Match talking points will appear here before kick-off.

• 1
  Hull lost 1-0 at league leaders Arsenal on Saturday. Martin Ødegaard pounced on a rebound in the 72nd minute after Hull's keeper parried a Noni Madueke shot. Losing narrowly at the Emirates is no disgrace for a promoted side, and Hull fans know it.
• 2
  Manager Sergej Jakirovic was bullish afterwards. He reckoned Hull were the better team on performance and had enough chances to win, adding that the side is 'still growing'. Arsenal fans would disagree, but it's a nice sign that he's not playing for damage limitation.
• 3
  The season started like a dream. Hull had seven points from their first three games and briefly sat second, behind only Manchester City. They haven't won a league game since August, though. It's a winless run of the sort that slowly turns a fairytale into a relegation conversation.
• 4
  Jakirovic only arrived in the summer of 2025 and took Hull up through the Championship play-offs at the first attempt. That's a genuinely impressive bit of work, and Hull fans are still very much on his side. Credit him and you'll be on safe ground.
• 5
  The last outing before Arsenal was a 2-2 draw with fellow promoted side Ipswich, where Hull let a lead slip. Jakirovic publicly demanded better 'control' when they're ahead. Throwing away winning positions is the recurring theme of their autumn.

• 1
  Brighton are second in the Premier League going into the international break, with 22 points from 10 games. They've also got the best goal difference in the division at +19 – better even than leaders Arsenal's +10. Drop that stat and you'll sound like you've been reading the small print.
• 2
  Last weekend they beat Brentford 2-0 at the Amex. Diego Gómez opened the scoring with a long-range screamer on his weaker foot, and Pascal Gross – back at the club and still pinging them in – added a penalty just before half-time.
• 3
  The defence is the quiet story. That was their seventh clean sheet of the season and their fourth in five home league games. For a team usually praised for pretty football, they've become surprisingly hard to score against.
• 4
  Fabian Hurzeler, still one of the youngest managers in the league, is having the best spell of his time at the club. Earlier in the season Brighton also thrashed newly promoted Coventry 5-0 – a result that set the tone for the whole autumn.
• 5
  Next up is a trip to Hull on Sunday 22 November, then the fixtures get tougher. Brighton fans are cautiously excited – being five points behind Arsenal in second is uncharted territory, so let them enjoy it without saying the words 'title race' too loudly.