Premier League Matchweek 36 Preview

Previewing the weekend slate

We are fully in the business end of the season with Championship Sunday just a few weeks away.

After their 3-3 draw with Everton on Monday, Manchester City has left the door open for Arsenal to secure the title in the coming weeks, potentially.

This weekend is a very interesting weekend of fixtures. The headliner is on Saturday at Anfield with Liverpool taking on Chelsea, but there are so many matches with a ton at stake.

Manchester City vs. Brentford, Arsenal vs. West Ham, and even Fulham vs. Bournemouth have a lot at stake.

We have reached the point in the season where some teams have nothing to play for, so there will be a few matches I will be passing on.

The three I have decided not to preview this week are Newcastle vs. Nottingham Forest, Sunderland vs. Manchester United, and Burnley vs. Aston Villa.

Let’s dive into Matchweek 36.

Liverpool vs. Chelsea

Liverpool in Possession vs. Chelsea out of Possession

We got a glimpse of what Chelsea looks like under their caretaker manager, Calum McFarlane, and it’s not good.

Chelsea were beaten pretty soundly by Nottingham Forest because they lost the physical battle.

You can see below that Nottingham Forest won 58% of the ground duels on Monday.

image via FotMob

That is really what this match is going to come down to. Liverpool once again failed to create more than one expected goal over the weekend, and I think the same thing could happen here.

Chelsea is no longer an aggressive high-pressing team, and, quite honestly, they are fairly decent when they sit in their midblock.

Liverpool still consistently tries to find control rather than actually create high-quality chances, which, in my opinion, has been their downfall this season.

However, they have improved greatly as a set-piece team since the calendar turned to 2026, which is always good news against Chelsea, who is the worst set-piece defending team in the Premier League.

For the Reds, this match will probably come down to not only winning those duels but also capitalizing on their set-piece opportunities.

Chelsea in Possession vs. Liverpool out of Possession

The biggest problem that Chelsea ran into against Nottingham Forest was falling behind. I say that because it meant that Forest could sit in a low block, and Chelsea didn’t have much of an answer on how to break them down.

Basically, in possession, Chelsea was entirely reliant on Enzo Fernandez to create everything for them. He had a great match, but there really wasn’t much of a threat in the box to get on the end of a lot of his passes.

image via markstatbot on X

Chelsea really needs to do what Liverpool did to Manchester United on Sunday.

Here is a good example. Liverpool’s press doesn’t hit home, and because Robertson had to jump on the opposite fullback, Mbuemo was isolated 1v1 against Van Dijk.

Because of that, Fernandes makes a run into the space and plays in a dangerous cross to Sesko.

Chelsea needs to bait Liverpool into pressing, then force their center-backs to defend in the wide areas.

Chelsea really struggled despite beating Liverpool in the previous meeting because Liverpool chose not to press aggressively, and Chelsea didn’t create much.

You can see that most of their shots came from outside the box.

image via FotMob

If Liverpool decides to play more of a mid- to low-block, I think Chelsea is really going to struggle.

Brighton vs. Wolves

Brighton in Possession vs. Wolves out of Possession

Saturday was a really bad loss for Brighton in the race for European football. They were in pole position before getting destroyed by Newcastle.

However, Brighton is still on a really good run of form because Fabian Hurzeler’s tactics are starting to take shape.

Because Pascal Groß has returned to the club and provided much more stability in the midfield, Brighton has been able to use Bart Verbruggen as a +1 to overload opponents in the build-up, especially through the middle of the pitch.

You can see here that, against Chelsea, they split their center-backs wide and create a box midfield.

Now, when facing a team like Wolves, which is going to sit in a more midblock, these types of central-midfield overloads are going to be really important.

Of course, Wolves have already been relegated and haven’t really played the crazy style I was expecting them to.

They are more than likely going to sit in a low block and try to deny any space through the middle.

That means if Brighton is unable to play through the middle, they will likely have to rely on crosses, which I don’t think will be very effective.

In the previous meeting, Brighton had 13 accurate crosses into the box, which was quite a few, but as you can see, it didn’t amount to much because they failed to create a single expected goal.

image via FotMob

Wolves in Possession vs. Brighton out of Possession

This is a really bad matchup for Wolves because Brighton has consistently, under Hurzeler, been one of the best teams in the Premier League at defending both crosses and set pieces.

Really, the way to beat Brighton is to take advantage of your counterattacking opportunities, which is not something Wolves has done well this season.

Wolves only have two goals and 16 shots from fast breaks, both of which are the second-fewest in the Premier League.

Despite allowing over three expected goals over the weekend to Newcastle, Brighton have actually been one of the better defensive teams in the Premier League in recent months.

You can see that since the beginning of February, only Arsenal has allowed fewer goals and expected goals than Brighton.

image via understat.com

Therefore, I think you will really see Wolves struggle to create chances in this match.

Fulham vs. Bournemouth

Fulham in Possession vs. Bournemouth out of Possession

This is about as bad a matchup for Fulham as you could ask for.

They are one of the strictest build-up teams in the Premier League, in that not only do they very rarely play the ball long, but they really aren’t effective when they do.

That was the main problem for them in the previous meeting because Bournemouth’s intense press forced 10 high turnovers and 39 danger zone losses.

Bournemouth vs. Fulham Stats

Image via markstats.club

Here is an example of why Bournemouth’s press is so good. It mainly has to do with their ability to trap the opposition in the corner and force them either into a turnover or play the ball long.

They double up on the fullback, but the speed at which they close down the ball really only gives him one option.

He misplays the pass right to Tyler Adams, who can get off a shot and force a save from Leno.

Arsenal forced eight high turnovers and 31 danger-zone losses against Fulham over the weekend, and they press in a manner very similar to Bournemouth.

Therefore, I think the Cherries are going to cause Fulham a lot of problems.

Bournemouth in Possession vs. Fulham out of Possession

Two things Bournemouth really needs to do if they want to pick up three points here on the road.

First, take advantage of their direct or transition opportunities.

When Fulham can sit in their mid-to-low block, they are a very difficult team to break down. However, by nature, they are a slow team, and a team like Bournemouth, which has a lot of pace up front, can really cause problems.

In the previous meeting, Bournemouth were playing from behind for most of the match, which meant there really weren’t a lot of chances to hit Fulham on the break.

Even though they ended up scoring three times in the final 12 minutes of the match, they failed to create one expected goal from open play.

Bournemouth vs. Fulham xG

image via FotMob

Second, Bournemouth needs to take advantage of its set-piece opportunities.

That is exactly what Arsenal did to Fulham, and it was the difference in the match on Saturday.

Arsenal vs. Fulham xG

image via FotMob

Bournemouth have scored 14 goals from set pieces this season and will need to use them to their advantage at Craven Cottage.