Premier League Matchweek 5 stretches across three days and comes with several strong storylines. Arsenal take their perfect start to the league’s highest-scoring side, Andoni Iraola returns to Bournemouth for the first time as Liverpool manager, while Manchester United head to Craven Cottage looking to stop an increasingly worrying run.
We take a closer look at the three biggest fixtures, with two more worth keeping an eye on.
888STARZ odds are correct at the time of writing and may change before kick-off.
Brighton vs Arsenal — the best attack meets the best start
The champions head into Matchweek 5 with four wins from four.
Arsenal have already passed one difficult away test at Sunderland, where David Raya saved a penalty and the team protected its perfect start.
Brighton, though, are hardly an easy opponent right now. Fabian Hurzeler’s side have scored 13 goals in four league matches — more than anyone else in the Premier League — and also lead the division with 41 high turnovers.
The contrast is almost perfect: Arsenal’s four opponents have produced just 2.7 xG combined so far.
888STARZ odds:
Brighton — 4.88 | Draw — 4.16 | Arsenal — 1.76
The market remains firmly behind the champions. But Brighton’s attacking intensity may provide the first real stress test for a defence that has given very little away so far.
Bournemouth vs Liverpool — Iraola returns to where it all started
This fixture already has a strong story before a ball is kicked.
Andoni Iraola returns to his former club for the first time as Liverpool manager.
The start to the season has been unusual for the Reds. They remain unbeaten, but after four matches have only one win and three draws.
Bournemouth under Marco Rose have not exactly become cautious either. They have scored in all four Premier League games, but conceded at least twice in three of them.
They also come into Sunday after their historic Europa League debut, so recovery and freshness could matter.
888STARZ odds:
Bournemouth — 3.21 | Draw — 3.92 | Liverpool — 2.23
Liverpool are favourites, but not by much. For a team that has already drawn three of its opening four league matches, the 2.23 price says plenty about how difficult the market expects Iraola’s return to be.
Fulham vs Manchester United — four points and growing pressure
Manchester United are already reaching the point where another dropped result would stop looking like a slow start and start looking like a real problem.
Michael Carrick’s side have taken four points from four league matches, then lost the Manchester derby 1-0 to City before going out of the League Cup after a 3-2 defeat to Brighton despite leading 2-0.
Fulham have not started particularly smoothly either, but they did leave Anfield with a 0-0 draw last weekend.
So this is hardly an easy place for United to reset.
888STARZ odds:
Fulham — 3.64 | Draw — 3.88 | Manchester United — 2.07
United are still favourites, but 2.07 fits the current situation well: the name remains big, the confidence around the team much less so.
Two More Matches Worth Watching
Brentford vs Chelsea
The round starts on Friday, and this is an awkward stylistic matchup for Chelsea.
Xabi Alonso’s side have conceded nine goals in four league matches and at least twice in every Premier League game so far.
Brentford, meanwhile, remain dangerous on transitions and set pieces, and rank second in the league for expected goals from dead-ball situations.
888STARZ odds: 2.80 | 3.90 | 2.49
Despite Chelsea’s status, there is almost no clear favourite here.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Two teams with European ambitions meet after failing to win any of their first four league matches and both sitting in the bottom five.
888STARZ odds: 2.08 | 3.72 | 3.78
It already feels like an important game this early in the season. The winner can head into the international break with some breathing room. The loser gets another two weeks of questions.
All Premier League Matchweek 5 Fixtures
| Match | Home | Draw | Away |
| Brentford — Chelsea | 2.80 | 3.90 | 2.49 |
| Tottenham — Aston Villa | 2.08 | 3.72 | 3.78 |
| Brighton — Arsenal | 4.88 | 4.16 | 1.76 |
| Everton — Ipswich | 1.82 | 4.01 | 4.63 |
| Newcastle — Hull | 1.62 | 4.52 | 5.60 |
| Nottingham Forest — Coventry | 1.64 | 4.27 | 5.91 |
| Bournemouth — Liverpool | 3.21 | 3.92 | 2.23 |
| Leeds — Crystal Palace | 1.86 | 3.88 | 4.57 |
| Manchester City — Sunderland | 1.32 | 6.03 | 10.90 |
| Fulham — Manchester United | 3.64 | 3.88 | 2.07 |
Manchester City are the clearest favourites of the round. They have opened the season with four wins and now host Sunderland, who return to league action only days after playing their first European match in 53 years.
But the most interesting questions are elsewhere: can Arsenal’s defence handle Brighton’s tempo, can Iraola beat his former club, and can Manchester United finally give Carrick a quiet week?
Those are the three storylines worth coming back to once the round is over.
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