Wolves (4-3-3) Johnstone; Tchatchoua, S Bueno, Krejci, H Bueno; Munetsi, Andre, Joao Gomes; Arias, Larsen, Hwang.
Subs: Jose Sa, Wolfe, Agbadou, Arokodare, Mosquera, Rodrigo Gomes, Hoever, Bellegarde, Lopez.
Brighton (4-2-3-1) Verbruggen; Wieffer, van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu; Baleba, Ayari; Gruda, Gomez, Minteh; Welbeck.
Subs: Steele, Tzimas, Rutter, Watson, Kostoulas, Milner, Boscagli, De Cuyper, Coppola.
Referee Jarred Gillett (Australia)
Newcastle (4-3-3) Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Burn; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Elanga, Woltemade, Gordon.
Subs: Ramsdale, Schar, Lascelles, Barnes, Krafth, Osula, Jacob Murphy, Willock, Miley.
Nottm Forest (3-4-2-1)) Sels; Milenkovic, Jair Cunha, Morato; Savona, Anderson, Yates, Williams; Ndoye, Gibbs-White; Wood.
Subs: John Victor, Murillo, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Igor Jesus, Hutchinson, McAtee, Bakwa.
Referee Peter Bankes (Merseyside)
Everton (4-2-3-1) Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Dibling, Ndiaye, Grealish; Barry.
Subs: Travers, King, Patterson, McNeil, Beto, Coleman, Alcaraz, Aznou, Iroegbunam.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1) Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Pino; Mateta.
Subs: Benitez, Lerma, Nketiah, Uche, Hughes, Canvot, Sosa, Devenny, Cardines.
Referee Michael Salisbury (Lancashire)
Aston Villa (poss 4-2-3-1) Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Bogarde; McGinn, Rogers, Malen; Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Lindelof, Barkley, Elliott, Buendia, Jimoh, Maatsen, Onana, Guessand.
Burnley (5-4-1) Dubravka; Walker, Tuanzebe, Laurent, Esteve, Hartman; Tchaouna, Cullen, Florentino, Anthony; Foster.
Subs: Weiss, Worrall, Bruun Larsen, Ugochukwu, Edwards, Humphreys, Flemming, Broja, Mejbri.
Referee Andrew Kitchen (Durham)
All the talk is of where Oliver Glasner might go next. His contract expires at the end of the season and he has refused to sign an extension. He is 51; if he is going to take over a major club with the possibility of an extended spell in charge, he doesn’t have a huge amount of time to secure a move. Could he then be the solution for Manchester United? He does, after all, play the same 3-4-2-1 as Ruben Amorim, just rather more successfully.
Which raises the question of why a system that has drawn so much scepticism at United works so well at Palace. But it’s never just about the formation, nor is it the case – within reason – that one formation is intrinsically better than another. Rather certain formations, in combination with the style they are enacted, prioritise certain elements of play. It is, at the very least, intriguing that since Harry Catterick’s Everton won the championship in 1962-63 with a W-M, only one side has won the English league title playing with a back three: Antonio Conte’s Chelsea in 2016-17.
Newcastle v Nottm Forest
Ange Postecoglou was appointed as Nottingham Forest manager less than a month ago. According to some reports, he could be sacked if Forest lose at Newcastle today.
The Premier League table ahead of today’s action
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 7 | 11 | 16 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 7 | 4 | 15 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | 8 | 14 |
| 4 | AFC Bournemouth | 7 | 3 | 14 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 6 | 5 | 12 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 7 | 1 | 11 |
| 8 | Man City | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 9 | Man Utd | 7 | -2 | 10 |
| 10 | Everton | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 11 | Brighton | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 12 | Fulham | 7 | -3 | 8 |
| 13 | Leeds | 7 | -4 | 8 |
| 14 | Brentford | 6 | -2 | 7 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 6 | -1 | 6 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 6 | -2 | 6 |
| 17 | Nottm Forest | 6 | -5 | 5 |
| 18 | Burnley | 6 | -7 | 4 |
| 19 | West Ham | 7 | -10 | 4 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 6 | -9 | 1 |
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to a four-pronged Premier League clockwatch. These are the matches we’ll be following:
Aston Villa v Burnley
Everton v Crystal Palace
Newcastle v Nottm Forest
Wolves v Brighton
All four games kick off at 2pm. We’ll have team news and build up before that.