Premier League Midweek Preview: Predictions, Form, Injuries and Fantasy Football Picks

Tuesday 15 September 2026

The Premier League takes a short midweek pause before Matchweek 5 begins on Friday 18 September. There are no Premier League fixtures from Tuesday to Thursday, but the next round already offers plenty to discuss, with Arsenal and Manchester City both aiming to maintain their perfect starts and Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United looking to respond after dropping points.

This preview looks ahead to the next Premier League round with Simons early win, draw and loss percentages, recent form, important injury news and Fantasy Premier League captaincy choices. Percentages are editorial predictions rather than bookmaker odds and should be treated as an assessment rather than a guarantee.

Premier League Matchweek 5 Fixtures

• Friday 18 September: Brentford v Chelsea
• Saturday 19 September: Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
• Saturday 19 September: Brighton & Hove Albion v Arsenal
• Saturday 19 September: Everton v Ipswich Town
• Saturday 19 September: Newcastle United v Hull City
• Saturday 19 September: Nottingham Forest v Coventry City
• Sunday 20 September: Bournemouth v Liverpool
• Sunday 20 September: Leeds United v Crystal Palace
• Sunday 20 September: Manchester City v Sunderland
• Sunday 20 September: Fulham v Manchester United

The official Premier League fixture list confirms the Matchweek 5 schedule.

Current Premier League Picture

Arsenal and Manchester City have both won their opening four league matches. Arsenal lead the table on goal difference, while City are second. Hull City are an impressive third and remain unbeaten, while Brighton, Chelsea, Brentford, Liverpool and Everton occupy the next positions. Coventry remain without a point and Tottenham, Fulham and Aston Villa are still searching for their first league wins.

Win, Draw or Lose Predictions

Fixture	Home Win	Draw	Away Win	Pick
Brentford v Chelsea	35%	25%	40%	Chelsea
Tottenham v Aston Villa	30%	35%	35%	Draw
Brighton v Arsenal	30%	25%	45%	Arsenal
Everton v Ipswich	50%	25%	25%	Everton
Newcastle v Hull	65%	20%	15%	Newcastle
Nottingham Forest v Coventry	55%	25%	20%	Nottingham Forest
Bournemouth v Liverpool	25%	25%	50%	Liverpool
Leeds v Crystal Palace	35%	30%	35%	Draw
Manchester City v Sunderland	70%	20%	10%	Manchester City
Fulham v Manchester United	35%	25%	40%	Manchester United

Recent Form

Arsenal: WWWW. Arsenal have made the strongest possible start, winning all four league matches and conceding only once. Their latest result was a 2-0 win away at Sunderland.

Manchester City: WWWW. City also have a perfect record after beating Manchester United 1-0 in the derby and have conceded only twice in four matches.

Brighton: Their latest result was a spectacular 5-0 victory at Coventry, moving them into fourth place.

Chelsea: W W L D across the opening four. Chelsea have scored 10 goals but have also conceded nine, showing the contrast between their attacking threat and defensive vulnerability.

Liverpool: W D W D. Liverpool are unbeaten but have drawn three of their first four league games, including a 0-0 home draw with Fulham. Their workload is also increasing because of domestic and European commitments.

Brentford: Brentford remain unbeaten and have drawn three of their four league matches.

Tottenham: Spurs have yet to score in the Premier League this season and drew 0-0 with Everton last weekend.

Key Injury News

Injury information can change quickly during the week, so Fantasy managers should check final team news before the deadline.

• Arsenal: William Saliba and Cristhian Mosquera were listed among the injured, while Jurrien Timber was a doubt in the latest team news.
• Brighton: Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh were among the notable absences listed before the previous weekend, although Brighton still produced a 5-0 win.
• Chelsea: Moises Caicedo, Filip Jorgensen Palestra, Dean Henderson and Emanuel Emegha were among the players listed with injury concerns in the latest available team news.
• Liverpool: Joe Gomez has returned to training and is available for selection, while Conor Bradley remained out.
• Tottenham: Sandro Tonali, Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro were among the players reported unavailable. Tottenham are also still without Richarlison for the upcoming cup match.

Fantasy Premier League Captain Pick

Captain: Erling Haaland – Manchester City

Haaland is my early captain choice for the next Fantasy Premier League round. Manchester City welcome Sunderland to the Etihad after a perfect opening four matches, and City have scored consistently while keeping opponents under pressure. The home fixture gives Haaland an attractive opportunity.

Vice-Captain: Bukayo Saka – Arsenal

Saka is my vice-captain choice. Arsenal travel to Brighton after winning all four league matches, and Saka has already contributed important goals this season. He scored Arsenal second goal in the 2-0 victory at Sunderland.

Other Fantasy Players to Consider

• Alexander Isak – Liverpool: A major attacking option if Liverpool improve their creativity after the Fulham draw.
• Cole Palmer – Chelsea: Chelsea remain capable of producing attacking Fantasy points.
• Joao Pedro – Chelsea: A useful attacking alternative for managers looking beyond premium names.
• Martin Odegaard – Arsenal: A creative midfield option in a team that has started with four straight league wins.

Matches I Am Watching Most Closely

Brighton v Arsenal: Brighton are coming off a 5-0 victory, making this much tougher than the table alone suggests.

Brentford v Chelsea: Chelsea have more attacking firepower, but Brentford are unbeaten. A close match is expected.

Bournemouth v Liverpool: Liverpool remain unbeaten but have drawn three times. Bournemouth will see this as an opportunity.

Manchester City v Sunderland: City are the clear statistical favourite after four wins from four, although Sunderland have shown that they can compete against strong opposition.

Overall Early Predictions

My strongest early picks are Manchester City to beat Sunderland, Newcastle to beat Hull, Arsenal to beat Brighton and Liverpool to beat Bournemouth. The most difficult games to call are Tottenham v Aston Villa and Leeds v Crystal Palace, where the draw has significant appeal.

These predictions are deliberately published early. Injuries, European matches, cup rotation, suspensions and late team news can all change the balance before kick-off. Check the final Statoshi update before making Fantasy Football decisions.

Photo Credit

Featured football image: Tanya Barrow, A football stadium with sprinklers on the pitch, Wembley Stadium, London. The photograph is available free under the Unsplash License.

View the photograph on Unsplash | Tanya Barrow on Unsplash

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Copyright © Simon Ben Gemmill, 15 September 2026.