Premier League Matchday 26 Preview and Prediction
The Premier League season in 2023-24 is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory.
Manchester City are defending champions and the team to beat, though it looks highly competitive around them, with almost half the division starting the campaign with realistic hopes of European qualification.
Matchday 26 will see just eight weekend fixtures take place because of the Chelsea-Liverpool EFL Cup final commanding plenty of attention at Wembley. The Reds have already played their MD 26 fixture this week, as they came from behind to beat Luton Town 4-1 at Anfield on Wednesday.
Six of the eight matches will be played on Saturday, with Arsenal facing a key test in the evening fixture as they play Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium, while Man City must successfully negotiate a trip to Bournemouth.
Ahead of what looks set to be another entertaining group of Premier League fixtures, let’s check out the possible outcomes from selected matches.
Manchester United vs Fulham Prediction and Preview
Erik ten Hag’s second season at Old Trafford has been anything but a smooth ride, yet there could still be a happy ending in store for Manchester United. Sitting five points off the UEFA Champions League spots and buoyed by Jim Ratcliffe’s minority takeover receiving approval this week, the Red Devils are gaining momentum ahead of Saturday’s clash with Fulham.
Højlund’s form has been instrumental in Man United’s turnaround, with the Dane scoring in each of his last six Premier League games (seven goals in total) after failing to net in his first 14. The only United player to net in more successive matches in the competition is their former Dutch goalscorer Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had a 10-game run in 2003 and an eight-match streak in 2001-02.
Unlike United, Fulham have endured a frustrating start to 2024, only winning one of their five Premier League games (two draws, two defeats) since beating Arsenal on New Year’s Eve.
Marco Silva’s men were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa last time out, failing to build on Rodrigo Muniz’s second-half strike as Ollie Watkins’ brace proved decisive. That was just Fulham’s second loss in their last eight Premier League home games (five wins, one draw), but they have struggled on the road.
There was plenty of concern at Craven Cottage when Raúl Jiménez suffered a thigh injury last month, but Muniz’s form has been a bright spot in the Mexican’s absence. He has scored in Fulham’s last three league games, netting four of his team’s six goals in that run, having previously gone 23 league matches without a goal for both Fulham and Middlesbrough.
Fulham supporters don’t have many fond memories of facing Manchester United. The Red Devils are unbeaten in the teams’ last 16 league meetings, winning 13 and drawing three since a 3-0 loss at Craven Cottage in December 2009.
Indeed, the Cottagers have lost 13 of their 16 previous Premier League games at Old Trafford, with their only away win over United in the competition coming under Chris Coleman in October 2003 (two draws).
Fernandes scored the only goal of the return fixture in November, beating Bernd Leno one minute into stoppage time following a poor clearance from Palhinha.
Fulham did upset Arsenal at Craven Cottage on New Year’s Eve, but only once have they won consecutive Premier League games against teams that finished the previous season inside the top four.
That pair of victories came back in 2009, when Roy Hodgson oversaw wins over Liverpool and United.
They have shown considerable improvement in attack lately, scoring 17 goals across their last seven league matches at a rate of 2.4 per game. They averaged just one goal per game in their first 18 league matches of 2023-24, netting 18 times.
Since beating Arsenal 2-1 at Craven Cottage on 31 December, Fulham have won just once in five Premier League games. A defeat to Chelsea in their opening league game of 2024 was followed by successive draws versus Everton and Burnley before they defeated Bournemouth 3-1 at home. Last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Craven Cottage meant that they have kept a clean sheet in just one of their last nine Premier League encounters.
With five points from 12 away trips, bottom club Sheffield United are the only team with a worse away record in the Premier League than Fulham (seven points) this term.
PREDICTION: Man Utd to win @1.54
Arsenal vs Newcastle Prediction and Preview
In terms of team news, Arteta welcomed back Fábio Vieira for the Porto trip on Wednesday, while Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are very close to returning. They’ll remain without Thomas Partey and Jurriën Timber for the time being, however.
As for Saturday’s visitors, Newcastle have enjoyed something of a resurgence since their 3-2 defeat to Manchester City in January, with Eddie Howe’s injury-hit side going four unbeaten in the league (W2 D2), winning each of their last two away from home, as many wins as in their previous 14 on the road (D4 L8).
Newcastle trail seventh-placed Brighton by one point, Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United are seven ahead and Tottenham 10 clear after Howe’s men could only draw 2-2 with Bournemouth at St James’ Park on MD 25. Anthony Gordon’s penalty and Matt Richie’s 92nd-minute leveller against his former side snatched a point after earlier goals from Dominic Solanke and Antoine Semenyo.
Having won 1-0 at St James’ Park in November after Gordon’s contentious goal, Newcastle are looking to complete the Premier League double against Arsenal for just the second time, previously doing so in 1994-95.
Arsenal have failed to score in three of their last four Premier League games against Newcastle, too, as many as they had in their previous 27 against them. However, their 30 Premier League clean sheets against the Magpies is the most any side has kept against another in the competition.
The Gunners have kept seven consecutive home clean sheets against Newcastle as well, though they’ve never kept eight successive shutouts on home soil against an opponent in their league history (also seven vs Man City between 1979-1989).
Arteta’s side are also unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League home games against Newcastle, with last season’s goalless draw ending a 10-game winning run. Their last such defeat against them was in November 2010.
Arsenal have begun a calendar year with five successive league wins for the first time in the club’s history, defeating Burnley, West Ham, Palace, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool, while improving their goal difference by +19 during this run (21GF, 2GA).
Only between February-April 2023 (a run of seven) have Arsenal won more Premier League games consecutively in a single season under manager Arteta, who remains unbeaten at home against Newcastle without conceding a single goal (W4 D1, across all competitions).
Defensive solidity has been key for Arteta’s side this term, too, with Arsenal facing just two shots on target in their last three Premier League games (1 v Liverpool, 1 v West Ham and none vs Burnley), conceding a combined xG of just 0.9 across those matches. The last side to face one or fewer shots on target in four consecutive Premier League matches was Arsenal themselves between April-May 2021.
By contrast, Newcastle may be unbeaten in four matches but have conceded 16 goals in their six Premier League games since the turn of the year (W2 D2 L2), as many as in their final 11 league games of 2023.
PREDICTION: Arsenal to win @1.38
Chelsea vs Liverpool Prediction: EFL Cup Final Preview
As was the case in 2021-22, Liverpool remain in the hunt for four major trophies as we approach the season’s decisive months. On that occasion, the Reds overcame Chelsea in two tense penalty shootouts to lift the EFL and FA Cups, and Jürgen Klopp will be eyeing a repeat when he takes his side to Wembley Stadium again on Sunday. However, with Liverpool’s selection problems piling up, Mauricio Pochettino’s men might fancy their chances of ending the Reds’ dream of a quadruple.
While it has been a smooth week for Liverpool on the pitch, with 4-1 wins over Brentford and Luton Town keeping them ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal in the Premier League title race, those victories came at a cost. Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones will miss Sunday’s game with injuries suffered at the Gtech Community Stadium, while Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah will be assessed after sitting out Wednesday’s win over the Hatters.
Dominik Szoboszlai is also a doubt in midfield, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson will definitely miss out. Those absences, though, should open the door for others to shine, as they have done throughout Liverpool’s League Cup campaign to date.
Whoever lines up in attack for Liverpool should cause Chelsea problems, with Gakpo (11) one of five Reds to reach 10 goals in all competitions this season alongside Salah (19), Jota (14), Núñez (13) and Luis Díaz (10). No other team in Europe’s top five leagues has a quintet of players in double figures.
Revenge will not be Chelsea’s only motivation on Sunday, though, with the Blues eyeing their first piece of silverware of the Todd Boehly regime. Winning this competition would also provide Pochettino’s men with a valuable route into Europe, via automatic qualification to the UEFA Europa League.
Chelsea were halfway to an embarrassing exit in the semi-finals, suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat in their first leg against Middlesbrough. However, the Blues ran riot in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, with Cole Palmer scoring twice and Enzo Fernández, Axel Disasi and Noni Madueke also on target in a ruthless 6-1 rout of Michael Carrick’s team.
Chelsea should approach the Carabao Cup final in good spirits after their upturn continued with last week’s 1-1 draw at Man City, a result that boosted Liverpool’s title hopes. Raheem Sterling was on target against one of his former clubs at the Etihad Stadium, and he could yet haunt another at Wembley.
In team news, Pochettino will be grateful to have had some long-term absentees return in recent weeks – Ben Chilwell and Christopher Nkunku to name two – but the unavailability of Reece James and doubts over Thiago Silva and Benoît Badiashile will still be a concern. This final also comes too soon for Wesley Fofana, Roméo Lavia, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sánchez and Lesley Ugochukwu.
With Chelsea and Liverpool meeting in two previous EFL Cup finals (2005 and 2022) and two FA Cup finals (2012 and 2022), this fixture will be the first in English football to be played in five different domestic cup finals.
Overall, however, Chelsea have had the upper hand over Liverpool in this competition, winning four of the teams’ previous seven EFL Cup meetings.
Liverpool can take confidence from the sides’ last Premier League clash, though, a 4-1 win at Anfield under a month ago. Conor Bradley registered a goal and two assists for the Reds, but Chelsea were incensed by Nkunku being denied a penalty shortly after he made it 3-1.
That result ended a run of seven consecutive draws between the teams in all competitions, four of which finished goalless.
Klopp, meanwhile, has fond memories of facing Pochettino on the big stage, having masterminded Liverpool’s 2-0 win over the Argentine’s Spurs team in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final.
Chelsea could make an unwanted piece of history on Sunday, having lost their last five major domestic cup finals – in the FA Cup in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and the EFL Cup in 2019 and 2022.
No team has ever lost six successive major finals in English football history.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are appearing in their 14th EFL Cup final, more than any other side. Their nine titles are a competition record, though they have alternated between winning (twice) and not winning (twice) in their last four EFL Cup finals.
The Reds have conceded exactly one goal in all five of their EFL Cup games this term; 3-1 vs Leicester City, 2-1 vs Bournemouth, 5-1 vs West Ham, 2-1 and 1-1 vs Fulham.
PREDICTION: Full time draw @3.85
**Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest: Aston Villa to win @.1.55
**AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City: Man City to win @1.38
**Brighton & Hove Albion vs Everton FC: Brighton & Hove Albion to win @1.80
