Premier League predictions

Surely Chelsea will be too good and too strong

Birmingham v West Ham
Birmingham are just picking up a little bit at the moment and starting to look amore like the team of last season. They will have been buoyed by their 0-0 draw at local rivals Aston Villa last week and will be really looking forward to the visit of West Ham and the return of their former owners.

West Ham are rock bottom and they can’t turn decent performances into points. They need to do that soon, but I don’t think they’ll start here.

Soccernews prediction: 1-0

Blackburn v Wigan
Eighteenth plays seventeenth in the game that will almost certainly be the last game shown on Match of the Day!

Blackburn have one win and four goals from five home games and Wigan have one win and three goals from four away games. The only statistic I expect to change after this game is the number of games they’ve played.

Soccernews prediction: 0-0

Blackpool v Everton
Blackpool continue to impress, amaze and prove all the critics wrong. However, they face a hard day at the office today. Everton have quietly moved up to eighth place after their awful start and are looking like a team that will challenge for Europe once again.

I think Everton will have the nous and be professional enough to win this one against the flair and naivety of Blackpool.

Soccernews prediction: 0-2

Bolton v Tottenham
Bolton are only a tiny bit short of being a very good side indeed. They showed what they are capable of at times last week against Liverpool, but then lost the game.

Tottenham are on the crest of a wave after seeing off Inter but need to get some Premier League points after a draw with Everton and defeat at Manchester United. I think they’ll get back on course.

Soccernews prediction: 0-2

Fulham v Aston Villa
Tenth plays fourteenth at Craven Cottage yet many people would still regard Villa as favourites for the game.

Villa are not quite clicking yet under Gerard Houllier and they were poor in last week’s draw with Birmingham. Fulham are not setting the world alight either, but they are organised, hard working and difficult to beat at home.

It’ll be close but I fancy Fulham to nick it.

Soccernews prediction: 2-1

Manchester United v Wolves
People are still writing Manchester United off but they have won their last three games in all competitions scoring eight goals. They are unbeaten and three points clear in their Champions League group and sitting third in the Premier League. I think talk of their demise is a little premature!

Wolves had a crucial win last week over Manchester City but still sit second from bottom. I just can’t see them making it a Manchester double today.

Soccernews prediction: 2-0

Sunderland v Stoke
Sunderland need to bounce back quickly in front of their own fans after their shameful surrender against their hated rivals Newcastle last week. A visit from a mis-firing Stoke side is about as good a chance as they will get to do just that.

Soccernews prediction: 2-0

SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER

Arsenal v Newcastle
Arsenal are second in the table and looking good. They seem to be realistic title challengers this time around although it is hard to see them over-coming Chelsea. They will be smarting from their midweek defeat in Europe but they will have some of their big guns back in the line-up.

Newcastle will have been on cloud nine since their humiliation of Sunderland last week and they will also be delighted to look at the league table and see themselves in seventh place. The problem they may have in this one is that they will take the game to Arsenal and not ‘park the bus’. That is how Arsenal like it.

Soccernews prediction: 3-1

Liverpool v Chelsea
Finally Liverpool have found a little form. Three wins in a row have lifted the cloud over the club that was getting thicker and thicker. Roy Hodgson now has a little breathing space and can get on with his job. Unfortunately for him that job involves trying to get his team to beat Chelsea.

Chelsea are back to looking unstoppable. They are five points clear at the top and look to be in a different league to everyone else. I think they may hand Roy an unwanted reality check.

Soccernews prediction: 0-2

West Brom v Manchester City
This is being touted as a ‘must win game’ for Roberto Mancini at Manchester City. Whilst they are sitting in fourth place in the league at the moment and that is the target that was set for Mancini at the start of the season, the wheels definitely seem to be coming off at the City of Manchester stadium.

Rumours of dressing room unrest together with three defeats in a row, mean that City are being portrayed as a club in crisis. Older members of the City fan club will well be able to remember when the club was in a great deal more crisis than they are now!

West Brom continue to impress and nearly managed to get an unlikely result at Blackpool the other night with just nine players. They will certainly push City to the limit.

Soccernews prediction: 1-1