Premier League fixtures today – your guide to Sunday’s games

This Sunday boasts the bulk of the weekend’s Premier League matches with five games across a busy afternoon.

Liverpool, West Ham United, Brighton and Aston Villa all take to the field after European exploits on Thursday night, with all four teams hoping to avoid a midweek hangover in favourable home fixtures.

However, the real highlight of the weekend’s action comes in Sunday’s final encounter, with Manchester City travelling to Manchester United in the derby.

Here is your guide to Sunday’s Premier League matches.

West Ham’s excellent start to the season has taken something of a hit in recent games, with David Moyes’ side now three without a win. A defeat to Olympiacos on Thursday brought the Irons’ 17-game European unbeaten run to an end, an especially disappointing result off the back of a 4-1 humbling to Aston Villa the game before.

Lucas Paqueta produced an astounding consolation volley in Greece midweek and his quality could prove the difference against Everton this weekend. Moyes is likely to field some familiar questions about Mohammed Kudus’ involvement, with the Ghanaian having impressed in some cameo performances this season.

Everton, still smarting from their Merseyside derby defeat, may be somewhat distracted by a possible 12-point deduction for allegedly breaking Financial Fair Play rules, but Sean Dyche will have to rally his troops at the London Stadium. The Toffees have generally been more productive on the road recently and will be aiming to take advantage of any fatigue in the West Ham ranks.

Aston Villa’s emphatic 4-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar midweek extended their unbeaten run to five matches, with Unai Emery’s side having netted four or more in three of those affairs. Given Luton are yet to keep a clean sheet this season, the Villans may fancy their chances of another sizeable victory on Sunday.

One man the Hatters will have to look out for in particular is the devastating Ollie Watkins. The English striker’s goal in the Netherlands on Thursday bumped his tally up to nine for the season for Villa, with five assists to his name as well.

Despite some patchy form, Luton have shown plenty of fight this season. This bottle was perfectly exemplified by their comeback against Nottingham Forest last weekend, securing a draw after finding themselves two goals down with seven minutes of normal time remaining.

After an unexpectedly shaky run of form, Brighton got their mojo back against a struggling Ajax side on Thursday evening. Goals from Joao Pedro and Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati secured a comfortable 2-0 win, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side managing a first victory in five matches.

Having struggled against Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City in their last three Premier League games, a home contest against Fulham seems a more manageable proposition. The Seagulls still sit in seventh, six places above Sunday’s opponents.

Fulham have been quietly poor under Marco Silva this season, only managing league wins against struggling Luton, Everton and Sheffield United. The Cottagers have been blown away by the top teams in the division and will be fearing another sub-par performance on the south coast.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have put any pre-international break concerns behind them with two successive victories. A win over Everton in the Merseyside derby was followed by a devastating 5-1 win over Toulouse on Thursday, with the Reds aiming to make it three on the trot when they welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield.

This fixture was full of goals last season, with Liverpool edging a back and forth affair 3-2 on Merseyside thanks to a Diogo Jota brace. Former red Neco Williams did score on that day, while another ex-Liverpool player, Taiwo Awoniyi, netted Forest’s winner in a 1-0 win at the City Ground. Unfortunately, Divock Origi is likely to be missing for the trip, scuppering any chances of an emotional reunion with the Anfield crowd.

Forest’s away form has been far from perfect since their return to the Premier League, but a 1-0 victory over Chelsea earlier this term should breed confidence. However, Steve Cooper’s men are now without a win in five, picking up four draws in the process.

Having had to rely on the heroics of two much-maligned men in Andre Onana and Harry Maguire in midweek, Man Utd supporters are probably not too optimistic ahead of the Manchester derby this Sunday. The Red Devils required a 97th-minute penalty save from the former Inter goalkeeper to prevent an embarrassing draw with Kobenhavn, a result which would have left their qualification hopes in tatters.

Erik ten Hag’s side, who controversially won this exact fixture 2-1 last season, will need to put in a far superior performance when they welcome the champions to Old Trafford. Man Utd have won their last three matches but failed to convince in any of them.

Man City appear to have put a rocky period prior to the international break behind them, beating Brighton and Young Boys in their last two matches. A certain Erling Haaland is back among the goals after a minor drought, netting a brace in Europe.

Pep Guardiola’s side have not always fared particularly well in the red half of Manchester, but given United’s current woes, they will fell confident of sticking the knife in this weekend.

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP