As there are no Premier League games this weekend due to the first international break of the campaign, I have decided to assess each club's opening three fixtures of the season and predict how they will fare in their respective upcoming games.
Manchester United vs Manchester City
Saturday 10th September 2016, 12.30
This promises to be a thrilling first meeting in England between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. Both have had a massive impact upon their respective clubs since joining in the summer, and both boast 100% win records going into the first Manchester Derby of the season.
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| Jose and Pep meet for the first time in England next Saturday (Getty Images) |
The battle between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sergio Aguero promised to be mouthwatering, but Guardiola will be sweating after the news that Aguero has been charged for violent conduct by the FA after an apparent elbow on West Ham's Winston Reid, facing a potential 3-match ban which could begin at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Manchester United left it late last time out against Hull City, Marcus Rashford the hero, as he was in the last meeting with City when he scored the only goal in a United victory at the Etihad in March. This time around it will be Zlatan looking to make the headlines, and I can see him causing John Stones some problems, but Pep will be happy to have Claudio Bravo between the sticks after the drawn-out Joe Hart transfer saga.
At least one of these sides' winning starts will come to an end, but even if Aguero is missing I think City have enough about them to avoid defeat here, with Raheem Sterling and Nolito in impressive early season form. I imagine both managers would take a point at this stage of the season, so I'm calling a draw here.
Prediction: 1-1
Arsenal vs Southampton
Saturday 10th September 2016, 15.00
Arsene Wenger will have been relieved to earn his first victory of the season in Gameweek 3, after beating Watford 3-1 at Vicarage Road. That game saw Mesut Ozil return to the starting eleven for the Gunners, and his impact was huge as he scored Arsenal's third on the stroke of half-time to guarantee victory.
Wenger will be searching for his first home win of the season on Saturday, with Southampton standing in his way at The Emirates. Claude Puel is in the opposition dugout, on the hunt for his first victory as Saints' boss following home draws against Watford and Sunderland, with a defeat at Old Trafford sandwiched in between. Goals have been hard to come by for the men from St Mary's so far following Graziano Pelle's surprise switch to Chinese side Shandong Luneng, but Puel will hope record signing Sofiane Boufal can help the likes of Charlie Austin, Shane Long and Jay Rodriguez to fill that void.
Arsene will have been relieved to have added German defender Shkodran Mustafi and Spanish forward Lucas Perez before the transfer deadline, and will be hoping they can have an immediate impact on the Premier League against Southampton on Saturday. I believe Puel will have to wait a little longer for his first league victory of the season, with Arsenal taking all three points here.
Prediction: 2-0
Bournemouth vs West Brom
Saturday 10th September 2016, 15.00
Eddie Howe's Bournemouth have endured a tough start to the season, with just a solitary point to their name after the recent 1-1 draw away to Crystal Palace. Like Southampton, the Cherries have struggled for goals so far, although Howe will be pleased striker Josh King is off the mark for the season after his goal at Selhurst Park.
West Brom are a strange side. Since Tony Pulis took over they have only netted 55 goals in 58 Premier League games, yet only Arsenal and Manchester United have more clean sheets to their name during the same period. Pulis will be happy to have kept Saido Berahino at The Hawthorns until January at the very least, and Salomon Rondon is starting to have a big impact for the Baggies.
Jack Wilshere arrived at The Vitality Stadium on deadline day, and his high work-rate paired with his passing range will suit Bournemouth down to the ground. If he can stay fit, he will be a massive player in their quest to remain a Premier League side come May. However, I don't think Bournemouth's possession game will help them on Saturday. West Brom are so good at absorbing pressure under Pulis, and if they can get themselves into an early lead I can see them earning their second win on the road this season.
Prediction: 0-1
Burnley vs Hull
Saturday 10th September 2016, 15.00
This is the first time that two promoted sides meet each other this season. Both have enjoyed a good start to the season, with Burnley sitting 13th in the table after the opening three rounds of the season. Hull have been the surprise package so far, beating last season's fairy-tale champions Leicester City on the opening day, followed by a 2-0 victory at Swansea. Mike Phelan's side were desperately unlucky to lose last time out against Manchester United, Marcus Rashford clinching all three points in the 92nd minute at The KC Stadium.
In the long run I do worry about both of these sides. I'm not sure either did enough business over the summer, although Jeff Hendrick (Burnley) and Ryan Mason (Hull) should add some much-needed quality to both teams' midfield.
Burnley were battered 3-0 at Chelsea in their last game, and they will be excited to return to Turf Moor where they beat Liverpool 2-0 in their last home fixture, with Andre Gray stealing the show.
This tie ended 1-0 to the hosts in the Championship last year, and I expect The Clarets to edge another tight affair on Saturday.
Prediction: 2-1
Middlesbrough vs Crystal Palace
Saturday 10th September 2016, 15.00
Last year's Championship runners up Middlesbrough are unbeaten on their return to the Premier League, drawing at home to Stoke, winning at The Stadium of Light in the first Wear-Tees Derby since 2009 and sharing the spoils with West Brom at The Hawthorns. In contrast, Palace have just one point in the bank, losing to West Brom and Spurs before tying with Bournemouth in their last Premier League game.
Aitor Karanka bought well over the summer, and Alvaro Negredo has hit the ground running, forming a natural understanding with Uruguayan Cristhian Stuani. Alan Pardew also invested well before August's deadline, answering the urgent cry for goals through Premier League proven forwards Christian Benteke from Liverpool and Loic Remy from Chelsea. Pardew will be disappointed to have missed out on the loan signing of Jack Wilshere to Bournemouth,but keeping hold of Wilfried Zaha despite reported interest from Tottenham is a massive bonus, considering the departure of Yannick Bolasie to Everton earlier in the window.
I reckon Boro will maintain their unbeaten streak, but Palace have added a genuine goal threat to their game which means this one should end all square.
Prediction: 1-1
Stoke City vs Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 10th September 2016, 15.00
Stoke's fixture list doesn't get any easier, with this match following recent meetings with high-flying Manchester City and Everton for Mark Hughes' side. It perhaps doesn't come as much of a surprise, then, that Stoke prop up the rest of the Premier League going into this fixture against Mauricio Pochettino's men, who sit 7th and are unbeaten after their first three matches.
Stoke's downfall has come as a result of a lack of goals. They have only found the net twice this season, both via set pieces - a Xherdan Shaqiri free-kick and a Bojan penalty - but 'Sparky' will be hoping that deadline day signing Wilfried Bony, on loan from Manchester City, can give his side a boost. Bony has been directly involved in 34 goals in 58 Premier League Starts for both Swansea and Manchester City (28 goals, 6 assists), and Potters' fans will be hoping he can make the perfect start at The Bet365 Stadium.
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| Bony will be a good fit for Stoke (Getty Images) |
Bony will come up against Harry Kane on his debut, a man who has never scored a Premier League goal in August in nine attempts - Pochettino will hope September can be his star man's month. Kane and Dele Alli ran riot in this meeting last season, scoring two apiece in a 4-0 Spurs win. I predict there will be 4 goals scored again on Saturday, but this time I think that they'll be shared.
Prediction: 2-2
West Ham vs Watford
Saturday 10th September 2016, 15.00
Watford are winless going into this match against Slaven Bilic's team, but have managed to register a goal in each of their three games so far. Etienne Capoue (2) and new arrival Roberto Pereyra are the men to hit the back of the net for The Hornets, but new manager Walter Mazzari will be desperate for deadly duo Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo to start finding the sort of form that helped Watford to a 13th place finish last season.
West Ham failed to qualify for the Europa League group stages, crashing out to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu for the second season in a row. However, this will allow them to focus solely on the domestic competitions, which should benefit the Hammers in the long run.
I like West Ham's deadline day signing, former Liverpool and Real Madrid full-back Alvaro Arbeloa, on a free transfer. His experience and quality at right back will allow Michail Antonio, recently called up to Sam Allardyce's first England squad, to return to the right-hand side of midfield, where he will hope to add to his goals against Bournemouth and Manchester City. Simone Zaza from Juventus is also a good signing, and I fancy him to score on his debut as The Irons make it 2 league wins from 2 at the London Stadium.
Prediction: 3-1
Saturday 10th September 2016, 17.30
Construction on Anfield's main stand will have completed by the time Saturday's late game kicks off, meaning there will be around 8,500 more singing Scousers packed inside the stadium than at last season's final home game against Chelsea. The opposition couldn't be much better either, with last year's amazing champions visiting Merseyside, although Liverpool were the only side other than Arsenal to beat the Foxes, 1-0 in this fixture last boxing day. Leicester's form has picked up since opening day defeat at Hull, with a 0-0 draw at Arsenal and a 2-1 victory over Swansea both following at the King Power Stadium.
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| Anfield's new main stand will be in action on Saturday (Getty Images) |
Liverpool's first three games have all been away from home; 4 points against Arsenal and Tottenham is a decent return, but a disappointing 2-0 loss to Burnley came between those visits to North London. The Reds visit Chelsea after this one, so Jurgen Klopp will be desperate to pick up all three points at home.
Claudio Ranieri will be thrilled to have kept both Jamie Vardy and PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez at the club, and will hope summer signings Islam Slimani and Ahmed Musa can help contribute going forward. The Foxes play their first Champions League group game, away to Club Brugge, on Wednesday, and I wouldn't be surprised if the 'Tinkerman' already had one eye on that match. With this in mind, and the extra support at Anfield, I'm tipping Liverpool to edge Saturday's final fixture.
Prediction: 2-1
Swansea City vs Chelsea
Sunday 11th September 2016, 16.00
Swansea go into this clash against Antonio Conte's men following back-to-back defeats against Hull City and Leicester. Chelsea's form couldn't be any better, winning three games out of three, and Conte has the luxury of having no Champions League football to worry about when selecting his starting eleven.
Swansea have only mustered two goals so far this campaign, both coming through Leroy Fer. He needs help, and I'm surprised that Francesco Guidolin didn't push to sign former Swans' striker Wilfried Bony if he knew that the Ivorian was available for loan. They missed out on Enner Valencia, who joined Everton on loan from West Ham, and I think they face a real struggle for goals in the coming months. Chelsea, on the other hand, are in free-scoring form, and Eden Hazard and Diego Costa look to be back to their best under Conte.
The Italian's teams are all about being solid at the back, and he will be chuffed to have signed both Marcos Alonso and former blue David Luiz to bolster his defensive options. I think the Blues will keep another clean sheet and make it four wins from four, and thus three defeats on the spin for the home side.
Prediction: 0-2
Sunderland vs Everton
Monday 12th September 2016, 20.00
David Moyes meets former club Everton for the first time as Sunderland manager, searching for his first league win in charge of the Black Cats. Ronald Koeman has had an instantaneous effect upon joining the Toffees, a respectable draw on the opening day at home to Tottenham followed by hard fought victories against solid Premier League sides West Brom and Stoke. Sunderland picked up a good point away to Southampton in their last match, but Moyes will be furious that his side conceded five minutes before full time, having only opened the scoring through Jermain Defoe's penalty five minutes previously.
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| Moyes goes up against former side Everton (Getty Images) |
Moyes will be happy to have kept Lamine Kone, linked with Monday night's opponents, at the Stadium of Light - Papy Djilobodji was their man of the match at St Mary's, and the Scot will hope that him and Kone will develop a solid partnership at the back. It is at the other end of the pitch that he will be concerned, with Sunderland far too reliant on the goal-scoring exploits of Defoe.
Ronald Koeman will have been devastated to miss out on the signing of Moussa Sissoko to Spurs at the eleventh hour on deadline day, but he has bought well this summer; Ashley Williams and Yannick Bolasie are excellent buys, whilst Enner Valencia is a far better alternative to Romelu Lukaku than Arouna Kone or Oumar Niasse. It is Idrissa Gueye who has stood out for the men from Merseyside though, and he looks a snip at around 7 million pounds; I'm expecting him to have a similar impact on Everton's midfield to the one that N'Golo Kante had on Leicester's last season.
I don't think this is an easy game for Koeman's side, but I think that David Moyes will be left disappointed against the club that he left in 2013 following Monday's clash.
Prediction: 1-2
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