Week 2 of the new Barclays Premier League season is almost upon us, marking the first ‘big game’ of the season in Man United v Chelsea. Here is a preview of all the forthcoming Premier League fixtures, along with my prediction of how they will turn out:
Fulham v Arsenal (12:45pm)
Saturday’s lunchtime game sees a London derby as Fulham host Arsenal. The last time these two teams met it ended 10v10, with 2 straight red cards shown to Steve Sidwell and Olivier Giroud.
These two had contrasting fortunes in the opening weekend of the new season, with Arsenal suffering a shock home defeat to last seasons strugglers Aston Villa, while Fulham took all three points back to Craven Cottage following their impressive 1-0 win over Sunderland.
Arsenal miss Laurent Koscielny and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for this clash due to suspension and injury respectively, leaving the Gunners even more vulnerable. Wenger will expect to see a vast improvement from last weeks dismal display, but he must shore up their defence, which is a frailty at the moment.
Confidence will be high in the Fulham camp and I expect them to cause the Gunners some problems.
Referee: Howard Webb (South Yorkshire)
Prediction: Draw
Everton v West Bromwich Albion
West Brom were poor last weekend. Everton were average. Both have some improving to do if they want to top their league position from last season.
This game marks Roberto Martinez’s first competitive home game as Everton boss, and he is sure to receive a warm welcome from the Everton faithful. The Spaniard is up against a strong West Brom side who seem to have established themselves in the Premier League after several seasons as a ‘yo-yo’ club, in and out of the top division.
Their boss Steve Clark proved why West Brom were right to give him a shot at being manager with an incredible start to last season. Their form dipped towards the end of the campaign and it seems the Midlands club are already missing last seasons man of the moment, Romelu Lukaku, having struggled to find the back of the net last weekend.
Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire)
Prediction: Home win
Hull City v Norwich City
This one might appear the most unappetising game of the weekend, but it’s actually an encounter that could tell us a lot about what lies ahead for these clubs this season.
It isn’t feasible to judge how Hull will do this season by their performance at Stamford Bridge last weekend; Chelsea are the favourites to clinch the title and most clubs struggle to take anything away from the Bridge. This game however, will provide us with an indication of what we can expect to see from these teams this season.
This is a winnable game for Steve Bruce’s Hull, who will be looking to use the home crowd to their advantage and will no doubt see this game as an opportunity to pick up three valuable points. Norwich did okay last weekend at home, but this one will be a tester and should give us an idea of how Chris Hughton’s team will fare on the road this season.
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)
Prediction: Draw
Newcastle United v West Ham United
Newcastle got annihilated at the Etihad on Monday night, and from their point of view, the Premier League season starts this Saturday against a West Ham team who got their campaign off to a flyer last weekend against newly promoted Cardiff.
Alan Pardew will be feeling the pressure in the build up to this one – Newcastle fans have high expectations and will expect a vast improvement upon last seasons 16th place finish. If they can hold on to Cabaye, he could prove vital for their season. He holds the midfield together, turns defence into attack and bags a few goals along the way, mainly from free kicks.
The Hammers are a strong team at home, but not so impressive away, and that will be an area they’ll look to improve this season.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)
Prediction: Draw
Southampton v Sunderland
Southampton really are looking to become a force in the Premier League with yet another big money signing arriving at St Mary’s in Italian striker Pablo Osvaldo, who was reportedly previously a target of Manchester City, which shows just how highly regarded the 27-year-old is.
The Saints have a challenging opening home game against a Sunderland team who would have been disappointed not to pick up any points last weekend. The Black Cats will be determined to take something from this one, and I think they will. Di Canio seems confident his team will have a good campaign this season and his ruthless management style may be perfect for Sunderland.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Prediction: Draw
Stoke City v Crystal Palace
Simon Mignolet prevented Stoke from taking a point back to the Britannia last Saturday when he saved a last minute John Walters penalty. Despite that disappointment, the Potters have a lot of positives to take from that game. They gave Liverpool a real go and pushed them all the way, and bearing in mind Liverpool are one of the strongest teams in the league at home, that’s a real positive.
This one wont be straight forward though, with Palace narrowly loosing to Tottenham last week, coincidentally from a penalty kick. There will be a few raised eyebrows at the Britannia if Mark Hughes’ team deliver anything less than three points in this one, but equally Palace will see this as a winnable game.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Prediction: Home win
Aston Villa v Liverpool (5:30pm)
Villa stunned Arsenal last week by pulling off a shock victory at the Emirates last Saturday. But while Arsenal will point to (or blame) the refereeing of the game for their downfall, Villa caused them plenty of problems and looked extremely dangerous on the break.
The Clarets also narrowly lost midweek against a Chelsea team tipped for the title, though this time it was Villa who felt they were on the wrong end of the calls. Nevertheless, Liverpool will be looking at both of Villa’s previous games worrying, and the Reds will need to up their game if they want to take the 3 points back to Merseyside.
Their star man last weekend, Daniel Sturridge, is in my view one of the most underrated players in the Premier League, and I think he’ll be vital for Liverpool this season if they are serious about fighting for a Champions League place.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (County Durham)
Prediction: Draw
Cardiff City v Manchester City (Sunday, 4:00pm)
This should be an interesting encounter and may not be as straight forward for City as many people expect. Cardiff are still adapting to life in the top flight and will take time to settle and get used to the league, but this game marks their first home match of the campaign and they will undoubtedly be rallied on by their supporters, who will make the stadium like a cauldron for the Citizens.
City got the Manuel Pellegrini era off to a flying start on Monday night with a terrific display, scoring four excellent goal with Newcastle posing very few problems for the Blues defence.
Consistency is the key for City – last season they were brilliant one week, and poor the next. If Pellegrini can keep City on the level they were playing at on Monday, blues fans can expect plenty of success both in England and Europe this season.
Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)
Prediction: Away
Tottenham Hotspur v Swansea City (Sunday, 4:00pm)
Both these teams were below par last weekend. Swansea started brightly in the opening stages of their clash with Man United, but their defence let them down and they eventually slumped to a 4-1 defeat, though new signing Bony did get on the score sheet.
For a team of Tottenham’s quality, narrowly beating newly promoted Crystal Palace with a penalty isn’t good enough. New big money signings Paulinho and Soldado will need time to settle in the Premier League, but for a club looking to break into the top 4, Spurs need to beating teams like Crystal Palace comfortably and convincingly, which last week they didn’t.
If Spurs fail to break into the top 4 again this season, I think Villas Boas time in England may well be over, especially given Arsenal and Arsene Wenger’s current woes.
Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)
Prediction: Draw
Manchester United v Chelsea (Monday, 8:00pm)
The game of the week sees Champions Manchester United take on title favourites Chelsea. It’s the first ‘big game’ of David Moyes’ United career, one one that is likely to be important come the end of the season.
Chelsea haven’t been at their best so far this season, with two fairly mediocre performances against Hull and Aston Villa. Mourinho has come up against United many times before, and knows exactly how to play it. This will be a completely different experience for Moyes though, who has never been involved in a clash between two top teams before.
The refereeing appointment for this one is a pretty strange choice. The last two times Martin Atkinson refereed Man United v Chelsea he was heavily criticised by managers, fans and the media for his decision making, with United fans posting a picture of him in a superimposed Chelsea shirt online.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)
Prediction: Away win
View the full referee appointments here.
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