of two Basque coaches, both of whom are considered among the shrewdest in the Premier League.

It should be an intriguing battle, then, as Arsenal look to end a run of 13 games without a win at Anfield, which stretches back to 2012/13, when Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla netted in a 2-0 victory for Arsene Wenger's side (and Arteta started in midfield).

Liverpool were the only side to stop Arsenal from scoring in the Premier League last season, winning 1-0 at home and drawing 0-0 away, and they have shown a defensive sturdiness under Iraola so far, keeping a clean sheet against free-scoring Brighton last time out.

Iraola has lost only two of his 27 Premier League games in 2026 (won 12 drawn 13), one of which was at home to Arsenal in January as Bournemouth boss. It is the lowest defeat percentage (7%) by a manager in a year (minimum 20 games) since Jurgen Klopp lost one of his 37 games in 2019 (3%).

But the champions remain as solid as ever. Arsenal have the joint-most clean sheets in the Premier League in 2026/27 (5) and have faced the fewest shots on target (24), the lowest xG (6.2) and allowed the fewest big chances (11).

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