Arsenal

Arsenal will aim to maintain their strong start to the Premier League season when they face a depleted Aston Villa side at Villa Park, while Tottenham hope their major summer spending pays off against Newcastle on Saturday.

New Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola will make his home debut at Anfield against Nottingham Forest, while Manchester United will look to recover from a disappointing opening-weekend defeat when they host Ipswich at Old Trafford.

Villa head into the Arsenal clash under pressure after losing several key players from the squad that finished fourth in the Premier League and won the Europa League last season.

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Ezri Konsa could make his Arsenal debut against his former club, following the departures of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for £117 million, Youri Tielemans to Manchester United, and Lucas Digne to Paris Saint-Germain.

Ollie Watkins and goalkeeper Emi Martinez are also expected to leave before the transfer window closes.

The weakened Villa side suffered a humiliating start to the campaign, going 4-0 down to Brighton within 31 minutes last weekend.

Arsenal, meanwhile, arrive with confidence after beating Manchester City 3-0 to win the Community Shield before opening their title defence with victory over Coventry.

Despite William Saliba’s injury absence, manager Mikel Arteta has a strong squad capable of challenging on multiple fronts.

Villa captain John McGinn remains optimistic but warned that keeping manager Unai Emery will be crucial to their hopes of a successful season.

Tottenham are also searching for improvement after a heavy 3-0 defeat by Brentford exposed concerns despite their summer investment.

The club has since added Manchester City forwards Savio and Omar Marmoush in deals that could total nearly £150 million.

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Savio’s £75 million move has attracted criticism due to his limited impact at City, but Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi believes the Brazilian can help revive a team that has finished 17th in the league in each of the past two seasons.

Below are the Premier League fixtures scheduled for the weekend:

Friday

Crystal Palace v Manchester City

Saturday

Liverpool v Nottingham Forest

Coventry v Hull

Bournemouth v Everton

Tottenham v Newcastle

Sunday

Leeds v Brentford

Sunderland v Fulham

Chelsea v Brighton

Manchester United v Ipswich

Monday

Aston Villa v Arsenal

Arsenal

Segun Ojo
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