Premier League matchweek 9 preview: Liverpool vs Arsenal, Man City vs Brighton, Chelsea vs Man Utd – Beijing kick-off times and the table

Matchweek 9 of the Premier League is played from Saturday 31 October to Monday 2 November, and it has the game of the season so far: Liverpool vs Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday. The UK is now on winter time, so Beijing is eight hours ahead of UK kick-off times.

Premier League table before matchweek 9

1 Manchester City 21 pts (+11). 2 Arsenal 21 (+8). 3 Brighton 16. 4 Liverpool 15. 5 Chelsea 13. 6 Brentford 11. 7 Leeds 11. 8 Newcastle 11. 9 Aston Villa 11. 10 Hull 10. 11 Everton 10. 12 Ipswich 10. 13 Bournemouth 9. 14 Tottenham 9. 15 Fulham 8. 16 Manchester United 7. 17 Crystal Palace 7. 18 Nottingham Forest 6. 19 Coventry 6. 20 Sunderland 5.

Fixtures and kick-off times

Saturday 31 October: Chelsea vs Manchester United, 12:30 UK (20:30 Beijing). Bournemouth vs Leeds, Brentford vs Nottingham Forest, Coventry vs Sunderland, Hull vs Ipswich and Manchester City vs Brighton, all 15:00 UK (23:00 Beijing). Tottenham vs Crystal Palace, 17:30 UK (01:30 Sunday Beijing). Aston Villa vs Fulham, 20:00 UK (04:00 Sunday Beijing).

Sunday 1 November: Liverpool vs Arsenal, 16:30 UK (00:30 Monday Beijing). Monday 2 November: Newcastle vs Everton, 20:00 UK (04:00 Tuesday Beijing).

Liverpool vs Arsenal

Arsenal arrive level on 21 points with City and with the best defensive record in the league: five goals conceded in eight games. They won 2-0 against Everton without Bukayo Saka, with both goals coming from defenders, and they are unbeaten in the Champions League. Saka’s fitness after the thigh injury he suffered in Munich is the biggest question for Mikel Arteta, who also has a Champions League trip to Slavia Praha three days later.

Liverpool are fourth on 15 points but in form, with four straight wins in all competitions, the latest a 2-0 victory over Brighton. Alexander Isak has scored in three Premier League games in a row and has six league goals. Andoni Iraola will be watching Florian Wirtz, who went off with an ankle knock against Brighton. A home win would cut the gap to Arsenal to three points; an Arsenal win would put them six points clear of Liverpool. Our pre-match data preview for this game, with both teams’ home and away records and recent form, is on the SportPulses previews page.

Manchester City vs Brighton

City lost their perfect record at Aston Villa, where both goals they conceded came from individual errors, and now host the league’s top scorers. Brighton have 23 goals in eight games but drew a blank at Anfield, managing one shot on target despite 64% of the ball. Erling Haaland leads the scoring charts with 13 league goals.

Chelsea vs Manchester United

Both clubs lost at home last weekend without scoring. Chelsea were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham and will be without Cole Palmer, who was sent off. United lost 3-0 to Bournemouth, are 16th, and Michael Carrick’s position has been under review by the club this week. A meeting of two teams under pressure, early in the day.

The rest of the round

Tottenham, who won at Stamford Bridge for only the second time in 35 Premier League visits, host Crystal Palace. At the bottom, Coventry vs Sunderland is a meeting of 19th and 20th, and Brentford host 18th-placed Nottingham Forest, who are still waiting for their finishing to match their chances. Aston Villa, who ended City’s perfect start, host Fulham on Saturday night.

What to watch

The title race: City and Arsenal are level, and both face top-four opposition this weekend. The relegation zone: three points cover the bottom six. And the managers: Carrick at United will be the most watched man on Saturday lunchtime. Live scores and the updated table will be on SportPulses all weekend, along with a data preview for every game.