Arsenal start the 10th round of the Premier League three points clear of Manchester City, and both sides were in Champions League action a few hours ago. Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Praha and City won 3-2 at RB Leipzig, in games that kicked off at 4am SGT on Thursday 5 November.
Arsenal host Hull City at the Emirates at 11pm SGT on Saturday 7 November. City visit Nottingham Forest at the City Ground at 1.30am SGT on Sunday 8 November, so they will know the gap before they kick off.
After this round the league breaks for the November international window and returns on Saturday 21 November. Arsenal v City at the Emirates follows a week later, at 12.30am SGT on Monday 30 November.
How the top could move
Arsenal have 24 points from nine games, City have 21 and Brighton are third on 19. Arsenal stay top this weekend unless they lose and City win. In that case the two would be level on 24 and City would go top on goal difference, since they start the round on +10 against Arsenal’s +9.
Arsenal’s run and Hull’s wait
Arsenal’s one league defeat was the 3-0 at Brighton on 19 September. They have won all four league games since, the latest a 1-0 at Liverpool last weekend. Nobody has conceded fewer than their five goals, and three of those came in that one game at Brighton.
In Prague, Noni Madueke scored after nine minutes and Viktor Gyökeres added a second on 38 minutes. Slavia’s only reply was Wiktor Nowak’s goal in the 90th minute.
Hull are 11th on 11 points. They opened with a 2-0 win over Manchester United and a 1-0 win at Coventry on 29 August, and have not won a league game since. That is seven matches, with five draws and two defeats, the latest a 2-2 with Ipswich on 31 October. One of those draws was 2-2 at Chelsea on 12 September.
City’s dip and Forest’s drought
City won their first seven league games, including a 3-0 at Anfield on 11 October and a 1-0 at Old Trafford. Then they lost 2-1 at Aston Villa on 24 October and 1-0 at home to Brighton on 31 October. They go to the City Ground on two straight league defeats.
Leipzig was a better night. Castello Lukeba’s own goal put City ahead on 37 minutes and Ridle Baku levelled after the break. Enzo Fernández headed City back in front on 58 minutes, Antonio Nusa equalised three minutes later, and Erling Haaland scored the winner on 78 minutes.
Forest are 19th with six points. Their only league win was 2-1 at Villa Park on 12 September, and they have gone five league games without a win since. At home, goals are the problem. They have lost 1-0 to Leeds, Coventry and Arsenal and drawn 0-0 with Spurs, so they have not scored in four home league games. Their six league goals are the fewest in the division.
The rest of the round
Brighton have the most goals in the league with 24 and the best goal difference at +17, and they are the only side to have beaten both Arsenal and City. They host sixth-placed Brentford, whose one defeat in nine was 2-1 to Liverpool. Liverpool, fifth, go to Crystal Palace after losing 3-2 at Fenerbahçe in the Champions League, in a game that kicked off at 1.45am SGT on Thursday.
- Everton v Coventry City, 4am SGT Saturday 7 November
- Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.30pm SGT Saturday 7 November
- Fulham v Newcastle United, 11pm SGT Saturday 7 November
- Brighton v Brentford, Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Ipswich Town v Bournemouth and Sunderland v Chelsea, all 10pm SGT Sunday 8 November
- Manchester United v Aston Villa, 12.30am SGT Monday 9 November
