Arsenal v Manchester City
The EPL starts off with a bang this Saturday after the prolonged international break with a spectacular matchup between two of the best teams in the league. We shouldn’t expect too many goals as Arsenal vs. Man City are slow scoring affairs. Arsenal have a new player in Danny Welbeck, who will be making his debut. Welbeck’s signing from Manchester United was quite a coup pulled off by Arsene Wenger. He gets a start straight away because of Olivier Giroud’s prolonged absence due to injury, with the brilliant Alexis Sanchez playing off him. For Man City, Stevan Jovetic is once again out with an injury – which should be a major concern for the player, and Sergio Aguero is still recovering from an old injury. Eden Dzeko has struggled up front and having sent Alvaro Negredo to Valencia on loan, they look light up front. This is a match that sees a plenty of fouls from both sides, so expect a hard fought, bitten fight till the very end.
Our Prediction: Arsenal 1 – Manchester City 1
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Chelsea v Swansea
This promises to be the most exciting match of the EPL this entire season so far, as Swansea have been playing special football under young manager Garry Monk’s leadership, having won all the 3 matches they have played comprehensively, including a huge win in the season opener over Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United. Chelsea have been in sublime form, having also won all their matches, including a brilliant win over Everton in the last match. Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer have been their best players and have given Swansea extra width and drive from midfield, while Gylfi Sigurdsson has been brilliant in the midfield. The defense for Swansea has been great, having only conceded once. Another upset by Swansea looks unlikely, though, as beating Chelsea at Stanford Bridge would be a bridge too far (excuse the pun!). But Swansea will do spectacularly well in this season and a top 6 finish is a great possibility. For Chelsea, not much is known about Diego Costa’s injury status, but he is expected to play. No more Fernando Torres in Chelsea though.
Our Prediction: Chelsea 3 Swansea 1
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Crystal Palace v Burnley
This match promises to be a serious relegation battle even at this early stage in the season. Crystal Palace have resurrected their season somewhat with the thrilling away draw at Newcastle United. Bringing back old manager Neil Warnock has worked well for them so far. A huge loan fee was paid by Crystal Palace for Wilfried Zaha, who should bolster their attack, but it’s a defense that has been their biggest problem. Burnley on the other hand have done nothing much to prove their EPL credentials and still look a lower league side. But they would work their socks off against a side that isn’t much better than them in terms of talent available.
Our Prediction: Crystal Palace 1 Burnley 1
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Southampton v Newcastle United
Alan Pardew is perhaps the most hated manager in the EPL as almost every Newcastle supporter wants him out. It is rumored that the Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has given his manager just 2 matches to save his career, and nothing less than a victory each against Southamptom and Hull City will be accepted. Newcastle has been quite horrible this season and it’s hard to see where the next win is going to come from. Perhaps it’s best for them if they lose the match against Southampton and manager Pardew is pushed out and new blood is brought in. Newcastle’s most impressive player has been young Rolando Aarons, who has impressed. Southampton are rebuilding the team after manager Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to move on from the club, so Pardew might yet save his career.
Our Prediction: Southampton 2 Newcastle 1
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Stoke City v Leicester City
Leicester have had a terrible start to the Premiership, but can’t be blamed for that as their opponents have been Chelsea, Everton or Arsenal so far. Stoke City would be their easiest game so far, but this makes it tougher for them as they are expected to do better in this match. Stoke City do not lack in the confidence department, having snatched an away win over EPL champions Manchester City. Mark Hughes’s side looks full of confidence and set to get over their early-season jitters. This should be an exciting match as Leicester City have proven attacking credentials and would go all out for a win, but Stoke have enough in the locker to get one better.
Our Prediction: Stoke 3 Leicester 2
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Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur
Both Sunderland and Tottenham disappointed in the last round of the Premiership. Tottenham would have learned that beating West Ham or QPR is a lot easier than beating the top sides such as Liverpool. Mauricio Pochettino’s side has suffered a great blow to their reputation after that terrible loss. Pochettino has shown faith in his squad of players and not made any new signings in the last days of the transfer window. Sunderland have made a great signing in Ricky Alvarez, a brilliant young attacking midfielder from Inter Milan, and would want him to make an impact right away.
Our Prediction: Sunderland 2 Tottenham 2
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WBA v Everton
West Brom have been one of the busiest teams in the transfer window making 14 signings, but none of the new signings are in any way big names in football. Roberto Martinez is one of the best young managers in the EPL and he would want Everton to get their first win of this season quite desperately. Everton have been extremely unlucky to miss out on wins in their first two matches and were steamrolled by a brilliant Chelsea in their previous match. But there is no doubting their quality, and they would want their center forward Romelu Lukaku to start firing.
Our Prediction: WBA 0 Everton 2
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Liverpool v Aston Villa
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool don’t seem to have suffered at all from the transfer of Luis Suarez and have been bolstered by the signing of the mercurial striker Mario Balotelli. Christian Benteke of Aston Villa has always had a great scoring record against Liverpool, however, he will be unlucky enough to miss out taking on his favourite opponents this time because of a serious injury. Balotelli will lead the Liverpool attack in the absence of Daniel Sturridge, who is out because of an injury sustained while playing for England last week. New signing midfielder Adam Lallana is all set to make his debut for Liverpool. We expect Liverpool to have another easy game and to impress.
Our Prediction: Liverpool 3 Aston Villa 0
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Manchester United v QPR
Manchester United may not have had the best of starts to their EPL season, to put it lightly, but Louis Van Gaal has been the busiest manager in this transfer window, and it would be foolhardy to discount the world’s most popular football club. Manchester United are almost unrecognizable from the previous season under David Moyes as they have some of the biggest names in football such as Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria playing for them. Also set to feature in this match are exciting young prospects such as Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and Luke Shaw. Louis Van Gaal is desperate for his first win, and it seems highly likely that he all set to get one against QPR, who have done nothing to dispel the notion that they look certain for relegation this season. Old Man United player Rio Ferdinand can expect a hostile reception from the Old Trafford crowd though. We expect the Old Trafford faithful to have a great time this Sunday, for the first time this season.
Our Prediction: Manchester United 4 QPR 0
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Hull City v West Ham United
This promises to be another relegation battle with neither Hull City nor West Ham looking anything other than bottom of the table candidates. But Hull City have made a big signing in Abel Hernandez, the fast, tall and strong Uruguayan center forward and would want him to lead the attack and provide the goals straight away, as scoring goals has been their biggest problem in their stay in the EPL so far. For West Ham coach Sam Allardyce, also known as “Big Sam”, a loss in this match could well cost him his job at the club.
Our Prediction: Hull 1 West Ham 0
