Premier League Sunday: A South-Coast Derby, Leeds Host Manchester United, and Arsenal Go to Forest

Sunday follows a full Saturday slate in the Premier League, and Matchweek 7 closes with four matches that pull in very different directions at once. There is a derby on the south coast, a heavyweight visit to Elland Road that matters more for the visitors than their league position suggests it should, a meeting between two sides still searching for a league foothold at the Vitality Stadium, and, in the late game, a title-chasing Arsenal side going to a Nottingham Forest team who need points quickly. According to Radio Times, the schedule is Bournemouth v Sunderland at 2 p.m. at the Vitality Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion v Crystal Palace at 2 p.m. at the Amex Stadium, Leeds United v Manchester United at 2 p.m. at Elland Road, and Nottingham Forest v Arsenal at 4:30 p.m. at the City Ground.

For readers following the wider weekend, Previously is covering the full sports schedule as it unfolds, and Saturday's fallout already includes David Moyes reacting to Everton's defeat in the Rewind on Everton's 2-0 home loss to Chelsea. Sunday, though, has enough of its own storylines that it does not need to borrow any. The form team in the country outside the top two are playing a derby, the division's most scrutinised visitors are trying to stop a slide, and the late kick-off pits a near-perfect start against a run that has produced only one league win.

Brighton v Crystal Palace: the M23 derby, with form on one side

The strongest case for the game of the day is at the Amex. Brighton sit third, two points behind second-placed Arsenal, according to talkSPORT, and they arrive with only one defeat in 10 matches in all competitions. That run, as reported by Radio Times and talkSPORT, includes five straight wins and clean sheets in each of their last three matches. Among those results were a 3-0 win over Arsenal before the international break and a 2-0 win at Sunderland last Saturday. Radio Times also notes that Brighton have scored a Premier League-high 18 goals, a total that underlines why this is not simply a defensive streak. They are keeping teams out at one end and outscoring everyone at the other.

There was no sign of a European hangover in midweek either. Brighton beat Lithuanian side Kauno Žalgiris 4-0 on Thursday in the Conference League, a result that keeps momentum moving into Sunday rather than interrupting it. A derby, of course, is precisely the kind of fixture that can interrupt momentum anyway, and Crystal Palace will travel down the M23 knowing they won this fixture 1-0 at the Amex last season.

Palace, under manager Pierre Sage, are 12th. That position, in what the reports describe as a congested table, still leaves them only three points outside the top four, which is why a result on Sunday would change the look of their season quickly. Their recent week captures the inconsistency they are trying to shake. Palace beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 last Sunday, then lost 3-2 at Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday. They can score, they can win a league game against a side Arsenal face later the same day, and they have recent evidence that the Amex holds no fear for them. What they have not yet shown this season is Brighton's consistency.

That contrast is what makes the derby compelling rather than predictable. Brighton are third for a reason, and the numbers around them — five straight wins, three straight clean sheets, a league-high 18 goals — are the numbers of a side who expect to win at home. Palace, though, are close enough to the top four that this is not a free hit, and the memory of last season's 1-0 win at this ground gives Sage's team a template, if not a guarantee. In the UK, the match is on Sky Sports Premier League, according to Radio Times.

Leeds v Manchester United: seventh against 13th at Elland Road

If the table were the only guide, the story at Elland Road would be straightforward. Leeds United are seventh. Manchester United are 13th, winless in four league games, with one win in six. United, under manager Michael Carrick, also lost 2-0 at Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, and last weekend they conceded a 92nd-minute equaliser to a 10-man Tottenham side. That is a week, and a wider run, that explains the pressure around the visitors before a ball is kicked on Sunday.

Leeds, under Daniel Farke, have built their position differently. They were unbeaten before a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal last Saturday, with two wins and three draws in their first five, according to the preview reports. A single defeat to Arsenal does not undo that start, and a home game against a United side searching for a league win is the sort of occasion Elland Road will treat as a chance to underline that Leeds belong in the top seven discussion rather than as visitors passing through it.

Team news adds texture on both sides. Farke said Daniel James is back on the pitch and has a chance to be involved after a back injury, while Joe Rodon will still miss the game in week seven of an 8-10 week absence. For United, Carrick addressed the position of Lisandro Martínez directly, saying: "He is part of the squad." Carrick also said Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo were being assessed, and that Benjamin Šeško is "still a little bit further away." Those assessments will shape how strong United can be in defence and midfield, in a fixture where Leeds are likely to test both from the start.

The wider context matters here too. United's Champions League defeat in Madrid and the late equaliser conceded against Tottenham are different kinds of disappointment — one against elite European opposition away from home, the other a league lead lost in stoppage time against 10 men — but together they frame a team who need a complete performance, not just a good half hour. Leeds, by contrast, need to show that the Arsenal defeat was a result against a title-level side, not the start of a drift. In the UK, this match is on Sky Sports Main Event and Ultra HDR, according to Radio Times. It is also the kind of fixture that connects directly to the title race covered in Previously's reporting on Manchester City and Liverpool earlier this season, because points dropped by United and gained by Leeds affect everyone crowded around them.

Bournemouth v Sunderland: two sides who need a league win

The third 2 p.m. kick-off is quieter on paper and just as urgent in practice. Bournemouth, under Marco Rose, finished sixth last season to reach Europe for the first time. This season they are winless in six league games, with three draws and three losses, and they lost 5-1 at Chelsea last weekend. That league run sits in sharp contrast to their European form. Bournemouth beat Sturm Graz 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday to stay perfect in Europe, proof that the squad who made history last season has not disappeared — it has simply not yet translated that form into the Premier League this autumn.

Sunderland, under Régis Le Bris, arrive one place above Bournemouth and one point above the bottom three. They lost 2-0 at home to Brighton last weekend, a result that fits the same pattern of a side competitive in Europe and vulnerable in the league. Sunderland beat Torreense 2-1 in Portugal in the Europa League, so both teams walk into Sunday with a midweek European win behind them and a league table in front of them that neither will enjoy reading.

That makes the Vitality meeting a direct contest for breathing room. A win for either side does not transform a season in October, but it ends a conversation that is starting to follow both managers around. For Bournemouth, the question is whether the Sturm Graz performance can finally carry into a league Sunday. For Sunderland, who sit above their hosts but closer to the bottom three than they would like, the question is whether a win in Portugal can become points in England. Draws have kept Bournemouth ticking over — three in six — but neither side can afford to treat another draw as progress for long.

Forest v Arsenal: the late test at the City Ground

The day closes at the City Ground, where Nottingham Forest host Arsenal at 4:30 p.m. Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta, won the title last season, and their start to this campaign has the shape of a side intent on defending it. They have won nine of their 10 games in all competitions this season, according to the preview reports, and on Tuesday they beat Lille 3-0 in the Champions League to keep a 100% record in that competition. They are chasing leaders Manchester City, which means there is no room in their schedule for treating a trip to a struggling side as a rotation exercise.

Forest, under Oliver Glasner, have won one of six league games and lost 3-1 at Palace last weekend — Palace being Glasner's former club, a detail that adds a personal edge to a difficult week. One win in six is a run that puts every home game under a brighter light, and hosting the defending champions is the hardest version of that test. Forest do not need to be told what Arsenal did to Lille in midweek, or what Brighton did to Arsenal themselves before the international break. Both results are in the recent record, and together they show the level Forest have to reach, and the vulnerability that even this Arsenal side showed once, not long ago.

For Arsenal, Sunday is also about keeping pace at a moment when Brighton, their opponents in that 3-0 defeat, could already have added points earlier in the afternoon. The title race does not pause for a congested Sunday, and Arteta's side have built their start on taking these games seriously one by one — nine wins from 10 is not a record built on overlooking anyone. For Forest, a performance that stays competitive deep into the evening would at least give Glasner something to build on; a result would change the conversation around their season entirely. In the UK, the match is on Sky Sports, according to Radio Times.

By Sunday night, Matchweek 7 will have sorted its stories into a clearer order. Brighton will either have extended the league's most impressive current run in a derby, or Palace will have repeated last season's Amex result and pulled themselves closer to the top four. Leeds will either have deepened United's problems or watched Carrick's side find the league win they have been missing. Bournemouth and Sunderland will have a little more distance from the bottom, or a little less. And Arsenal will either still be chasing City with their near-perfect record intact, or Forest will have produced the result of the weekend. None of that is decided yet. That is exactly what makes this Sunday worth watching from the first 2 p.m. kick-off to the last whistle at the City Ground.