Southampton will be desperate to end a run of five straight Premier League defeats when taking on Nottingham Forest at St Mary’s Stadium. The good news for Saints is that the Reds have struggled on the road so far, picking up just two points from eight away games.
Napoli return to action after the World Cup break with an eight-point lead in Serie A and can pick up where they left off by beating Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri are 11 points off the pace in fifth and have tended to come up short in big matches this term, even on home turf.
Arsenal are fancied to come through another examination of their Premier League title credentials when entertaining Newcastle. The Magpies are enjoying a fine campaign but must overcome an Emirates Stadium hoodoo, having lost on their last 11 visits to this venue.
Manchester United are starting to look like a major force again and it will be a big disappointment if they don’t brush aside Bournemouth. The Red Devils are chasing a fourth consecutive Premier League victory, while the Cherries have lost their last couple without scoring.
Everton enjoyed a double boost at Manchester City on Saturday and now look a value bet to see off Brighton. The Toffees took a surprise point off the champions and were buoyed by key forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin coming through his return from injury.
Leicester faced a tough return to action after the World Cup break but now begin a crucial run of Premier League fixtures when hosting Fulham. The Foxes also take on Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Aston Villa in the next few weeks and need to build up some momentum.
Brentford gave Liverpool all sorts of problems on home turf last term and are playing well enough to do the same again this season. That match finished 3-3 after a thrilling end-to-end encounter and if this clash is half as exciting, Sky Sports viewers are in for a treat.
Tottenham entertain Aston Villa in the first Premier League match of 2023 and the hosts are fancied to come out on top. However, Villa have scored on their last three visits to this venue, winning here a couple of seasons ago in between 3-1 and 2-1 defeats.
Chelsea put a poor pre-World Cup run of results behind them when beating Bournemouth and can build on that win at Nottingham Forest. The Reds have been relying heavily on picking up points at home to boost their Premier League survival hopes, but this is a tough test.
Wolves may be buoyed by the new manager bounce factor but Manchester United are still expected to prove too strong at Molineux. The Red Devils appear to have returned from the World Cup break fully focused and should be high on confidence following two convincing victories.
High-flying Newcastle continue to look the real deal and are backed to make it seven straight Premier League wins when entertaining Leeds. The Magpies have played through over eight hours of action in all competitions since last conceding a goal at St James’ Park.
The pressure is mounting on Everton boss Frank Lampard and Manchester City are not the team to be visiting when that is the case. A fourth straight Premier League defeat is on the cards for the Toffees, who are facing a relegation battle on current form.
Fulham must be delighted to be in the top half of the Premier League table and have another good opportunity to pick up points when entertaining Southampton. Saints are rock bottom following four straight defeats in this competition and look short on confidence.
Bournemouth and Crystal Palace both returned to Premier League action with defeats and may settle for sharing the spoils at Vitality Stadium. It took a penalty shoot-out to split these teams in the EFL Cup at this venue earlier this season and another tight tussle is anticipated.