The 2022/2023 Premier League season is now into its thirteenth game week, and the entertainment continues to be relentless and thoroughly enjoyable.

As a result, we will be breaking down each round of fixtures by picking out 3 of the biggest talking points, covering the biggest results, goals and general talking points from the week. We then will round off by picking our player of the week and game of the week based on what we saw in that round of games.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you have seen anything in a game that you think we should be talking about, or have anything to share from what you’ve seen at a game that week. Any funny stories, tactical analysis or general comments will be featured.

No Gerrard No Problem

After the departure of Steven Gerrard midweek, many wondered what would come of Aston Villa this weekend, and with coach Aaron Danks taking charge for the first fixture with a managerial search going on, it could not have gone any better. Leon Bailey scoring the first in just 2 minutes, to be quickly followed by a brace for Danny Ings, Villa were 3-0 up in the first 15 minutes, and Thomas Frank and his Brentford side were surely wondering what on earth was going on. When a side dominates like this so early, Brentford had to just regroup and try not to make it any worse, which it did however when Watkins scored Villa’s fourth and the whole stadium let out a huge sigh of relief.

Whatever happens next at Aston Villa, this result shows how good their squad can be, and the Brentford side they beat aren’t pushovers by any means. This is a statement performance from the side, and if the club can make a good appointment for their new man in charge, Villa should be looking to compete for the remainder of the season.

Cruising To Top 4?

Things at Newcastle couldn’t be going much better for Eddie Howe’s side, as they maintain a hugely impressive start to the season, and follow up some big wins (and a solid draw with Man United), by beating Tottenham 2-1 this weekend. With Tottenham left questioning themselves after this week of games, Newcastle are looking to make up some serious ground on the top 4 race pre-World Cup, and with their defence remaining strong, their attackers look to be hitting a decent vein of form, with Almiron and Wilson putting Spurs to the sword. Taking their 2-0 win into half-time, Kane did get one back in the second but it wasn’t enough for them to take anything away from the game, and Newcastle secure yet another big result this season.

For Tottenham, they just need to get to the World Cup break at the minute, as this week has been a disaster in terms of results and performances. Conte will not be pleased with his players, and unless they get this season back on track, they will be relying on a cup run or Champions League run to give them something to take away from this campaign, and potentially persuade their main assets Conte and Kane to stay on after this year.

Huge Victories

We mentioned last weekend that we felt a bit short-changed with goals and big wins, but this weekend gave us plenty. We have already discussed the Villa and Newcastle games, but we also had Fulham and Leeds play out a 5 goal thriller with Fulham taking the spoils, Leicester hammered midlands rivals Wolves 4-0, Everton cruised to victory over Palace by winning 3-0 and of course Haaland scored. With plenty of goals and big wins, things made for an entertaining weekend of football action.

There were a few other notable games however even if they contained fewer goals. Firstly, Nottingham Forest put in a huge shift and beat a questionable Liverpool 1-0 at their home ground. The City Ground was jumping for this one and showed how much of an asset Forest are to the Premier League, despite many expecting them to have crumbled at the top table. They claimed their goal early in the second half, and then held on, with Dean Henderson getting a MoTM performance. It’s a huge victory for Steve Cooper’s men not only for the significance of the opponent, but also to get 3 points in their quest to cement themselves as a Premier League outfit.

Meanwhile, even though there wasn’t a clear winner in these, the Southampton 1-1 against Arsenal is hugely significant for the top of the table, while Manchester United bagged a late equaliser against Chelsea thanks to new star midfielder Casemiro. Both highly entertaining games, and made this weekend a fantastic round of football.

Matchday 13 Player of the Week: Danny Ings With a 10 minute brace, Ings was our player of the week as he lead the line brilliantly for Aston Villa in their dominant display. Helping his side to a 3-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes, it was a highly impressive performance and the exact type of display you would expect from a proven Premier League goalscorer, who Villa may rely on to give their season a complete turnaround.

Matchday 13 Game of the Week: Aston Villa 4-0 Brentford We have discussed the huge turnaround for Villa previously but it makes of our game of the week due to how impressive this win was considering where the club had been just days prior. It feels like they have been let off a leash to put on this show, and with potential new managers being lined up, a few Villa players have certainly made their importance clear.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) what you made of the thirteenth round of fixtures, and what you’re looking forward to in the next game week.