Premier League Matchday 9 kicks off on Friday with Leeds facing West Ham. On Saturday, Chelsea take on high-flying Sunderland, while Manchester United host Brighton at Old Trafford. It all ends on Sunday, with Arsenal battling Crystal Palace in a London Derby and Everton playing Tottenham. Let’s get ready for these big games and the rest of Matchday 9 with our EPL picks and predictions.
Leeds vs. West Ham
Elland Road, 8:00pm BST (3:00pm ET), Friday, October 24
We’re only nine weeks into the 2025/26 Premier League season, but this is a must-win match for both teams.
Leeds suffered their second straight loss last weekend with their 2-0 defeat at Burnley. Another loss could see them drawn into the thick of the relegation battle. West Ham, meanwhile, are already in the relegation zone. The Hammers are in 19th place with just four points following their 2-0 defeat to Brentford.
West Ham and Leeds are both averaging less than a goal a game. However, Daniel Farke’s side are actually underperforming their xG, while Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are overperforming theirs. Playing at home also makes a big difference for the Whites. Leeds have the fifth-best home xG difference in the PL.
It won’t be a walkover, but Leeds have shown that they can do well at home, so they should do well and get a win on Friday.
Leeds vs. West Ham Prediction: 1-0
Chelsea vs. Sunderland
Stamford Bridge, 3:00pm BST (10:00am ET), Saturday, October 25
With their 2-0 win over Wolves on Matchday 8, Sunderland have now earned more points this season than Southampton did all of last season. If you zoom out past just last season, of the 99 teams that have been promoted inPremier League history, only four have had more points at this stage in the season than Sunderland.
This isn’t a fluke either. The Black Cats have the joint-second-best defense in the league and look really cohesive under manager Regis Le Bris. For as good as Sunderland have been, Chelsea have been better.
Enzo Maresca’s side are level on points with Sunderland and also in good form at the moment. The Blues have won four straight matches in all competitions. However, discipline continues to be a problem for the club. A Chelsea player has been shown a red card in four of their last eight matches. Malo Gusto was sent off last weekend in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea may be a bit chaotic right now, but they are the better team and should get all three points here.
Chelsea vs. Sunderland Prediction: 3-1
Newcastle vs. Fulham
St. James’ Park, 3:00pm BST (10:00am ET), Saturday, October 25
Newcastle suffered a 2-1 loss at Brighton on Matchday 8. They followed that up with a 3-0 win over Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the Champions League. It took the Magpies a while to get going against the Portuguese side, but they were by far the better team. This proves that Newcastle are a completely different team at home and away.
Fulham, on the other hand, have been underwhelming wherever they’ve played this season. The Cottagers are in 14th following their 1-0 loss against Arsenal last weekend. Since Raul Jimenez stopped scoring, Marco Silva’s side has no firepower.
It’s possible that Fulham could scrap out a draw here, but it’s hard to overlook Newcastle as the favorites. Liverpool, Arsenal, and Barcelona are the only teams that have scored at St. James’ Park this season.
Newcastle vs. Fulham Prediction: 2-0
Manchester United vs. Brighton
Old Trafford, 5:30pm BST (12:30pm ET), Saturday, October 25
It’s taken 11 months, butManchester United have finally done it. The Red Devils’ 2-1 victory over Liverpool on Saturday secured them back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time under Ruben Amorim. Brighton also had a 2-1 win last weekend — a relatively straightforward win against Newcastle at home.
Based on last weekend and Man Utd’s home form, they should have the edge here. That said, they’ve burned us before. We need to see a lot more from United before confidently backing them here. The same goes for Brighton.
The Seagulls under Fabian Hurzeler have struggled at times early this season. Yankuba Minteh was the club’s only reliable attacking player, before Danny Welbeck turned back the clock in the last few weeks.
If Brighton and Man Utd return to the form we’ve seen for most of the season, this could end up being a frustrating match for both teams.
Manchester United vs. Brighton Prediction: 1-1
Brentford vs. Liverpool
Gtech Community Stadium, 8:00pm BST (3:00pm ET), Saturday, October 25
Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United means that the Reds have lost four matches in a row for the first time since November 2014. If you need context for how long ago that was: Brendan Rodgers was still Liverpool manager, Arne Slot had just retired as a player, and Lamine Yamal was seven years old.
History aside, Liverpool are struggling at seemingly everything right now. The back line is regularly exposed in transition, both full-backs have underwhelmed, and, most importantly, something’s off with Mohamed Salah. The Reds are creating plenty of chances for the Egyptian — Liverpool lead the league in shot-creating actions (perFBref) — but he’s not scoring.
Brentford aren’t a team that will come out and dominate Liverpool, but with how weak Arne Slot’s team look right now, the Bees could cause them a lot of problems, especially in transition and on set pieces.
Brentford vs. Liverpool Prediction: 1-2
Bournemouth vs. Nottingham Forest
Vitality Stadium, 2:00pm GMT (10:00am ET), Sunday, October 26
Bournemouth played in a 3-3 thriller against Crystal Palace on Matchday 8, but the biggest story leading into this match involves Nottingham Forest. The Reds have sacked manager Ange Postecoglou just 39 days after hiring him. They’ve made quick work of replacing him too, having already hired Sean Dyche to take over at The City Ground.
It’s too early to say whether Dyche will turn Forest back into European contenders, but he should make them a lot better in the short term. In Postecoglou’s eight matches at the club, they conceded 11 goals from set pieces. It’s hard to imagine a team coached by Dyche will be nearly as bad.
While Forest should be better under Dyche, Bournemouth are our pick for this weekend. The Cherries won this fixture 5-0 last season and have yet to lose at home this year.
Bournemouth vs. Nottingham Forest Prediction: 2-0
Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace
Emirates Stadium, 2:00pm GMT (10:00am ET), Sunday, October 26
Arsenal needed 58 minutes before scoring yet another set-piece goal to win 1-0 against Fulham. Mikel Arteta’s side have now scored 37 goals from corners since the start of the 2023/24 season, which leads the Premier League. Chelsea are second with just 22 goals from corners.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, scored three goals against Bournemouth, but only after going down 2-0 to the Cherries in the first half. The Eagles could’ve scored a fourth to win the match if Jean-Philippe Mateta had converted his 99th-minute chance from inside the box that he skyed wide.
Palace’s draw was their second straight match without a win and shows that they might not have what it takes to compete for the top four like their early-season form showed. Arsenal should do well at home this weekend.
Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace Prediction: 2-0
Aston Villa vs. Manchester City
Villa Park, 2:00pm GMT (10:00am ET), Sunday, October 26
Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over Tottenham was their fifth straight victory in all competitions. While it’s clear that Unai Emery’s men seem to have settled into a rhythm, they still struggle with conceding early goals. According toOpta, Villa have now conceded three goals in the first 15 minutes of Premier League matches this season; no team has conceded more during this period.
Manchester City, meanwhile, aren’t creating as many chances as you’d expect — they rank sixth in shot-creating actions and are behind Palace and Man Utd for xG created this season. But none of this matters with how Erling Haaland is scoring. The big Norwegian has netted 11 goals in just eight Premier League matches, including last weekend’s 2-0 win over Everton.
We can’t say whether Haaland will score again this weekend, but City should do well here. For as good as Villa have been, they’ve been lucky. Emery’s team have yet to beat a PL side with a positive xG difference — City’s xGD per 90 minutes is +0.78, the second-best in the league. Villa’s own home xGD is -2.0, the league’s third-worst.
Aston Villa vs. Manchester City Prediction: 1-3
Wolves vs. Burnley
Molineux Stadium, 2:00pm GMT (10:00am ET), Sunday, October 26
Through eight matches of the 2025/26 season, Wolves are in the same place they were in 2024: in 20th place with zero wins. Will they be able to avoid relegation like they did last year? It’s too early to call, but Vítor Pereira says he knows what his side needs to do to survive.
“We need to score,” said the Wolves manager. He also called this match a “must-win” game for his side. It’s hard to disagree with Pereira here. Wolves have scored the fewest goals in the league (five) and created the third-fewest xG, with just 6.9 xG so far this season.
Burnley are fresh off a 2-0 win over Leeds, but they are one of the teams that have created fewer xG than Wolves. All this to say that this will probably not be a highly-entertaining game. However, at least Scott Parker knows his best team, so we’re giving them the edge here.
Wolves vs. Burnley Prediction: 0-1
Everton vs. Tottenham
Hill Dickinson Stadium, 4:30pm GMT (12:30pm ET), Sunday, October 26
Premier League Matchday 9 ends with what could end up being one of the best matches of the weekend. Both sides lost last weekend — Everton fell 2-0 to Man City, while Tottenham lost 2-1 against Villa — but this game has historically been high-scoring.
Each of the last four matches between Everton and Tottenham have had three goals or more. Six of the last seven times the Toffees have hosted Spurs have seen both teams score goals in the match.
This season, Everton have scored two or more goals in three of their five home matches. Spurs, meanwhile, have the second-best attack away from home in the PL, with nine goals scored in four matches.
It’s not a conventional pick, but this game could end up being a fun one. Spurs’ talent should see them win it though. Everton have won just one of their last six matches in all competitions.
Everton vs. Tottenham Prediction: 1-3
Cody Aceveda
Cody Aceveda is a freelance writer based in Porto, Portugal. He has written for The Trivela Effect since February 2023. Cody is a fan of the Brighton, Portland Timbers, Portland Thorns, and Rayo Vallecano. He is also an experienced iGaming writer with over two years experience writing about sports betting and the sports betting industry for a variety of outlets.