It’s the penultimate round of English Premier League fixtures this weekend, before the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar takes centre stage.
That means the scramble for positions is well and truly on ahead of the pause in domestic action until Boxing Day.
A pair of epic contests bookend Sunday’s five EPL matches, with the London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal a barnstorming opener to the day.
The Gunners go into the weekend top of the Premier League table and in freewheeling form, while Blues boss Graham Potter tasted defeat for the first time last weekend in chastening fashion away to his former club.
A third London heavyweight are out to solidify their top three credentials later in the day as Tottenham play host to Liverpool.
Antonio Conte’s Spurs returned to winning ways a week ago but there was no such luck for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, who were turned over at Anfield for the first time in an age to slip further down the pecking order.
Manchester United hit the road on Sunday, meanwhile, looking to extend their unbeaten sequence and possibly crack the Uefa Champions League qualification places ahead of the World Cup break.
It’s an unenviable opener for Unai Emery in charge of Aston Villa, as the Spaniard returns to English football with the visit of Cristiano Ronaldo and Co.
Newcastle hold on to fourth place in the table ahead of the Red Devils and few would bet against Eddie Howe’s in-form side maintaining that, as they make the long trip south to tackle unpredictable Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.
There’s a second capital city derby to complete Sunday’s fixture schedule, too, as midtable duo West Ham and Crystal Palace go head-to-head at the London Stadium.
Reigning champions Manchester City will return to the EPL summit, at least temporarily, if they can seal another three points on Saturday.
But it’s not a given at the Etihad Stadium for Pep Guardiola’s men, as seventh-placed Fulham make the trek north off the back of four games unbeaten amid a dream return to top flight football following promotion from the Championship last season.
Everton and Leicester contest the Saturday evening kick off at Goodison Park with both making tentative improvements following their grim starts to the season.
A shock victory for Leeds at Liverpool last time out was just the tonic for under-fire Jesse Marsch as well, with the American coach looking to win over an expectant Elland Road with Bournemouth the visitors.
Brighton have the opportunity to back up their famous win over ex-boss Potter last time out as they head to Molineux to face a lowly Wolves side boasting just two wins all season.
Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, host out-of-sorts Brentford at the City Ground, aiming to erase last weekend’s hammering at Arsenal from their collective memory.
English Premier League predictions for 5- 6 November
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Leeds | 57 | 78 |
| Bournemouth | 23 | 17 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Manchester City | ||
| Fulham | ||
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Nottingham Forest | 37 | 30 |
| Brentford | 39 | 53 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Wolves | 29 | 38 |
| Brighton | 47 | 31 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Everton | ||
| Leicester | ||
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Chelsea | 38 | 63 |
| Arsenal | 38 | 38 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Aston Villa | 29 | 25 |
| Manchester United | 50 | 55 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Southampton | 26 | 14 |
| Newcastle | ||
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| West Ham | 52 | 53 |
| Crystal Palace | 26 | 23 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Tottenham | 34 | 14 |