Premier League predictions: Man United struggle again, Newcastle beat Liverpool

We pick out the winners and losers from the upcoming round of English top-flight fixtures

FRIDAY - Chelsea v Luton Town (11pm kick-off UAE): Chelsea have taken just one point from two games so far under Mauricio Pochettino and the new manager needs a win under his belt after a summer of huge investment. Should be a comfortable night against newly promoted Luton, though. Prediction: Chelsea 3 Luton 0. Getty

SATURDAY - Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm): Spurs enjoyed a morale-boosting win over Manchester United last week making it four points from a possible six under Ange Postecoglou. The team is still lacking a reliable goalscorer after Harry Kane's exit but they should have enough in their locker to edge past the Cherries. Prediction: Bournemouth 1 Spurs 2. Getty

Arsenal v Fulham (6pm): The Gunners have won two from two so far but only by the odd goal against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace. It has been a mixed start for Fulham, who defeated Everton in their opening game but were heavily beaten at home by local rivals Brentford last week. Prediction: Arsenal 2 Fulham 0. Getty

Brentford v Crystal Palace (6pm): The Bees will be buzzing after their 3-0 demolition of London rivals Fulham last week that saw Bryan Mbeumo grab a brace. Palace have won one and lost one so far, both with 1-0 scorelines. Prediction: Brentford 2 Palace 1. Reuters

Everton v Wolves (6pm): It has been a miserable start to the campaign for both of these clubs who sit on zero points at the bottom of the table. Last week saw both teams concede four goals; Everton away to Aston Villa and Wolves at home to Brighton. Prediction: Everton 1 Wolves 1. Getty

Manchester United v Nottingham Forest (6pm): The early warning alarm is being primed at Old Trafford after United followed up their lucky win over Wolves with a deserved defeat at Spurs. Chirs Wood's late header earned Forest three points last week after narrowly losing to Arsenal in their opening game. Prediction: Man United 1 Forest 1. AFP

Brighton v West Ham United (8.30pm): Brighton have been quickest out the blocks so far after two 4-1 victories on the spin against Luton and Wolves, respectively. The London Stadium was rocking last weekend when West Ham battled their way to a 3-1 win against London rivals Chelsea. Prediction: Brighton 3 West Ham 1. Getty

SUNDAY - Burnley v Aston Villa (5pm): Villa recovered from their opening weekend battering at Newcastle in style by handing out a similar beating to Everton on Sunday. Burnley enjoyed a free weekend due to Luton's ground not being up to scratch after losing to Manchester City in their opener. Prediction: Burnley 2 Aston Villa 2. Getty

Sheffield United v Manchester City (5pm): Both teams have 100 per cent records so far, but only one will be happy about it. The Blades lost to Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, while City have beaten Burnley and Newcastle - as well as winning the Uefa Super Cup following a penalties victory over Sevilla. Prediction: Sheffield United 0 Man City 4. EPA

Newcastle United v Liverpool (7.30pm): Game of the weekend sees the top-four hopefuls clash at St James' Park. Newcastle fell to a narrow defeat at champions Manchester City last time out while Mohamed Salah was among the goals as Liverpool defeated Bournemouth on Merseyside. Prediction: Newcastle 3 Liverpool 1. Getty

Round three of the Premier League season and we have some familiar faces setting the early pace.

Champions Manchester City and runners-up Arsenal are two of only three teams who still hold 100 per cent records after two games, but it is Brighton who hold top spot following a pair of 4-1 victories, over Luton Town and Wolves.

It is an impressive start by the Seagulls considering they lost three key players – goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, plus midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo – over the summer.

“Other clubs can buy our players, but they cannot buy our soul or spirit,” said manager Roberto De Zerbi, whose own stock continues to rise after last season's sixth-place finish.

At the other end of the table, Sheffield United, Wolves and Everton have all lost their opening two games, while Burnley and Luton Town were both beaten in the only game they have played so far with their match last week postponed due to improvement work at Kenilworth Road not being completed.

The Hatters, meanwhile, are back in action on Friday when they take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Saturday's schedule begins with Bournemouth's home game with Tottenham Hotspur, which is followed by Arsenal against Fulham at the Emirates Stadium, Brentford playing host to Crystal Palace, Everton versus Wolves at Goodison Park and Manchester United entertaining Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.

The late game sees table-topping Brighton clashing with West Ham United on the south coast.

Sunday starts with Burnley against Aston Villa at Turf Moor and Sheffield United's home game with Manchester City, before Newcastle United tackle Liverpool on Tyneside.

You can see our predictions for this week's games in the gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.

Last week's results

PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKEND RESULTS: Friday, Aug 18, 2023 - Nottingham Forest 2 (Awoniyi 3', Wood 89') Sheffield United 1 (Hamer 48'): A late header from subsitute Chris Wood earned Forest the victory after a superb Gustavo Hamer goal had cancelled out Taiwo Awoniyi's early goal. "We played the real football in the game, the real tactical ideas. In the end, we've scored two really good goals," said Forest manager Steve Cooper. AFP

Saturday, Aug 19 - Fulham 0 Brentford 3 (Wissa 44', Mbeumo pen 66', 90'+2): Yoane Wissa and a Bryan Mbeumo double earned Brentford West London bragging rights. Fulham were reduced to 10 men when captain Tim Ream was sent off for a second yellow card that led to Mbeumo scoring from the spot. "It is difficult to understand because in my opinion this was a clear error from the referee," said Fulham manager Marco Silva. AFP

Liverpool 3 (Diaz 28', Salah 36', Jota 62') Bournemouth 1 (Semenyo 3'): Liverpool sealed a comeback win thanks to goals from Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota. Reds' summer signing Alexis Mac Allister was sent off on his home debut. "This shouldn't have been a red card," said manager Jurgen Klopp. "It's a mistake and the punishment of playing 40 minutes with 10 men is already punishment enough." Getty

Wolves 1 (Hwang 61') Brighton 4 (Mitoma 15', Estupinan 46', March 51', 55'): Brighton powered to their second successive 4-1 win thanks to goals from Kaoru Mitoma, Pervis Estupinan and a Solly March double. Matheus Nunes was shown a late red card for Wolves. "I have an incredible squad [with] the right mix between young and old players. We're happy, but we know our potential is bigger," said Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi. Reuters

Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Sarr 49', Li Martinez og 83') Manchester United 0: Spurs secured their first win of the Ange Postecoglou era after an exciting game in North London. Pape Matar Sarr's close-range finish opening the scoring before Ivan Perisic's cross took a touch off Ben Davies before going in via Lisandro Martinez. "We are disappointed today," said United manager Erik ten Hag. "We have to look at ourselves to score our chances, and we did not. AFP

Manchester City 1 (Alvarez 31') Newcastle United 0: A fine finish from Julian Alvarez earned champions City a hard-fought victory over a Newcastle side that has never won a Premier League game the Etihad Stadium. “There are no words to express my gratitude for the performance we gave. It was really, really good," said manager Pep Guardiola. "It is the second game but after what we done in the last season, we are still there." EPA

Sunday, Aug 20 - Aston Villa 4 (McGinn 18', Douglas Luiz pen 24, Bailey 51', Duran 75') Everton 0: A disastrous day for Everton who lost luckless striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin to yet another injury, saw Alex Iwobi also hobble off before falling to a heavy defeat against a side that lost 5-1 last week. "Really amazing because I think we controlled the game, we were for 90 minutes strong," said manager Unai Emery. "We deserved to win." Getty

West Ham 3 (Aguerd 7', Antonio 53', Paqueta pen 90'+5) Chelsea 1 (Chukwuemeka 28'): West Ham took the honours in an incident-packed game at the London Stadium. As well as the four goals, Enzo Fernandez missed a penalty and West Ham goalscorer Nayef Aguerd was sent off in the second half. "It was a very difficult game, they play quality football and a lot of running off the ball and not on it," said West Ham scorer Michail Antonio. Getty

Sunday, Aug 21 - Crystal Palace 0 Arsenal 1 (Odegaard pen 54'): A second-half penalty earned Arsenal all three points even though Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent-off with 23 minutes still to go. The full-back was shown a second yellow card for taking too long over a throw-in. "To play 30 minutes away from home with 10 men is extremely difficult," said Gunners manager Mikel Arteta. "The subs were magnificent, they knew what they had to do." Getty