Predictions

Hey all. It's been a couple of weeks but the pesky international break got in the way. Thankfully, most of the Liverpool squad got through unscathed (though now we have one functional left back and calling him functional is a compliment) so let's look ahead to this weekend's matches, where I'll presumably get almost every prediction wrong.


Everton 1-2 Liverpool

Call me biased but I think we have enough firepower to win the derby. Suarez has been a scourge to the men in blue since he joined the club and is in the form of his life. Sturridge has apparently been playing with a dead leg for weeks, which explains how he's managed to go 2 league games without scoring. But it'll be close and Everton have a very good team, the likes of Lukaku will be a real test for whatever defenders Rodgers sends out. I still think we'll edge it though.


Arsenal 1-1 Southampton

Southampton have the best defence in the league so I don't think for a second that this'll be an easy game for the Gunners. They also have a lot of young English talent in all areas of the pitch and in Lallana, Rodgriguez and Lambert, a quality attacking trio. If Arsenal are at their very best, they should win, but anything less than that and if Southampton play well, I can see this one ending in a draw.


Fulham 1-2 Swansea

Fulham have been in wretched form and can't seem to find goals consistently against teams with a decent back four (sorry Palace fans). They're playing appalling and I can't see Swansea losing this game. If Fulham play well, Berbatov grabs a goal or two then they could get a draw but the Swans are too good a team with too many quality players to expose the horror show that has become Fulham's back four. Nevertheless, this is a must win game for Martin Jol.


Hull 2-0 Crystal Palace

Palace have been awful so far this season and I see absolutely no reason why Hull shouldn't beat them fairly comfortably here. Hull have by no means set the league alight but they've certainly been disciplined and have kept clean sheets when they've needed to and picked up a very good set of results. This is a no-brainer for me but it won't be as easy as it should be.


Newcastle 2-1 Norwich

Neither of these sides are particularly strong but Newcastle are in good form with a couple of great results and Norwich got a good win last time out. This will be a scrappy affair but Newcastle should have just about have enough fire power to secure all three points in this one. Norwich might score though, Newcastle's defence has been patchy at best though, so I imagine Norwich can cause them more than a few problems.


Stoke 1-0 Sunderland

This is a tough one to predict. Stoke don't score many, Sunderland have real problems keeping clean sheets. Stoke don't concede many, Sunderland have potential to score but have struggled. As much as I'd love to say this one has 0-0 written all over it, I think Stoke will just have the edge. Peter Crouch to score a 21st minute header, you heard it here first.


West Ham 2-1 Chelsea

Chelsea have an appalling away record and their form is somewhat lacking. They're struggling to score goals and I reckon if things work out in West Ham's favour, they could cause a real upset here. Ravel Morrison is in red hot form and they have some really good players. They've already shocked Spurs, can they shock Mourinho?


Man City 2-1 Spurs

I've been saying all season that City have the best side and Spurs are struggling to score goals. But City's form is pretty poor and they're not playing as well as they can. Without Kompany at the back they look vulnerable and they lost to Sunderland last time out. You can never quite tell what you're going to get with City but I suspect they'll have enough here to beat Spurs, if they play well. And that's still a big if.


Cardiff 1-3 Man U

United are finally starting to put together a decent run of games, even though the majority of those have been against sides they should be beating comfortably. That said, Cardiff are a side they should be beating comfortably. They've had an alright start to the season but shouldn't pose too much of a threat if United play well.


West Brom 1-1 Aston Villa

A tough battle in the Birmingham derby and one which I think will be decided by the odd goal. Neither side is playing particularly well or particularly badly and the fact that they're separated by only one goal on goal difference so far this season in mid-table suggests this one will be a pretty low scoring draw, so I'm going for 1-1.



Take these with a pinch of salt, football has a way of coming back to bite those who think they have a fucking clue what's going on.