Nedum Onuoha
Former Manchester City defender on Final Score

In recent weeks for Nottingham Forest, there was an upturn and they were doing well. Then there's a reality check playing at the Emirates. They are playing at home now. I think they can go on and win this game.

But then we look at Brentford, somehow they could win this game and they haven't won a game away from home. This is one of the intriguing games because you rarely find sides who objectively believe that this is the game we have to win.

Image source, Getty Images

• Manchester City are unbeaten in their past 14 Premier League games against Fulham, winning 11 and drawing three. They’ve won each of their nine against them in the competition, keeping a clean sheet in each of the past five.
• Three of Fulham’s four Premier League victories against Manchester City have come at Etihad Stadium, most recently a 3-1 victory in April 2009.
• Manchester City have won their past 12 meetings with Fulham in all competitions, only ever having longer winning runs against Watford (15) and West Bromwich Albion (14). They’ve also netted at least twice in each of their past 13 against the Cottagers in all competitions.
• Fulham have won just two of their 15 Premier League away games against reigning champions (D2 L11), though they did win their most recent such match 1-0 at Liverpool in March 2021 (also 3-1 at Manchester United in October 2003).

Charlie Adam
Ex-Rangers midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

The longer it goes on and with the takeover in the pipeline, the World Cup break is probably coming at the wrong time for Gary O'Neil. If they get beaten today, that's four defeats on the bounce, then there's a cup break. They possibly look like they could change their manager.

Image source, BBC Sport

Sutton's prediction:3-0

Fantasy Football has gone into meltdown since Erling Haaland got injured last week - he sat out last weekend's win over Leicester and the midweek victory over Seville, but will he or won't he be back here?

Either way, I think City will win this one pretty comfortably. The only thing I wasn't sure about was whether Fulham would manage a consolation goal - I have got Ederson in goal in my Fantasy team so I am going to say no, they won't.

Moorhead's prediction:5-1

Benson's prediction:4-0

Find out how Sutton, Moorhead and Benson think the rest of the weekend will go and cast your vote here

Adam Crafton
Reporter for The Athletic, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live

Bournemouth are going to have a natural break because of the World Cup in which they can pick a new manager. It's almost a pre-season opportunity for someone who would be coming in. I have some sympathy with Gary O'Neil in that he's done a good job.

He inherited a really difficult situation given the way Scott Parker left the club, there was unhappiness about the amount of transfer business that had been done, they lost 9-0 against Liverpool.

At the same time, if Gary O'Neil is completely honest, if you were to say to him are you ready to be a Premier League manager? I don't know.

We don't really know that, he's not a proven at Premier League manager but you might think there's never really a good time and then when the opportunity comes, you grab it. He's probably done as well as anyone else would do with that group of players.

Nedum Onuoha
Former Manchester City defender on Final Score

I think if you look at the way Man City played in midweek, they ended up with a goal from Julian Alvarez and two assists. They played a lot better in the second half in the Champions League. I don't think it will affect them that much in terms of potentially the result. But it's always helpful to have a six-foot Norwegian that scores every week.

Adam Crafton
Reporter for The Athletic, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live

The thing I'm worried about, I don't know if it's a mentality or a style of play, to cope when the expectation is like today at home to Bournemouth, go and win that game because you're clearly good enough.

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Etihad Stadium

Image source, BBC Sport

It took him a while but Erling Haaland has finally joined the Manchester City warm-up, about 15 minutes later than most of his team-mates. To be fair, it is raining pretty heavily here now and he knows he is on the bench, so you can hardly blame him for not rushing out.

When Haaland emerged, he got a smattering of applause from the fans who paid a premium to be pitch-side in City's 'Tunnel Club', who are all looking pretty soggy now, and are probably wishing they brought a bigger coat.

Image source, BBC Sport

Wolves fought hard for their point at Brentford last week, and I keep saying they are not as bad a team as their league position might suggest - but then they are exactly that bad in their next game.

It is a blow for them to be missing Diego Costa up front after his red card against the Bees, and their lack of goals means they are always under massive pressure in games.

That's why I am going for Brighton to win at Molineux, like they did at the end of last season.

They produced a brilliant performance to beat Chelsea and give Roberto de Zerbi his first win as Seagulls boss. If they can repeat that display, they will get the same result this time.

Prediction: 0-1

Image source, Getty Images

Much of the chat around today's game at Wolves will be centred around the appointment of their new manager.

Spaniard Julen Lopetegui was confirmed as taking over earlier this morning after he had initially turned them down.

The 56-year-old will not start for a few weeks - he takes charge on 14 November, when the Premier League pauses for the World Cup.

Lopetegui's first match will be away to Everton in the Premier League on 26 December.

The club had previously said interim head coach Steve Davis would remain in charge until 2023.

Under Davis, Wolves have lost three of their past five games.

Adam Crafton
Reporter for The Athletic, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live

Leeds have got plenty of great young players and the thing that places them into a curious position is their summer signings have been really good, players like Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Marc Roca, Kristensen at right-back.

They've all done really well and they're mostly Jesse Marsch picks because obviously he used to work with some of them. So it's one of those where you can't really get rid of the manager because he's bought in some really good players who clearly like him a lot.

You watch that performance at Liverpool last week and you see the players with the manager at full-time, they're still very much pulling for him. The interesting thing is Leeds have had some fantastic performances against Chelsea, against Arsenal where they really should have got at least a point in that game and then last week against Liverpool.

Charlie Adam
Ex-Rangers midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

It's definitely a lot more obvious for Leeds to get themselves up for a game against Liverpool at Anfield than it is at home to Bournemouth or Crystal Palace. That's just mindset and mentality, culture inside the football club, what you've got inside your dressing room. It comes from the manager driving that so they have to start picking up points.

I think Jesse Marsch is a good manager, he's got a way of playing and Bielsa is held as a high figure inside the football club so it was always going to take time for Marsch to bring in his ideas and everybody to change what Bielsa had done but I don't worry for them.

Other teams like Bournemouth, Southampton that I would worry for. But Leeds are a good side, they're a big club and they just have to get their big players back playing regularly like Bamford, for him to stay fit and scoring goals and they need Cooper back playing regularly as well. They have to try and perform and get a consistent way of playing instead of being like a rollercoaster, up and down, winning at Anfield and then getting beaten the following week. Consistency is what I would be looking for for them.

Sammy James, Fulhamish, external

After the draw with Everton, I struggled to work out if I was happy or not with the result.

On one hand, it was a great performance and another point closer to safety. On the other, it felt like a bit of a missed opportunity to pick up a rare sequence of three consecutive wins.

Plus, three points on Saturday would have been a fantastic way for the team to fully set themselves up for the long winter ahead.

Our two games before the World Cup are against the Manchester clubs, one of those being against City at the Etihad. It's probably quite likely that our points tally of 19 is what we will have when the season pauses.

However, if this scenario had been presented to us back in August, we would have absolutely snapped a limb off for it.

When the fixtures were released, we all quickly identified October as a pivotal month for picking up points - and eight points from six games is a very respectable haul. Coupled with our fast start, that means we find ourselves in the weird position of not really being talked about at all for the drop zone.

It's still too early to rule us out of the relegation chat. The Premier League is extremely competitive this season, and just one injury to a key player has the potential to derail our campaign.

We should never forget the example of Hull in 2008-09, who had more points than us at this stage of the campaign and only stayed up by the skin of their teeth.

I am extremely confident about our prospects of remaining in the division, but until it's mathematically certain, I think I'll still occasionally be looking over my shoulder.

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Etihad Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

Man City boss Pep Guardiola has got a winning record against most managers but when he goes head to head with Marco Silva, it only ends up one way.

Pep has met Marco while he was in charge of Bayern Munich (versus Olympiakos) and City (versus Hull, Watford, Everton and Fulham) and has won on all nine occasions, with his teams scoring 31 goals and conceding only five.

If City win today, Silva becomes the only manager to have met Pep 10 times or more, without even managing a draw. Even Sean Dyche (W0 D1 L14) has had more to smile about, and that is saying something.

Erling Haaland has just strode out on to the Etihad pitch for the warm-up. A very warm round of applause greets him.

There really is an aura around the fella. Yeah, he's big, but it's more than that. It's that shine of brilliance.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, BBC Sport

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper questioned his side's competitive edge after they were thumped by Arsenal last weekend.

That is a bit of a worry - surely part of his job is to make sure his players are properly motivated.

Off the back of Forest beating Liverpool in their last game at the City Ground, I would have gone for another home win here, but after what happened against the Gunners I am not so sure.

Brentford have not won away in the Premier League all season, so that hardly makes me think they are going to take home three points either - it is a massive cop-out but I am going for a draw.

Prediction: 1-1

Thomas Frank's Brentford defeated Steve Cooper's Swansea City in the Championship play-off semi-final in 2019-20... and the final in 2020-21.

Image source, Getty Images

Luke Ayling says Leeds must learn from lessons of the past and back up their fine win at Liverpool when they meet Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Whites ended a run of eight games without a win by landing a landmark victory at Anfield, moving them 15th in the Premier League.

"The boys have spoken about that his week - we had a great result against Chelsea and didn't win for another eight," Ayling told BBC Radio Leeds.

"We know we have to go into this game and give our all. That same mental strength, a game plan, stick to it and take our chances when they come along."

Listen to Ayling speak to Adam Pope here