Lampard appreciation at Everton, Glasner sparking Forest fire, Zubimendi and Kroupi in spotlight and Carrick v Emery
Premier League top scorers
Lampard will get warm welcome at Everton
Nothing better encapsulates the dysfunction that was Everton under Farhad Moshiri than the idea that an unknown vandal with a can of spray paint could influence the club’s managerial direction. “Pereira out, Lampard in” they daubed on a wall at Goodison Park when it appeared Vítor Pereira was in line to replace Rafael Benítez in 2022. Alarmed by fan protests, the Everton board opted instead for Frank Lampard and, while his tenure ended 12 months later with the club immersed in another relegation battle, there will be appreciation for the Coventry manager when he makes a first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium on Friday. The connection between Lampard and Evertonians was genuine and a factor in keeping the club up in 2022. Both parties will be glad to see the other emerging stronger from those troubled times. Jack Grealish, meanwhile, will again be absent for Everton after his recent disciplinary breach, although the manager, David Moyes, said: “We will be working again with Jack soon.” Andy Hunter
Everton v Coventry City, Friday 8pm (all times GMT)
Farke keeps it real as Leeds aim to stop slide
Back in September, when Leeds thrashed Newcastle 4-1 at Elland Road, talk of European qualification filled the West Yorkshire airwaves. Since then Daniel Farke’s side have drawn three and lost two of their ensuing Premier League games, scoring just two goals along the way. Given that their final pass has persistently let them down, optimism is turning to pessimism. Farke would call it realism. The German – who could probably do without facing Roberto De Zerbi’s improving Tottenham on Saturday – is confident his side are improving but knows they cannot expect to run before properly mastering the art of walking. “We don’t have the individual quality [of the Premier League’s leading teams],” conceded Farke on Thursday. “We have to compensate by being tactically spot on and good at winning second balls. It’s not a criticism of my players, it’s reality. The dream of Europe is allowed but we know our main aim is to reach 40 points as quickly as possible.” Louise Taylor
Leeds v Tottenham, Saturday 12.30pm
Zubimendi fights for his Arsenal future
Martín Zubimendi has yet to start a Premier League game this season after falling down the pecking order at Arsenal and the Spain midfielder is likely to be the subject of speculation that he could seek to depart in January. The emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly as an alternative in the No 6 position at the end of last season has had an impact on Zubimendi after he had been a regular starter for most of his debut campaign in the Premier League. The 27-year-old signed from Real Sociedad for around £55m 15 months ago and Mikel Arteta has insisted he remains an integral part of his plans. But with the Arsenal manager trying to find the right balance in his midfield after the arrival of Bruno Guimarães, Zubimendi will be hoping he gets another chance to stake his claim against Hull on Saturday after starting in the narrow win over Slavia Prague in midweek. Ed Aarons
Arsenal v Hull City, Saturday 3pm
Fulham reap rewards of sticking with Arbeloa
Álvaro Arbeloa is proof that a struggling young manager working in England for the first time can bounce back after a difficult start. Arbeloa was sliding towards the sack a month ago but he has responded at Fulham, who have taken seven points from their last three games, and will hope to extend the unbeaten run when Matthias Jaissle’s inconsistent Newcastle visit Craven Cottage. It is an inviting fixture for Fulham and a big one for Newcastle, who were poor when they lost to Everton on Monday. Jaissle, hired as Eddie Howe’s replacement in the summer, is already under pressure. But the 38-year-old could take inspiration from how Arbeloa has given himself breathing space at Fulham. Jacob Steinberg
Fulham v Newcastle, Saturday 3pm
Will Glasner’s risky words inspire Forest?
Oliver Glasner has previous. He led Wolfsburg from mid-table to the Champions League but fell out with the club hierarchy and left in 2021. Glasner next guided Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League glory but was openly critical of the squad’s imbalance and quality in four separate outbursts and departed in 2023. His time at Crystal Palace was a great success but after accusing the Eagles’ board in January of “abandoning” his team with the sale of Marc Guéhi to Manchester City, the Austrian left this summer for Nottingham Forest, where he became the fifth head coach in less than a year. You can probably guess where this is going. After Saturday’s defeat by Brentford left Forest 19th, Glasner was typically abrasive: “If the players buy in [to my methods], I think we can have a turnaround. And if not, the sixth manager will come in.” We’ll soon find out if Glasner has won the players around with City visiting Nottingham this weekend. If Forest’s woeful form continues, Glasner may either walk or get his marching orders from trigger-happy owner Evangelos Marinakis. Michael Butler
Nottingham Forest v Manchester City, 5.30pm
Nketiah ready to step back into limelight
Pierre Sage pulled no punches in his assessment of Eddie Nketiah’s career after his excellent winning goal against Fulham last week in the EFL Cup. “I think his potential is higher than his performance for the moment,” said the Crystal Palace manager. “And we have to reduce this gap – because he needs it, the team needs it.” Nketiah is now 27 and won his solitary senior cap for England in 2023 after becoming the record scorer for the under-21s while he was still at Arsenal. His chances of adding to that look unlikely these days having been relegated to third-choice striker at Selhurst Park behind Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jørgen Strand Larsen. But with Mateta suspended for three matches after Palace’s appeal over his red card against Tottenham was rejected, Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool could be another chance for Nketiah to show his ability after scoring a late winner against them in Palace’s thrilling win over Arne Slot’s side last year. EA
Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Sunday 2pm
Brighton dreaming of Champions League nights
It has been three weeks since Brighton’s fans were savouring a famous 5-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Crystal Palace at the Amex. But the quirks of the fixture list meant that Fabian Hürzeler’s side played five successive games on the road since then, including two trips to face Manchester City. While they lost some of the momentum from the Palace victory in the defeat by Liverpool at Anfield, last week’s Premier League win over City showed they are serious contenders for the top four and perhaps even more. But Brentford’s visit to the south coast should provide a real test of those credentials as the owner, Tony Bloom, renews his rivalry with his west London counterpart Matthew Benham, who traditionally eschews his seat in the directors’ box for one in the away section. EA
Brighton v Brentford, Sunday 2pm
In-form Kroupi pushing for start at Ipswich
Eli Junior Kroupi did not take the headlines in Bournemouth’s win over Leeds but his cheeky nutmeg and sumptuous no-look pass to set up Amine Adli for the Cherries’ second goal was a reminder of why the youngster continues to be linked with a move to Arsenal, Bayern and PSG, despite being sidelined recently. Kroupi scored 13 Premier League goals last season – only Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Romelu Lukaku have reached that total as teenagers – and only Erling Haaland and Will Osula enjoyed a better goal-per-game ratio in 2025-26. Kroupi’s foot injury, sustained in pre-season, has been carefully managed but after three substitute appearances in the wins over Manchester United, Aston Villa and Leeds, will Marco Rose be tempted to start Kroupi at Ipswich? Evanilson is in red hot form as the central striker but Kroupi is just as comfortable as a No 10 and surely has to play if he is fit as Bournemouth chase a seventh consecutive win in all competitions. MB
Ipswich v Bournemouth, Sunday 2pm
Chelsea return to a very different Sunderland
It is not quite six months since Sunderland beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Stadium of Light and qualified for Europe for the first time in 53 years. A day when Régis Le Bris’s side eclipsed the Club World Cup holders and Enzo Le Fée upstaged Enzo Fernández concluded with Sunderland finishing seventh. During the prolonged post-match celebrations, the captain, Granit Xhaka, grabbed a microphone and declared: “This is just the beginning – we want more.” Fast forward to gloomy November and it is not quite working out like that with even the excitement of next month’s trip to Milan overshadowed by anxiety. Sunderland are bottom of the Premier League, Le Bris concedes his side are in a relegation fight and Xhaka has looked a shadow of his former self ever since Chelsea tried and failed to sign him in the summer. Is Xhaka capable of turning back time? Sunderland securing just a second league win of the season depends on it. Louise Taylor
Sunderland v Chelsea, Sunday 2pm
United brace for another chaotic weekend
Can Manchester United win two games of football on the bounce for the first time this season? Being able to pose this question sums up the state Michael Carrick and his side are in as they seek to build on Tuesday’s chaotic comeback victory over Roma. Aston Villa arrive five points better off than their hosts and are everything United are not: stable, upwardly mobile and boasting a manager in Unai Emery who consistently improves players and yields results. As the international break beckons after this last Premier League fixture of the weekend, will Carrick survive what could be an eighth loss in 15 matches? Possibly, if it is not another humiliation, but the truth may be that even United’s erratic executives do not currently know the answer. Jamie Jackson
Manchester United v Aston Villa, Sunday 4.30pm
