Matchweek 4

Liverpool have finally got their season moving. After two opening draws that left Anfield twitching, Iraola's side went to Portman Road in Matchweek Three and did exactly what a squad of this quality should do to a newly promoted team: Alexander Isak scored twice inside nine minutes, the speed demon Bradley Barcola came off the bench and showed glimpses of what the future could entail, and Gakpo was at his sparkling best. Two-nil. Job done. The machine is warming up. And the win over Atlético Madrid in their Champions League opener served as a further boost to their confidence, as Wirtz really came to play in that game.

Fulham are the perfect opponent for what comes next. Three games played. Zero points. A nightmarish start for Fulham, and now they go to Anfield. Álvaro Arbeloa's side has shown something in patches — organised moments, individual quality — but the results have not arrived, and a defeat to Crystal Palace at home really exposes where they currently are relative to the rest of the Premier League.

Anfield, with this Liverpool side beginning to click together, is not something Fulham will enjoy. Alexander Isak — two goals in MW3 alone — has quietly moved into the conversation as a potential Golden Boot competitor to Erling Haaland. Florian Wirtz, after a quiet start to the season, has been building. And Bradley Barcola, still finding his feet but already making noise, will be a genuine threat every time he touches the ball in wide areas.

There are injury concerns for Liverpool — a number of squad players unavailable — but against this Fulham side, the first eleven should be more than enough. The only question is whether Liverpool win it comfortably or in a more dramatic fashion than it should require.

The Couch picks Liverpool 3–1 Fulham. Isak on the scoresheet again. Wirtz with his first of the season. Anfield happy. Fulham remaining entrenched at the bottom of the Premier League table.

Hull City have been the surprise story of the early season. Two wins from their first two games — including a comprehensive one over Manchester United in their home opener, and a one-nil win over another promoted club, Coventry City the next week. After their nil-nil draw with Aston Villa last week, Hull City remain the only side in the Premier League that has not conceded a goal so far. With seven points, they sit third in the table behind Manchester City and Arsenal. Let's pause for a moment and consider this once again — no goals conceded, third in the Premier League table.

Well, the moment has passed. JP Morgan says Hull-O, and will bring them back to earth at Stamford Bridge.

Xabi Alonso's Chelsea, after losing to Arsenal at the Emirates in the match of the previous week, remain one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the division. Their vaunted JP Morgan front line — Cole Palmer, João Pedro, Morgan Rogers — creates problems that very few squads at this level can contain, and none of the squads below them have managed to do so yet. Hull's remarkable run has been built on defensive solidity and the element of surprise. At Stamford Bridge, in front of a crowd that will be looking for a reaction to the Arsenal defeat, the element of surprise will be somewhat diminished.

Cole Palmer will be the key. When Palmer is in form and motivated — and losing to Arsenal in a game where his team was second-best tends to be motivating — Chelsea can put three past anyone. Hull's defence has been excellent. It will face its sternest test yet.

The Couch picks Chelsea 3–1 Hull City. Palmer gets one. The streak ends. Hull depart with a goal to show for their efforts, gamely putting up resistance to a team that the Couch expects to be in the top three by the end of the season.

Two hundred and seventy Premier League minutes. Zero goals. One point from nine possible. Roberto De Zerbi arrived at Tottenham with enormous excitement, a reputation built on beautiful, expansive, possession-based football, and the kind of credentials — getting Brighton to qualify for Europe for the first time in their history — that made Spurs supporters believe this was finally the manager who would transform them. Three weeks in, the evidence from the football suggests a few things: the system is there (at least in patches), the philosophy is visible (on and off), but the goals are just not there (just ten shots on target across three games).

De Zerbi will know better than anyone that the pressure is building. Spurs at home in Matchweek Four, against David Moyes's Everton — an unbeaten side, confident, compact, and with genuine quality in the attacking third. This is not the soft reset fixture Spurs might have hoped for. Everton have Tyrique George starting week in week out, the momentum of the Maitland-Niles drama, and a manager who knows exactly how to organise against sides that have more of the ball.

But with all the talent that Spurs have, at some point the goals have to come. Omar Marmoush, Savio, Mohammed Kudus — this front three has the talent and quality that makes you believe they certainly could not go scoreless for four matches in a row. The Couch believes the dam breaks here. The crowd will push them. The occasion will demand it. And Spurs, at home, with everything on the line for De Zerbi's reputation, at least in the short term, will finally, mercifully, score a Premier League goal.

Everton will make it hard. They always make it hard. But Spurs at home with something to prove may prove to be difficult to stop.

The Couch picks Spurs 2–1 Everton. Goals. Finally. Does this qualify as an upset? De Zerbi breathes. The Spurs fans will finally be loud, making noises far more uplifting than the groans and sighs we have experienced so far this season.

Arsenal go into Matchweek Four as joint-top of the Premier League, nine points from nine, with the psychic Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea call still echoing around the Couch's podcast studio. They have won five games on the trot — Community Shield, Premier League, Champions League. One goal conceded. They are in form, they are confident, and Martin Odegaard — four goals in five games across all competitions — is in the kind of form that makes him the most dangerous attacking midfielder in England right now. None of this is up for debate.

William Saliba has been out for some time now, and the early concern about how Arsenal would cope without him has largely been answered: Arteta moved decisively in the transfer window, bringing in Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa, and Konsa has started each of Arsenal's last two games — including their Champions League fixture against Napoli at the Maradona — without looking out of place. Arsenal have adapted. The defensive structure that made them so hard to break down last season is intact, seemingly with just a different name on the back of the shirt.

Sunderland are a genuine test. Four points from three games, the Stadium of Light in full voice, and a side that will press high and make Arsenal's build-out uncomfortable. They are not here simply to make up the numbers. But Arsenal's quality in the final third — Odegaard, Saka, Havertz — is the kind that finds solutions away from home even when the atmosphere is hostile and the pitch is difficult.

The Couch backs Arsenal to handle this with the efficiency of a side that knows how to win when it is not comfortable. Konsa is the interesting subplot — how he copes with a physical Sunderland front line on the road will tell us something about how far Arsenal's defensive depth really extends.

The Couch picks Sunderland 1–3 Arsenal. Odegaard gets one again. Saka will get his third of the season. Sunderland earn a consolation and the crowd stays to the end. Konsa solid. Arsenal professional.

The Manchester Derby. The Couch has been building to this all week. And the Couch is going to say something that may seem rather surprising given the form table: Manchester United 3–2 Manchester City. The Couch is picking the Manchester derby for United. At home. Against the side that came second last year, and have won all three of their matches to start the season. And did I mention they have Erling Haaland. Despite all of this, the Couch stands behind his prediction.

Here is the case for United. Michael Carrick's side — erratic, inconsistent, sometimes infuriating, occasionally magnificent — have Bruno Fernandes in the kind of form that can change matches in an instant. Three goals and an assist in Matchweek Three against Ipswich. A draw against Everton that contained real drama and real quality. United at Old Trafford, in a derby, with their crowd behind them and everything to prove, is not the same side that lost to Hull City in Matchweek One. Bryan Mbeumo, Cunha, Benjamin Sesko — and they have the wily Tielemans who is just beginning to come into his own. Old Trafford, when it is loud and believing, is one of the most difficult atmospheres in European football.

Now the case against United. City have nine points. Haaland is doing Haaland things — and nobody seems to know how to stop him. And then they have the giant Gigi Donnarumma between the sticks, an imposing figure for any opponent. Their brand new midfield, with Enzo Fernández, Elliott Anderson and Ayoub Bouaddi — four hundred million euros worth — are beginning to gel together. And did I mention Rayan Cherki — the magician who has started this season on a hot streak — he can create magic from anywhere. City does not seem to have any chinks. So betting against them clearly does not seem like a smart thing to do.

But the Galáctico says: derby games at Old Trafford are rarely decided by form tables. They are decided by moments, by atmosphere, by Bruno Fernandes being either extraordinary or ordinary, and by whether Haaland gets the service to hurt United. The Couch believes Bruno delivers a few magical moments at Old Trafford. And the Couch believes the crowd carries them over the line.

The Couch picks Manchester United 3–2 Manchester City. Man City go ahead through Haaland. Cunha equalises. Man City go two-one up again through Haaland. Bruno blazes one past the giant to equalise, and then their super-sub Benjamin Sesko arrives and scores the winner in the dying moments with a delicate finish. Old Trafford delirium. The Couch is writing this down with a permanent marker.