Ahead of GW2
One round played. Not enough to judge a team, but enough to see where the chances came from and where they were given away. Here are the ten fixtures of gameweek 2, read through PlaymakerAI's matchweek report. Head-to-head records and streaks cover the Premier League from the 2016/17 season onwards.
Crystal Palace vs Man City
City have won the last three meetings and lead 13 wins to 2 across 20 matches since 2016/17. The fixture has averaged 3.5 goals, so this is not one to bench your attackers for. Palace are winless in eight straight league matches, City have scored in 17 in a row. Haaland ranks fourth in the league for xG per match at 0.61. Palace's only top-list name after opening weekend is Adam Wharton, second in the league for progressive carries at 155 metres per match, which says most about where Palace get their play moving forward.
Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest
Liverpool are winless in five straight league matches. The numbers disagree. On opening weekend they created 3.5 xG and still only drew 2–2, and Alexander Isak tops the whole league for xG per match at 1.6. Forest arrive at Anfield with 0.88 xG and 0.86 xGA per match, tidy in both directions. I would not sell Liverpool attackers on a draw in which they created enough for three goals.
Bournemouth vs Everton
Bournemouth have scored in nine straight league matches, but the opener was thin: 0.49 xG, two entries into the box and 22 against, plus the league's fewest balls won in the offensive half at 14. Everton created 1.5 xG and got into the box 17 times. Iliman Ndiaye already ranks fourth in the league for shot assists per match at 2.9. History favours Bournemouth, 9 wins to 6 across 16 meetings at 3.1 goals per match, but it is Everton's numbers that look like an attack right now.
Coventry vs Hull
Two promoted sides and no Premier League meeting to lean on. Hull beat Manchester United 2–0 but did it with 1.1 xG against 1.8 xGA and the league's lowest field tilt, 0.11, meaning eleven per cent of the actions in the final third. Coventry created 0.25 xG against Arsenal, the lowest in the league, yet had the league's best build-up with 37 per cent of attacks reaching the final third. Hull's Regan Slater ranks second in the league for assists per match at 0.99. Results and numbers have not found each other in either team yet.
Tottenham vs Newcastle
Tottenham conceded 4.4 xGA on opening weekend, the worst in the league, and created 0.48 themselves. Newcastle conceded 3.5 against Liverpool and created exactly 0.0 xG from corners, so their threat is in open play, where Yoane Wissa ranks third in the league at 0.72 xG per match. The 18 meetings since 2017 have averaged 3.4 goals. Two defences that both leaked on opening weekend and a history full of goals. The forwards in this one are more interesting than the defenders.
Chelsea vs Brighton
Brighton top the table after a 4–0 with 3.4 xG and 0.38 xGA, won 41 balls in the offensive half and let the opponent into their box twice. Georginio Rutter ranks third in the league for xT in open play at 0.42. Chelsea won 3–2 at Fulham with 1.8 xG against 1.5 xGA, a result that ran ahead of the performance. Brighton have also won the last three meetings, even if Chelsea lead the series 9 to 5 since 2017. The away side is the favourite in the numbers.
Leeds vs Brentford
Brentford created 4.4 xG on opening weekend, the most in the league, with 21 entries into the box and 2.3 xT in open play. Leeds won their match with 0.86 xG and 0.88 xGA, a result built on very little either way. The last three meetings have all been drawn, and six meetings since 2021 have averaged 2.7 goals. Brentford's attackers against a Leeds side that barely created anything is the sharpest edge of the round, if you are willing to trust one match.
Sunderland vs Fulham
Both lost on opening weekend. Sunderland created 0.85 xG and conceded 1.3 at Ipswich, Fulham created 1.5 and conceded 1.8 against Chelsea. Fulham have won both Premier League meetings, but that is two matches since 2025 and nothing to build a captaincy on. Sunderland had the higher pressing efficiency of the two, with 38 per cent of pressing actions ending in an opponent losing the ball. This is the fixture where the report has the least to say.
Man United vs Ipswich
United lost 0–2 at Hull but had the league's highest field tilt, 0.89, the most entries into the box with 25, and 1.8 xG against 1.1. Luke Shaw tops the whole league for xT in open play at 0.57. Ipswich beat Sunderland but had the league's weakest build-up, with 28 per cent of attacks reaching the final third, and entered the box five times. Two meetings since 2024, one United win and one draw. If any team in the round is priced too low after its result, it is United.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Arsenal have six straight wins, goals in 17 consecutive matches and the league's best defence after opening weekend at 0.25 xGA. Villa lost 0–4 to Brighton, created 0.38 xG, entered the box twice and had the league's weakest counter-press at 0.0 xG after winning the ball. The history is closer than you would think, Villa have six wins to Arsenal's seven across 14 meetings since 2019. Right now every number in the report still points the same way, and Arsenal's defenders look like the safest clean sheet of the round.
Here you can download the full report ahead of gameweek 2, with team comparisons, pass networks, shot maps, the table and top lists for all ten fixtures.