The 2017/18 Premier League campaign kicked off with a bang!
Manchester United's greater Goal Difference sees them top of the table
Newcomers Huddersfield are surprisingly 2nd
Liverpool are still looking for their first win of the season
Champions Chelsea's shocking loss sees them sitting in 14th
Newly Promoted Brighton and Newcastle are still without a point
The new Premier League season kicked off in style after Arsenal ad Leicester City gave an exciting start.
A total of 31 goals were scored across 10 games as 8 teams got their first wins of the season. There were even debut goals scored by 7 players for their new clubs; Lacazette, Morata, Mounie, Lukaku, Rooney, Salah and Hegazi.
This week sees the first major clash of the season with respect to the title race; Tottenham face off against Champions Chelsea on Sunday.
An exciting contest awaits on Monday as two of the Premier League high spending teams this season Manchester City and Everton face off at the Ethiad.
Let's have a look at the fixtures and predict possible results for this week.
Matchday 1 - Saturday
Fixture 1
Manchester United began their PL campaign in dominant fashion as they "hammered" West Ham United 4-0 which took them top of the PL table. This week they travel to Wales to face Swansea City in a tricky away fixture.
Swansea remain win less after drawing with Southampton last week and have also lost their creative maestro Gylfi Sigurdsson to Everton. He will be missed and the team will also miss the presence of Fernando Llorente upfront.
United have a fit squad and their star man Romelu Lukaku would love to add to his debut brace he scored last week. The team are flying high and their star attack will get the better off the Swansea defense.
Prediction: Swansea City (0-3) Manchester United
Mkhitaryan & Rashford to score their first goals of the season
Fixture 2
AFC Bournemouth lost their first game of the season to West Brom and now face their first home game of the season against Watford. Jermain Defoe, their star attacking signing of this window may be given his debut after missing out last week.
Watford's comeback draw against Liverpool was inspiring for the players and manager. But coming into this game, they have injury problems especially at defense which reduces their chances of keeping a clean sheet. Attackers Richarlison and Gray may be handed their first starts of the week
With Bournemouth at home, Watford would find it very difficult to even come back with a point especially as Bournemouth are looking for their first win of the season.
Prediction: Bournemouth (2-0) Watford
Defoe to score or assist on his debut
Fixture 3
Burnley stunned everyone last week after they won an Away fixture against the Champions. They now carry their form to their first home game of the season against West Brom. However, Burnley, scored three goals against 10 men, conceded against 10 men and another against 9, so clearly their defense can be exploited.
West Brom also got their first win at home after a set play goal and impressive defensive display. Against a rejuvenated Burnley side, West Brom may find it very difficult to come back with a win.
Prediction: Burnley (3-1) West Brom
Sam Vokes on the score sheet
Fixture 4
Former PL Champions Leicester City began the season in dramatic fashion after they lost 4-3 against Arsenal despite taking the lead twice. As impressive as Leicester's attack is, there is a concern regarding their defense which will hugely impact their fixture this week.
They face newly promoted Brighton who put in a decent performance against Man City in a losing effort. They will want to get their first points of the season but it will be challenging. Anthony Knockeart will face his former club and would be expected to start the game.
Prediction: Leicester (2-2) Brighton
Vardy to score
Fixture 5
Liverpool failed to win their opening fixture of the season after a shambolic defensive display. This week at Anfield, they face a Crystal Palace side who themselves come after a thrashing last week from newcomers Huddersfield town.
Liverpool have one of the finest attacks in the League with pace and creativity. Their new signing Mohamed Salah is expected to start after a fantastic debut last week. They have terrible defensive problems which also puts doubts towards them keeping a clean sheet this week.
Crystal Palace are a new, young side who are playing a new formation under new management, so it's obvious that they will take some more time to settle in with their new tactics. Last week's loss is a wake up call but at Anfield they have a superb record for 3 consecutive wins in 3 seasons but this time it will be a whole lot difficult.
Prediction: Liverpool (3-1) Crystal Palace
Benteke to score against his former club
Fixture 6
Southampton failed to win their home game after registering decent chances but a bad conversion rate which costed them two points. Their second home fixture sees the visit of West Ham who visit following a thrashing from Man United.
West Ham were disappointing last week and would want to win their first game of the season. They can take advantage of Southampton's weak home form and come out with a positive result.
Prediction: Southampton (1-2) West Ham United
Chicharito to score his first goal for the Hammers
Fixture 7
The final fixture for Saturday sees an interesting contest at the bet365 stadium as Arsenal face their bogey team Stoke City. Stoke's new signing Jese from PSG is expected to feature.
Stoke failed to win their opening game against Everton. They played a new look 3-6-1 formation which did not help offensively but defensively only conceded one goal. Their central midfield can be exploited. In the past Stoke have had a number of positive results at home and if they manage to get a goal and keep a clean sheet, they have a chance.
Arsenal managed a thrilling 4-3 opening day victory against Leicester City. But they were weak defensively especially after they gave up their lead and conceded 3 goals due to errors. They may not want to do the same this time against Stoke.
Prediction: Stoke (1-2) Arsenal
Lacazette on the score sheet
Matchday 2 - Sunday
Fixture 8
Premier League action on Sunday kicks off with an important fixture as 2 newly promoted teams face each other for the first time. Last week's surprising dominant winner Huddersfield Town face Championship winners Newcastle United.
Huddersfield's classic performance last week showed that they can compete at the highest level. Front man Steve Mounie was an inspiration after scoring his brace and the defense kept a clean sheet, a perfect display. The stadium will be bouncing for their first home game of the season in the PL.
Newcastle United had a dreadful result last week after losing midfielder Shelvey to a red card and losing out their first choice defenders early on in the game. It will be tough for them to get a positive result but players may register themselves on the score sheet.
Prediction: Huddersfield (3-1) Newcastle United
Steve Mounie on the score sheet
Fixture 9
The first big match of the season and it's at Wembley!
Tottenham's new ground for the season will see two of London's greats go at it as Champions Chelsea take on a hungry Spurs side.
Champions Chelsea endured a nightmare start to the season after losing at home to Burnley, losing their captain Cahill and creative midfielder Fabregas as the pair were sent off. The team have problems in defense as well as limited options in central midfield but new signing Bakayoko is expected to play a role in the game. Morata is expected to start the game after his debut goal last week.
Spurs won their opening fixture against Newcastle and now look forward to their first home fixture at their new home. The club has just announced the arrival of Colombian centre back Davinson Sanchez but will be unavaliable for the game. Spurs have a better shape to their squad in comparison to Chelsea with main men Alli and Kane in attack.
Last time in the PL, at White Heart Lane, Spurs beat Chelsea 2-0 after putting in the best performance of the season. But when both the teams met at the New Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals last season, Chelsea ran out 4-0 winners.
Prediction: Tottenham (2-0) Chelsea
Kane and Alli to score
Matchday 3 - Monday
Fixture 10
Man City overcame Brighton by comfortable winning 0-2 after a tough Brighton defense couldn't control the City attack. The manager has shifted to a 3-5-2 formation which will especially benefit central attackers De Bruyne, Aguero and Jesus who can also start alongside one another.
Everton got a dream start to their campaign after the returning Wayne Rooney scored for the Toffees. Rooney will now face one of the Manchester clubs for the first time since his return to Everton, a team who were his rivals. New record arrival Gylfi Sigurdsson may be fit for the game but is unexpected to start.
Prediction: Manchester City (2-1) Everton
Jesus to score his first goal of the season
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