Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal all eye top spot of the League as week eight kicks off. Manchester
- Simon Mucunguzi
- Oct 21, 2016
- 6 min read
AFC Bournemouth vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League is back again this weekend and the early kick off of this weekend is between Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur at Vitality Stadium on Saturday. Bournemouth is eleventh on the table and they managed to score 6 goals against Hull City last weekend.
Tottenham on the side missed an opportunity of topping the table after they were held to 1-1 draw by West Bromwich, Tottenham is currently 3rd on the table with 18 points and they still have a chance of topping the table if they can beat Bournemouth but, it’s a tricky game with the way this Bournemouth side is scoring, they have scored 11 goals from there last four games and 9 goals of those have been scored at home.
Tottenham travels to Liverpool on Tuesday next week for their League Cup encounter may want to rest some players for this game, but, also remember they played Champions League two days ago in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen where they secured a goalless draw. It has been a tight schedule for them and I see Bournemouth being stubborn enough to a get a draw out of this fixture, I will go for Bournemouth 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough
Arsenal is at home again this weekend hosting Middlesbrough who are in the relegation battle.
Middlesbrough is not convincing at all but, the can choose to frustrate you if it’s their lucky day, Arsenal on the other hand are flying with goals coming from all sources, Theo Walcott and Ozil have both scored 4 goals each in Arsenal last two games and Arsenal has won all their last five games.
It will be hard for Middlesbrough to hang on for 90 minutes without Arsenal scoring them but, they have one advantage that Arsenal can sometimes loose concentration in their defense and if one can be smart enough, scoring two goals against Arsenal is possible like Swansea did last weekend, but I still think Arsenal will win this one, Arsenal 3-1 Middlesbrough.
Burnley vs. Everton
Burnley suffered a 3-1 loss to Southampton last weekend and they are hosting Everton this weekend who managed to get a draw against the table leaders Manchester City.
Burnley’s strength majorly lies in their defense but, they have been poor at scoring goals, Everton however, has a strong striking force of Lukaku and Bolasie who can be so hard to contain most times and playing against a team like Burnley that is struggling to get goals is a gift to Everton, but, Burnley will not want to go down at home and having lost their last two games, they know losing a third game is unacceptable. I will go a draw in this, Burnley 1-1 Everton
Hull City vs. Stoke City
Hull City was humiliated last weekend by Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium when they conceded 6 goals and 3 of those at half time, they are playing at home this weekend against struggling stoke City but, Stoke managed to beat Sunderland last weekend and had got a draw against Manchester United a week prior.
I see an open game in this but, I am leaning towards favoring the home team. I will go for Hull City 2-1 Stoke City.
Leicester City vs. Crystal Palace
Leicester City has not been convincing this season in the local league but, they have been so much solid in the Champions League.
They host Crystal Palace who are ahead of them by three points and ahead of them again by four positions in the 9th position but, Crystal Palace has some Injury scares including their new Belgian signing Christian Benteke.
Leicester City come into this game in 13th Position with just 8 points out of the eight games played so far, Leicester Manager Claudio Ranieri has made some hard comments over his team following their poor performance start in the league and for Crystal Palace to be visiting King Power stadium at this time of the season is a God sent gift for Leicester, it may not be an easy win for them but, all in all, it will be a Leicester win. I will go Leicester 2-0 Crystal Palace
Swansea City vs. Watford
Swansea has lost all their five previous games which saw them lose their manager in the process.
Bradley, their new manager lost his first game last weekend against Arsenal but, you can feel for this Swansea team having played Manchester City twice, Liverpool and Arsenal consecutively.
They are playing at home and playing a much feebler team - Watford. It’s an opportunity for Swansea this weekend to shine and if possible leave the relegation zone, they managed to score two goals against Arsenal last weekend and they had scored first against Liverpool therefore, Watford is no special case.
Swansea will score and win this game, I will go for Swansea 3-0 Watford.
West Ham United vs. Sunderland
West Ham managed to win an away last weekend against Crystal Palace by one goal to nil, they are at home this weekend against Sunderland who are last on the table with only 2 points in eight games played so far.
Sunderland is also still looking for their first win of the season and also hoping that their coach David Moyes can last longer but, that all depends on how the team performs, I have watched them play and they are not really the worst but, haven’t been luck sometimes, I want to choose Sunderland as my surprise win of the weekend.
They have a big list of injured players like Januzaj, Borini and Larsson but, England international Jermain Defoe is still fit and fighting for his team and coach. Sunderland will be my surprise win of the week end, I will go for West Ham 1-2 Sunderland
Liverpool vs. West Bromwich Albion
Liverpool will be playing their second game at Anfield in just five days after hosting Manchester United on Monday night where teams failed to score. They now host West Bromwich Albion who are 12th on the table with 10 points and they managed to hold Tottenham to a draw last weekend.
Liverpool can go on top of the table depending on how other teams will perform this weekend. They have a midweek League Cup encounter against Tottenham on Tuesday next week, Klopp may want to rest a few players and give opportunity to players like Origi some more time at the field.
Last weekend was the first time Liverpool failed to score this season but, also it was their first clean sheet, they have scored and conceded in all their previous games, West Brom will be a bit of a challenge but, I doubt if they can concentrate for 90 minutes before Liverpool breaks them.
Liverpool will be looking to the return of the Dutch international Wijnaldum from injury having missed the Manchester United game but Milner is still a doubt whether he will present or not.
Spanish midfielder Alberto Moreno is available to cover up in case Milner fails the fitness test.
Liverpool has been on a run of winning before playing Manchester United on Monday and I think they want to catch up again in this fixture, I don’t see West Brom doing much, I will go for Liverpool 3-0 Bromwich Albion
Manchester City vs. Southampton
Manchester City host Southampton hoping to recover from a long spell of bad form. City have not won in their last four games, they drew 3-3 to Celtic, lost to Tottenham 2-0, drew 1-1 with Everton and the most recent was a 4-0 loss to Barcelona.
Despite this appalling form, Man City are still top of the table and they will do everything not to lose points again. Southampton are 8th on the table with 12 points and scored three goals past Burnley last week but, lost to Italian giants Inter Milan in the Europa League match on Thursday and it looks like Manchester City will make no mistake on Sunday. I see a confortable Manchester City win, Manchester City 3-1 Southampton
Chelsea vs. Manchester United
The much anticipated game of the weekend will be Chelsea hosting Manchester United at Stamford Bridge and it is the first time Jose Mourinho is returning to his former club.
Chelsea manager Conte is yet to get his first win against big teams in the League though, he managed a 3-0 win against Leicester, lost to Liverpool 2-0 and to Arsenal 3-0.
They host Manchester United with a will to prove a point but, mostly Conte as a manager needs to make a statement on how competitive he can be. Manchester United will have to change the plan they deployed against Liverpool on Monday that saw them leave Anfield with a point.
Mourinho played Liverpool with his famous approach of defensive play and it was the first time Liverpool failed to score at least a goal in a game this season but, if United wants to win at Chelsea, this kind of approach cannot yield much. Pogba scored twice in their Europa game against Fenerbahçe on Thursday but, Manchester United fans will be expecting more on Sunday again.
Manchester united and Jose Mourinho must also keep in the mind week fixture of League Cup game where they host Manchester City and Mourinho is dreaming of winning both matches but, I think the Chelsea game will be hard, both teams have recently gained their form a bit but, Chelsea will playing at home and Costa has been consistent in scoring and surely he can do so in such a game.
You can’t rule Manchester United out, they have the quality required to win such a game on a good day but, am going with a home team, Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United.
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