With no 12.30pm kick-off in the Premier League, if you want your early Saturday football fix there is plenty of EFL action. West Brom and QPR are among the early form teams in the Championship, the Baggies can go back to the top of the table if they can win this one at home. In one of the early League Two fixtures, Bristol Rovers v Grimsby is another pick for me.
Preview: Sunderland v Arsenal
Saturday 8pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Stadium of Light
Referee John Brooks This season G2 Y11 R0 5.50 cards/game
Sunderland
Subs from Ellborg, Alderete, Methalie, Hume, O’Nien, Ahoka, Rigg, Isidor, N Angulo, Talbi
Doubtful None
Injured Diarra (hamstring, 25 Oct) Mundle (knee, 31 Dec)
Suspended None
Form LWD Leading scorers Angulo, Le Fée, Isidor 1
Arsenal
Subs from Arrizabalaga, Meslier, Timber, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Guimarães, Merino, Dowman, Eze, Harriman-Annous, Ibrahim, Madueke, Gyökeres
Doubtful Timber (groin)
Injured Saliba (back, unknown), Mosquera (hamstring, unknown)
Suspended None
Form WWW Leading scorers Havertz, Ødegaard, Saka 2
Preview: Tottenham v Everton
Saturday 5.30pm Sky Sports Premier League Venue Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Referee Darren England This season G2 Y7 R0 3.50 cards/game
Tottenham
Subs from Dubravka, Davies, Udogie, Gallagher, Bergvall, Maddison, Kudus, Williams-Barnett, Savinho, Mudryk, Adarabioyo, Senesi, Ramsey, Adedeji
Doubtful Maddison (shoulder)
Injured Simons (knee, 1 Jan), Kulusevski (knee, unknown), Odobert (knee, unknown)
Suspended None
Form LLD Leading scorer n/a
Everton
Subs from Travers, King, Maitland-Niles, Keane, O’Brien, Hackney, Alcaraz, Dibling, Johnson, Graham
Doubtful None
Injured Nørgaard (muscle, 11 Oct)
Suspended None
Form WDD Leading scorers Barry, Dewsbury-Hall, George, Maitland-Niles, Tarkowski 1
Preview: Liverpool v Fulham
Saturday 3pm Venue Anfield
Referee Tom Bramall This season G2 Y7 R0 3.50 cards/game
Liverpool
Subs from Mamardashvili, Woodman, Jaros, Frimpong, Gomez, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Nyoni, McConnell, Ngumoha, Koumas, Gakpo
Doubtful Gakpo (muscle), Gomez (muscle)
Injured Chiesa (back, 11 Oct), Bradley (knee, unknown), Leoni (knee, 11 Oct), Ekitike (achilles, 1 Jan), Endo (ankle, unknown)
Suspended None
Form DDW Leading scorer Isak 3
Fulham
Subs from Lecomte, Tete, De Fougerolles, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Reed, Smith Rowe, Kevin, Muniz, Bobb
Doubtful None
Injured Cairney (knee, 10 Oct)
Suspended None
Form LLL Leading scorer King 2
Preview: Crystal Palace v Ipswich
Saturday 3pm Venue Selhurst Park
Referee Chris Kavanagh This season G2 Y11 R0 5.50 cards/game
Crystal Palace
Subs from Benítez, Matthews, Tomiyasu, Ahanor, Mingueza, Chilwell, Doucouré, King, Hughes, Lerma, Timber, Osorio, Gozo, Guessand, Drakes-Thomas, McNeil
Doubtful Nketiah (knock)
Injured Riad (knee, unknown), Mateta (thigh, 11 Oct) and Sarr (groin, 20 Sep)
Suspended None
Form LLW Leading scorer Mitchell 2
Ipswich
Subs from Walton, Kipré, Furlong, Ouattara, Humphreys, Florentino, Ogbene, Akpom, Clarke, McAteer, Walle Egeli, Philogene-Bidace, Matusiwa
Doubtful Philogene-Bidace (ankle), Matusiwa (ankle)
Injured Taylor (knee, unknown)
Suspended None
Form WLL Leading scorers Akpom, Clarke, Davis, Emersonn 1
Preview: Chelsea v Hull
Saturday 3pm Venue Stamford Bridge
Referee Farai Hallam This season G1 Y3 R0 3.00 cards/game
Chelsea
Subs from Sharman-Lowe, Penders, Barco, Gittens, Welbeck, Watson, Quenda, Chavarria, Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Estêvão, Anselmino
Doubtful None
Injured Caicedo (calf, 18 Sep), Palestra (thigh, 18 Sep), Henderson (wrist, 18 Sep), Emegha (knock, 18 Sep)
Suspended None
Form WWL Leading scorers Palmer, Pedro, Rogers 2
Hull
Subs from Phillips, Morita, Millar, Akintola, Hjertø-Dahl, McNair, Herrington, Targett, Dowell, Omur, Sellars-Fleming, Crooks, Gelhardt, Vaz, Thomas, Norton-Cuffy, Mouzakitis
Doubtful None
Injured Butland (shoulder, 7 Nov), Gyabi (thigh, 7 Nov), Hughes (groin, unknown), Matazo (knee, unknown), Ansah (back, 11 Oct), Morita (muscle, 25 Sep)
Suspended None
Form WWD Leading scorers Ajayi, Mendy, Millar 1
Preview: Bournemouth v Brentford
Saturday 3pm Venue Vitality Stadium
Referee Jarred Gillett This season G2 Y7 R0 3.50 cards/game
Bournemouth
Subs from Di Gregorio, Diakité, Soler, Toth, Juanlu, Rodríguez, Brooks, Gannon-Doak, Jebbison, Adams, Cook
Doubtful None
Injured Kroupi (foot, 7 Nov), Araujo (thigh, 28 Nov), Adli (unknown, 18 Oct), Milosavljevic (unknown, 10 Oct)
Suspended None
Form LDD Leading scorer Tavernier 2
Brentford
Subs from Valdimarsson, Collins, Henry, Hickey, Meghoma, Diouf, Yarmoliuk, Anthony, Wilson, Carvalho
Doubtful Collins (calf)
Injured Van den Berg (knee, 10 Oct), Milambo (knee, unknown), Jensen (knock, 10 Oct)
Suspended None
Form WDD Leading scorer Janelt 2
Preview: Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
Saturday 3pm Venue Villa Park
Referee Andy Madley This season G1 Y3 R0 3.00 cards/game
Aston Villa
Subs from Bizot, Mings, Abraham, Jimoh-Aloba, Bogarde, Manzambi, Alysson, Cissé, Burrowes, Garnacho, Madjo, Mbaye, Harwood-Bellis, Cash, Ruggeri, Goretzka
Doubtful Manzambi (knee)
Injured Onana (knee, Apr), Madjo (unknown, 19 Sep)
Suspended João Gomes (last of three)
Form LLD Leading scorer n/a
Nottingham Forest
Subs from Victor, Benda, Yates, Netz, Kalimuendo, Wood, Aina, Diomande, Hudson-Odoi, Domínguez, McAtee, Ndoye
Doubtful None
Injured Savona (knee, 11 Oct)
Suspended None
Form LDD Leading scorers Gibbs-White, Ndoye 1
Right then, today’s games. We have seven in the Premier League, four of those are 3pm kick-offs. Let’s start with the fixture at Villa Park…
May I recommend you start your Saturday by reading Barney Ronay’s latest column on the Premier League’s work with the Together in Suicide campaign.
Football lends voice to message worth relaying: men should talk about their pain
If you watched US television adverts during the World Cup for any length of time one thing just kept leaping out. I’ve mentioned this before here, but it still seems both jarring and significant. Every third or fourth rotation in that endless daytime scroll, in between the Chicken Megadeth Hyper-Box Family Meal Deal, either side of David Beckham expertly consuming a light beer, is an advert for antidepressants.
The format for these is always the same kind of thing: contented, wholesome people throwing frisbees, or strolling through a small-town antiques fair, while a warm, honeyed, reassuring voiceover talks about how horrifying their lives are, with the suggestion that only a lengthy course of Smileothorium can solve this.
In another world there would be a call to study this phenomenon, to consider why a nation of such dazzling abundance and opportunity should also feel glazed, worthless and deprived of hope. But this is not that world. More than 50 million Americans have depression. This is demand and supply in action, a battle for market share in a £6bn industry. The US often worries about itself in its post-industrial age. What are we now? What can we still make? Where is the new frontier? Well, human misery is looking pretty hot right now.
The reason for talking about this here is that English football is doing a good thing this week. Between 4-14 September the Premier League is sponsoring the Together Against Suicide campaign. Harry Kane and Prince William have spoken warmly in support. The league is posting words of solidarity on its X account, which is probably not the best way to cheer yourself up if we’re being honest.
Read Barney Ronay’s column in full:
Related: Football lends voice to message worth relaying: men should talk about their pain | Barney Ronay
Good morning football fans, before we start looking ahead to today, shall we have quick recap of last night’s action?
There’s not much to recap, to be honest, although West Ham did pump Wrexham 6-0 in east London. Jarrod Bowen got the first just before the half hour as one of six different scorers.
North of the border, Hearts won 3-0 at Stenhousemuir to reach the Scottish League Cup semi-final.
Preamble
Tom will be here shortly, but just to get you in the mood for today’s football action, here are the Premier League games:
Bournemouth v Brentford (3pm, all times BST)
Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest (3pm)
Crystal Palace v Ipswich Town (3pm)
Chelsea v Hull City (3pm)
Liverpool v Fulham (3pm)
Tottenham v Everton (5.30pm)
Sunderland v Arsenal (8pm)
And here are all of today’s fixtures. Get in touch to let us know if you’re going to a game, or following any in particular, at matchday.live@theguardian.com.
Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
