Premier League Round 5 Fixture Predictions

                                                                                                                                         Wolves 0 – 2 Liverpool

 

Just the singular win for Wolves so far this season, who have found their biggest problem to be taking their chances in front of goal. In most other circumstances, it would be understandable for fingers to be hovering over the panic button, but despite the lackluster points return, Wolves have suprised many with the level of their performances and can consider themselves fairly unlucky not to have achieved more so far. However, it does seem unlikely that this will be the fixture that turns their fortunes around, Liverpool are doing a fantastic job of still getting results while simultaneously  bedding in a whole new midfield! Quietly going about their business, if Liverpool can keep getting steady solid wins leading into December, it wouldn’t be outside the realms of possibility to see them mount a serious title charge.

                                                                                                                                  Aston Villa 2 – 2 Crystal Palace

 

It may come as a suprise to some who don’t know every detail of the league table off by heart, but Roy’s Boys do sit above Villa in this early part of the season.  Palace are a team that clearly know their roles and are in typical  Hodgson style are organised at the back, however they are also so much more than that, adding an exciting mix of pace and flair in the final third. Villa on the other hand are bursting at the seems with talent but for one reason or another there does seem to be a ceiling with them so far this season that leaves them as the ‘best of the rest’ rather than what many had hoped which was a true challenger for the top 6. This should be a great game though, home advantage may prove too much for Palace but a score draw is my prediction.

                                                                                                                                         Fulham 1 – 0 Luton

 

3 quarters of Fulham’s goals this season has come against last seasons top 2! There was a lot of speculation about Fulham’s personnel over the summer which may be in part an explanation to why their season seemed to start so slowly, however back to back impressive performances against North London’s two finest hinted at a turn of the corner for Fulham’s season and the new contract for Paulhina is no better signal of that. Luton however are still searching for their first win and although we think they will put up a good fight, I cant see them having the firepower to break Fulham down.

                                                                                                              Manchester United 1 – 2 Brighton

 

This fixture truly feels like a toss of the coin and could go either way, but football is a sport of marginal gains, and with all the turmoil that has been unfolding regarding Manchester United over the last 2 weeks, this is the perfect time for Brighton to pile on. Its not just the off field problems that surround the Red Devils, their performances on the pitch has also been pretty lackluster in comparison to their expectations. Brighton however have a perfect record (if of course you discount the drubbing against the Hammers, which we do) and the potential debut of Ansu Fati could be the perfect ingredient for cooking up this weekends narrative.

                                                                                                                                             Spurs 3 – 0 Sheffield United

 

Points on the board!! Stop the race and screen shot the table because Sheffield United are staying up! huh? what do you mean that’s not how it works? sorry Blades fans, I tried.. and the news gets worse i’m afraid as they also have to travel to a Tottenham side who are in fine form, playing some of the smoothest football in the league. Maddison has taken to the side like a duck to water and this game could prove to be an important spring board for their next fixture against North London rivals…

                                                                                                                                  West Ham 2 – 2 Man City

 

Some may call me brave, some may call me foolish and some may call me maybe. Outdated pop references aside, West ham have been magnificent playing a low block and hitting teams on the counter, so Man City will need to be on top form if they are to take all 3 points here, but we truly believe the Hammers are capable of producing a huge result here. If the Chelsea result turned a few heads, the performance against Brighton had people turning their whole body’s 180 so I know im going out on a limb here but this will be the upset of the week.

                                                                                                                                  Newcastle 2 – 1 Brentford

 

1 win in 4 for Eddie Howe’s Toon army is an alarming start this early into the season, an despite arguably having the toughest fixture list so far, the performances have also been a cause for concern. Their demolition of Villa on the opening day led many to believe that we were going to see them really kick on from last season and continue in their rise, however the loss against 10 man Liverpool followed by a comprehensive defeat to Brighton has set the side back massively. Brentford on the the other hand have been their usual impressive selves so far, but with all that being said, the home advantage for Newcastle should provide them with the perfect platform for them to kick on their season. A bad result here though and their will be a real sense of worry on Tyneside.

                                                                                                                          Bournemouth 2 – 2 Chelsea

 

Neither of these two sides have been particularly convincing in the opening fixtures of this season, with Chelsea understandably not quite finding their rhythm and Bournemouth struggling to keep out the goals. I was incredibly tempted to give the 3 points all to Bournemouth as its hard to predict what Chelsea will show up, on the one hand they are producing some decent attacking football, but on the other hand they look susceptible at the back and have struggled putting the ball in the back of the net. This should be a fun game to watch and it would not be a great shock if we see Bournemouth secure their first win of the season, but if Chelsea show up then its very possible that with their style of football they could grab 3 or 4 against the Cherries.. Just make sure Jackson has his shooting boots.

                                                                                                                                        Everton 1 – 1 Arsenal

 

High of the back of their highly anticipated win against fierce rivals Manchester United last time out, Arsenal will be looking to keep to winning ways this weekend, the only problem is that they go to a ground they have failed to win at in 6 years. Enter the Toffee’s, 1 point on the board so far this season but as we all know, football is a game about narratives so I would not be suprised if this is the game that see’s them jump out of the relegation zone.

                                                                                                                 Nottingham forest 0 – 0 Burnley

An unfamiliar position for Kompany’s Burnley, who swiped away all challengers last season in their dominant Championship winning season, but find themselves rock bottom of the table with 0 points so far. Granted, they were robbed of the oppertunity to play Luton so they are a game behind most other sides, and they have been given a rather unforgiving run of fixtures so far. My initial prediction was to have Forest edge this one, most likely with talisman Awoniyi scoring the only goal of the game, but I actually thing this will be the kickstarter to Burnley’s season, a classic 0-0 draw, Dyche would be proud.