Manchester United vs Leicester
Saturday 24th September 2016, 12.30
Manchester United will be looking to make amends at Old Trafford on Saturday, with this being their first game at home since defeat to bitter rivals Manchester City. It's been a difficult couple of weeks for Jose Mourinho since that game; United lost their next two games to Feyenoord and Watford before returning to winning ways against Northampton in the EFL Cup on Wednesday. United were subpar at Vicarage Road on Sunday, conceding twice in the final 10 minutes in a 3-1 defeat. Marcus Rashford scored in that game and added another against Northampton, and Mourinho will surely have to start him in Saturday's early kick-off.
The champions come to Old Trafford searching for their first away points of the season. The Foxes did win last time out in the league, smashing Burnley 3-0 at the King Power Stadium. Islam Slimani netted twice on his debut, and Claudio Ranieri now faces a bit of a selection headache, having witnessed Shinji Okazaki score a brace of his own in a 4-2 EFL Cup defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday. However, this is a nice problem for the Italian to have, and any two of Jamie Vardy, Ahmed Musa, Slimani and Okazaki will cause the Red Devil's defenders some problems.
This fixture last season ended honours even, with Anthony Martial and Wes Morgan scoring the goals. That draw for Leicester supplied the point that clinched the title for the Leicestershire club, and I think those positive memories of Old Trafford for the Leicester players will see Leicester gain their first away point of the 2016/17 campaign in a repeat of last season's visit.
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| Morgan's goal at OT won Leicester the title last season (Getty Images) |
Prediction: 1-1
Bournemouth vs Everton
Saturday 24th September 2016, 15.00
Bournemouth will be pleased to return to the Vitality Stadium, following last week's 4-0 demolition at the hands of Manchester City. The Cherries were 1-0 winners in their last home game in the Premier League, although they did lose 3-2 whilst hosting Preston in the EFL Cup in midweek. Eddie Howe's men could do nothing to stop City at the Etihad and he will be hoping to erase those memories as quickly as possible in another difficult game against Everton.
Ronald Koeman's side are second in the league and absolutely flying. They were 3-1 winners against Middlesbrough last Saturday, courtesy of goals from Gareth Barry on his 600th top-flight appearance, Seamus Coleman and Romelu Lukaku, the big Belgian hitting his fourth goal in 2 games. Lukaku came off injured in the game against 'Boro, and Koeman will be sweating on his fitness; Enner Valencia and Arouna Kone just don't offer the same presence or power up front. The Toffees tasted defeat for the first time under their new Dutch manager on Tuesday night, Steven Naismith returning to haunt his former side in a 2-0 Norwich win, but Everton made six changes for that one and will be expecting to return to winning ways this Saturday.
Bournemouth have been unlucky to have to face the current top two consecutively, as defeat on Saturday will see the Cherries stuck on just four points after six games and dangerously close to the bottom 3, if not sinking into it. Unfortunately for Eddie Howe's men, I see this being the case following their clash with Everton, with the visitors making it five league wins on the spin.
Prediction: 1-2
Liverpool vs Hull
Saturday 24th September 2016, 15.00
Liverpool host Hull on Saturday on the back of two Premier League victories in a row, and three in all competitions. Jurgen Klopp's side were mightily impressive in last Friday's 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge, goals from Dejan Lovren and skipper Jordan Henderson securing the points. The Reds also beat Championship side Derby 3-0 at the iPro Stadium on Tuesday night in a comfortable EFL Cup fixture, and will be confident of making it three league victories in a row at Anfield on Saturday. Loris Karius made his long awaited debut in goal for Liverpool on Tuesday, keeping a clean sheet in the process, and Klopp now has to make a decision whether the young German or Simon Mignolet will keep goal for his team.
Mike Phelan's side currently sit 12th in the table and are three league games without a win. They had a go last weekend at home to Arsenal, but were cost by Jake Livermore's red card for handball and eventually lost 4-1. Robert Snodgrass scored from the spot for the Tigers, making it three league goals for the Scot and four in all competitions. Hull will be bolstered by their midweek result, coming from a goal down to win 2-1 at struggling Stoke in the League Cup. Midfielders Ryan Mason and Markus Henriksen scored the goals to send Phelan's men into the fourth round, where they'll visit Bristol City.
Hull have made a respectable start when you consider the turmoil the club were in over the summer, which resulted in Steve Bruce leaving the club. Phelan has done a great job in his absence and has deservedly been offered the manager's job on a permanent basis. Liverpool are in such impressive form at the moment, though, and so I can't see anything other than a home win at Anfield.
Prediction: 2-0
Middlesbrough vs Tottenham
Saturday 24th September 2016, 15.00
Saturday's hosts 'Boro go into this one on the back of two straight defeats, and without a win in three. They were outclassed at Goodison Park a week ago, going down 3-1 to in-form Everton, and only managing to score via a highly contentious goal following a blatant foul by Alvaro Negredo on Everton keeper Martin Stekelenburg. They could only protect their lead for three minutes against the Toffees, and that will be a huge concern to Aitor Karanka, whose side need to cut out the individual mistakes that also saw them lose to Crystal Palace two weeks ago.
Tottenham are unbeaten so far this season, and are one of only three teams who can say that (alongside Manchester City and Everton). Spurs have won two league games on the trot following last weeks 1-0 win over Sunderland at White Hart Lane, Harry Kane again the hero. Kane limped out of that clash with suspected ankle ligament damage, and that will come as a huge blow to Mauricio Pochettino. Kane has started 71 consecutive Premier League games for his side, and been their top scorer in each of the last two seasons, as well as the league's Golden Boot winner last campaign. No time frame has yet been given on the 23-year-old's inury, so summer signing Vincent Janssen is expected to start up front in Kane's absence. The Dutch striker scored his first Tottenham goal in a 5-0 mauling at home to Gillingham in the EFL Cup, and Spurs' fans will be pleased to see him off the mark ahead of Saturday's visit to the Riverside.
Middlesbrough had no cup commitments in the week, and so should be fresh and fired up for the visit of Spurs. Spurs breezed past Gillingham and are in good form in the league, but I fear they may struggle for goals without talisman Harry Kane. I'm going to predict a draw in this one.
Prediction: 1-1
Stoke City vs West Brom
Saturday 24th September 2016, 15.00
Stoke are in freefall. The Potters have now suffered four league defeats in a row, and five in all competitions. They were humiliated last weekend, losing 4-1 away to Crystal Palace, and now have a goal difference of -11 having conceded 8 in their last two Premier League games. They just can't defend at the moment, and were 2-0 down to Palace within 12 minutes, both goals coming from set piece situations. Stoke also threw away the lead in a midweek cup defeat at home to Hull, and Mark Hughes seriously needs to start winning games if he wants to remain the boss at the Bet365 Stadium. His one positive is last season's leading scorer Marko Arnautovic (11 goals) is off the mark for the season, scoring consolations against Palace and Hull.
And he's just been fined £8000!https://t.co/rdqOFHZven— Oddschecker (@Oddschecker) September 19, 2016
West Brom will be buzzing after a fantastic 4-2 victory over West Ham last weekend. 2 goals and 2 assists from Nacer Chadli on his home debut had given West Brom a 4-0 lead before West Ham eventually halved the deficit. Chadli's relationship with Salomon Rondon looked razor sharp, and Pulis' decision to start the Venezuelan forward in place of Saido Berahino paid dividends as he scored his second league goal this term.
The Baggies won their first game under new Chinese ownership, and Tony Pulis takes charge of his 1000th game as manager against former side Stoke on Saturday. The Welshman will be determined not to lose this one, and I can see Stoke struggling to break down Pulis' tough backline. I wouldn't be surprised if this ended goalless.
Prediction: 0-0
Sunderland vs Crystal Palace
Saturday 24th September 2016, 15.00
Like Stoke, Sunderland are really struggling, and are still without a league win this season. They've lost two games on the bounce in the Premier League, 3-0 at home to Everton and 1-0 at White Hart Lane last Sunday. They defended well enough against Spurs, until Harry Kane eventually netted the winner with Tottenham's 22nd attempt of the match. They also relied heavily upon the saves of young goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who looks a great prospect for both Sunderland and England. Their best chance of the match fell to Steven Pienaar, whose effort from six yards was somehow cleared off the line by Kyle Walker. It's these types of chances that the Black Cats need to start converting to take the goal-scoring burden off of Jermain Defoe's shoulders, and try to begin moving up the league table.
Crystal Palace have won two league games in a row, and were mightily impressive in their 4-1 rout at home to Stoke. James Tomkins and Andros Townsend scored their first goals for the Eagles, and these were added to by Scott Dann and James McArthur. Dann now has two Premier League goals, and him and Tomkins were a threat all day from set pieces against Stoke.
Palace were beaten 2-0 at Southampton in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, whilst Sunderland came from a goal down to win 2-1 at QPR courtesy of a Paddy McNair brace. This should give David Moyes' side a bit of a lift, and they'll fancy their chances of picking up their first division win of the season. Palace have won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since December 2015, and it's this inconsistency from Alan Pardew's men that's making me go for a home win.
Prediction: 1-0
Swansea vs Manchester City
Saturday 24th September 2016, 15.00
Swansea are without a league win since the opening day of the season, a 1-0 win at Burnley. This was the score in their last Premier League match, but in favour of Southampton, who beat the Swans at St Mary's.
Manchester City have been unbelievable under Pep Guardiola. The Citizens have won nine games out of nine across the league, EFL Cup and Champions League, and thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 at the Etihad last Saturday. They will have fond memories of playing at the Liberty Stadium too; a 1-1 draw here on the last day of last season guaranteed a top four spot for City in Manuel Pellegrini's last game as manager, pipping rivals Manchester United.
These two met each other in midweek, also at the Liberty. City were 2-1 winners, thanks to goals from Gael Clichy and youngster Aleix Garcia. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a 93rd minute consolation for the hosts. Perhaps the key talking point from that game, however, was the fact that it was the last of Sergio Aguero's three-match ban. He will travel to Glamorgan for this tie, and will probably replace Kelechi Iheanacho in Pep's starting lineup. The young Nigerian deputised brilliantly in Aguero's absence, scoring in both league games the Argentine forward missed, including the winner in the Manchester Derby.
Swansea played well in their last home league game against Chelsea and deserved the point they earned following the 2-2 draw. However, City look to be in a different class under Guardiola so far, and with Aguero's return I reckon the Sky Blues will win at Swansea for the second time in a week, and make it ten wins on the trot for Pep.
Prediction: 1-3
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Saturday 24th September 2016, 17.30
Arsenal have really picked up in the last few weeks. They are on a run of three wins out of three in the league, and unbeaten in four. Arsene Wenger's men were 4-1 winners at Hull last Saturday, thanks to a brace from Alexis Sanchez, added to by Theo Walcott and Granit Xhaka. The Swiss midfielder scored a cracker at the KC, and scored a very similar goal in a 4-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. Lucas Perez scored twice in that game, his first goals for the club, and he'll be hoping for an opportunity against Chelsea in Saturday's late kick-off.
The visitors are two league games without a win, and will be bitterly disappointed to have lost at home to Liverpool last Friday. Diego Costa scored his fifth goal in five games in the 2-1 defeat, and he'll be right up for this game; he scored the only goal at the Emirates last season and was also fouled by Per Mertesacker, resulting in a red card for the German. Chelsea did win in midweek, however, beating Leicester 4-2 after extra-time at the King Power and they shouldn't be too fatigued after playing an extra half an hour following Marcin Wasilewski's red card. Cesc Fabregas scored both goals in extra time to earn the win for Antonio Conte's team, and he'll be hoping he's forced a way into his manager's plans just in time for this game against his former side.
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| Costa will be hoping to continue his fine form vs Arsenal (Getty Images) |
Arsenal are unbeaten since their opening fixture, a 4-3 home defeat to Liverpool, whilst Chelsea have also only lost one game, to the same opponents, again at home. I don't see much between the two sides, so I'm going for an entertaining draw.
Prediction: 2-2
West Ham vs Southampton
Sunday 25th September 2016, 16.00
West Ham go into this one having lost their last two Premier League matches by the same 4-2 scoreline. Defeat at home to Watford was following by a beating at the Hawthorns against West Brom, and sees Slaven Bilic's team sat in the bottom three going into this round of fixtures. Michail Antonio scored against West Brom, making it five goals already this season for him. All have been headed, and nobody has scored more headers than Antonio's eleven since the start of last season. His goal against the Baggies was once again created by Dimitri Payet, who was the Hammers' hero in midweek; he scored a 96th minute free-kick against League 2 side Accrington to spare Bilic the prospect of extra-time in the EFL Cup.
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| Antonio will be looking to add to his 5 headed goals (Getty Images) |
Claude Puel has had a good ten days as Southampton boss. He earned his first win as Saints' manager against Sparta Prague in the Europa League (3-0), beat Swansea 1-0 to claim a first Premier League win and defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 in the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday. Charlie Austin scored in all three of those wins, and has 4 in his last 3 games, after a run of 9 games without hitting the back of the net.
I can see this being a really good game. Neither side has had a particularly good start to the 2016/17 Premier League campaign by their standards, and neither has defended especially well. West Ham need a win and Slaven Bilic won't allow his players to be as bad as they have been so far this season. They'll be ready for Southampton, and I believe they'll edge a high scoring fixture.
Prediction: 3-2
Burnley vs Watford
Monday 26th September 2016, 20.00
Monday night football returns this week, with Burnley hosting Watford at Turf Moor. Burnley are three league games without a win since beating Liverpool 2-0, and were humbled by Leicester last Saturday, losing 3-0 away at the Champions. The Clarets will be happy to return home, then, which is where they have picked up all four of their league points this term.
Watford had the result of Gameweek 5 last Sunday, beating Manchester United 3-1 at Vicarage Road. This made it successive wins for Walter Mazzarri's team, who beat West Ham 4-2 in their last away game. Etienne Capoue's form is astonishing at the moment, and he scored his fourth goal in five games against United after a run of just one goal in 57 Premier League games going into this season. Juan Camilo Zuniga was the hero for the Hornets against Mourinho's side, scoring 53 seconds after coming on as a substitute, before winning a penalty which was converted by Troy Deeney.
Neither side participated in the EFL Cup in midweek, so both should be fresh to hopefully supply an entertaining end to the sixth round of Premier League fixtures. Watford are in free-scoring form, whereas Burnley have managed just three league goals all season, two of those coming in their sole victory over Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. I can see the likes of Andre Gray and Sam Vokes struggling again on Monday night, and I think Watford may have a just a bit too much for Sean Dyche's side.
Prediction: 0-2
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