Friday 25 October 2013

Barclays Predictions League 6

Crystal Palace v Arsenal (Saturday, 12:45pm)

I feel a bit sorry for Ian Holloway but I also think he has made a very noble decision to step down as manager and the big question is obviously who will take his place. Tony Pulis has apparently been approached for the vacant post.

Steve Parish has been very understanding of Holloway's position and even said he would have been prepared to go down and come back up with him but nevertheless, we move on.

I don't really see anything here other than an Arsenal win to be honest. But Paul Merson has said in his predictions that Palace have got no chance here, which I still think is wrong to say because Arsenal could be terrible on the day and the home team could nick it.

I see Arsenal winning because they have the quality in their team and Palace, bar the 3-1 win over Sunderland in August, have lost every top flight game this season. But just because Arsenal have much more quality in their side does not mean they are automatically going to take three points away from Selhurst Park as I expect them to be made to work for it.

Score: 1-2
Aston Villa v Everton

The battle of the Belgians! Christain Benteke v Romelu Lukaku. Both sides sit in 13th and 7th in the table respectively.

Paul Lambert's side have been inconsistent but they have started this season better than last season where they were near the bottom three.

Roberto Martinez's Everton have more or less picked up where they left off under David Moyes and they still play some lovely football although Hull did give them a good run for their money last week.

I still see this being a draw and I am going to go one further and say that I think Villa will take the lead in the first half and Everton will snatch a point after the break.

Score: 1-1
Liverpool v West Brom

Liverpool's start to the season has been very good for the most part but they weren't very good in the 2-2 draw at Newcastle last weekend.

They had a man advantage for just over half of the game but I didn't think they were good enough to win the game but that, in fairness, is down to how well Newcastle played.

This game they should win though, especially in front of their home fans at Anfield so, without him getting complacent, Brendan Rodgers will be pretty confident.

Steve Clarke will also have a reason to be confident as his West Brom side did the double over Liverpool last season, winning 3-0 at the Hawthorns and 2-0 at Anfield.

Home win, but West Brom fans will be happy with the way their team have performed in recent weeks and were well structured at Stoke.

Score: 3-1
Man Utd v Stoke

David Moyes knows his team needs to win this game as, from their point of view, drawing against Southampton last week and only beating Real Sociedad via an own goal would be slightly worrying.

But they still have the quality in their team to get through the season and I expect them to beat the Potters at the weekend.

Stoke last week did not look particularly convincing in front of goal against West Brom and Mark Hughes will be concerned about their lack of goal threat.

Both teams should be fine this season but I cannot see Man Utd not winning at Old Trafford.

Score: 3-1
Norwich v Cardiff

Norwich were run riot against league leaders Arsenal last week while Cardiff suffered the same 4-1 scoreline loss at Chelsea.

I felt for Malky Mackay's team as Chelsea's equalising goal, regardless if it should have stood or not, did prove a turning point and they did not deserve to lose emphatically as they gave the Blues a good go.

The same can be said for Norwich as they had a spell at the Emirates when the score was just 2-1 and it looked like they could have nicked a point.

I am not going to say this is a must-win game for both teams but, Norwich in particular, could do with a win here.

Score: 2-1
Southampton v Fulham (Saturday, 5:30pm)

I don't think even the most optimistic Southampton fan could have dreamed of the start their team has made to this season, sitting sixth in the league, albeit it is still early days.

While they didn't have many clear cut chances at Old Trafford, they never gave up and it was a fantastic result for them.

Mauricio Pochettino has got them pressing teams high up the pitch and they take the game to the opposition, which is what Martin Jol will expect of them.

Fulham effectively ended Ian Holloway's tenure as Crystal Palace manager by gaining a welcome win at Selhurst Park on Monday night, with Pajtim Kasami and Steve Sidwell's spectacular strikes helping them along the way.

I back Southampton to win but two wins on the bounce will provide relief for Cottagers fans and they look as though they may have turned the corner.

Score: 2-1
Sunderland v Newcastle (Sunday, 1:30pm)

This, in my opinion, is the most passionate derby in the Premier League and I am glad more pundits are starting to realise it as it means so much to the fans.

Both Sunderland and Newcastle fans are some of the best fans in the country and both Gus Poyet and Alan Pardew will have that on their minds going into this one.

Based solely on form, Newcastle should win this match but, as the fans will tell you, form goes completely out of the window in these games.

Gus Poyet has admitted this game would be the perfect one to start a winning run and I think he is right. If, and it is a big if, Sunderland win on Sunday then it could kick start their season. Even a draw may be a decent result for them at the moment.

On the other hand, a win will do Alan Pardew the world of good. In fairness to them, I didn't think Newcastle played as badly as the 3-0 score suggested at St James' Park back in April. They still had their chances to score; they just didn't take them and I don't think Sunderland would have won if the Toon hadn't had three previous fixtures in the space of 10 days.

Both sides I think will be determined not to lose, especially Sunderland, who capitulated in the second half at Swansea last week. Newcastle, meanwhile, can take heart from their deserved 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool, especially with playing with 10 men for just over half of the game.

For the third time in a row, I am predicting a draw. BUT I literally can see either team winning and I think it is the most open Tyne-Wear derby in years.

Score: 1-1
Chelsea v Man City (Sunday, 4:00pm)

This game will be one of the biggest so far this season for both teams. Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini will approach this game cautiously and a win will be a big result for either of these two.

There is debate about Chelsea's equalising goal against Cardiff but they still went on to win despite not playing at their best.

Man City won at West Ham last Saturday and won at CSKA Moscow in midweek in the Champions League. So that will do them a world of good going into this.

I can see Chelsea going for the win more considering it is at Stamford Bridge but City's defence usually holds firm.

Score: 2-2
Swansea v West Ham (Sunday, 4:00pm)

Michael Laudrup's side got a much-needed home win over bottom-club Sunderland last week and followed that up with a draw against Kuban Krasnodar in the Europa League to remain top of the group even though they will be frustrated to concede a last-gap penalty.

This is another game where I expect Swansea to edge despite playing Thursday-Sunday again.

West Ham were outplayed in the majority of the game against Man City last Saturday but they have eight points from eight games and there is still a large majority of the season to go.

Score: 1-0
Tottenham v Hull (Sunday, 4:00pm)

This is the first of two meetings between these two at White Hart Lane, the second coming in the Capital One Cup next week.

Tottenham won 2-0 in Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League which followed a victory at Aston Villa last Sunday.

So Andre Villas Boas' team are making steady strides and only sit outside the top four on goal difference. So they will be a Chelsea fan on Sunday because if they at least draw and Spurs win then they will be back in the top four.

But Hull have given a good account of themselves in the Premier League and they only just lost to Everton last week.

If Tottenham start well and capitalise on that period then it can be a long way back for Steve Bruce's team. In the past they have been dominant while not scoring and they have been punished for it.

Score: 2-0

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