Published: October 17, 2026 at 10:30 am
Nottingham Forest host champions Arsenal at the City ground as match week 7 of the 2026-27 Premier League season brings notable fixtures. Manchester City, the only side with a perfect record so far, host Ipswich Town as they look for a seventh straight win. Leeds United have the opportunity to go six points clear of their fiercest rivals Manchester United, while Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham still search for a first win of the campaign.
Enzo Maresca could become the first manager in Premier League history to win his first seven games in charge of a club, while Unai Emery is one win away from recording his 100th Premier League victory.
Here are some of the key Opta facts ahead of this weekend’s action.
Everton vs Chelsea
Everton are looking for consecutive Premier League wins over Chelsea for the first time since 2019. Chelsea have won just one of their last nine away league games at Everton (D2 L6) and have failed to score in the last three.
Everton are one of three unbeaten sides (W2 D4) this season, their longest start to a campaign since 2006/07.
Though they’re the third highest goalscorers in the Premier League this season, no side has conceded more so far this term than Chelsea (13). The Blues have conceded in each of their last 22 league games, only once having a longer run without a clean sheet (31 games between November 1960 and August 1961).
Chelsea’s João Pedro has been involved in more goals than any other player in the Premier League this season (5 goals, 3 assists), registering at least two goal involvements in four of his five appearances so far.
Brentford vs Liverpool
The five Premier League meetings between Brentford and Liverpool at the Gtech Community Stadium have seen 22 goals scored at an average of 4.4 per game, with both sides scoring in four of those five games – the exception was a 2-0 win for Liverpool in 2024-25 in their title-winning campaign under Arne Slot.
Brentford are unbeaten in their six Premier League games so far this season (W2 D4), their best run from the start of a league campaign since 2006-07 in League One (first 7). Overall, the Bees are unbeaten in eight Premier League games, the longest current run of any side (W2 D6).
Liverpool have won their last two away league games, both clean sheets, but lost 3 to 0 to Manchester City last time out, ending Andoni Iraola’s 23-game unbeaten run.
The Liverpool manager’s lowest points-per-game in the Premier League is against Brentford, picking up just two points in six games against the Bees as Bournemouth manager (D2, L4)
Fulham vs Hull City
Fulham are winless in all six league games this season (D2 L4), and only once have they had a longer winless start to a top-flight campaign (seven games in 1951/52). They have won just one of six Premier League meetings with Hull (D1 L4), whose four wins are the most they have against any single opponent.
This is the 100th meeting between the sides in all competitions. Hull have won just nine of 93 top-flight away games since 2008/09.
Fulham’s Josh King has been involved in four goals in his last four home league starts, while Hull’s Mohamed Belloumi averages a goal or assist every 85 minutes, the best rate of any Tigers player in the top flight.
Manchester City vs Ipswich Town
Manchester City most recently faced Ipswich in the 2024-25 Premier League season, winning both games by an aggregate score of 10-1 (4-1 at the Etihad, 6-0 at Portman Road).
Manchester City are unbeaten in 31 Premier League games against promoted sides (W28 D3) since losing 2-1 to Leeds in April 2021. They’ve kept a clean sheet in 10 of their last 12, while at the Etihad they’ve won all 16 games since that defeat to Leeds, scoring 53 goals in the process.
https://x.com/ManCity/status/2111145145311621519?s=20
City have won all six league games this season. In the Premier League only Chelsea (2005-06) and Liverpool (2019-20) have won their first seven, and Enzo Maresca could be the first manager in league history to win his first seven games in charge of a club.
All three of Ipswich’s Premier League wins this season have come via 90th minute goals – it’s as many 90th minute winners as they have scored in their first six campaigns in the competition combined.
Erling Haaland has four goals in two league games against Ipswich and 20 in 21 against newly promoted sides.
Newcastle United vs Aston Villa
Newcastle are winless in their last three league games against Villa (D1 L2) and have gone 12 consecutive home league games without a clean sheet. They have conceded 13 goals this season.
In 2026, only Tottenham Hotspur (13) have lost more Premier League games than Newcastle (12), while the Magpies have shipped the joint most goals (44, level with Chelsea).
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has won 99 of his 196 Premier League games (D44 L53). Victory in this game would make him the joint-ninth fastest manager to 100 victories in the competition.
Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes has been involved in 10 goals in 13 Premier League games against Aston Villa (6 goals, 4 assists), his joint-most against an opponent, along with West Ham. He only has more Premier League goals against Leeds (7).
Bournemouth vs Sunderland
Bournemouth have won two of their 10 league games against Sunderland (D3 L5), though both were in the Premier League in September 2015 and April 2017.
Bournemouth are winless in all six league games this season (D3 L3), and have faced just 64 shots, the fewest by a team in their opening six games without a win on record since 2003/04.
Sunderland have lost their last three league games, their joint worst run under Régis Le Bris. The two goalkeepers with the worst goals prevented differential this season are Sunderland’s Robin Roefs and Bournemouth’s Djordje Petrovic.
Evanilson has been involved in 57% of Bournemouth’s Premier League goals this season (1 goal, 3 assists). He’s only ended on the winning side in seven of the 21 games he’s scored or assisted in (33%), the lowest ratio of any of the 736 players to score or assist in 20+ games in Premier League history.
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace
Brighton have 13 points from six games and have scored 18 goals, the first side to reach that tally in a season’s opening six games since Brighton themselves in 2023/24.
Brighton have had 10 different scorers, the most of any side with Pascal Groß leading the way, having been involved in seven goals in his last five league appearances (3 goals, 4 assists). Palace’s Daichi Kamada has been involved in four in his last four, after none in his first 64 league games for the club.
Crystal Palace have faced 108 shots in the Premier League this season, more than any other side, while two of the three biggest totals for shots faced in a win this season have been in Palace’s two wins – 25 against Fulham and 24 against Nottingham Forest.
Brighton have lost their last two home Premier League games against Crystal Palace – they haven’t lost three in a row at home against their rivals in their league history.
Leeds United vs Manchester United
Leeds go into this fixture ahead of United in the table for the first time since September 2002 (excluding MD1). A win would put them six points clear as late as the seventh game of a season for only the second time. They are unbeaten in their last seven home league games (W4 D3).
Manchester United have just six points in six Premier League games in 2026-27 (W1 D3 L2), their lowest after six league games since 1986-87 under Ron Atkinson (4). For a second consecutive season, the Red Devils have no clean sheets in their first six games, the first time they’ve done so in back-to-back campaigns since 1930-31 and 1931-32. Manchester United have had the most shots (125) and the most touches in the opposition box (205) of any side in the Premier League this season.
Bruno Fernandes has gone four Premier League games without scoring or assisting, his longest run since going seven in April and May 2025. He has, however, been involved in nine goals in seven Premier League appearances against Leeds (6 goals, 3 assists), the most by a Man Utd player against the Whites.
Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal
Forest have won one of their last 11 league games against Arsenal (D2 L8), and the last two meetings at the City Ground ended goalless, with 40 shots attempted without success.
Arsenal have not scored a non-penalty set piece goal this season, their longest such start since 2011/12.
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Only Pascal Groß (18) has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White (17), while Gibbs-White tops the charts for open play chances created (15), big chances created (7) and expected assists (1.87).
Nottingham Forest have lost their last two Premier League matches, last having a longer losing run in December and January last season under Sean Dyche (four in a row).
Tottenham Hotspur vs Coventry City
Spurs are winless this season (D3 L3) with three goals scored. Only in 1912/13 and 2008/09 have they had a longer winless start to a league campaign. They rank bottom for shot conversion (3.6%) and are 3.6 goals below their xG.
Spurs have just three wins in their last 25 home Premier League matches (D7 L15). Since they played their first game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April 2019, only Wolves at Molineux (57) and Southampton at St Mary’s (52) have more defeats at one stadium than Spurs at their current ground (50).
Coventry lost their first four league games but have won their last two and are visiting Tottenham for the first time since 2012/13.
Dominic Solanke’s late equaliser at Old Trafford earned Tottenham a point last weekend. However, Solanke has now won none of the last eight Premier League games in which he has scored (D2 L6).
Pic: X / Manchester City
