October 23 marks the fifth Monday Night Football (MNF) fixture of the 2023-24 Premier League season.Â
Tottenham Hotspur will host Fulham, and Ange Postecoglou’s side will be hoping to pick up all three points to ensure they remain top of the Premier League table.
The North Londoners have a good record when playing league fixtures on Monday nights, and are the heavy favourites to win this tie if you’re looking for a Spurs v Fulham bet.
These games under the floodlights can sometimes throw up surprise results, but we haven’t really been left dumbfounded after the first four MNF fixtures of the season.
So, as we look ahead to another Monday night of action, let’s recap what we’ve already been treated to this season.
Manchester United 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves’ difficult summer was well documented, and things went from bad to worse when head coach Julien Lopetegui departed his role just days before the start of the new Premier League season.
Many expected a trip to Old Trafford on the opening gameweek to set the tone for the midlands side’s campaign, but Wolves made a decent account of themselves and the travelling fans will have left the Theatre of Dreams wondering how they didn’t at least get a point.
Gary O’Neil’s men missed numerous big opportunities before Raphael Varane gave Man United the lead in the 75th minute. Wolves were controversially denied a penalty in added time, and the Red Devils secured all three points with a 1-0 win.
Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal
There was more Monday night action on the second week of the Premier League season, as Arsenal made the short trip across the capital to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Away teams don’t have the best record in MNF fixtures, but the Gunners weren’t struck by the curse. Mikel Arteta’s men ran out 1-0 winners in Croydon thanks to club captain Martin Odegaard converting from the penalty spot in the 54th minute.
It wasn’t a flawless performance from Arsenal, however. Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off in the 67th minute and that allowed Palace to apply a bit of pressure and trouble Aaron Ramsdale’s goal. Nevertheless, Arsenal proved their mettle and deserved the win.
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Burnley
Fast forward to gameweek five of the Premier League campaign, and MNF graced our screens for a third time this season — with Nottingham Forest hosting Burnley at the City Ground.
The two sides had met just a couple of weeks earlier in the second round of the EFL Cup, which Burnley won 1-0. Vincent Kompany’s men would have hoped for a repeat of that as the Clarets were yet to even pick up a point at this stage.
They took the lead as well, with Zeki Amdouni scoring just before the break. However, Callum Hudson-Odoi curled one in from the edge of the box to get Forest back on level terms in the 61st minute.
Lyle Foster was sent off for Burnley in the 94th minute, but it was too late for it to have an impact on the game.
Fulham 0-2 Chelsea
In another London derby to take place on MNF this season, Chelsea also defied the away team curse to win 2-0 against local rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Having failed to win or even score a goal in any of their last three Premier League games prior to this fixture, Mauricio Pochettino was in desperate need of a victory here — and his youthful side (which had an average of just 22) didn’t let him down.
After not scoring in over 270 minutes of league action, Chelsea scored twice within seconds. Mykhailo Mudryk netted his first competitive goal for the club in the 18th minute and Armando Broja doubled the visitor’s advantage before Fulham even had a chance to regroup.
The only criticism of Chelsea is that they didn’t kick on and win by more.