HULL CITY v CRYSTAL PALACE
The season hasn’t gone well for manager Steve Bruce, who expected Hull City to be at least mid-table candidates after making significant investments over the summer. But that doesn’t seem to be the case as Hull City looks likely to be involved in another gruesome relegation fight. Crystal Palace are surprisingly the in-form team of the two, having recovered considerably after a miserable start. But Bruce is very clear about having to win this match as his side takes on Arsenal and Liverpool next, so a loss here may start a string of losses. In the last season, Crystal Palace won won matches against Hull 1-0, and one would fancy their chances of doing the same this time as well. Crystal Palace have the most underrated strikers in the English Premier League in Dwight Gayle and Frazier Campbell, and would expect the duo to deliver in this match as well.
Our Prediction: Hull City 2 Crystal Palace 2
LEICESTER CITY v BURNLEY
Leicester are a strange side because they have shown that they are quite good against the better sides in the EPL such as Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal, but have failed to deliver against the lower ranked sides in the competition. But among the lower table sides, Leicester do seem to have the most talent. Burnley have been one of the worst performers in the league this season, but they would fancy their chances against a Leicester side that succumbed to Crystal Palace after winning against Manchester United. Leicester never seem to gear themselves up for matches such as these. But Burnley would have to score for that, and they haven’t for the past 500 minutes. Leicester players Leonardo Ulloa, David Nugent and Esteban Cambiasso have to be more consistent if they are to stay up this season.
Our Prediction: Leicester 2 Burnley 1
LIVERPOOL v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
The cat is out of the bag. Liverpool manager Brendon Rodgers has himself admitted that his side are unrecognizable from the title contenders of last season. Liverpool have been frankly quite terrible this season and having raised expectations to a boiling point after having come so close to winning the Premiership, this level of performance is simply unexpected and unacceptable for the fans. Last time the two sides played, Liverpool smashed 4 goals through the duo of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. But both do not feature for different reasons – Sturridge is injured and Suarez is out to Barcelona. Which is not great news as the resurgent West Brom side are not to be taken lightly. Alan Irvine’s side are full of confidence after beating Spurs away and destroying Burnley last weekend. They have Saido Berahino in great form and with Joleon Lescott and Craig Dawson proving hard to beat, a solid defence. West Brom seem to have put their early-season problems behind them. We may see a shock result in this match, but a draw looks the most likely result.
Our Prediction: Liverpool 1 WBA 1
SUNDERLAND v STOKE CITY
This is a game that promises to be a low scoring thriller. Stoke has scored just 1-goal each in four of its six games this season. Sunderland have failed to find the net over more than 200 minutes, so this game is likely to be quite a boring one as well for those who like goal scoring. Stoke City have a problem as they rely too much on Peter Crouch’s headers to score a goal. Veteran Crouch has had a great season though, and has received excellent support from the likes of Victor Moses and Mame Biram Diouf. Sunderland manager Gus Poyet would, however expect his side to win this game as they have looked good at home without being dominating. A single goal should settle the issue for either side in this game. Expect Sunderland to get that goal, though.
Our Prediction: Sunderland 1 Stoke City 0
SWANSEA v NEWCASTLE
If there is one thing that seems certain at this stage of the season, it is that Newcastle United look destined to go down. Things are so bad at Newcastle that even the fans want to see their side beaten, hoping that it would help them get rid of their hated manager, Alan Pardew. But unpopular club owner Mike Ashley has so far shown no interest in public opinion and despite the worst possible start to the season, Pardew continues to hold on to his job. Garry Monk’s Swansea City seem to have had a reality check after winning their first 3 matches this season. They have won just a point in their last 3 games. But against the beleaguered Newcastle side at home, anything other than a win would be unacceptable to Monk and his men. There is little doubt that the only likely result here is an easy win for Swansea.
Our Prediction: Swansea City 4 Newcastle 1
ASTON VILLA v MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City won’t find this match easy as Aston Villa are one of the form teams of this year’s EPL. Villa would be further boosted by the return of star center forward Christian Benteke from a long term injury. And Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa would need their best player right away as they haven’t score in their last couple of matches. Manchestter City on the other hand, are excellent going forward but have shown great defensive frailties, leaking goals against almost all sides they have played against. But since they have mostly scored more than conceded, they would be okay with that. But Villa would be reassured that Manchester City haven’t hit top form so far this season, but would be wary about the fact that the defending champions were showing some ominous signs in the win over Hull City last weekend.
Our Prediction: Aston Villa 1 Manchester City 2
TOTTENHAM v SOUTHAMPTON
When Mauricio Pochettino left Southampton to sign on as Tottenham’s manager, he woud have thought that he had taken on a promotion in his job. Little would he know that when the two teams met for the first time, it would be his old team that would be in a better position in the league. Southampton under new coach Ronald Koeman seem completely unaffected by Pochettino’s departure. They are currently the second best team in the league. This is so even after losing several important players such as Ricki Lambert, Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren. But Southampton have only gone from strength to strength, five points clear of Spurs, with new signings such as Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic, Toby Alderweireld and Sadio Mane looking excellent replacements. For Pochettino, Christian Erikson would be the key player, as he seems to have built the Tottenham side around the highly talented Danish player. A win here for Southampton would be the icing on the cake for them.
Our Prediction: Tottenham 1 Southampton 2
WEST HAM UNITED v QPR
QPR may have lost a plenty of matches this season, but have never quite lost their fighting spirit. Every side managed by veteran English Premier League manager Harry Redknapp seems to have a lot of that – fighting spirit. Niko Kranjcar is Redknapp’s best player and QPR always fancy a goal whenever he takes a freekick, as Kranjcar is perhaps the best freekick specialist in the league, an art that seems to be dying with David Beckham’s departure. West Ham look quite good though, with fresh attacking talent in Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia But their defence is a worry. As veteran defender Winston Reid admitted: “I think we will be looking to be doing two things this Sunday. One, we want to win the game and score a few goals and two, from a defensive point of view we want to keep a clean sheet because that’s something we haven’t done so far this season.”
Our Prediction: West Ham United 3 QPR 2
MANCHESTER UNITED v EVERTON
Sunday starts off with a big clash – Manchester United versus Everton. Neither side would be best pleased with their performance this season. While much has been talked about already about Louis Van Gaal’s side poor show, what is not well known is that Manchester United are actually placed much higher than Liverpool and Everton in the league tables. Mancherter United are placed seventh, while Liverpool placed a lowly fourteenth and Everton a pathetic fifteenth. And yet, one is led to believe that Manchester United have had a disastrous start to the season. Evidently, this is not the case, and Louis Van Gaal cannot be discounted yet. Indeed, there is every chance of Man United being contenders for a spot in the top four, if not for the title just as yet. But what should go in United’s favour is that they have one of the best squads in Europe, comparable to Real Madrid or Barcelona. Wayne Rooney would be out of this match though, having picked up a red card in the last clash, and Anders Herrera is out injured. Everton are expected to struggle in this match especially after having come back from a long and gruelling trip to Russia, having played the UEFA Europe League there. This is a match the Manchester side must win and win comfortably, to make a strong statement about themselves and their prospects.
Our Prediction: Manchester United 4 Everton 2
CHELSEA v ARSENAL
The best match of the weekend is also the last match of the weekend. This London derby has always been a tense affair, but one can’t remember the last time Arsenal have beaten Chelsea at the Stanford Bridge. Chelsea have been completely dominant over Arsenal and Arsene Wenger would be struggling to find answers on how to make his side competitive again against his London neighbours. For inspiration, Wenger could look back to 2011, exactly 3 years ago, when Robin Van Persie smashes a hat-trick to win a match from impossible conditions for Arsenal at the Stanford Bridge. But that has been the only win Arsenal have had here for over a decade. Last thing that Wenger would want is a repeat of last season, when Arsenal were routed 6-0 by a rampant Jose Mourinho side. Chelsea look to be the most likely winners of the English Premier League this season, and one would find it hard to see any result in this game other than a Chelsea win. Would be a tense affair though.
Our Prediction: Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1
