Saturday 29th August
There seems to be a bit of doom and gloom around Blackburn at the moment. Results on the pitch haven’t been good and manager Sam Allardyce is moaning about losing players and not having the money or the glamour of club to attract decent replacements. They haven’t picked up a point yet and their fans must be beginning to wonder if they might just be in a bit of trouble.
West Ham have started OK but they will have been shaken by the dreadful scenes at their midweek game against Millwall. What happened just flies in the face of everything Gianfranco Zola stands for in the game and he will have been left wondering what on earth it is all about.
I think Allardyce will be able to introduce the type of siege mentality amongst his players that will get them their first point.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-0
Bolton are another side who haven’t yet picked up a point and they have the rare privilege of being beaten by Hull. Liverpool have lost two out of three and are already being written off in the title race by many people.
Both teams will be desperate for the points in this game but Liverpool will surely have too much for the home side and come out on top.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
Before Burnley beat Manchester United and Everton I would have predicted a comfortable victory for Chelsea in this one. The gulf in class between the two teams is huge but Chelsea struggled to get past Hull on the opening day and I expect Burnley to be better organised than Hull were.
Having said that Chelsea are getting into top gear and they should surely be too strong for Burnley who may still find life in this league very difficult indeed.
SoccerNews prediction: 3-0
The biggest game of the weekend sees Arsenal travelling to Old Trafford.
Manchester United had a blip at Burnley but recovered from that emphatically in the second half at Wigan last week. If they are on song it is still difficult for any Premier League side to stay with them.
If any side can stay with them at the moment it has to be Arsenal. They have had a great start to the season and with injured players returning, they can afford to be optimistic for the first time in a while.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
Stoke have started where they left off last season. They are very difficult to beat at home and a little lightweight away. They’ve added a couple of decent signings and their current mid-table position is unlikely to change too much over the course of the season.
Sunderland, on the other hand, look like a completely different side. In Jones and Bent they have a dynamic strike force that looks full of goals and a defence that looks much tighter. Their midweek Carling Cup win showed that they also now have some strength in depth.
Stoke won’t get beaten but I fancy Sunderland to get something from the game.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
Tottenham can’t stop scoring and winning. They might actually be in with a decent chance of having a top season. Usually there are high hopes around White Hart Lane prior to the start of every season but they fade pretty quickly. This season I think they have started in a manner that has surpassed any hopes that even their most optimistic fan may have had.
Birmingham have started OK and four points from three games is a good return. They may have a little difficulty living with Tottenham in their current form and I don’t think it is case of whether or not Tottenham win, it is more a case of by how many they will do so.
SoccerNews prediction: 3-0
If you can have a six-pointer at this stage of the season that is exactly what this one is. I fully expect both of these sides to be battling against the drop this year and they both need to pick up points in games like this.
Both sides have managed one win so far and in Hull’s case, that is one of the only times you can say that this year. Wolves are still on the crest of the wave that promotion brings whereas Hull are deeply entrenched in what they know will be a hard struggle. For that reason, I think Wolves will just edge this one and increase the fear for Hull.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-0
Sunday 30th August
It is fair to say that Villa have been a little up and down so far. It is difficult to equate a 2-0 defeat at home to Wigan and a very poor exit from Europe with a 3-1 win at Anfield against Liverpool. How do you predict a team with results like that?
Fulham are solid, organised and a safe bet for a mid-table finish. Unlike Villa, you know exactly what you’re going to get from them.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
Everton had a horror show in their first game when they lost 6-1 at home to Arsenal. Since then they have also lost at Burnley and that makes it a dire start. They have had a comfortable aggregate win in Europe but David Moyes will be concerned by how they are playing.
Wigan had a great start at Aston Villa but a home defeat to Wolves and absolute stuffings by Manchester United and Championship Blackpool have left them in a real mess.
Everton will never have a better chance to get their season back on track.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-0
Portsmouth’s ownership may have finally been sorted out but they till look to be in trouble. They have signed Watford’s Tommy Smith and probably Mike Williamson as well. As a Watford fan I’m really thrilled that they have signed our two best players!
Manchester City have had a good start as their star names settle in and in Emmanuel Adebayor they have found the goals that were missing. Last season you would never have predicted an away win for City but it is very different this time around.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
