Ange Postecoglou acknowledged Tottenham should have beaten Brentford "by a fair bit more", but was pleased to see his players turn a positive performance into a 3-1 victory.

The hosts fell behind after just 23 seconds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as Bryan Mbeumo volleyed Thomas Frank's side into an early lead.

Yet, Spurs responded well and equalised through Dominic Solanke, while Brennan Johnson completed the turnaround inside the opening half an hour.

Postecoglou's side registered 23 shots on goal to their opponents' six during an impressive attacking display, but it was not until the 85th minute that they sealed the win through James Maddison.

"It was a good win, a good performance," the Spurs boss told BBC Match of the Day. "Our performances have been good all year, but today, we got the result as well, which is the most pleasing.

"We should have won by a fair bit more, but we still got the job done. You're always keeping the opposition in the game [at 2-1], and it's been the story of our season so far. It was important to finish the game off."

Postecoglou also paid tribute to Solanke, who scored his first Tottenham goal since arriving from Bournemouth for a club-record fee of £65million.

"Dom worked his socks off. He was gone at the end," the Australian said. "He is still getting back to match fitness, but I know he is going to provide so much for us in that central position.

"All strikers love goals, so it will be a great moment for him, especially at home."

"[It feels] fantastic," Solanke added. "As a striker, it's always important to get that first goal and I managed to get that today, which I'm happy with. Hopefully, I can continue in this way.

"We have been playing well all season, but sometimes, you don't get the results you deserve. But if you keep going, keep sticking at it and playing the way we want to play, it's going to happen.

"To get the win here meant a lot to all of us. We have had some great performances to start the season, but haven't managed to get the result to match that. Today, we did that."

Fulham ended Newcastle United’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season and recorded their second victory of the campaign, winning 3-1 at Craven Cottage.

Raul Jimenez scored the opening goal after five minutes, chesting down Adama Traore’s cross and firing a shot low into the net.

Smith Rowe nearly doubled the lead just moments later when he struck an effort onto the top of the crossbar, but later found the net from close-range on 22 minutes.

Newcastle responded inside 28 seconds of the second half, with Harvey Barnes producing a fine finish to halve the deficit.

The hosts nearly gifted Newcastle an equaliser shortly after as Bernd Leno presented Fabian Schar with the ball from a goal-kick but the defender failed to punish the goalkeeper.

Both sides had chances in the second half, but substitute Reiss Nelson sealed the three points for the hosts with a goal in added time.

Fulham climb to eighth in the Premier League table, while Newcastle drop to sixth after their first defeat of the season.

Data Debrief: Jimenez sets the tone

Raul Jimenez has scored eight goals in his last nine Premier League starts, netting in consecutive league games for the first time since December 2023.

The victory means Fulham are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games (W2 D2), their longest without defeat since February 2023 (also 4 games). They’ve never been on a longer such run under Marco Silva in the competition.

Sam Morsy's stunning stoppage-time goal salvaged a point for Ipswich Town as they fought back to earn a 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary's.

With both sides winless in their first four games of 2024/25 after winning promotion together from the Championship last term, Saturday's match was played out at a relentless pace from the off.

Teenager Tyler Dibling, one week on from a positive performance against Manchester United, put Southampton ahead early on, taking in Adam Lallana's pass and producing a composed one-on-one finish.

Russell Martin's team were closing in on a huge victory when Morsy struck five minutes into stoppage time, sending a 20-yard volley into the top-left corner via the help of a slight deflection off Jan Bednarek.

The result keeps both teams still waiting on their first wins of the campaign, with Southampton 18th after earning their first point and Ipswich two points better off in 16th.

Data Debrief: Ipswich the long-range maestros

All three of Ipswich’s Premier League goals this season have come from outside the box, with Morsy pouncing on a half-cleared corner at the death to find the top-left corner, with a little help from a deflection.

They are the fifth side in Premier League history to have each of their first three goals in a single campaign come from distance, after Aston Villa (1993-94), Arsenal (2002-03), Fulham (2009-10) and Burnley (2016-17).

While the Tractor Boys are still waiting on their first Premier League win since 2002, Southampton remain winless in 18 Premier League matches, since a 1-0 win against Leicester in March 2023.

Liverpool surged to the Premier League summit after Luiz Diaz scored twice in a convincing 3-0 victory over Bournemouth.

Visiting forward Antoine Semenyo saw an early strike overturned for offside following a VAR review before one-way traffic ensued in the first half at Anfield, with Diaz twice on target.

The Colombia winger profited from Kepa Arrizabalaga's slack positioning for the opener before finishing through the legs of the Bournemouth goalkeeper just two minutes later.

Darwin Nunez added an eye-catching third with a brilliant strike before the break as Arne Slot's side responded in style to their defeat against Nottingham Forest last time out in the competition.

Saturday's routine win moves Liverpool, at least temporarily, to top spot before Sunday's heavyweight clash between Manchester City and Arsenal, while Bournemouth drop to 13th.

Data Debrief: Diaz dazzles on Merseyside

Diaz continued his fine start under Slot this season, taking his tally to five for the campaign, with only Erling Haaland (nine) scoring more at this stage.

Only Michael Owen in 2000-01 and Mohamed Salah in 2020-21 (both six) have netted more goals for the Reds in the opening five games of a Premier League season than the Colombian. 

Diaz also registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.67 to Liverpool's 1.98 total, while he also recorded the joint-most shots on target (four) with Salah. 

His second goal came courtesy of Trent Alexander-Arnold's pass, with the Reds right-back having now been directly involved in 100 goals as a Liverpool player (19 goals and 81 assists). 

Stephy Mavididi’s equaliser means Leicester City and Everton are still waiting for their first win of the campaign after a 1-1 draw in torrential rain at the King Power Stadium.

After losing their opening four matches in the Premier League, Sean Dyche’s side are off the mark for the season but will have to wait for their first three points.

Iliman Ndiaye gave Everton the lead in the 11th minute as he turned to create space in the box before slotting the ball into the net with such precision it ricocheted in off the left post.

Leicester’s response came with 17 minutes left on the clock as Mavididi reacted first to sweep home from Harry Winks' corner off the right.

Everton are up to 19th in the table on goal difference, while the Foxes sit in 15th.

The torrential rain in Leicester nearly helped the hosts to a goal in the 35th minute as Mavididi unintentionally tested Jordan Pickford with a wayward cross, but the goalkeeper managed to keep it out.

Data debrief: Drawn out encounter

This fixture has seen the most draws in Premier League history. Out of the 35 times the teams have met, 17 of those have ended in draws which is the highest proportion for any fixture to have been played 30+ times in the competition (49%).

Sean Dyche broke Leicester City's streak of beating sides starting the day bottom of the table. Prior to this match, they had won their last five home Premier League games against such opponents by an aggregate score of 17-1. The last side in 20th to avoid defeat at the King Power was Dyche’s Burnley in a 2-2 draw in October 2014.

Tottenham recovered from a slow start to see off Brentford 3-1 in Saturday's London derby.

Ange Postecoglou's side fell behind after just 23 seconds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Bryan Mbeumo superbly volleyed home Keane Lewis-Potter's cross.

However, the hosts hit back seven minutes later through Dominic Solanke's first goal for the club after Mark Flekken parried James Maddison's initial effort directly into his path.

Spurs completed the turnaround in the 28th minute with a swift counter culminating in Brennan Johnson drilling home from a tight angle.

Guglielmo Vicario produced a wonderful reflex save to claw away Kevin Schade's header midway through the second half.

The Tottenham goalkeeper's intervention proved crucial as the hosts wrapped up the victory five minutes from time, as Maddison rounded off another quickfire counter by delicately lobbing a helpless Flekken.

Data Debrief: Bees match Man City, but trouble on their travels continues

Just like against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, just over 20 seconds were on the clock when Brentford broke the deadlock.

The Bees became only the second team in Premier League history - after City - to score inside the opening minute of successive matches.

But for their fifth consecutive meeting with Tottenham, the team scoring first did not go on to win the game.

Indeed, Spurs responded brilliantly after back-to-back league losses - including last weekend's north London derby - to condemn Frank's side to a 13th defeat in 17 league matches away from home.

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui was unwilling to defend his side’s form after they were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea in the early Premier League game on Saturday.

That home defeat was the third in a row for West Ham in the league, with their new manager finding himself under pressure after just five matches.

“There is no excuse,” Lopetegui said, when talking to BBC Match of the Day after the match.

"In all of them [the defeats] we can be more consistent. We have to be honest and know that we need to improve, this group of players will improve.

"The only thing we have to say to the fans is thank you. We have to give them things and the only thing you can give is your best."

On the performance itself against Chelsea, Lopetegui was similarly downbeat after West Ham went two goals down within 18 minutes.

“It's a bad day for sure,” said the Hammers manager. "We lost one match where we had big expectations to compete much better.

"It has been soft goals we have suffered. Before the first goal we have a clear chance with [Mohammed] Kudus, but after we have to be more consistent and we cannot accept this action.

"To compete in the Premier League you have to be more consistent. We had more of the ball than them, but the only stat that is important is they had more goals.

“We have to be honest and look at each other to know that we have to change things and to improve things to compete in the Premier League."

West Ham went in at half-time two goals down, but any hopes of a comeback were extinguished almost immediately in the second period.

Cole Palmer scored his second league goal of the season just 68 seconds after the teams got back under way.

"The third goal was key and at half-time, we were thinking one goal would be key for us to believe,” said Lopetegui. "It is true we suffered early on in the second half."

West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen was in a similar mood to his manager when interviewed after the match by TNT Sports.

"We were never in the game, which is an awful thing to say,” he said. "The goals that they scored were easy on our part - two gifts.

"You have to be switched on in every moment. On the pitch it felt quite easy to play through [us], a disappointing day all round.

"Of course, as a player and captain you have to lead and rally everyone together. We gave them too much respect in the end.”

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was full of praise for striker Nicolas Jackson following his brace in their 3-0 victory away to West Ham on Saturday.

The Senegalese’s double came inside the opening 18 minutes of the match, making it Chelsea’s earliest-ever brace scored in a London derby in the Premier League.

“We are 100% happy with Nicolas,” said Maresca, speaking to BBC Sport after full-time.

“Since I arrived here, he’s been very good on the ball in terms of goals and assists… but he also did a fantastic job off the ball.

“We are very happy.”

On the victory itself, which lifted Chelsea to second in the Premier League table prior to the remainder of Saturday’s matches, Maresca said there was still more to come from his players.

“It has been a good game, a good result and the clean sheet was very important. But as I have said many times, we have many things to improve,” he said.

“We can attack better, we can defend better, but overall we are [going] in the right direction.

“I think we can attack better, we can defend better, but especially we can manage the moments better.

“Sometimes, we can do more passes and keep the ball, but it’s a process and we are learning.

“The points are important, but in this moment, the most important thing and the main focus for me is the way we progress.”

Man of the moment Jackson echoed his manager’s sentiments after the match, saying he is concentrating on working hard after reaching four league goals for 2024-25.

"[I am] trying to play for the team every game. I scored two and I am happy - we won which is most important,” he said to TNT Sports.

"We controlled the game early. Always the keepers go one side and it was a good finish [for his opening goal].

"[There has been] plenty of talk and I have been injured for two months, I came back fresh and I hope to get more. I am trying to work hard and do more than last year."

Cole Palmer scored Chelsea’s third goal just over a minute into the second half, but he was quick to draw attention to Jackson’s contribution.

“Everybody knows he is a top player, he needs to keep going,” said Palmer.

“The Chelsea fans and players rate him highly - we know what he is capable of.

"There will always be noise, we try to block it out and listen to the manager. We have a good manager and it can only help us to get better."

Chelsea continued their impressive start to life under Enzo Maresca with a 3-0 win over local rivals West Ham at the London Stadium, as Nicolas Jackson scored twice.

Jackson needed just 18 minutes to breach a porous West Ham defence twice, breaking in behind to produce two composed finishes and leave the hosts with a mountain to climb.

Julen Lopetegui's team briefly improved before half-time but their hopes of a comeback were dashed by Cole Palmer's strike almost immediately after the interval.

While Chelsea are now unbeaten in four league games and sit second in the early-season standings, West Ham remain 14th with four points ahead of Saturday's other fixtures.

Jackson caught West Ham cold with the opener inside four minutes, slotting his finish through Alphonse Areola's legs after being played in by Jadon Sancho, who was making his first Chelsea start after assisting Christopher Nkunku's winner at Bournemouth.

He had his second 14 minutes later, finishing with the outside of his boot after receiving a pinpoint throughball from Moises Caicedo, then he turned provider as the Blues killed the contest early in the second half.

Just 68 seconds after the restart, Jackson scampered over halfway with the home defence retreating, then teed up Palmer to crash his finish into the far corner and cap an enjoyable outing for Maresca's side.

Data Debrief: Two sides to Jackson's game

Jackson was criticised for his wastefulness in his debut season at Stamford Bridge, underperforming his expected goals (xG) figures by a significant margin with 14 Premier League goals from 18.64 xG.

He looks a player reborn under Maresca, though, taking his two early chances with great composure to move to four Premier League goals for the campaign – only Erling Haaland (nine) has more.

He also showed his unselfish side by teeing up Palmer for a crashing finish shortly after the second half began, earning his second assist of the season.

Since the start of last season, Jackson and Palmer have combined for 10 Premier League goals – at least two more than any other duo. Their partnership will continue to be key in this new Chelsea era.

Erik ten Hag believes that Marcus Rashford is returning to his best form after taking control of his "lifestyle".

Rashford struggled for form last season, netting just seven goals in the Premier League as Manchester United limped to an eighth-place finish – their worst result in the competition's history.

He was also dropped for United's FA Cup fourth-round tie against Newport County in January as a disciplinary measure after going to Belfast without permission.

That followed a stellar campaign in Ten Hag's first season in charge, in which he scored 30 goals in all competitions in 2022-23.

However, Ten Hag believes that Rashford has made necessary changes, and expects more positive results to come from it.

"I think he is on the way back," said Ten Hag.

"He always knew, and every player knows, when your lifestyle is not right, you can't perform. You don't get the right levels when you don't have a good and disciplined life away from [United's training ground] Carrington.

"He needed some help, by backing him, for instance. But he has to do it himself, at the end of the day.

"He has to set his life right, his training attitude right, he has to set his match attitude right. When he sets his professionalism, he will perform because he's a class player."

Rashford made a slow start to the campaign, failing to have a shot in United's first three Premier League games, but netted his first goal of the season against Southampton in a 3-0 win last weekend.

In midweek, he then netted a brace and registered an assist as the Red Devils thrashed Barnsley 7-0 in the EFL Cup third round.

"Every player in the Premier League, in this club, knows you need resilience," Ten Hag added.

"Not any football career has only ups, it also has downs. You have to deal with that. Rashford is experienced, he knows this.

"He knows when there are setbacks, how to fight back and set his career and performance. He took control of that, he's on the way back. He started the season very well, now he has to continue and progress.

"It's very good when your strikers start to score early in the season, they need that belief. Now we have a couple of players who have been scoring, and it's good for the team."

Having won an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title last season, Manchester City have wasted no time in stealing a march on their rivals in 2024-25.

As the only team to register a perfect four wins from four matches, City already boast a two-point lead over their closest challengers, the identity of whom also comes as no surprise.

Such has been City's brilliance, that amassing 173 points across the last two seasons has not been enough for Arsenal to end their long wait for a Premier League crown.

However, last week's North London Derby victory over Tottenham saw them display all the hallmarks of potential champions, keeping their fierce rivals at arm's length in a composed performance as Gabriel Magalhaes' header made the difference. 

But can the Gunners go one step further and do what they could not last season – win at the Etihad Stadium?

Ahead of the biggest game of the season to date, we dive into the Opta data to bring you the best facts and figures surrounding both teams.

What's expected?

Given City's fearsome record at home to Arsenal, it comes as no surprise to see the Opta supercomputer make them favourites.

City are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League home games against the Gunners, winning seven and drawing two since a 2-0 defeat back in January 2015.

Across 10,000 pre-match simulations conducted by the supercomputer, City were victorious in 58.6%, with Arsenal only taking the spoils in 19.8% of scenarios.

A repeat of March's draw between the teams, which was not enough for Arsenal to get over the line in the title race, is assigned a 21.6% likelihood.

Whatever happens, something has to give on Sunday. City have won each of their last 13 Premier League matches, and there have only ever been six cases of a team winning 14 or more in a row. 

City – and current boss Pep Guardiola – are responsible for half of those instances, winning 18 straight in 2017, 15 in a row in 2019 and the same amount in 2021.

Arsenal, though, have not trailed at any stage in their last 11 away Premier League matches. They could become the first team in the competition's history to go 12 straight road games without falling behind, with Aston Villa also enjoying an 11-game run back in 1998.

Haaland the centurion?

Erling Haaland was frustrated as City fired a blank in their midweek Champions League opener versus Inter, going close twice in the first half but failing to bring up his 100th goal for the club.

The Norwegian reached 99 goals in City blue with a brace in last weekend's comeback win over Brentford, and he has now scored a scarcely believable nine goals in four Premier League games this season.

Eight of those have come in his last three league outings – hat-tricks versus Ipswich Town and West Ham, and a double against Brentford. 

In Premier League history, only Luis Suarez has ever scored multiple goals in four straight appearances, netting one hat-trick and three braces in a tremendous run for Liverpool in December 2013.

Another goal here would also see Haaland smash the record for the fewest games taken to reach double figures for Premier League goals at the start of a season, with Mick Quinn in 1992-93 and Haaland himself in 2022-23 previously doing so in six outings.

Haaland's overall tally of 72 Premier League goals – which have come in just 70 appearances – places him third in City's all-time goalscoring charts in the competition, behind only Sergio Aguero (184) and Raheem Sterling (91) – who could line up for Arsenal on Sunday after arriving on loan from Chelsea.

Should Haaland find the net on Sunday, which could be his 105th appearance for City overall, he would match the number of games Cristiano Ronaldo required to hit a ton of goals for Real Madrid.

For further context, Lionel Messi needed 188 to bring up a century for Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski required 136 at Bayern Munich and City legend Aguero took 158 matches.

With the pretenders to City's throne in town, what better time for Haaland to bring up yet another goalscoring landmark?

Fortune favours the brave?

Arsenal did come out on top in their duels with City last season, taking four points via a 1-0 home win and their hard-fought goalless draw at the Etihad. 

That is double the number they managed in their previous 15 league meetings with the Citizens, recording two draws and 13 defeats. 

Both Guardiola and Mikel Arteta were cautious in their Easter-Day draw, with many onlookers berating the sight of eight (yes, eight) recognised centre-backs starting in a game that produced a mere 1.68 expected goals (xG) in total. 

Arsenal managed two clean sheets against Guardiola's men last term, having conceded in 16 straight against them beforehand, shipping 40 goals in total in that run.

Arsenal then followed that draw by winning eight of their last nine games of the season, only slipping up in a 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa, but it was not enough. For a team trying to dethrone City, it often feels as though nothing is.

If the Gunners are to make it third time lucky in their pursuit of title glory this term, they may need to take both of their chances to beat City.

While Arteta figured out a way to contain City in 2023-24, his team must show more attacking enterprise on Sunday than they did on their last trip to the Etihad, when their six shots totalled just 0.66 xG. That was their fewest attempts in a single Premier League fixture since November 2021, when they had five in a 4-0 loss at Liverpool.

Arsenal also managed just 15 touches in City's box to their opponents' 40, their fewest in any Premier League match last season, while only at Bournemouth (28 in a ruthless 4-0 win) did they play fewer passes into the final third last term (36).

The Gunners have been steady, rather than spectacular, through their opening four matches of the season, ranking joint-14th in the Premier League for shots (45) and 14th for xG (4.99) despite having the fourth-most touches in opposition areas (140).

Loathe as he may be to do so, Arteta might need to take the handbrake off on Sunday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester City – Jeremy Doku

Doku was limited to the role of substitute as City were kept at bay by Inter on Wednesday, but it would be no surprise to see Guardiola inject his electric pace from the off here.

The Belgium international leads all players in the Premier League this season for total progress upfield during carries (747.81 metres) and ranks second for progressive carries (64), behind only Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke (66). In fact, he is the only non-centre-back to make the top seven for that particular metric.

Arsenal – Bukayo Saka

Saka has been involved in five of Arsenal's six Premier League goals so far this season (one goal, four assists), assisting a goal in all four games so far.

In Premier League history, only Gunners great Thierry Henry (2004-05) has provided an assist in each of a team's first five matches in a season.

Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga praised their clinical nature for their shock win at Liverpool and is hoping to carry into their trip to Brighton.

Forest have made an impressive start to the Premier League season, with a 1-0 victory over Liverpool – their first win at Anfield in 55 years – the pick of their results.

They are unbeaten so far, with two wins and two draws under their belts, leaving them seventh in the table.

Despite the positivity currently surrounding the club, Elanga is not getting ahead of himself.

"Since the start of pre-season, the atmosphere has been good," Elanga told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We went to Liverpool and not many teams can beat them and play the way we did – we got rewarded with it at the end.

"We have started the season well, but we have still got 35 games left – we have to go game by game.

"Last season we played the big sides and played well, it was marginal difference, and they were clinical. [On Saturday], we were clinical."

They face a Brighton side also yet to lose this season, and the Seagulls sit just one place above them in the table having scored more goals.

Brighton followed up their last-gasp win over Manchester United with two draws but bounced back with a 3-2 victory over Wolves in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Evan Ferguson returned to the starting line-up for that match, and though he failed to get on the scoresheet, Fabian Hurzeler backed him to get back to his best soon.

"I think we saw in some situations how good he can be," Hurzeler said.

"He had some shots in the first half, he worked hard against the ball. He can't be on the level already that he wants to and like he was before in the Premier League in the prime of his individual performance.

"We will try to get him there; he needs to train at 100%, and he needs to use every training session to get as fit as possible, and then I'm sure that he will help us."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brighton – Jan Paul van Hecke

Jan Paul van Hecke has made the most ball carries (116) in the Premier League this season, and subsequently carried the ball the furthest distance (1149 metres) of any player so far.

Nottingham Forest – Morgan Gibbs-White

Morgan Gibbs-White has created more chances from open play than any other player in the Premier League this season (11).

MATCH PREDICTION: BRIGHTON WIN

Brighton are unbeaten so far in the Premier League this season (W2 D2) – they have never remained without defeat in their first five games of a top-flight season, last doing so in any division in the 2015-16 Championship.

Hurzeler's men have drawn their last two Premier League games. Indeed, of all teams to have played in more than one campaign in the competition, the Seagulls have seen the highest share of their games finish level (32.2% - 87/270).

Brighton have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four home league games against Nottingham Forest (W3 D1), having lost the previous two while conceding three goals each time.

Indeed, having been unbeaten in eight top-flight meetings with Brighton between 1980 and 2023 (W6 D2), Forest lost home and away against the Seagulls last season.

Forest have won their last four Premier League away games, including their 1-0 win at Anfield last weekend, more than they had in their first 36 on the road following their return to the division in 2022 (W3 D9 L24). They last won five consecutive away games (in any division) in January 1994, and last did so in the top-flight in March 1989.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Brighton – 52.3%

Draw – 24%

Nottingham Forest – 23.7%

Viktor Gyokeres should focus on continuing to shine for Primeira Liga leaders Sporting CP and not be tempted by a move away, according to former Portugal defender Jorge Andrade.

The Sweden striker has been a revelation since his move from Coventry City in 2023, topping the league's scoring charts with 29 goals last season as the Lions won the Primeira Liga title.

Gyokeres has netted 12 times already for club and country this term, including in his last eight outings after scoring on his Champions League debut in Tuesday's 2-0 win against Lille.

Liverpool and Arsenal are reportedly keen on landing the 26-year-old's signature, though Andrade – speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal – believes Gyokeres should stay put.

"Viktor has already been to England and played in the Championship. That makes you wonder if he should come back to the Premier League so quickly," Andrade, speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, told Stats Perform.

"He is adapting very well to the Portuguese league. He can play in the Champions League with Sporting. He can be the biggest star of a great club like Sporting. You will have to wait [for him to return to England].

"The values are high, but he's a player who values those values. He's a very strong player, he makes a difference in the club he's at.

"He's already in Sweden's national team. He is one of the key players in that team that has been down a lot since [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic left.

"But I think he is a great player, and he will not think about the Premier League immediately.

"I'm sure that in the future, if Sporting is successful, he can still go to that great league."

Russell Martin was delighted with how Southampton bounced back in the EFL Cup and urged them to keep that fighting spirit in the Premier League against Ipswich Town.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure's opener for Everton in the EFL Cup third-round tie on Tuesday before they beat the Toffees on penalties to progress.

It was a much-needed victory for Southampton, who have failed to win all four of their Premier League games so far, with their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United last time out their 400th loss in the competition.

It is a huge game for both promoted sides, but Martin is keen to build on their win in midweek by providing the perfect Premier League response.

"I loved the togetherness and the spirit [against Everton]," Martin said. "We're going to need all of that on Saturday.

"We were so good for half an hour last weekend, but we didn't respond well enough to a setback. [On Tuesday] we did, and that's the biggest area of growth and learning.

"We are going to have setbacks as a team and a group and a club this season, we've spoken about that, but how we respond to them and how we bounce back is going to be the most important bit."

Meanwhile, Ipswich had a tough start to life back in the Premier League with defeats to Liverpool and reigning champions Manchester City, but they have since picked up points in draws with Fulham and Brighton.

Kieran McKenna's biggest challenge, though, has been integrating their 11 new signings into the squad, and he believes they are starting to see positive results from their transfer business.

"It's not going to happen overnight," said McKenna on the squad gelling together.

"We're in a process and I think we're going to get better week-by-week if we take the right approach.

"It's good that we've already been pretty competitive in our games. If we stick on the right path, then over the course of weeks and months we'll be in a much better place than we are now."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Southampton – Ben Brereton Diaz

Ben Brereton Diaz has played 18 Premier League matches across spells with Sheffield United and current side Southampton and is still yet to end on the winning side (D4 L14), an all-time Premier League record for games played without winning.

He is also yet to score since joining the Saints, giving up the opportunity to take a penalty last weekend, and he will be desperate to end both of those droughts.

Ipswich Town – Sammie Szmodics

Ipswich have had just nine shots in the first halves of their four Premier League games so far this season, the fewest of any side.

Away from home, the Tractor Boys have managed one first-half shot in two games – Sammie Szmodics' goal against Man City in August.

MATCH PREDICTION: SOUTHAMPTON WIN

Southampton lost 1-0 at home to Ipswich in the Championship last season but have not lost consecutive home league games against the Tractor Boys since April 1980.

The Saints are one of two teams yet to lead for a single minute in the Premier League this season, alongside Crystal Palace. Southampton have also spent more time in a losing position than anyone else in 2024-25 (208 minutes and 15 seconds, inc. injury time).

This is the latest two newly promoted teams are meeting in a Premier League season with both still winless since Fulham beat West Bromwich Albion on matchday seven of the 2020-21 campaign; only one of the six games between such sides last season was won by the home team (Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United).

Meanwhile, Ipswich have won more Premier League games against Southampton than they have vs any other opponent (five). However, they lost the last such meeting between the sides 3-1 at Portman Road in March 2002.

Ipswich have failed to win any of their opening four Premier League games this season (D2 L2). It is the Tractor Boys' longest winless start to a top-flight season since 1984-85 (first five games).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Southampton – 43.4%

Draw – 25.7%

Ipswich Town – 30.9%