The Big game is Manchester City's visit to Chelsea
Spurs kick things off with a visit to Huddersfield Town
Man United welcome win-less & goal-less Crystal Palace
Watford defended their 100 percent away record at West Brom
Arsenal welcome Brighton at The Emirates
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez faces his former side Liverpool
With mid-week European action for the 7 PL teams concluded, the Premier League is back to serve another thrilling 10 match weekend comprising of 2 Matchdays. The standout fixture is the late kick-off on Saturday evening as Chelsea welcome Manchester City which proves to be a thrilling encounter. Let's take a look back at last weekend's results along with the updated league table.
As it stands, Man City & Man United are level on 16 points at the top, but City lead the pack with a superior goal difference and United are 2nd. Chelsea are 3rd after Alvaro Morata's hat-trick guided them to victory. Tottenham, Liverpool & Watford all picked up away wins last weekend and are locked on 11 points.
The relegation zone sees West Ham United & Bournemouth both in 18th & 19th places respectively after both lost last weekend. Crystal Palace are rock bottom with no points and no goals scored yet in the PL this season. Let's get to the previews.
Matchday 1
(Saturday)
Fixture 1
The early kick-off on Saturday sees newcomers Huddersfield Town putting their home record on the line when they face an in-form Tottenham side. Both teams have had unexpected starts to their PL campaigns and would want to get one better off than their opponents this Saturday.
Huddersfield Town are still unbeaten at home and have registered 4 Clean Sheets in their opening 6 PL games which is impressive. They sit in 8th place on 9 points and will still be without absentees including Steve Mounie who are still not fit.
Tottenham's mid-week victory in the Champions League was encouraging for the entire squad and player in particular; Harry Kane who struck a perfect hat-trick. He is expected to start alongside Christian Eriksen who missed the game due to illness. Serge Aurier will be suspended after his red card last weekend, Moussa Dembele, Erik Lamela, Danny Rose & Victor Wanyama all remain absent.
Huddersfield will try and put in a dominant display at home but as the game goes by, the quality Spurs attack may prove too much to handle.
Prediction:
Huddersfield (0-2) Tottenham
Fixture 2
Two sides who both lost last weekend, Bournemouth & Leicester City face-off against each other at The Vitality Stadium. Bournemouth are 19th on 3 points; Leicester City, two places above in 17th on 4 points & both teams will want to get back to winning ways.
Bournemouth will be without Tyrone Mings, Harry Arter & Callum Wilson who have all been ruled out of the game. Dan Gosling faces a late fitness test.
Leicester City will have new signing Vicente Iborra available for the first time since his arrival but Matty James & Robert Huth have both been ruled out. Jamie Vardy faces a late fitness test.
Prediction:
Bournemouth (1-0) Leicester City
Fixture 3
Man United look to make it 4 Home wins in a row as they take on rock-bottom Crystal Palace in a typical David V Goliath clash. United sit in 2nd, joint top on points with 14 while Palace are 20th with no points.
Man United are flying at the moment, scoring 10 goals at home in the PL this season with Romelu Lukaku scoring 6 goals in 6 PL games and is in red hot form. However, Michael Carrick, Paul Pogba, Marcos Rojo & Zlatan Ibrahimovic all remain absent for this game.
Antonio Valencia, Marouane Fellaini, Phil Jones & Anthony Martial also remain doubts to start but could be included in the 18-man squad.
Crystal Palace have most of their injury concerns in attack, Christian Benteke will miss the next 6 weeks with a knee injury, Conor Wickham is also out injured which keeps Palace without a recognized striker. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, James Tomkins & Wilfried Zaha will also miss out. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is ineligible to face his former side.
Last weekend, Palace conceded 5 at City, the same could happen this Saturday also. Palace have a weak defense and injury problems in attack, United have a strong defense and an even stronger attack.
Prediction:
Man United (4-0) Crystal Palace
Fixture 4
Two teams who picked out home defeats last weekend; Stoke City & Southampton face-off at the bet365 Stadium and will want to get back to winning ways.
Stoke City are currently 16th on 5 points and will want to improve on that position. They have a defensive crisis with Bruno Martins Indi & Ryan Shawcross both ruled out of the game. Kevin Wimmer may not be fully fit for the game. However, Geoff Cameron & Kurt Zouma could both return to the starting XI.
Southampton sit in 11th on 8 points and have a fully fit squad for their weekend's game and could welcome back Virgil Van Dijk for his first PL start this season.
Prediction:
Stoke City (1-1) Southampton
Fixture 5
Watford are set to put their stunning away record on the line when they travel to "The Hawthorns" to face a West Brom side who are undefeated at home. Watford sit in 6th place & West Brom are 6 places below in 12th.
Watford are set to play their 2nd consecutive away PL fixture and have got 9 points out of 9 on the road. Their injury list is all at defense with Criag Cathcart, Sebastian Prodl & Younes Kaboul all still out, but Miguel Britos is available after suspension. However, a key miss will be in holding midfield as Nathaniel Chalobah will be out until the end of the year.
Watford's front 3 of Andre Carrillo, Richarlison & Andre Gray are firing and threatening every single time on the attack and can tear West Brom's defense with their counter attacking football.
West Brom have a fully fit squad in all departments but returning players Oliver Burke, Nacer Chadli & Gareth McAuley all lack match fitness. They have kept 2 clean sheets in their last 3 Home games in the PL.
Prediction:
West Brom (0-0) Watford
Fixture 6
West Ham United & Swansea City both lost last weekend at home, now face each other at the London Stadium. Swansea sit in 15th while West Ham are still in 18th.
After 3 consecutive away defeats in their opening 3 games, West Ham are beginning to find some form with 4 points in their last 3 games. They have also scored 4 goals in that time. They have Pedro Obiang & James Collins on the injured list while Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio have both been passed fit and are expected to start.
Swansea City are on a strange run so far, they are unbeaten on the road, picking up 5 points from the available 9 including 3 successive away clean sheets but have lost all their 3 games at home, so this fixture could work in their favor. With no fresh injuries, they will be without Nathan Dyer, Kyle Bartley & Ki Sung-yueng.
Prediction:
West Ham United (2-0) Swansea City
Fixture 7
Chelsea V Man City is the big clash of the weekend so an in-depth preview of the game, along with the team news can be viewed (Here)
Matchday 2
Fixture 8
Sunday's action kicks-off with a bang at The Emirates Stadium as Arsenal host newly promoted Brighton & Hove Albion. Arsenal currently in 7th & Brighton in 13th both picked up home wins last weekend.
Brighton will be without Tomer Hemed who will begin his 3-match suspension from this weekend. Glenn Murray & Sam Baldock have returned to first team training but may not be in contention to feature. Steve Sidwell & Beram Kayal are both ruled out.
Arsenal have won all their 3 games at home this season and would want to make it fourth come the end of the game. They even performed a stunning display mid-week in the Europa League but will be without Mesut Ozil who picked up a knee injury joining Danny Welbeck, Francis Coquelin & Santiago Cazorla on the sidelines. Laurent Koscielny is a doubt.
Arsenal front man Alexandre Lacazette has scored 4 goals in his last 3 home games for the Gunners and is ready to once again lead the firing line.
Prediction:
Arsenal (3-0) Brighton
Fixture 9
Everton look to make it 2 Home wins in the PL in a row when they face Burnley at Goodison Park. Burnley are better placed in the League table in 9th while Everton are in 14th.
Everton were disappointing in their mid-week 2-2 draw in the Europa League but will want to improve their league position. They will hand late fitness tests to Phil Jagielka & Michael Keane. Wayne Rooney has been passed fit for the game.
Burnley are yet to suffer defeat on the road this season taking points from the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham & Liverpool and look to do the same to Everton. With no fresh injuries, the injury list includes Jonathan Walters, Tom Heaton, Dean Marney & Nakhi Wells.
Prediction:
Everton (2-0) Burnley
Fixture 10
Current Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez returns to his face his former side as St. James' Park hosts Newcastle United V Liverpool to round off Gameweek 7. Liverpool are currently 5th with 11 points and Newcastle are in 10th place on 9 points.
Newcastle's 3-match winning streak came to an end last weekend but have won their last 2 fixtures at home in the league. The do have Florain Lejeune back to strengthen their defense and Aleksandar Mitrovic has served his three-match ban. The only absentees include Paul Dummett & Massadio Haidara.
Liverpool won in the League at Leicester last weekend, but failed to do the same in the CL. They will welcome the returning Sadio Mane after his 3-match suspension. The only injury concern includes Nathaniel Clyne & Adam Lallana.
Prediction:
Newcastle United (1-3) Liverpool
There is an international break after Sunday's action so Premier League action will resume within a fortnight.
No comments:
Post a Comment