FRIDAY
WOLVES V CRYSTAL PALACE
Wolves are putting together a nice run with two wins and a draw in their last three games which has put them up to 9th in the table. They've been defensively solid as they usually are, but against Newcastle missed a lot of chances with manager Nuno Espirito Santo saying that his side need to be more clinical after the 1-1 draw against Newcastle last Sunday. Crystal Palace will hoping to record another victory after their win at Fulham last Saturday where Wilfried Zaha in particular was impressive. He'll be hoping to continue his good start to the season by getting on the score sheet which he has done four times this season. It could be an interesting match up between him and Adama Traore in this one because they're both quick and they both like to showboat a lot.
I'm going for a Wolves win here because they're better going forward and I think they'll have enough to win the game. They have a striker in Raul Jimenez whose capable of scoring any kind of goal and they're strong in every area of the pitch which is why I think they'll have enough to beat Palace.
PREDICTION: 2-0
SATURDAY
SHEFFIELD UNITED V MAN CITY
Sheffield United are still without a win this season but put in a good display at Liverpool despite losing 2-1. They were in the game throughout and were let down by a couple of defensive mistakes which led to Liverpool's goals. They're missing Jack O'Connell and John Fleck who were key players for them last season and that could be a reason for their poor start because what they offer the team. They'll need to perform like they did against Liverpool if they're to get a result out of this one because they need to get results if they're to get their season up and running. City on the other hand need to win this one if they want to be up there challenging come the end of the season and it won't be easy. They have no recognised striker fit with both Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus out injured which isn't good news bearing in mind they have Liverpool next weekend. Put that aside, they looked like their old selves against Marseille in mid-week by being dominant and playing some crisp passing which is what City do best. Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne both impressed and Ferran Torres will be hoping to start in this one after scoring in mid-week to continue his Champions League goal scoring exploits. With Aguero and Jesus both out, he should get a chance.
I think this one will be a City win because even without a recognised striker, they'll still have enough to win a game like this one. With players like Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne in your side, you have every chance of getting a good result from this one.
PREDICTION: 0-2
BURNLEY V CHELSEA
Burnley put in a decent performance against Spurs on Monday night, but are still without a win this season. They were defensively solid and could've got something only for Ashley Barnes to be caught offside and Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane to make vital interventions. They're still without Gudmundsson and Mee who are both key players for them and they could be back for them very soon which would be a huge boost for Sean Dyche. Chelsea have looked better defensively since their 3-3 draw against Southampton. New keeper Edouard Mendy has been solid between the sticks in the games since then and Thiago Silva showed his quality in the game at Old Trafford last Saturday. Hakim Ziyech impressed in mid week by looking lively throughout and got the goal his performance deserved against Krasnodar. He'll be hoping Frank Lampard starts him for this one and if he does, we could see Chelsea's attack blossom with the Moroccan alongside Havertz and Werner as well as mid-week match winner Pulisic.
I think this one will be a Chelsea win because they're starting to improve defensively and their attack is beginning to take shape. They'll be too strong for Burnley who will have to wait for their first win of the season.
PREDICTION: 1-3
LIVERPOOL V WEST HAM
Liverpool's injury woes at the back have got worst after Fabinho went off injured in their 2-0 win over Midtjylland in mid-week. 19 year old Rhys Williams came on in that game and could make his full Premier League debut with Joel Matip a doubt for this game leaving Joe Gomez as the only fit centre back with Virgil Van Dijk out for the longer term. Jurgen Klopp has to be thinking about getting a new centre back in January because of the lack options available to him in that position in the short term and also Matip and Gomez tend to pick up the odd injury from time to time. West Ham are on a decent run of form going into this one after draws against Spurs and Man City extending their unbeaten run to four games. They might fancy themselves to get something form this one because of the run they're on and the way they took points off of City and Spurs when no one expected them to get any from those games. If they play like they did against City and in the second half against Spurs, they'll definitely fancy themselves because Liverpool have players missing in their backline and the Hammers could use that to their advantage.
I think this will be a Liverpool win because they have enough quality at the top end of the pitch to win them a game. West Ham will put pressure on them but with Michail Antonio out for this one, I think they'll miss his energy and presence at the top end of the pitch which has been key for them since the restart. They have Sebastian Haller who can play up there, but he's a different kind of player to Antonio and hasn't convinced a lot in a Hammers shirt.
PREDICTION: 2-1
SUNDAY
ASTON VILLA V SOUTHAMPTON
Villa will want to return to winning ways after their 100% record was ended by Leeds last week. They had chances in that game with Jack Grealish going close a few times. But they couldn't find the back of the net with the other chances they had during that game. Southampton are on a good run and haven't lost since the opening two defeats against Crystal Palace and Tottenham. Danny Ings who is often the goal scorer was the provider in their win over Everton last weekend by assisting both of the goals in that game for James Ward Prowse and Che Adams. That shows that he is a team player who wants to help his teammates out as well as score the goals for the team which he has done for the last year.
This should be a great game because both teams like to attack and they both have talented players in forward areas. It will be pretty close contest between two good sides and I think it will be a draw because I think both sides will cancel each other out.
PREDICTION: 2-2
NEWCASTLE V EVERTON
Newcastle were poor in their last home game against Man United but looked more resolute and hard to beat against Wolves as they forced their opponents to take shots from outside the box. They have key players out injured like Lascelles and Shelvey, but have the likes of Saint Maximin and Wilson available who are capable of causing damage to any team in the league. Everton suffered their first defeat of the season last week at Southampton where they never looked like laying a glove on them throughout. The toffees are without a few key players for this one with Seamus Coleman still injured and Lucas Digne like Richarlison suspended due to the red card he picked up at St Mary's. They'll want to get back to winning ways after losing on Sunday and doing it without the three mentioned could be tough because of what they offer the team. Especially going forward.
I can see Newcastle nick a win here because Everton have both of their first choice full backs injured and I can see the Magpies use that to their advantage. Ben Godfrey struggled at right back against Southampton in place of Seamus Coleman and I can see Saint Maximin cause him loads of problems with his pace. With no Coleman, Richarlison and Digne available, Everton will lack that threat going forward which is what these three have.
PREDICTION: 2-1
MAN UNITED V ARSENAL
The game of the weekend. United are without a win at home in the league this season but should be full of confidence after their 5-0 win over RB Leipzig in mid-week. Marcus Rashford in particular will be desperate to get on the score sheet again after his hat trick in mid-week and this was the fixture where he burst onto the scene in the Premier League when he scored twice back in 2016. Edinson Cavani may start this one after getting some minutes in the last two games and so should Mason Greenwood after marking his return to the side with a goal against Leipzig. Arsenal haven't won this fixture since 2006 and have a poor record against the big six teams away from home. They've lost their last two league games against Man City and Leicester respectively and if they lose this one, they could find themselves with a mountain to climb with the club 11th in the table. They struggled to break down a solid Leicester backline last week which lead me to asking if it was the right decision to leave Mesut Ozil out of their Premier League squad. If he was on the pitch that day, they might've broken down the defence because of what he has locker and what he can do when at his best.
I think this one will be a United win because they have a good record in this fixture and Arsenal have a poor record against big teams away from home. With the pace of Rashford and Greenwood along with the creativity of Bruno Fernandes, they'll have enough to beat the Gunners whose wait for a win at Old Trafford will go on.
PREDICTION: 2-1
TOTTENHAM V BRIGHTON
Harry Kane and Son Heung Min is arguably one of the best partnerships in Europe at the moment because of the amount of times they're linking up. Only Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba have linked up more times than Son and Kane in Premier League history with the former Chelsea pair linking up 36 times and the current Spurs pair linking up 29 times. They'll both want to keep that up because of the confidence they're both in at the moment. Brighton need to start picking up points if they want to stay out of a relegation battle this season. Their performances have been decent, they just haven't killed teams off to get the result their performances have deserved. They've had chances to win the game in their last two against Crystal Palace and West Brom, but they haven't taken the chances to kill teams off which is something Graham Potter will want address very soon.
I'm going for a Spurs win here because of the way Kane and Son are linking up. They always seem to find each other anywhere on the pitch and when the ball reaches the box, you know its going to be in the back of the net when those two are involved in the build up. I can see the pair link up again and I think it will be too much for Brighton.
PREDICTION: 3-0
MONDAY
FULHAM V WEST BROM
Both clubs are still without a win since they got promoted making this one a must win. Fulham are looking more resolute than they were in their first three games but are still conceding goals which has been an issue all season. At the other end they're not taking their chances. They had a lot of the ball against Crystal Palace in their last game but only had three shots on target including a brilliant strike from Tom Cairney. If they're to stay up they need to tighten up more at the back and start converting their chances more in games. West Brom have two more points than Fulham and have drawn their last two games against Burnley and Brighton respectively. They'll want to go one better and win this one so they can get their season up and running with their first win. They look like a decent team to watch sometimes but never seem to find the winning goal which I think will be a struggle for them this season. If they can play well for 90 minutes in this one, they might get something because Fulham are a vulnerable team at the back.
I can see Fulham get their first win in this one because it's a game they can win and if they can get it right in front of goal, they should have enough to win the game. West Brom don't have a clinical striker at this level whereas Fulham have Mitrovic who can score any kind of goal. If Fulham can get the ball to him in the right areas, they'll punish the Baggies.
PREDICTION: 2-0
LEEDS V LEICESTER
This should be a great game to watch because of the way they both play. Patrick Bamford is beginning to prove that he's good enough to play in the Premier League after his hat trick at Aston Villa last week which will give him a lot of confidence going into this game. It's clear that Bielsa trusts him and he is earning that trust by scoring goals and putting in good performances on the pitch for the team. If Bamford can score again in this one, maybe he could be a shout for a potential England call up due to the way he's been playing. I did not see Leicester's win over Arsenal coming at all. They appeared to have a game plan and they executed it really well by restricting Arsenal to few chances and they had the chance to break, they took it and Jamie Vardy scored. They may operate the same system in this one because of the way Leeds play which causes teams all kinds of problems like it did against Liverpool and Man City. If Leicester do that, it could do them good because they have player in Vardy whose pace they can use to get behind Leeds' defence.
I'm going for a Leeds win here because Leicester may feel tired after their Europa League involvement in mid-week. I know they beat Arsenal days after being in Europe, but they were abroad this week and it could take them longer to recover because of the amount of days between the two games and the amount of travelling done in that time period. I can see Leeds use that to their advantage with the way they play and the players they have in forward areas which could cause Leicester problems.
PREDICTION: 3-1
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