Everton to win the Merseyside derby and Manchester United to share the spoils with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge among wins for Aston Villa, Arsenal, Reading, Sunderland, Manchester City, Spurs and all square for West Brom, Newcastle, West Ham and Wigan are our predictions. What are yours?
Aston Villa v Norwich: 2-0
Paul Lambert welcomes his old side to his new stomping ground and will expect nothing but victory from his new charges. Norwich are coming off the back of a great performance against Arsenal and real improvements from much maligned defender Michael Turner but at Villa Park the home side should have the edge.
Arsenal v QPR: 1-0
Two defeats on the bounce for The Gunners and QPR have reason to be optimistic ahead of the trip to The Emirates. They were much improved against Everton but were still fortunate to escape with a point against ten-men.
Arsenal are going to come out swinging and with rumours of Jack Wilshere making an appearance will surely overcome their London rivals.
Reading v Fulham: 2-1
Can see Reading grabbing a needed win against a team like Fulham who look solid but vulnerable to a tricky away tie. It depends on whether Dr Dimitar or Mr Berbatov turns up at the Mad Stad this weekend, if he isn’t on his game then Reading are certainly in with a shout of victory.
Stoke v Sunderland: 1-2
Always throw one surprise in and this week I am going with Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland to cause an upset at The Britannia. They have looked impotent, so on paper scoring against a solid defence such as Tony Pulis’s Potters isn’t logical, but football is not logical. Sunderland win!
Wigan Athletic v West Ham: 1-1
Should be a very entertaining game between two sides playing with a smile on their face. After beating Southampton it has gone a bit sour for Martinez’s men but they should be able to hold off The Hammers at the DW.
Manchester City v Swansea: 5-1
Hell hath no fury like Manchester City scorn and despite Swansea improving last week I am one letter and a muddling of characters away from a Kaiser Chiefs song as I predict a rout at The Etihad.
Everton v Liverpool: 2-1
Basing this mainly on Everton’s superb performance against Manchester United on the opening day which shows their desire to get the results against the big teams this season. They have some absences but simply put they seem a better team than the Anfield outfit at the moment, a point that should be reflected in the scoreline.
Newcastle v West Brom: 2-2
So impressed with West Brom so far this season that I cannot see them coming away from St James Park empty handed despite the array of talent at the hands of Alan Pardew.
I believe it will be a draw and there will be goals so 2-2 seemed a good prediction.
Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur: 1-2
Injuries and goalkeeper uncertainty couldn’t hit Saints at a worst time and with the visit of Spurs they face difficulty in getting a positive result once again.
I have been kind to Saints in my predictions before and it hasn’t really panned out so most fans will be pleased to see me backing a Spurs win at St Marys. Nigel Adkins should also start looking over his shoulder if this result does come to fruition.
Chelsea v Manchester United: 2-2
It is the game of the weekend and an extremely hard one to call. Chelsea look fluid and ruthless up top so can see them grabbing goals but they also looked defensively frail against Shakhtar Donetsk this week.
Goals in this one and a share of the spoils at the Bridge is likely.
What are your predictions for this weekend’s Premier League action?
image: © Nigel Wilson
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