Premiership Predictions

The big clash of this weekend sees league leaders Chelsea host Manchester United at the soon-to-be-called-something-else-Stamford Bridge but there are plenty of other interesting fixtures too: two clubs who have started well, Spurs and Sunderland will do battle, while Everton and West Ham will both be trying to kick-start their seasons and of course, Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from another disastrous week on Monday evening. So how will it play out? Read on…

Saturday Fixtures; kick-offs 3pm unless stated.
Aston Villa vs. Bolton Wanderers
Aston Villa struggled to impose themselves against an injury hit Everton at Goodison last weekend, and after succumbing to a last gasp goal against West Ham in midweek, Martin O’Neill will desperately want to get his side back to winning ways. Bolton though, will not make it easy for them. Yes, Chelsea rolled them over with consummate ease last time out, but that was a combination of Bolton’s own self-destruction and Chelsea’s brilliance. No, I think this will be a close game, though I still think Villa may sneak it.
Prediction: 2-1.

‘Silly Season’ is here: Who’s for the sack?

Who is the odd one out? And who will go first?

Well everyone, November is upon us which means that that most wonderful time of year when we all revert to the young children inside of us, put up lots of flashing lights and eat and drink far too much is nearly upon us. However, though Christmas may still be fifty days away (doesn’t sound like much does it?), football’s very own silly season is already here. November will be a month that will have a lasting effect on the outcome of this season’s Premier League.

I call this football’s ’silly season’ because for some reason everyone involved in the game places a lot of emphasis on where their club is at Christmas. If you’re bottom of the league at Christmas you’re all but down, whereas if you’re in touch with the leaders, you’re in with a shout for a winner’s medal. This means that if things aren’t going quite to plan by mid-late November, heads will almost certainly role, giving the new man just enough time to rectify things ahead of the Christmas snapshot. So, who will be the first casualty this year?

Premiership Predictions: A Midweek Special

Seeing as I’ve had a busy day actually doing some productive revision for my exam this coming Friday, today I totally neglected to actually get a post written. However, to keep up appearances I did write a quick prediction for this week’s sole midweek Premier League fixture earlier at the behest of a commenter, so I figured I’d post it here for everyone’s perusal. So here we have it, today’s post; short and sweet. I will write something proper tomorrow, promise.

Wednesday Fixture, 7.45pm kick-off.
West Ham United vs. Aston Villa
Both these sides picked up hard-fought draws away from home over the weekend, and though West Ham still lie 19th in the table I sense they’re starting to turn the corner. Last week’s comeback from 2-0 down against Arsenal will have given them confidence and though they themselves surrendered a two goal lead to Sunderland last time out, it was more down to a terrific spirit from the Black Cats than inadequacies of West Ham. Villa settled for a draw against Everton over the weekend and never really got into the game, with the Toffees controlling the game for large periods. However, West Ham are still some way short of their best form and Martin O’Neill will see anything less than a win as a disappointment, and I think Villa’s pace on the counter could be the key in this encounter.
Prediction: 1-2.

Check back tomorrow for a more fulfilling post!

Premiership Predictions

Happy All Hallows Eve to you all as we prepare for another weekend of Premier League action and, in an increasingly rare phenomenon in these modern times, we have nine of the ten matches being played on Saturday this weekend as well as no less than seven traditional Saturday 3pm kick-offs – it makes a nice change I have to say. Arguably the clash of the weekend is the North London Derby between high-flying Arsenal and Spurs first up, but there should be plenty of action before the ghouls come out tonight…

Saturday Fixtures; all kick-offs 3pm unless stated.
Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur (12.45pm)
Arsenal are in imperious form at present, especially at the Emirates Stadium and with the kids beating Arsenal in midweek the senior players will certainly not want to be shown up. Spurs were surprisingly humbled by Stoke last weekend and will still be missing Jermaine Defoe (suspended) and probably Aaron Lennon (injured) which denies them them their two best players so far. A win against an injury-hit Everton in the Carling Cup will have boosted morale, but I think Arsenal will be too strong for them today.
Prediction: 2-1.

Premiership Predictions

The big clash of this weekend sees Manchester United travel to Anfield to attempt to compound what has already been a simply awful week for Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool side. Much of the pre-match speculation centres around whether or not Rooney, Gerrard and Torres will be making an appearance for their respective sides but one prediction I’m positive about is that at least one beach ball will make it onto the field of play at some point. For the rest of the weekend’s predictions, read on…

Saturday Fixtures; all kick-offs 3pm unless stated.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Aston Villa (12.45pm)
Villa stunned Chelsea last week after putting in an excellent battling performance, they had their backs to the wall for long spells but their new defensive lineup is really shining and there’s a great spirit amongst the squad. That spirit will be important for this Midlands derby with Wolves bound to be up for the game and with the return of Michael Kightly and Slyvain Ebanks-Blake they’ll certainly be boosted in terms of squad morale and confidence. I think this’ll be a typically frantic derby that Villa may just shade.
Prediction: 1-2.

Tipped for the Top: Whatever has happened to Liverpool?

There's a certain irony in the fact that it was a Liverpool beach ball...

Reading the pre-season forecasts from many of football’s most well-known pundits before the Premier League season kicked off, it would have been easy to get the impression that Liverpool were shoo-ins to finally lift the Premier League trophy. Every man and his dog (well, except me) seemed to think that this was going to be Liverpool’s season and yet here we are nine games in and they’ve already lost four matches and are looking a little bit all over the show.

While many a Red Liverpudlian will point accusingly at a red beach ball after today’s defeat to Sunderland, the truth is that the Black Cats thoroughly deserved the win and for much of this season, Liverpool simply haven’t looked like a top four side, never mind a team that could realistically challenge for the title. So the question is, after all the pre-season optimism, what on earth has happened to see them slump to such a poor start?

Premiership Predictions

It’s always nice returning to Premier League action after an international break, which simply can’t match the intensity and excitement of the best league in the world. The qualifiers do have a certain drama to them but the overall quality isn’t up to scratch and watching mismatched nations playing out one sided wins will never live up to a hard fought Premier League six pointer. One who certainly doesn’t appreciate the drama of an international break though is Rafa Benitez who, amusingly, is now without his two best players due to injury, which goes to show that the internationals may have repercussions in this week’s fixtures.

Saturday Fixtures; all kick-offs 3pm unless stated.
Aston Villa vs. Chelsea (12.45pm)
On paper this looks like it could be a really good game between two sides who like to play attacking football at pace. In reality though both sides will be fielding players who have been travelling around the world this week on international duty and with this match coming so soon I’d be surprised if either side are at their best. Ancelotti’s Chelsea, courtesy of a larger squad, may be able to shake off the tired legs more easily and because they have more quality in general, I think they’ll edge a tight game at Villa Park.
Prediction: 1-2.

Premiership Conclusions

1. Draws Galore
Despite what some people might say, there’s nothing innately boring about a sports match ending in a draw. While I’ve heard many arguments for penalties to decide league matches as well as many even worse ideas, a good hard fought draw between two evenly matched sides can be a great sporting spectacle. However, it had seemed so far this season, that the draw may have been on its way out, as in the first seven ’rounds’ of this season (i.e. before this weekend) there had been only four drawn fixtures.

However, it seems that this had created some sort of draw surplus in the warehouse where all of the results are stored and this weekend they were dished out liberally – doubling the amount of draws for the season in one round of games as Bolton-Spurs, United-Sunderland, West Ham-Fulham and Everton-Stoke all drew their matches while in the Championship the top three sides all drew, as did League One high-flyers Leeds and Charlton amongst others.

Premiership Predictions

Another weekend is upon us and that can mean only one thing: it’s time for another round of Premier League action. Undoubtedly the clash of the round is the ‘Super Sunday’ battle that will see Liverpool (fresh off the back of a Champions League humbling) take on Chelsea (looking to recover from losing their 100% record last weekend) but there are plenty more intriguing fixtures to keep an eye on too.

Saturday Fixtures, all kick-offs 3pm unless stated.
Bolton Wanderers vs. Tottenham Hotspur
It’s fair to say that apart perhaps from Paul Hart and Phil Brown, Gary Megson is one of the most under pressure managers in the Premier League – despite picking up a few handy wins lately, including last weekend over Birmingham. However, coming into this fixture it was Harry Redknapp on whom the bookies’ odds were slashed to be the first Premier League casualty of the season. That seems like nonsense given Spurs’ terrific start, but there’s rarely smoke without fire and something must have happened. If that’s the case I fancy that Bolton could nick a surprise point or three here.
Prediction: 2-1.

WDKF Wednesday: What a difference a year makes…

It’s Wednesday again and so I’ve written my weekly piece over at We Don’t Know Football. This week I’m reflecting on what has been quite a remarkable year for Tottenham Hotspur. At this point last season they were rock bottom of the Premier League but this time around they’ve had a flying start and recovered from two defeats to United and Chelsea to score ten goals in two games. It’s been quite a turnaround, so make sure you click through to find out how it has come about.

Also, while I’m at it, apologies for the lack of proper posts over the past few days. I’m having something of a crisis of inspiration and motivation at present – there doesn’t seem to be a great deal going on in the world of football at present and I haven’t had the energy or imagination to dig something up to write about. Hopefully I’ll rectify that from now on though, and things will start to pick up in terms of interesting stuff to write about!

For now though, click through to read my WDKF Wednesday article…