PREMIER LEAGUE action returns TONIGHT with some huge matches taking place under the lights.
Manchester City travel to the Gtech Community Stadium as they look to take advantage of Brentford’s recent dip in home form.
Elsewhere, Chelsea host Bournemouth and Graham Potter takes charge of his first game at the London Stadium as West Ham welcome London rivals Fulham.
Later, Nottingham Forest take on Liverpool in a blockbuster top-of-the-table clash.
- Kick off times: 7.30pm/8pm GMT
- TV channel: TNT Sports
- Live stream: discovery+
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West Ham vs Fulham team news
Graham Potter confirmed that Niclas Fullkrug suffered a ‘significant’ injury against Aston Villa and the German could be out for ‘months’.
That leaves Potter short a striker and he may get creative with the position rather than starting Danny Ings. Potter mentioned Mo Kudus and Lucas Paqueta as potential options up front.
For the visitors, Marco Silva said both Sander Berge and Rodrigo Muniz will face late fitness tests.
Berge has not played since December 22 while Rodrigo scored in the win against Watford but picked up a knock in that game.
Credit: Getty Chelsea vs Bournemouth team news
For the Blues, Enzo Maresca confirmed that Reece James, Romeo Lavia and Noni Madueke are all fit and ready to play if called upon.
The Cherries have a lengthy injury list and one key player will definitely be missing out – no 1 keeper Kepa is not allowed to face his parent club.
Credit: Getty Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool
Wow – what a huge game this could be in the Premier League title race.
Certainly not a sentence I was expecting to write about Nottingham Forest at home to Liverpool when the fixture list was released.
But Forest are top of the form table – winning six matches in a row – and have won seven of their last eight.
Nuno has the Tricky Trees on fire as opponents continue to struggle to deal with their physicality and organisation, as well as they quality.
Liverpool ended a bad week with a routine win against Accrington Stanley but tonight is a massive test for Arne Slot’s team.
They were poor against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup in midweek and were lucky to escape with a draw against Manchester United last week.
Was last week just a blip or are the wheels coming off?
Forest are the only team to beat Liverpool in the Premier League this season, remember…
Brentford vs Man City
There continues to be a lot of noise coming out of Man City off the pitch but have they turned a corner on it?
Pep Guardiola’s side have now won three in a row – scoring 14 and conceding one – even if one of those wins came against Salford City.
City were superb against a hapless West Ham in their last Premier League game, with Erling Haaland back on the scoresheet and Phil Foden enjoying one of his best performances of the season.
They play Brentford at a good time. The Bees have picked up just four points since December, last time out with a 5-0 win at Southampton.
Thomas Frank’s team then suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup at the weekend, although it was a heavily changed XI.
Credit: Rex West Ham vs Fulham
The Graham Potter era is underway at West Ham with the former Brighton and Chelsea boss set to take charge of his first Premier League game as Hammers boss.
His first game came at Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Friday night and although they lost that game, West Ham looked a much more coherent side.
Fulham are having a decent season but now need to start stringing some wins together.
Marco Silva’s side are unbeaten since November 23, but have only picked up 12 points in eight Premier League matches since then – winning two and drawing six.
They were impressive against Watford in the FA Cup last week.
Credit: Getty Chelsea vs Bournemouth
The Blues may have secured an easy 5-0 win against Morecambe at the weekend but it hasn’t been plain sailing in the Premier League in the last couple of weeks.
Having reached second in the league following five consecutive wins between November and December, Chelsea have now gone winless in FOUR games.
Games against Everton, Fulham, Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace have yielded just two points and two goals, making this one against Bournemouth a must win.
But that will be easier said than done.
Bournemouth are in the middle of a sensational run of their own and are now unbeaten in NINE in all competitions.
Five Premier League wins and three draws have sent them up to seventh in the table and they will go level on points with Chelsea should they win.
Credit: Getty Welcome!
Hello everyone and a warm welcome to those of you tuning in (very) early for our Premier League blog.
We have a packed schedule tonight – and the rest of the week – and will bring you every bit of action, all the goals and all the talking points from around the ground.
- Chelsea vs Bournemouth (7.30pm)
- West Ham vs Fulham (7.30pm)
- Brentford vs Man City (7.30pm)
- Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool (8pm)
Credit: Rex
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
