Barclays Predictions League 8

Everton v Liverpool (Saturday, 12:45pm)

Roberto Martinez's first Merseyside derby promises to be a cracker. David Moyes' final two derbies ended in draws last season. At Goodison Park the game ended 2-2 while the reverse fixture at Anfield was goalless.

Everton generally have played well this season but were held by Crystal Palace last time around and the Eagles arguably had the better chances against them.

Meanwhile Liverpool thrashed Fulham in their previous league game and they are really starting to look like a team. They also did well to respond from their defeat at Arsenal too.

But both teams have attacking mindsets and usually do not sit back to get a draw. While both teams should be going for the win, I see this one ending all square.

Score: 1-1

Arsenal v Southampton

If someone told me this was going to be a massively important game for Arsenal's title hopes, I would have simply refused to believe it.

That is all the more credit to Mauricio Pochettino's Southampton who have had a brilliant start to this campaign.

They outclassed a consistently good Hull side at St Mary's two weeks ago and showed how good they can be. England's Adam Lallana did well against Chille and Germany and shall be determined to continue the form which got him an international call up in the first place.

Arsene Wenger will know the Saints have beaten Liverpool and drawn against Manchester United, who beat them two weeks ago thanks to former Gunner Robin Van Persie.

Arsenal themselves are still top of the league but they didn't create too much at Old Trafford which will frustrate them. They have still had an impressive start to the season.

I back the home team to win but nowhere as heavy as the meeting here last year.

Score: 1-0

Fulham v Swansea

Rene Meulensteen coming in behind the scenes will add a different atmosphere around Craven Cottage. This couldn't come at a better time as Fulham are in free fall at the moment.

Against Liverpool they were awful, which is obvious for everyone to see. I understand the firepower they have got but they cannot get gritty and Martin Jol's side lack determination to see out the game.

This fixture, while more winnable, is not easy is it? Michael Laudrup's side were robbed in their draw against Stoke two weeks ago as Charlie Adam's penalty was very harsh. You may as well block the ball with your face and it is now a penalty.

Still, coming from 2-0 down to be leading 3-2 especially after a European game is something worth pointing out.

As I said with the Sunderland v Newcastle game, I can literally see this one going any way possible. Fulham need a win, both teams could cancel each other out and Swansea could have too much from the home team. They have won their last two visits there after all.

Score: 1-1

Hull v Crystal Palace

I have to say I am surprised that Crystal Palace haven't appointed a new manager yet although apparently Tony Pulis is in advanced talks.

I still think they will go down but at the same time they can still get out of trouble.

In fairness to them, their 0-0 draw with Everton last time around was a good point for them and they can take some positives from that.

Hull were outclassed last time at Southampton but Palace are a team I expect them to beat, especially at home.

And they have made a better start than I thought they would. We will just have to see if they can keep it going.

Score: 2-1

Newcastle v Norwich

Newcastle's inconsistency must baffle their fans. They lose the Wear-Tyne derby to Sunderland and then beat Chelsea and Tottenham.

The Chelsea win was a team performance while the Spurs win was solely down to Tim Krul who simply could not be beaten.

He really proved what a good keeper he is and Alan Pardew will be hoping he has more days like that where he keeps out practically everything.

Chris Hughton will hope differently however on his second return to St James' Park especially after a much-needed win against West Ham where were outplayed in the first 45 minutes.

Norwich still do not look like scoring too often which will still be a worry for Hughton and they needed a penalty to get off the mark against West Ham.

Even though the home side have been beaten by teams they should be beating, I still feel they have an overall stronger squad than the Canaries.

Score: 2-1

Stoke v Sunderland

Gus Poyet arriving has presented a renewed optimism on Wearside. They have now won all three of their home games against Newcastle, Southampton and now Manchester City.

However, as many will tell you, it is away from home they obviously struggle. There were positives from their last away game at Hull as with nine men they still gave it a go and, considering the game could have got much worse, that is impressive.

Stoke themselves, similar to Norwich, cannot score many goals but did get three last time at Swansea even though they got very lucky thanks to a very controversial penalty.

I do think there will be goals in this match strangely. Sunderland have only just kept their first clean sheet and Stoke cannot score. Interesting stats don't you think?

Score: 1-1

West Ham v Chelsea (Saturday, 5:30pm)

How West Ham fans would love a repeat of last season's home win against the Blues. Sam Allardyce certainly wouldn't mind it that is for sure.

I have been underwhelmed by the Hammers start to the season. The obvious problem is their lack of a centre forward. Look at the first-half against Norwich two weeks ago where they dominated but only scored one goal and were later punished.

They should not get as many chances against Jose Mourinho's side but you never know in football. Chelsea have conceded two goals in their last two league matches however.

They were lucky in my opinion to get a draw against West Brom as they were outplayed and outperformed in the majority of the game - particularly in the second-half.

It wouldn't surprise me if West Ham did get something out of the game but I think they away side will just edge this latest London derby.

Score: 1-2

Man City v Tottenham (Sunday, 1:30pm)

Man City should get some comfort given that they are at home again this time but they seriously need to sort out their away form after their latest (and fourth consecutive) 1-0 loss at Sunderland.

They can challenge for the title but their 100% home record has kept them just about in distance.

Manuel Pellegrini I will give credit for dropping Joe Hart recently even though he actually did play pretty well in England's loss to Germany to be fair to the guy.

Andre Villas-Boas is under a bit of pressure after their somewhat undeserved defeat to Newcastle. Tim Krul was in inspired form that day so any team would have found it hard to get past him on his day.

But Tottenham have found it difficult to find the back of the net this season and the sale of Gareth Bale maybe starting to affect them.

Against Crystal Palace, Swansea and Hull they only won 1-0 because of a penalty. Against Cardiff it took them until stoppage time to beat them.

City here for me.

Score: 2-1

Cardiff v Man Utd (Sunday, 4:00pm)

Cardiff have this game and this a home match against Arsenal so these games are coming thick and fast for them.

Cardiff have a strong resilience under Malky Mackay and did win their last home game against South Wales rivals Swansea.

But David Moyes' Manchester United, understandably bouyed by their win against Arsenal before the international break, should have too much for them.

Man Utd can still retain the title but I think their squad currently isn't strong enough. I do think they will leave Wales will three points however.

Score: 0-2

West Brom v Aston Villa (Monday, 8:00pm)

Here we are with a Midlands derby to cap off the return of Premier League football.

West Brom, as I said, were unlucky not to win against Chelsea which is saying something. They played extremely well at Stamford Bridge and a controversial penalty denied them a famous win.

Aston Villa finally got off the mark twice against Cardiff and both sides will have optimism after recent results.

I fancy West Brom as it is at the Hawthorns. If Christian Benteke is kept fit for Paul Lambert, then a win seems more likely.

Score: 2-1

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer Review

I had been waiting weeks to see the trailer for the next X-Men movie ever since I saw some (low quality) footage from Comic Con on Youtube.

I have watched it dozens, if not hundreds of times ever since it was officially released a few weeks back and it has increased my excitement dramatically for May 2014.

At the same time, however, I am going to be cautious going into it for a number of reasons.

Firstly, one of the reasons I am so excited for Days of Future Past is because First Class was so good.

I am not familiar with any of the source material but I felt Matthew Vaughn's 2011 blockbuster was the best X-Men film yet. I haven't seen The Wolverine but I plan to get around to it.

I felt First Class got the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, who later become Professor X and Magneto, spot on and that is largely down to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender who were superb in their roles.

Because their friendship was strong in that film, it makes the final third of the movie have a really emotional tone and you really feel it when they go their separate ways. Or I did, anyway.

So one thing I am keen to see in Days of Future Past is how both characters develop and from what I have seen in the trailer, Xavier looks like a broken man, troubled by the loss of his legs along with Erik and Mystique.

Mystique herself seems to be heartbroken as we see her crying in the trailer. We don't definitively know why but I assume it is because of what happened towards the end of First Class.

But I am also interested to both sets of cast members interact on screen with each other. We see this with both McAvoy and Patrick Stewart at the end of the trailer.

The Marvel geek inside me screamed with delight but I also want to see Fassbender and Ian McKellen interact on screen with each other.

Nevertheless, I like the idea of both sets of the X-Men family interacting in the same movie and given that it also seems to be a time travel movie adds an extra level of anticipation.

But, as I stated in the intro, I am also quite cautious.

The reason I say this is because even though this trailer makes Days of Future Past look epic, Spider-Man 3 had the same thing happen.

The previews and advertisements made that film look great but Sam Raimi's third web-slinging adventure proved to be a victim of three-quel-itis, where it doesn't live up the two previous instalments.

Spider-Man 3 had the problems of cluttering everything into one movie and expecting it to make a good story. We had three movie villains, all of whom were somewhat under-developed. There were other story elements and character plot points which simply didn't work because the film was trying to do so much.

I seriously hope that Days of Future Past avoids this and really has a good story to it.

But with Bryan Singer directing, I do feel more confident as the first two X-Men movies he directed and both were good.

Anyway, what is your opinion on X-Men: Days of Future Past? Leave a comment and start a debate! Bring on May 2014!

Sunderland v Southampton: Capital One Cup Match Preview

 

By tomorrow night I will have been to both St James' Park and The Stadium of Light in the space of a week.

 

Myself and a wonderful bloke called Bob Miller, who I used to stay with for a few years along with his lovely wife Alma, are going to this game together.

 

Bob, now in his 60s but still fresh and going around everywhere, has been a Southampton fan ever since he was a teenager so you are all probably wondering why he is sitting with the home fans. Well the answer is because I sat with him and the Saints fans when Sunderland travelled to St Marys' in the second Premier League game this season.

 

That game rounded off a lovely few days down the Isle Of Wight, which is a beautiful place by the way and if you ever get the chance, go down there!

 

I obviously had to keep my mouth shut after three minutes when Emanuele Giaccherini scored but the game was torturous to watch as a Sunderland fan because Southampton kept on attacking our goal non-stop for 90 minutes.

 

Jose Fonte scored a late equaliser which, in fairness, they did deserve and before the game I would have been happy with a draw. It's just the timing of it which annoyed me!

 

So as you can probably guess by now, I do not like playing against Southampton but as a whole, I LOVE their style of football.

 

When Nigel Adkins brought the Saints "marching in" to the Premier League, I immediately wanted them to stay up. The optimisim and likability of both Adkins and the team was like the new Blackpool if you catch my drift!

 

When Ian Holloway brought the Tangerines to the top flight in 2010, he was one of the reasons I went into football in the first place and because Blackpool played with such a freedom and joy, I choose them as my second team.

 

The same applies with Southampton under Adkins for me. The thing that really impressed me was that they, unlike Sunderland for the most part last season, just went for it.

 

I watched them against Manchester United and Arsenal last season and you could argue in both games they deserved to win.

 

The last game before Adkins was wrongly dismissed was a superb draw at then Champions League winners Chelsea. To come back from 2-0 down to claim a point at Stamford Bridge, especially for a newly promoted team, was incredible.

 

But the modern game waits for no man no man these days and that sadly proved to be the case for Adkins.



Since taking over as manager in the South Coast, Mauricio Pochettino has done a fanastic job with Southampton, as has beaten Liverpool twice, at both St Marys' and Anfield, Chelsea and Manchester City as well as securing a draw at Old Trafford a couple of weeks back.

 

I don't quite have the attachment to the Saints as I did when Adkins was there, but I still want them to do well, apart when they play Sunderland and Blackpool of course.

 

But in this case, I am not particularly bothered if Southampton beat us. For starters, if we beat them and went through we have set ourselves up for a League Cup quarter-final at home to Chelsea and I know we will get ripped apart there.

 

Secondly, Southampton potentially playing Chelsea at St Marys' is a more interesting cup match in my opinion, considering that game has been chosen for Sky, and I want Southampton to win the Cup if they can.

 

Thirdly, I would rather beat them in the league as Premier League survival is Sunderland's main priority.

 

So as Blackpool have definitively taken their place as my second team, Southampton would be a CLOSE third.

 

As for Sunderland! Well, (sigh) we could have taken the opportunity to build on the Wear-Tyne derby win at Hull but, as per usual, we didn't. All I can say is Sunderland have a good record against the Saints in recent years as we have not lost to them in the last five meetings.

 

But all records are meant to be broken and I think Southampton will beat us tomorrow night, whether in ordinary time, extra-time or by penalties I just don't know.

 

One thing is for sure. In the likely event Sunderland do go down and Blackpool do not get promotion, I have already decided my Premier League team next season; three guesses who that is? Hmm, I just wonder.

 

"Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh when the Saints go marching iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnn!"

Barclays Predictions League 7

Newcastle v Chelsea (Saturday, 12:45pm)

When I saw Newcastle's team that started against Sunderland, I expected them to cause all sorts of problems for the Black Cats' back four. Yohan Cabaye, Check Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa and Loic Remy are players that can organise the play and score goals.

While I think it is more credit to how well Sunderland defended, they were all lacklustre as Alan Pardew's side were restricted to long range efforts so they will need to work on their shooting.

I was also at St James' Park on Wednesday when their performance against Manchester City was much better and I thought they deserved to win in ordinary time but they just ran out of energy. So the team and the fans can take heart from that and carry it into this game.

I think it would be very unfair if Pardew lost his job just because of the last two derby results. I think he has done pretty well with the team he has got and if they can produce a performance here he may get some fans back on his side.

Interesting fact, Newcastle have always taken at least two points off the Blues since they were promoted back to the top flight in 2010 and in the last two seasons they have beaten Chelsea.

Chelsea deservedly won at Arsenal in the Capital One Cup as well as scoring in stoppage time to beat Manchester City so they will be obviously confident going to St James' Park.

If I was betting on a team to win this game I would back Chelsea because the home side had to play 120 minutes of football on Wednesday.

But Jose Mourinho will know that it is one of those grounds where you should get a tough ride and I expect Newcastle will respond so I am going for a draw.

Score: 1-1 

Fulham v Man Utd

I am not going to judge Fulham so early yet but if they don't pick up points in the next few games they will be in trouble.

In fairness to them, losing to Southampton is not a disgrace as Liverpool and Manchester United failed to beat them. And Leicester are high flying at the moment so that was always going to be a hard cup game, especially at the King Power Stadium.

I am pretty sure that a cup run was not a priority for Martin Jol anyway. Victory against David Moyes' side would definitely help his situation though.

Man Utd were extremely lucky to beat Stoke, who deserved at least a point from Old Trafford. But, as it has been said a thousand times before, that is the Ferguson trait which the players need to maintain. Not to mention face Stoke again in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup after beating Norwich on Tuesday.

Here, I cannot see anything other than a Man Utd win. They have the quality and even the Cottagers do have some good players, they generally do not play well in games and their mentality is usually not very good.

Score: 1-3 

Hull v Sunderland

Sunderland's 2-1 derby win over Newcastle was much needed to give the players some belief and confidence and the fans will hope this can kick-start their season.

They closed down as much space as possible and even though it was not a game full of memorable chances, they battled hard as a team and scored an absolute screamer of a goal from Fabio Borini.

The on-loan Liverpool striker showed how much it meant to him to score the winning goal on derby day and I could not have been happier for the bloke.

So while Gus Poyet will be delighted to beat Newcastle, everyone knows that it is merely a step in the right direction and they still have to win more games in order to get out of the bottom three.

Hull, meanwhile, have had contrasting fortunes, losing twice to Tottenham in the space of a week and former Black Cats boss Steve Bruce will feel aggrieved by both games.

While he insists there is no revenge mission against the club which sacked him in November 2011, he will want to get one over on Sunderland.

Hull, like Newcastle, played 120 minutes in midweek, where Sunderland will be fresher. So it gives the visitors more chance of a second win in a row but Hull are still strong at home.

Score: 1-1 

Man City v Norwich

The scoreline at Old Trafford on Tuesday was harsh on Norwich as they played ok for much of the game. But Man Utd had too much quality for them in the end.

Despite winning here on the final day of last season I think Manuel Pellegrini's talent will overpower Chris Hughton's canaries.

I expect City's performance will be improved here because, even though they though they played ok at Chelsea, they were poor at Newcastle in the Capital One Cup and it took extra-time to beat the Magpies.

Lots of teams in the bottom half of the table will be backing City to beat Norwich, who usually do not look like scoring goals.

Score: 4-1

Stoke v Southampton

Southampton really do play some lovely football don't they? They outclassed Fulham last weekend and they also have the chance to go into the quarter-finals of the League Cup when they travel to Sunderland on Wednesday.

Mauricio Pochettino deserves tremendous credit as the big difference between this season and last season was that Southampton are much tighter at the back.

They have only conceded three goals this season whereas last year they by far conceded the most goals in the division.

So they should beat Stoke as they cannot usually score goals but I think Mark Hughes would take a point here if he was offered it.

Score: 1-1

West Brom v Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace put in a brave showing against Arsenal last week and were probably unlucky to lose, let alone by a 2-0 scoreline.

But they have realised how tough it will be in the top flight and they need to produce those performances week in, week out and getting results to go with them.

West Brom away is not the ideal fixture when you need points. They were, of course, outclassed last week at Liverpool but they are a good team and they have done ok this year.

I still think they miss Romelu Lukaku but they have scored goals without him and they should be fine. I certainly don't bet against them here.

Score: 2-0  

West Ham v Aston Villa

Sam Allardyce should be pleased with a 0-0 draw at free-scoring Swansea last week and they will think this is a game they can get more points on the board.

Aston Villa, likewise have been inconsistent this season but they could think they were slightly unfortunate to lose against Everton considering they missed a penalty.

Still though, the home team won in the games last season and I see it happening again. Villa lost narrowly last season and I see West Ham just shading it here.

Score: 2-1

Arsenal v Liverpool (Saturday, 5:30pm)

This is a massive game for both teams, especially for Arsenal as they will want to bounce back from their disappointing performance on Tuesday against Chelsea.

But Juan Mata's goal was top quality and Arsene Wenger, you could argue, will have seen this game as more important.

Liverpool, like Arsenal have made a very good start to the season and recently outclassed West Brom last Saturday with Suarez getting a hat-trick and Sturridge getting on the scoresheet again.

This one should be close, but Arsenal with the home fans should give them enough to see it through so I back the Gunners to edge Brendan Rodger's side. Just!

Score: 2-1

Everton v Tottenham (Sunday, 1:30pm)

The other half of Merseyside against another North London side. Roberto Martinez v Andre Villas-Boas.

Once again, Everton have proved what a brilliant move is what to sign Romelu Lukaku as he found the net yet again at Aston Villa and they continue to go from strength to strength.

Tottenham effectively needed penalties to overcome Hull in both the league and the cup over the last week and this game is no easy one that is for sure.

Everton, at home, have won their previous two matches here against Spurs but I see this one ending all square.

Score: 2-2

Cardiff v Swansea (Sunday, 4:00pm)

We have had the North London derby, the Manchester derby, the Wear-Tyne derby and now the derby heads to South Wales.

Malky Mackay and Michael Laudrup seemed to be mates when on Match of the Day covering Sir Alex Ferguson's final home game in charge of Manchester United, ironically against Swansea in May,  but they will want their own team to get a win.

Like any derby, the important thing is if you don't win it, you have to make sure you do not lose it.

Cardiff and Swansea are only settled by two points in the league so it should be end-to-end.

Swansea have the better players on paper but I see Cardiff getting a point here as it is at the Cardiff City ground and the atmosphere may have an impact on their team to go and get a result.

Score: 1-1