With the birth of the new Premier League season only a day away, I thought it was time to introduce a weekly feature to the blog, score predictions. Each week I’ll try and predict the score of the Premier League fixtures (try being the appropriate word) and hopefully give my thoughts on that particular week of football. This blog won’t necessarily be a 1000 word essay but will be a focal point for discussion on my twitter page.
We start off with the Saturday 3pm kick-offs as there is no morning game, Newcastle v Arsenal is the evening game live on ESPN and we will get to that later. I’ll try and do a brief, short paragraph on each fixture so here we go; the first game will be Blackburn Rovers vs Wolverhampton Wanders at Ewood Park.
After watching the Asia Trophy, it was clear Blackburn will have a difficult season after losing Phil Jones, the heartbeat of the back four alongside Christopher Samba. With money to spend, the new additions they’ve brought in might not live up to the Champions League expectations the owners require, but you get the feeling it’ll be a nervy season for Rovers fans. Wolves on the other hand have improved their back four with new boy Roger Johnson leading the line, I feel if they can withstand the “big boot” that Blackburn offer into the box, they’ll run away with a 2-1 victory with Kevin Doyle likely to be fit.
Moving onto Fulham vs Aston Villa, I see a surprise 2-0 away win. This may be a shock result with the new signings Villa have brought in, I see them shining at the Cottage. With predictions I like to take risks so for this game, I am. N’Zogbia to show he’s worth the money will be all important for the Villa fans; also, Darren Bent will need to play after suffering from a shoulder injury. The talisman will be the key to any type of Villa success.
Liverpool vs Sunderland is our next destination and there’s only one winner here under the new ‘King Kenny revolution.’ Jordan Henderson will want to prove his point in front of his former club as well as new signing Jose Enrique and Andy Carroll who will also know the importance of beating Sunderland, being a former Newcastle player. Who’ll Kenny pick be a interesting debate with so many central midfield options. With Liverpool’s dodgy pre-season defence I see Sunderland nicking a consolation game but overall 3-1 comfortable homes win for Liverpool.
Let’s discuss the next two games briefly; Wigan vs Norwich and QPR vs Bolton, both featuring newly promoted sides. With Wigan needing to learn their lessons from an embarrassing thrashing from Blackpool at the start of last season, Norwich will provide stiff opposition but I can see them scrapping a 1-0 win. Moving onto QPR, I see these being the only promoted side winning this week. Keeping Taarabt will be key to their season and maybe he can show his talents in front of a home crowd, a 2-0 win for QPR with the result not necessarily reflecting the game.
Our final Saturday fixture is Newcastle vs Arsenal, I’ve changed my prediction since the departure of Cesc Fabregas and and Samir Nasri from the squad (both expected to leave) which gives Newcastle much more of a chance. With more French players expected to play than any other nation, there should be a continental feeling to the game. It’ll be interesting to see all these Newcastle new signings and how they’ll play this year, will be a massive test for the Toon but with home advantage, a 2-1 win.
Now onto the “Super Sunday.” Firstly we have Stoke City vs Chelsea followed by Manchester United vs West Brom. There are many doubts for the Chelsea side including Luiz and Lampard + Sturridge and Lukaku not being able to play, the squad won’t be at full strength. Even though they have an impeccable record against Stoke, I see the Britannia rocking as it always does, hopefully roaring Stoke on to a 1-0 win. Then, moving onto my beloved Manchester United. I put this very risky prediction in a convincing 3-0 win, maybe that score line may be a bit over the top but with the quality we posses; I see United winning with ease.
The final game of the week is Manchester City vs Swansea, keeping this short and sweet to not upset the Swansea fans but the prospect you face is near impossible. Without Tevez or Aguero, they still will have a array of top talent to pick from, easing them to a 4-1 win.
Thanks for reading,
Footylad.
No comments:
Post a Comment