Game Week 2 - Preview and Predictions

The opening Game Week of the new season saw some fabulous games, with title contenders Chelsea picking up 2 wins from the two games they had, including one in midweek, while others like Man Utd, Man City also picked up important wins. Arsenal didn’t start the season well, and will want to kick start their season with a win against Fulham, and the win in midweek against Fenerbache in UCL qualifiers would have given the team a big boost. Spurs, with the on - going Bale saga, also picked up a win with a goal from record signing Roberto Soldado. 

The big match this week is undoubtedly Man Utd vs Chelsea on the 26^th, while Fulham vs Arsenal, London Derby, also promises to be an intriguing affair. Another match which would provide some exciting football would be Spurs vs Swansea, with both sides known to play attractive football. 

Without further ado, lets start the previews and predictions for the upcoming Game Week:

Fulham vs Arsenal

Fulham started their season well, with a goal from Pajtim Kasami propelling them to an away win over Sunderland, while Arsenal couldn’t have wished for a worst start, and some questionable refereeing handing them a loss against Aston Villa, who barely managed to avoid relegation last season

Players Injured/Suspended :

Fulham- M Stekelenburg , K Richardson, F Amorebieta, A Kacaniklic

Arsenal- Laurent Koscielny, Alex Chamberlain, Mikel Arteta, Ryo Miyaichi, Thomas Vermaelen, Abou Diaby, Nacho Monreal

 

Prediction: 1-2 

Though it’s a home game for Fulham, Arsenal’s morale boosting 3-0 away victory at Fenerbache would be a good enough confidence booster to the team

Everton vs West Brom

Players Injured/Suspended :

Everton: Antolin Alcaraz, Slyvian Distin(late fitness test), Darron Gibson(late fitness test),Hibbert, Magaye Gueye

West Brom: Steven Reid, George Thorne, Zoltan Gera

Prediction: 1-0

Everton to scrape through. The Toffees weren’t at their best against Norwich and it looks like the new boss Martinez would need a little time to settle in and get his team to play the way he wants.

Hull vs Norwich

Players Injured/Suspended :

Hull: Stephen Quinn

Norwich: Robert Snodgrass, Anthony Pilkington, Gary Hooper, Sebastian Bassong, Leroy Fer

Prediction: 1-2

Norwich looked impressive against Everton on the opening weekend. Hull got steam rolled by Chelsea in the first half. They might just take more time to adjust to the Top division. A narrow victory to the Canaries.

Newcastle vs West Ham

Players Injured/Suspended :

Newcastle: Check Tiote(late fitness test), Jonas Guiterrez, Massadio Haidarra, Davide Santon, Loic Remy, Ben Alnwick, Steven Taylor

West Ham: Andy Carroll, George Mc Cartney

Prediction : 1-1

After a  thrashing at the hands of City on Monday, Newcastle would want to regroup as quickly as possible. With Arsenal’s withdrawn interest in Cabaye, who looks set to feature against West Ham, Allerdyce might just feel the heat at St. James Park

Southampton vs Sunderland

Players Injured/Suspended :

Southampton:Nil

Sunderland: Wes Brown,Lee Cattermole,Phil Bardsley,Steven Fletcher,Craig Gardner, David Vaughan

Prediction:  2-0

The Saints signed mercurial striker Pablo Osvaldo a couple of days back, which makes their attack one to reckon with. Sunderland, with their host of new signings, are still trying to get their chemistry right. An opening day loss against Fulham didn’t help. Another loss on the cards for them.

Pablo Osvaldo looks rather like a rockstar here, holding the Saints jersey!

 

Stoke City vs Crystal Palace

Players Injured/Suspended :

Stoke: Jamie Ness, Wilson Palacios, Brek Shea

Crystal Palace: Jonathan Parr, Patrick Mc carthy, Lewis Price, Yala Bolasie, Jerome Thomas, Glenn Murray

Prediction: 0-0

With almost a similar squad from last year, Mark Hughes will certainly find it tough to change the defensive mentality of the Stoke side. With the Eagles bursting with enthusiasm against Tottenham on the opening game of the season, Stoke would do well do hold onto a draw.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool

Players Injured/Suspended :

Aston Villa: Ciaran Clark, Nathan Baker(late fitness test), Chris Herd, Charles N’Zogbia

Liverpool: Luis Suarez, Sebastian Coates

Prediction: 1-2

A superb victory against Arsenal and an equally superb yet unlucky performance against Chelsea, has propelled Paul Lambert’s men into the limelight. However, it looks like Liverpool might just scrape through this one.

Cardiff City vs Manchester City

Players Injured/Suspended :

Cardiff: Andrew Taylor, Andreas Cornelius

Man City: Vincent Kompany, Stevan Jovetic, Micah Richards, Matija Nastasic

Prediction: 0-3

 

Cardiff were poor against West Ham, and the Premier League new boys have to face Manchester City next. Another drubbing is on the cards for the Welsh club with City looking in red hot form.

Tottenham vs Swansea

Players Injured/Suspended :

Spurs: Gareth Bale, Lewis Holtby

Swansea: Jonathan De Guzman, Nathan Dyer

Prediction: 3-1

Home support, new signings, and more signings to come in the future. Spurs are looking to build a squad capable of challenging the best in Europe, but forst they need to qualify to the UCL this season. While Swansea wont be a pushover, Spurs definitely look the better side, and with both squads having played their Europa League qualifiers midweek, Spurs look better occupied to cope with fatigue due to their depth of squad.

Man Utd vs Chelsea

The big match of the weekend, the two title contenders face off in what is definitely going to be a treat for the viewers. It’s a Monday night kickoff, and Jose Mourinho would want to continue his winning run in his second innings with Chelsea, while new Man Utd manager David Moyes would want to stamp his authority by winning this fixture. United got off to a brilliant start by winning against Swansea and scoring 4 goals in the process, while Chelsea have won both the matches they had in the first game week.  The match promises to be an evenly contested affair. 

Players Injured/Suspended :

 Man Utd: Jonny Evans, Ashley Young, Rafael, Javier Hernandez, Nani, Nick Powell, Darren Fletcher

Chelsea: David Luiz, Tomas Kalas

Prediction: 2-2

 

TFOB thinks it is going to be a draw, because although Chelsea look the better side on paper, Manchester United will enjoy home support. And the ‘Underdogs’ tag is something the Champions relish and this case is no different.

-Navoday (Admin Le Grove)