Weekends Premier League Predictions!

Welcome to my first blog post, I thought I’d post a few predictions for the weekends Premier League fixtures, see if I can do better than Lawro! Feel free to comment at the bottom of the page, and please email the site if you have any good suggestions for future blog topics.

Chelsea v Liverpool:
The pick of the weekends fixtures, will this be Mourinho’s last game for Chelsea? I don’t think it should be, it’s largely the same set of players who won the league last year; therefore they need to shoulder a lot of the responsibility for Chelsea’s poor form this season.
It’s a tough game to predict, mainly due to Chelsea’s unpredictable form, even at Stamford Bridge. If they play to their ability, they have the quality to at least avoid defeat on Saturday, however will they play to their ability?
Regarding Liverpool, I’m not convinced Klopp will do much better than Rodgers with this current set of players, at times Liverpool were amazing under Rodgers, but he never managed to effectively replace the quality players they have lost. Liverpool will be difficult to beat this season, but unless Sturridge stays fit and Klopp is able to spend in January, I don’t see them mixing it in the top 4.
I see this being a lively encounter, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a red card at some point, however I think Chelsea will set up cautiously as they can’t afford to lose, making a draw a likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1

Crystal Palace v Manchester Utd:
Crystal Palace have hit a bit of a slump just recently, after a good start to the season they have now lost their last 3 games, most recently a 5-1 thumping by Man City in the Capital One Cup. This will have affected the players confidence, which will play into the hands of Man Utd who like to control games and sap players spirits by having large spells of possession.
Manchester Utd are hardly on fire themselves though, with just one goal scored in their last 3 games since beating a lackluster Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park. They have the quality to get back on track against a Crystal Palace low on form and confidence, and I expect a tight, controlled performance, resulting in a win for the visitors and possibly a clean sheet in the process.
Prediction: 0-2

Manchester City v Norwich:
I see this one having quite a few goals. Manchester City have scored 17 goals in 5 league games at the Etihad this season, that’s 6 more than any other Premiership team has scored at their respective grounds. So City will be licking their lips at the prospect of going up against the 2nd most leaky defence in the Premier League. Norwich do have the ability to get a goal, scoring in 5 of their last 6 league games, however they have lost their last 3 league games meaning confidence wont be at its highest. Manchester City do have some injuries, but that isn’t likely to have too much impact on the outcome, I expect a convincing win for Manchester City and a hefty scoreline, which could well include a consolation goal for Norwich.
Prediction: 4-1

Newcastle v Stoke:
This could be an interesting game, which I see Newcastle having the better of. Yes Newcastle lost 3-0 to Sunderland in their last game but up until the sending off and penalty, Newcastle were by far the better side, dominating possession and chances.
Stoke were in a great run of form, with 3 consecutive wins and good defensive displays, until they lost 2-0 to Watford at the Britannia last weekend. That result will have surprised a lot of people including myself.
Despite Newcastle’s poor result last time out, I think they will take a lot of encouragement from their performance and be looking to get something out of this game. Stoke on the other hand will be looking to make sure they don’t slip up again and therefore could play quite cautiously making a score draw a likely result.
Prediction: 1-1

Swansea v Arsenal:
This will be a tough game for Arsenal. Swansea are a decent side but have had a terrible run of form recently, picking up just 2 points from 5 games before last weekends important away win against Aston Villa. That win couldn’t have come at a better time for the Swans as they need to start getting some results, and Gomis needs to start scoring again after not scoring for the last 6 league games.
Arsenal are coming off the back of an embarrassing defeat against Sheffield Wed in the Capital One Cup this week, so they will be looking to regain their winning momentum. What makes this a little more complicated though is that they will most likely have one eye on their upcoming Champions League fixture at Bayern Munich next week. This could serve as an unwanted distraction, however I believe Arsenal have a stronger self-belief this year and will find a way to win a tight encounter on Saturday.
Prediction: 1-2

Watford v West Ham:
West Ham are having a dream season so far, Slaven Bilic has created a team with a winning mentality, and they are currently sitting in a Champions league spot. They are unbeaten in their last 7 league matches, and have scored 2 or more goals in each of those games. They are however a bit leaky at the back recently, conceding in their last 5 league games.
Watford have been a little up and down recently, with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses in their last 5 league games. One area however they have shown good consistency, is in defence at Vicarage Road. Before losing 3-0 to Arsenal, they had only conceded 1 goal in 4 home games.
I think Watford will make this a very tough game for the in form West Ham, and will be difficult to break down initially, however I believe West Ham will find a way to win but it wont be easy.
Prediction: 1-2

West Brom v Leicester:
Two teams in good form, West Brom have won their last 2 games without conceding, whilst Leicester have only lost 1 league game all season.
These two teams are at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of goals. Leicester’s games average 3.7 goals per game where as West Brom’s average only 1.9 making this more difficult to predict in terms of goals. However, I believe defences often dictate the games, meaning this game shouldn’t contain too many goals.
I find it difficult to split these two teams in this encounter; Leicester will most likely be the more adventurous but West Brom will be difficult to break down, and therefore this could be a slightly dull low scoring draw.
Prediction: 1-1

Everton v Sunderland:
Everton have had a pretty tough run recently, picking up just 1 point from their last 3 league games, but how many points would they have expected to pick up from games against Arsenal, Man Utd, and Liverpool?
Sunderland have really struggle this season, they picked up their first win last weekend however they were far from convincing and largely helped by Newcastle going down to ten men. Away from home they have been very leaky at the back, conceding on average more than 2 goals per game, however this may change now Allardyce is in charge.
For me, Everton have the quality to win on Sunday. Their home performances have generally been quite strong; it’s just they have been unfortunate enough to have come up against 4 of the biggest clubs in the Premier League in their first 5 home games. The scoreline may not reflect it, but I think this will be a comfortable win for the Toffees.
Prediction: 2-1

Southampton v Bournemouth:
After a tricky start to the season, Southampton appear to be finding their feet, they are unbeaten in their last 6 games in all competitions and have played some good teams in the process.
Bournemouth on the other hand are on a terrible run of form, they have been hit hard by long term injuries to key players and their results are starting to show this. They have managed just 1 point in their last 4 league games and have conceded 13 goals in the process.
They put up a good fight away to Liverpool in the Capital One Cup midweek, and they continue to play pleasing to watch football, but against an in form Southampton with home advantage, I have to go with a home win and most likely a very entertaining game of football.
Prediction: 2-1

Tottenham v Aston Villa:
Tottenham have put together a very good run of results since their narrow opening day defeat away to Manchester Utd. Since then they are unbeaten in 9 league games, although 5 of those have been draws. Their success is largely a result of having the premierships meanest defence along with Man City, Arsenal, and Man Utd, each has only conceded 8 goals so far this season.
Aston Villa on the other hand are not known for a mean defence, especially away from home where they conceded on average 2 goals per game. Having lost their last 6 league games, their confidence must be just about rock bottom now also.
I don’t see any upsets on the cards with this one, Tottenham will try to control the game and dominate possession, and should come away with a fairly straight forward win.
Prediction: 2-0


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