Tottenham Hotspurs VS Wolverhampton Wanderers
The first game of the weekend sees Antonio Conte’s Spurs take on Bruno Lage’s Wolves. Spurs currently sit 4th in the table with 4 points and were involved in a crazy 2 all draw away to London rivals Chelsea last week. As for Wolves, they sit 14th with 1 point after a 0-0 draw at home to Championship champions Fulham last week. In head-to-head meetings, Spurs have won six, Wolves have won three and there has been four draws. In their last 4 trips to Tottenham, Wolves have managed to pick up 9 points so they have a good record when travelling to play them, but I would be surprised if that run continues. For Spurs, this is a game that they will expect to win and should be winning if they want to be near the title race whilst for Wolves, it will be a tough ask for them to get anything out of the game but maybe the more important thing for Wolves on Saturday is to see how new signings Goncalo Guedes and Matheus Nunes get on.
Prediction: 3-1
Crystal Palace VS Aston Villa
Crystal Palace host Aston Villa in a game both teams will hope to win. For Palace, they only have 1 point so far but that isn’t bad considering they’ve played Arsenal and Liverpool and this weekend’s matchup will give them a bit more info on how good there team actually is. For Villa, a win and a loss to start the season is ok but those teams aren’t as good as Palace so this will be a tough game for Steven Gerrard’s players. In head-to-head meetings, both teams have 5 wins each. They have also been 2 draws. In the last 3 meetings at Selhurst park, Palace have 2 wins to Villa’s 1. This is an important game for Crystal Palace as not having a win on the board after three games isn’t particularly going to give you a lot of confidence. If Aston Villa win, it would mean a really good start to their season
Prediction: 2-0
Everton VS Nottingham Forest
Everton host Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park in a 3 O’clock Kick off. Everton currently sit in the relegation zone with 2 losses from 2 whilst Forest are sitting in 10th after their first victory of the season last weekend. In recent times, Forest and Everton haven’t actually played one another so it will create and intriguing dynamic. This is a massive game for both teams but particularly Everton as a defeat here would put the players, managers and backroom staff under a lot of pressure. For Forest, Everton are a team that they could potentially be fighting against in a relegation scrap come the end of the season so a win here would put out a massive statement. Notts Forest haven’t won an away game in there last 5 matches though which, if anything, puts even more pressure on Everton
Prediction: 0-1
Fulham VS Brentford
Fulham currently sit 13th with two draws from their opening two fixtures whilst Brentford sit third with 4 points. Fulham will be happy with their start but will also know that they had a great chance to win away to Wolves last week whilst Brentford come in with incredible confidence knowing that the last six goals during a Brentford has been scored by Brentford. The Bees also average 3 goals a game so far, the joint highest in the league. When it comes to head-to-head, Brentford have won 50% of their matches whilst Fulham have won 29%. Crazily enough, this will be the first time ever that these two teams compete against each other in the Premier League. The last time that these two played each other in a league game came at Wembley Stadium when Fulham beat Brentford to promotion. Brentford recovered pretty well in the following season though. Fulham will aim to get there first win of the season whilst for Brentford, it’s a chance to continue their brilliant start to the year.
Prediction: 0-2
Leicester City VS Southampton
Leicester City and Southampton both come into this game with only 1 point each. Both teams need to win as a loss would probably see one of them end the gameweek in the relegation zone. In head-to-head games, Leicester have won 10 games whilst Southampton have only won 4. There have also been 6 draws. Southampton have failed to beat Leicester in there last 5 games and that run doesn’t even include the famous 9-0 thrashing that Leicester dealt out down at the South Coast. Leicester have shown that they can score goals but have also shown that their defence isn’t that solid so they need to sort that out as if they can, they should progress well up the table. For Southampton, a win here would be a positive boost to the players and fans but Southampton haven’t won any of their last 11 away games so that won’t give the fans too much confidence.
Prediction: 2-1
AFC Bournemouth VS Arsenal
Saturday Night Football heads to the south coast as Bournemouth host Arsenal. Both teams will be happy with their start to the season as the Cherries sit 11th with 3 points whilst Arsenal sit second with an 100% record. This will be a tough ask for Bournemouth and this shows in the head to heads as Arsenal have won 8 out of there 11 meetings whilst Bournemouth have won only once. Like City last weekend, this isn’t a game that you can really judge Bournemouth on negatively but unlike the City game, they have the home fans cheering them on so let’s see if that gains them anything extra. Arsenal come into this game unbeaten in there last 4 away games and even though they should win here, 3 wins to start the season is still an impressive feat and will raise a few eyebrows to the top, top teams. This should be a good game.
Prediction: 1-3
Leeds VS Chelsea
The opening game on Super Sunday sees Leeds United host Chelsea. Both teams come in with 4 points but they both really should be on six. In recent Premier League games between the two, Chelsea have won 3 of the 4 games scoring 9 in them. Christian Pulisic is a player that tends to do well against Leeds but it’s not 100% that he features in this game considering his links with a move to Manchester United. Leeds have started the season well, but Chelsea is a whole different level of quality compared to the teams they have already played. They do have the league’s top scorer in Rodrigo, and he will be looking to get on the score sheet once again this weekend. For Chelsea, this will be one of those tough away fixtures that they will need to win if they want to be in a title fight come the end of the season.
Prediction: 1-2
West Ham VS Brighton
At the start of the season, I thought that these where going to be two of the teams fighting for a lower European spot and for Brighton, they have started like that with 4 points in their opening 2 fixtures. For West Ham though, it’s been a real struggle and they find themselves in 19th place on 0 points. They will be mighty frustrated with last weekend’s result as they had so many chances to beat Nottingham Forest, but they didn’t take any of them which ultimately meant they lost. In head-to-head games, 50% of their matches have ended up in draws due to there being a run of six draws between the two sides. Brighton have won four of their meetings and funnily enough, West Ham’s last victory against the Seagulls came back in 2012 in the season that the Hammers where promoted from the Championship up to the Premier League. West Ham played in a Europa Conference League playoff game this week which is both a negative and a positive as even though they didn’t get a full week before there next game, they picked up their first win of the season which will give them some confidence. For Brighton, they haven’t loss away from home in their last four fixtures and will look to take advantage of a weaker West Ham team.
Prediction: 0-1
Newcastle VS Manchester City
This is a really exciting game. Since Newcastle’s takeover last year, they have been on an up-wood swing and they host the team that they hope to emulate in Manchester City, a team that became one of the best clubs in the world after new owners invested into the club. The focus for Newcastle, however, needs to be on this Sunday as this is a tough challenge. Newcastle are currently 5th in the league with 4 points whilst Man City are top with a 100% record. These are also the only two teams who haven’t conceded so far in the league. The head-to-head record is incredibly one sided, with Manchester City winning 21 of there 25 games in the last 12 years. Newcastle have won 2. When these two play, there tends to be a lot of goals which should be very exciting for a neutral fan. Newcastle’s last win over the Cityzens came in 2019 which funnily enough, gave City the spark they needed to go on and win the Premier League by a singular point. Whilst Newcastle aren't expected to get a result, certainly not a win, they could send out a big statement with their performance and they also have a good run of form at home with 5 games unbeaten so that should give them some confidence. For the champions, Pep’s team will know that this will be another really tough away trip, but they’ve dealt with most of them pretty well in the past 5 years.
Prediction: 2-2
Manchester United VS Liverpool
One of the biggest games in the world comes to Monday Night Football as Manchester United host Liverpool. This game, however, is a bit different to most other matchups between the two as Manchester United sit bottom with 0 points whilst Liverpool sit 12th with 2 draws. In their last 33 meetings, Man U have won 14 whilst Liverpool have won 11. Last season’s aggregate score was 9-0 to Liverpool so could we be in for another one-sided encounter? Man United’s last victory over Liverpool in the Premier League came all the way back in 2018. They did beat them in an FA Cup match in 2021 though. Manchester United haven’t kept a clean sheet in the last 7 games and I would expect that to grow to 8 whilst Liverpool haven’t managed to keep a clean sheet in the last 5 matches so can they break that streak. This is arguably the best time to play both teams and a win would be important, but a loss would be a bigger psychological impact.
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