Matchday two brought plenty of interesting talking points, and matchday three is certainly expected to be just as entertaining. While the highlight game of this round will be a clash featuring two of England's "Big Six" sides, with Manchester United welcoming Liverpool on Monday as both teams battle for some much needed points, there are other games that we all certainly will not want to miss over the next few days.
Here is all you need to know ahead of matchday three in the Premier League
Premier League rankings ahead of matchday three
Here is how the table looks heading into matchday three:
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 36 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 88 | 28 | +60 | 83 | WWWWL | |
| 2 | Manchester City | 35 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 87 | 33 | +54 | 82 | WWWWW | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 36 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 81 | 38 | +43 | 78 | WDLWL | |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 73 | 53 | +20 | 67 | LDWWD | |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 35 | 18 | 6 | 11 | 69 | 58 | +11 | 60 | LLLLW | |
| 6 | Newcastle United | 35 | 17 | 5 | 13 | 78 | 56 | +22 | 56 | WWLWW | |
| 7 | Chelsea | 35 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 70 | 59 | +11 | 54 | WWDLW | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 35 | 16 | 6 | 13 | 52 | 55 | -3 | 54 | LDWDD | |
| 9 | West Ham United | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 56 | 70 | -14 | 49 | LDLLW | |
| 10 | AFC Bournemouth | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 52 | 63 | -11 | 48 | LWWLD | |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 35 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 53 | 57 | -4 | 47 | WLLDL | |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 36 | 13 | 7 | 16 | 49 | 60 | -11 | 46 | LWLLD | |
| 13 | Fulham | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 44 | DDLWL | |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 49 | 57 | -8 | 43 | WDWWW | |
| 15 | Everton | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 38 | 49 | -11 | 37 | DWWWL | |
| 16 | Brentford | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 52 | 60 | -8 | 36 | DLWWD | |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 36 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 45 | 63 | -18 | 29 | WLLDL | |
| 18 | Luton Town | 36 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 49 | 78 | -29 | 26 | DLLLW | |
| 19 | Burnley | 36 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 39 | 74 | -35 | 24 | LDWDL | |
| 20 | Sheffield United | 36 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 35 | 100 | -65 | 16 | LLLLL |
Key Premier League fixtures for matchday three
Tottenham vs Wolves: A solid start to the season for Tottenham, who come into this match having secured a point during a highly entertaining two-all draw against Chelsea. Arguably, Antonio Conte will be very satisfied with that result, as Spurs twice battled their way back into the match from a goal down. Next up for Tottenham will be a home match against Wolves, who have had a very poor start to the season following an opening day loss to Leeds followed by a dull scoreless draw against Fulham last weekend.
Bournemouth vs Arsenal: It has been quite a tale of two seasons for Arsenal, who were sitting in the relegation zone this time last term. However, the Gunners have started off their 2022/23 campaign on better footing, kicking off things with a 2-0 road win over Crystal Palace and holding their nerve to survive a six goal thriller against Leicester City. New signing Gabriel Jesus has quickly settled in with the team and has hit the ground running. Next up for them will be a trip to Bournemouth, who started their season with a win but will now need to recover following a crushing 4-0 mauling at the hands of Manchester City.
Leeds vs Chelsea: It has not been the most convincing start to the current term for Chelsea, who are still on the hunt for some much needed reinforcements. The Blues looked far from their best against Everton on matchday one, and needed a penalty from Jorginho to secure a rather unconvincing 1-0 victory over Frank Lampard's side. Last weekend saw them take on Tottenham in a highly entertaining London derby, but they were unable to hold onto their lead as Harry Kane snatched an equalizer in the last minutes of the game. Leeds, for their part, picked up a victory against Wolves on matchday one, but were held to a draw by Southampton last round, so Jesse Marsch's side will hope to try to recover against Chelsea this weekend.
West Ham vs Brighton: Zero points from two games has West Ham sitting in the penultimate spot in the table. The Hammers are only propped up by Manchester United, whose inferior goal difference puts them in 20th spot. Yet despite their poor showing in the Premier League, David Moyes's squad have actually done well in European competition, and will come into their upcoming game with Brighton having earned a 3-1 victory over Viborg in the Europa Conference League. Will this be the springboard they need to turn around their flagging form in the league this weekend against Brighton?
Newcastle vs Manchester City: Manchester City have kicked off the 2022/23 season with a roaring start, as Pep Guardiola's men will arrive at Newcastle having won their last two games while scoring six times and conceding none. New signing Erling Haaland grabbed a brace as his team beat West Ham 2-0 on matchday one, and will be hoping to add more to his tally after a disappointing showing during City's 4-0 comfortable win over Bournemouth last time out. Meanwhile, Newcastle have picked up four points so far, with a solid 2-0 win on matchday one followed by a frustrating scoreless stalemate against Brighton last weekend. It is safe to say that this weekend's hosts will be the underdogs when City come to town, but anything is possible.
Manchester United vs Liverpool: Matchday three will conclude with a big clash on Monday evening starring bitter rivals Manchester United and Liverpool. The two sides have both had disappointing starts to the season. Although he has just arrived, Erik ten Hag is already under massive pressure as the Red Devils are shockingly bottom of the table after two games following losses to Brighton and most recently, Brentford. It goes without saying that the onus will be on Manchester United to turn things around, but they will be welcoming a Liverpool side who equally will be keen on getting back on track following back to back draws with Fulham and Crystal Palace, but they will have to make do without big money signing Darwin Nunez, who was given his marching orders in his first home game for his new side.
Team news ahead of matchday three
Here is the personnel situation for the following teams heading into matchday three:
Manchester City: Kalvin Phillips (knock/muscular issues), Aymeric Laporte (knee injury)
Liverpool: Thiago (doubtful - thigh injury), Diogo Jota (thigh injury), Darwin Nunez (suspended), Ibrahima Konate (knee injury), Roberto Firmino (doubtful, match fitness), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (thigh injury), Joel Matip (groin injury), Caoimhin Kelleher (groin injury)
Chelsea: N'Golo Kante (thigh injury), Mateo Kovacic (knee injury), Marcos Alonso (ruled out; preparing for a transfer)
Tottenham: Cristian Romero (groin injury), Clement Lenglet (doubtful - groin injury)
Manchester United: Victor Lindelof (knock), Anthony Martial (thigh injury), Mason Greenwood (suspended by club)
Arsenal: Fabio (ankle injury), Reiss Nelson (muscular issues)
West Ham: Craig Dawson (thigh injury), Nayef Aguerd (foot injury)
Premier League matchday three schedule
Here is how to follow all the games from wherever you are based:
