QPR v Stoke
The good thing about last week’s 4-0 loss at Old Trafford for QPR boss Harry Redknapp was, it wasn’t 8-0 or 10-0, as it could have so easily been. The gulf in quality between QPR and Manchester United was obvious, and Redknapp’s team were found to be seriously wanting. QPR’s only win this season has been a hard fought 1-0 over Southampton at home, and they have looked seriously out-of-depth in the Premiership this season. But in Redknapp, they do have a canny manager who has done it all in his long managerial career. Stoke have done well in patches this season, and will have to raise the consistency of their game significantly against QPR. Stoke’s big problem has been scoring goals – they have scored just two in the entire season.
Our Prediction: QPR 1 Stoke 1
Aston Villa v Arsenal
Aston Villa has been astonishingly good in this season, having won 10 points from just 4 matches. This has been their best ever start to a Premiership campaign. Already there is talk about Aston Villa playing in the Champions League next year, although much of such talk is firmly tongue-in-cheek. This season has seen a refreshing change from Villa’s previous four or five seasons, when they always seemed to be in an endless fight against relegation, and their victory over Liverpool in the last match was remarkable. Manager Paul Lambert has signed a new contract and everything seems to be going well for the Villans as they take on a brilliant Arsenal side, which had a blip in the midweek because of the 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champion’s League. Arsene Wenger would be mainly worried about the form of his German superstar attacking player, Mesut Ozil, who has struggled to impress.
Our Prediction: Aston Villa 2 Arsenal 3
Burnley v Sunderland
Beating Sunderland at home is one of the things that Burnley must do if they are to survive their first season in the English Premier League. It’s understandable to lose to the top 6 or 7 sides, but to lose to Sunderland or other such lower table sides at home is simply not excusable. Burnley’s last couple of matches at home saw 0-0 – just not good enough. Gus Poyet’s Sunderland are one of the freshest sides in the EPL and their performance this season is often contrasted with that of their under fire North-East rivals, Newcastle. It is clear now that Sunderland are the top club in the North-East, and they would want to press the advantage further. We predict an easy win for Poyet’s men.
Our Prediction: Burnley 0 Sunderland 2
Newcastle v Hull
The Newcastle saga seems to be a never ending story, as it is expected that the 47,000 strong crowd at St.James Park will be in full force this Saturday, protesting against both the Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and the manager Alan Pardew, asking them to leave the club, and they aren’t likely to be polite about it. Newcastle is definitely a club in a crisis as the management and the owners are in a direct confrontation with the fans – nothing good ever comes out of such a thing. Newcastle have only 2 points from 4 matches this season, and were demolished by Southampton in their last match. It is likely that the players would be affected as well by the animosity shown by the crowd to their manager and likely to be great pressure. This presents an excellent opportunity for Hull City to grab a critical away win, and they are unlikely to get an easier chance than this.
Our Prediction: Newcastle 0 Hull City 3
Swansea City v Southampton
Garry Monk’s Swansea City have been one of the brightest prospects this season, and although they did lose their last match against Chelsea, that shouldn’t affect their confidence too much, as nobody really expected them to beat Jose Mourinho’s potential championship winning side. Southampton have been quite good as well this season under new manager Ronald Koeman, and they would desperately want to make an impact against Swansea. So this promises to be an exciting clash between two of the English Premier League’s up-and-coming sides. Expect a plenty of goals, as both sides are known to give it their all. Graziano Pelle of Southampton has been particularly impressive up front.
Our Prediction: Swansea 3 Southampton 2
West Ham United v Liverpool
West Ham have been bolstered by the signing of a new player, striker Enner Valencia, who featured for Equador in the World Cup in Brazil, and quite frankly, manager Sam Allardyce would need every bit of inspiration that he could get. West Ham have been horrendous this season, and the only surprise has been that Allardyce is still the manager. In any other club, he would have been out of a job, but West Ham have always been a loyal club. Liverpool manager Brendon Rodgers would be without striker Daniel Sturridge, but that shouldn’t worry him much as he has a wealth of options up front. Mario Balotelli seems to be back to his very best, or at least close to it, and should have a great game this weekend.
Our Prediction: West Ham 0 Liverpool 3
Leicester City v Manchester United
If last’s week performance is any indication, ladies and gents, Manchester United are back! Louis Van Gaal’s side may not be playing in the Champions League this season, but they definitely have a squad that can make any top side in Europe very proud. Rooney, Van Persie, Falcao, Di Maria, Herrera, Rojos, Mata, Blind – Van Gaal has the pick of some of the best players in Europe.Manchester United have a lot to prove and hence very dangerous. Any club facing them should worry deeply, and Leicester City would consider themselves lucky to escape without much of a mauling. But they do have a class player in new signing Esteban Cambiasso.
Our Prediction: Leicester 1 Manchester United 4
Tottenham v WBA
Tottenham’s season so far has been a series of ups and downs. The loss against Liverpool at home was humiliating, but there have also been a couple of big wins against lower quality teams. Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham have continued a trend established by them over the past few seasons of doing spectacularly well against the low ranking sides in the league and failing to show up against the top sides. A match against West Brom at home should present no problems to Spurs, and they should win this one with a lot to spare. West Brom manager Alan Irvine had signed 14 players in the transfer window, but none of them are top quality names.
Our Prediction: Tottenham 4 WBA 0
Everton v Crystal Palace
Everton have had a terrible start to the season in their first three matches, settling for a draw in the first two matches when a win would have been a lot easier, and then losing spectacularly, 3-6, to Chelsea. But last week saw a return of the Everton that everybody admires so much as Roberto Martinez’s men had no problem against West Brom. Against Crystal Palace, one of the worst sides in the EPL this season, Roberto Martinez should have it easy. Plus, the 4-1 win against Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in the Europe League should act as a confidence boosted.
Our Prediction: Everton 3 Crystal Palace 0
Manchester City v Chelsea
This is the clash that everybody has been waiting for. This is going to be a match that will give an early indication as to which side, Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City or Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea are the top dogs of the world’s most exciting football league. Both Man City and Chelsea faltered midweek in the UEFA Champions League. But Chelsea were without swashbuckling striker Diego Costa in their 1-1 draw against German Bundesliga outfit FC Schalke. Diego Costa has been the most influential player in the EPL this season, having bagged 7 goals in just 4 matches. Manager Mourinho insists that he would be back for the BIG clash against Manchester City. Costa may not be the best footballer in the world, but he is strong, tall, fast, and always seems to have the knack for being in the right place at the right time, just enough to nick a goal or two, every single match. Which makes him a perfect fit for Mourinho’s side, which does not lack in creative talent, but needs somebody to finish things off up front. Costa is the new Diego Drogba, as Mourinho insists. Talking about his main player’s availability, Mourinho said “He was not in condition to play. This weekend, we believe he is. Next week against Bolton (in the Capital One Cup), for sure he isn’t. We have to manage the situation until the moment he’s completely fine.” As for Man City, they haven’t been at their very best this season. While a 1-0 away loss against German Bundesliga Champions, Pep Guardiolo’s Bayern Munich could be excused as being almost inevitable, the same cannot be said about a similar loss to, hold your breath, Stoke City! Man City haven’t really given any real indications that they really can stop Chelsea from steamrolling over them this season in the EPL. Beating Chelsea at home this Sunday would change their season entirely. They do have the players for it. But it does seem that at this juncture in the season, Chelsea are the inform team, and would be too tough to beat. Whichever way the result goes, and we expect Chelsea to win, this is going to be one of the most mouthwatering clashes of the whole season.
Our Prediction: Manchester 1 Chelsea 2
