A fresh round of Premier League action arrives with Gameweek 7 beginning in Merseyside and ending in north London, and there should be no shortage of movement across the weekend’s fixtures.

Chelsea open the slate at Everton after a commanding 5-1 win over Bournemouth, a result Xabi Alonso described as a “complete performance” from his side. Jordan Henderson’s brace, along with goals from João Pedro and Morgan Rogers, has added to the sense that Chelsea are building momentum. Everton, though, have not lost in the league so far and remain difficult to beat at home, even if their recent record in this fixture favours the visitors only narrowly.

Liverpool travel to Brentford after a high-scoring midweek outing against LASK, while Manchester City will look to answer their own recent setback when Ipswich visit. Newcastle, meanwhile, face an Aston Villa side that appears to be settling after a mixed start, and Fulham meet Hull in a game that could be stubborn rather than open.

The south coast brings another notable contest as Bournemouth and Sunderland both come in after Thursday European wins. Brighton also return home after a convincing continental outing, although Crystal Palace’s strong league form means that match may be tighter than the table suggests.

Sunday’s headline fixture takes Leeds against Manchester United. United remain under scrutiny after a difficult start, and Elland Road is not the sort of venue that offers easy relief. Leeds have already shown enough resilience to suggest they can make life awkward again.

At the City Ground, Arsenal face a Nottingham Forest side that has made a habit of frustrating them on home soil. Forest have only one league win so far, but the numbers behind them suggest they are not far off a better return.

Tottenham close the round against Coventry, with the visitors arriving in confident mood after consecutive wins. Spurs are still searching for rhythm, but this looks like a chance to impose control if they can settle quickly.

Michael Carrick has said Manchester United’s dressing room has put Lisandro Martínez’s criticism of the club’s hierarchy behind them, with the defender now expected to remain in contention for Sunday’s match against Leeds United.

Martínez issued a public apology after the incident, and reports stated that United also fined him for his conduct. Carrick made clear on Friday that, from his perspective, the issue is closed.

“It’s done, really,” he said in his Friday news conference. “We’ve moved on from that. It was one of those things, I think Licha’s come out and acknowledged the situation, and as a group, we’ve moved on.

“It’s really not a drama for us as a group. I think the boys have trained really well. This morning, there was a really good feeling around this squad. A really good feeling, I have to say they were in really good spirits and trained really well, so we’ve moved on pretty quickly.”

When asked directly whether Martínez would be included for the Leeds United game, Carrick replied: “He’s part of the squad, yeah.”

The comments followed Martínez’s criticism of the club’s technical director, Wilcox, and the recruitment direction taken over the summer. In his apology, there was no direct reference to Wilcox, but Carrick said there was no need to read further into it and insisted the matter had been handled.

“I think he’s released his statement and realized he’s made a mistake,” Carrick said. “That’s enough for all of us to move on with. From our point of view, the acknowledgement of what’s been done has certainly been enough. We’ve moved on. We’re definitely not looking back at it now.

“I understand emotion at times. We ask for passion. We ask for emotion. We ask for fire. We ask for players to care. There’s a way of doing that, and that’s already been acknowledged. We need to carry that intensity and that willingness and that togetherness and that spirit and everything else you can bring with that. As a group, we’ve got to use that and we’ve got to use it in the right way.”

Carrick also said he had no issue with how rarely Wilcox speaks publicly, and described the club’s response as unified.

As part of the process, Martínez is understood to have held clear-the-air talks with Carrick and others above him. Carrick later brushed aside suggestions that those talks had contained anything especially dramatic, saying the group understood the situation and had moved on quickly after the apology.

Manchester United have reportedly fined Lisandro Martínez after his public criticism of club officials earlier this week.

The centre-back first addressed the matter in a long social media statement, where he admitted frustration may have taken hold but offered no apology. United then had to wait until Thursday for a further update, when Martínez posted again and said the issue was now “behind us.”

BBC Sport report that the process of drawing a line under the incident also includes a financial penalty, with Martínez having accepted formal punishment for speaking against the hierarchy.

That leaves manager Michael Carrick free to select him for Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Leeds United. Whether Martínez starts, and in what role he is used, remains to be seen.

United are keen to move forward, but the wider consequences of the episode are expected to linger well into 2027. Martínez is central to that discussion because his contract is due to expire at the end of the campaign, even if the club can extend it by another 12 months.

The option would likely be used to protect his value, yet finding a way to keep him beyond next summer appears far more complicated. Martínez has clearly been unhappy with the direction of the club, and that sentiment has become public.

The story has spread widely over the past few days, reaching the social media feeds of some of the biggest players in the game. For United, that brings another layer of concern, as some potential targets could now think twice about joining if their own ambitions are as high as those Martínez has expressed.

It now falls to United’s sporting department to steady matters. Their decisions will be closely watched, and any further disruption would only deepen the problem.