Premier League PREVIEW 12 Sep 2026: Arbeloa Returns to Anfield, Hull Chase a Shock at Chelsea

The Premier League plays seven fixtures on 12 September 2026: Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth host Brentford, Chelsea host Hull City, Crystal Palace host Ipswich Town, Liverpool host Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur host Everton and Sunderland host Arsenal.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are both still searching for their first Premier League win of the season. Villa, who beat Club Brugge 3-2 away in the Champions League in midweek, are without Leon Goretzka, Johan Manzambi, Amadou Onana and Brian Madjo through injury, with Joao Gomes serving the final match of a three-game suspension; Matty Cash is a doubt after missing the Brugge trip with muscle fatigue. Forest were held 0-0 at home by Tottenham, a result manager Oliver Glasner said cost his side two points after a disallowed goal for handball; Forest's only injury absentee is Nicolo Savona, who has "reacted fine" to a slow rehabilitation. Glasner said Forest are missing "the final bit" in front of goal.

Bournemouth, still waiting for their first Premier League win under Marco Rose after dropping points late in three straight games, beat Lincoln City 4-0 in the Carabao Cup in midweek; Rose called the cup performance "really impressive," and praised new signing Antonio Silva. Bournemouth are without Eli Junior Kroupi, Amine Adli, Veljko Milosavljevic and Julian Araujo, with Milosavljevic and Adli closest to returning. Brentford drew 1-1 with Sunderland, their second straight 1-1 draw; captain Nathan Collins is a doubt after a calf strain in that game and is likely to be replaced by Jannik Schuster, while Joshua Dasilva, Sepp van den Berg and Antoni Milambo are also out. Rose called Brentford's Igor Thiago "a good target player" and Mikkel Damsgaard "a good number 10," saying they "have quality everywhere on the pitch."

Chelsea beat Leeds United 6-3 in the EFL Cup in midweek after a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, in which Morgan Rogers had given them an early lead before goals from Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard turned it around; Jordan Henderson and Emmanuel Emegha are still working back from injury, with a late call on Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra. Hull City, back in the Premier League for the first time in nine years after beating Middlesbrough in the Championship play-off final, have made a strong start and drew 0-0 with Aston Villa in their last league match; the club signed winger Sorba Thomas from Stoke City on deadline day. Hull are missing several players through injury, including Jack Butland, Elliot Matazo, Darko Gyabi, Charlie Hughes and Hidemasa Morita, with Tim Iroegbunam, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Paddy McNair to be assessed. Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic called this Hull's hardest assignment yet and said of stopping Chelsea's attacking talents: "To kick them!" — though he added that a compact team defensive effort, not man-marking, is what is really needed.

Crystal Palace, on a two-match winning run and having scored in three straight games, beat Middlesbrough 3-0 in the Carabao Cup in midweek; manager Pierre Sage said Cheick Doucoure has trained well and "all will be good for him," while Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta remain unavailable. Sage called Ipswich Town "one of the best teams in terms of intensity in the league." Ipswich, on a two-match losing run and having conceded in four straight matches, lost 0-2 at home to Liverpool in their last league outing; the club is missing a long list of players including Sammie Szmodics, Axel Tuanzebe, Chiedozie Ogbene, Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin, Arijanet Muric, Omari Hutchinson and Julio Enciso.

Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 2-0 in their last Premier League match; Cody Gakpo is a doubt with an adductor issue from that game, while Bradley Barcola and Milos Kerkez both experienced cramp in a midweek Champions League match but are expected to be fine. Liverpool are further without Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa, though Joe Gomez could return to contention after training this week. Fulham, winless and without a point after three straight defeats to start the season, lost 3-2 at home to Crystal Palace in their last match; the club's only injury absentees are Luc De Fougerolles and Tom Cairney. New Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who spent four years at Liverpool as a player making 98 appearances, returns to Anfield for the first time as an opposing manager, saying: "We have a massive game tomorrow, and we have been working really hard this week... I came here to approve the club. We are a very strong team when our fans are behind us, we want to win for them."

Tottenham go into the match without a Premier League win or goal this season, having picked up their first point in a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest; James Maddison, sidelined by a shoulder injury, could be in contention to return, while Mykhailo Mudryk is set to miss at least two months with an ankle injury sustained in training, and Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert remain long-term absentees. Former Everton striker Richarlison was left out of Tottenham's 25-man Premier League squad and will not face his old club. Everton drew 2-2 at home with Manchester United, salvaged with a late equaliser, and go into the game with a squeezed squad after losing attackers Beto and Iliman Ndiaye in the transfer window, leaving only one recognised senior striker available; James Garner is expected to be fit after a knock against Manchester United proved to be cramp rather than a fresh injury.

Sunderland, back in the Premier League this season for the first time since being relegated in 2017 after beating Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final, drew 1-1 away at Brentford in their last league match before beating Hull City 1-0 in the EFL Cup in midweek; Romaine Mundle and Habib Diarra both remain unavailable, with Mundle facing the longer lay-off after a knee injury. Manager Regis Le Bris called Arsenal "just the best team in Europe I think at the minute" and said facing them was "a good challenge... we need these challenges to get better." Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 before winning away at Napoli in the Champions League in midweek; William Saliba remains the club's only long-term absentee, with Jurrien Timber back in first-team training and Cristhian Mosquera expected back within the next couple of games. Manager Mikel Arteta praised former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka, now at Sunderland, saying "I loved every minute that we spent together... he made me a better coach."