Football News: Weekend Premier League Preview

Watford v Manchester United

The early kick off on Saturday does not hold out much hope of a goal fest, with two of the meaner Premier League defences on show. Watford have held their own at home, looking to keep things tight and pick up points through keeping clean sheets and nicking the odd goal. So far this season, they have conceded just 12 goals in the their twelves games, even worse they have scored just 11 goals in those matches, suggesting this will not be a game for those looking for goals. A win could put the Hornets into the top half, while a defeat would still see them clear of the relegation zone, so there is little pressure on them going into the game. Man Utd, on the other hand, would return to the top of the table, at least for a while, with a win. With the meanest defence in the Premier League, they will fancy their chances of keeping the struggling Watford attack at bay. United are on the crest of a four match unbeaten run, unlike Watford, who lost last time out, which should see them enter this game with confidence high. My prediction, no wait, it can hardly be considered a prediction that I am making on the scores, so my guess is that it will finish with a 1-0 victory to Manchester United. Though a 0-0 bore draw seems more likely, the Red Devils should have enough to sneak the win. Having said all this about the strong defences and lacklustre attacks, this game will probably turn out to be a 7-6 thriller, with end to end action from start to finish!

Chelsea v Norwich City

Can this really be considered a relegation six pointer? Chelsea are coming into this game on the back of three defeats in a row, totally unheard of in Jose Mourinho's career. Looking at the Chelsea squad, it is hard to believe they are in this position, but the bare facts show that it is possible, though highly unlikely, that they could end up in the relegation places at the end of the weekend. Each week I keep expecting them to turn things around and begin to climb up the table, each week, so far this season, they have failed to do so. Will this weekend finally be the turning point? The players have had a few days away to clear their heads, but the problems there seem to be deeper than anyone ever expected or realised. The Canaries, who have the exact same record of goals scored and conceded as their opponents this season, have been uninspiring so far this season. Alex Neil seems to take his cues from the likes of Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis to create a team that looks to grind out results, rather than play pretty football. Playing against a Jose-led team, this is unlikely to be a game for those who want exciting attacking football. This is likely to be two teams grinding against each other, trying to wear the other down. This could well make the early kick off seem like a classic. My guess is that Chelsea get the win, they have too much quality to continue struggling at the bottom of the table. Norwich just lack the attacking threat to put Chelsea to the sword.

Everton v Aston Villa
Everton are in mixed form recently, their last 6 games show 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats for the Toffees. Their attack has added the 5th most goals in the Premier League this season, but their defence has been nowhere near as strong, which is why they are floating around in midtable currently. At times they seem like they can just roll over teams, ripping them to shreds, then they get caught out at the back due to errors that are not being cut out. Tim Howard, in particular, seems a weak link for them this season. His flaps and errors are being compounded by a complete inability to defend set pieces by the team as a whole. Corners, both defensive and offensive, are the 'Achilles' heel' of this team, as a lack of work on them on the training ground shows through in matches. Villa are in a terrible state this season, bottom of the league, with performances so bad under the previous manager, Tim Sherwood, that an impotent draw in their first game under the new man, Remi Garde, is being lauded. The Villa fans will just hope that the international break gave Garde time to fix the issues he inherited and the improvement continues this weekend. No matter what happens, the Villans will be in the bottom three when the weekend finishes. My guess is that Everton win this game, it is only because they are likely to concede a sloppy goal from a corner that will stop this from being a comfortable home win. Instead I am guessing it will be 2-1, with a nervy finish for the Toffees. They have too much ability for Villa.

Newcastle United v Leicester City
Newcastle have been looking better in recent weeks, without picking up results, then they faced Bournemouth and were totally outplayed but picked up the three points. Football truly is a funny old game, but that result lifted the Toon out of the bottom three and has given Steve McClaren a platform to build on. The problem is that the defence is weak, with a lack of a real partnership at the centre of defence a particular hindrance, plus goals are a struggle to come by. Newcastle lack that little bit of quality, at either end, that can make the difference. Leicester have similar issues defensively, with a tendency to leak goals at a rate that would normally see a team struggling against relegation. What the Foxes do have though is quality in the attacking third, quality which has seen them win four of their last five matches in the league. It is not just about Jamie Vardy, despite his consecutive goals streak, there is far more to them than the England man. Even so, their current league position of third is highly unlikely to be a guide to their final position in the table, but the East Midlanders will make the most of it while it lasts. A win over Newcastle could even see them lead the league at the end of the day. My guess is that they overrun a struggling Newcastle side, though the Foxes never do things the easy way, I can see a comfortable 3-1 win coming this weekend, with or without Vardy.

Southampton v Stoke City
Under Ronald Koeman, Southampton have become a solid defensive unit with a touch of flair and pace up front to create goal chances. The Saints' midfield provides the defence with good protection, allowing the full backs to get forward and support the attack with good width. Sadio Mane has the pace, power and trickery to rip opponents to shreds, and they are very rarely overrun by any team they face. Their last 6 games has seen four wins and no defeats, which suggests things will be difficult for an inconsistent Stoke side. The team from the Potteries are still having trouble adapting from Tony Pulis's more, shall we say pragmatic, style of football, to take on Mark Hughes ideas of playing. Xherdan Shaqiri has yet to show that he was worth the summer long seduction that Stoke used to tempt him. Luckily the manager's faith in Jack Butland was entirely well placed, and the young England shotstopper is the main reason Stoke are in the top half. If Joe Hart thought his England number one shirt was safe heading into the Euros next summer, he will have to think again if Butland keeps his performance level up. It is only the young keeper's lack of experience that put Hart ahead of him this season, as Butland has been a class above Hart on pure performance levels. Despite Stoke's stuttering attack, who have the joint lowest goal scoring total in the Prem this season, Butland's brilliance has kept them clear of the drop zone. My guess is that these two teams cancel each other out, with a 1-1 score draw being the result I would expect. Saints are the more likely winner, but Butland's presence should be enough to keep them from getting the victory.

Swansea City v Bournemouth
Two struggling sides will face off, Swansea desperately needing a win to keep them from being dragged deeper into the relegation dogfight, Bournemouth needing the result to keep in touch. Swansea's recent struggles are almost as unfathomable as Chelsea's this season. The Swans started the season on fire, but their last six league games have seen four defeats and just one win. That is relegation form. While manager Gary Monk has come under fire in the media, the club have been adamant that they back him and that he has their full support. Even so, he will need to get the team back to winning ways soon, or even Huw Jenkins could well run out of patience with him. It is lucky for him that this weekend sees Swansea take on Bournemouth, who have not won a game in their last six league matches. They play a style that may well struggle to contain Swansea, with a leaky defence that would be the worst in the division, but for the hapless Sunderland's misfortunes. Without Callum Wilson, Bournemouth have little to pin their hopes on and it is difficult to see them picking up the points needed to achieve survival. My guess is that Swansea pick up a much needed three points with an Andre Ayew-inspired 3-0 win.

West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal
West Brom are struggling to adapt to Tony Pulis's style (can the words style and Tony Pulis be used together?), which has seen the Baggies stumble along in the bottom half of the Premier League this season. Their attack is the joint worst in the league and their form is poor, having lost four of the last six games. Under normal circumstances you would not hold out much hope of them getting a result against a side in such good form as Arsenal, but Pulis's tactics have got under Arsene Wenger's skin in the past. With lots of big, strong, physical players, Pulis has often managed to bully the Gooners with his 'up an at 'em' approach. This season's Arsenal are a different proposition to those in previous years though, the emergence of Francis Coquelin and the sheer workrate, industry and desire of Alexis Sanchez, added to his strength and skill, have toughened up what was a soft underbelly in North London. Having won five of their last six league matches, Wenger will be confident of adding the stuttering Baggies to the list of victims, and I have no doubt he will take great pleasure in beating Tony Pulis. My guess is that Arsenal rip to shreds what is a very average West Brom side and get a very comfortable win, 3-0, though it could easily be more with the Baggies defence being so ponderously slow.

Manchester City v Liverpool
The late Saturday kick off, sees Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool travel to the Etihad to take on top of the table Man City. Citeh are, with Sergio Aguero and David Silva fit and firing, a class above the rest of the Premier League and would be expected to stroll to victory against anyone at home. While those two could potentially be back for this match, it is expected that they will still be on the sidelines, and that they will be joined by Wilfried Bony. That changes everything and heaps pressure on Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne to perform. Their form has been patchy since losing Aguero and Silva to injury, but they are still unbeaten in five in the league and the division's top scorers, as well as having the joint second-best defence. Liverpool also have injury problems, though it looks like Mamadou Sakho could be fit to start and both Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson are in contention to play some part in the match. The injury situations at both clubs make this game a very difficult one to call, Liverpool will be looking to bounce back after a defeat, but they have struggled at the Etihad Stadium in recent years. My guess is that Sterling will raise his game against his former club, but that the game will end up in a 2-2 draw, as these games do tend to see a lot of goals being scored.

Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
This is the only Premier League fixture to be played on a Sunday this weekend, as the lack of midweek Europa League fixtures allows them to be played in their more traditional Saturday afternoon at 3pm slot. While Spurs are currently in fifth in the league, you would not be too surprised if this was the year they finally broke into the top four. They have only lost one game all season, that on the opening day, and look capable of competing with anyone. Now that Harry Kane is starting to hit form, and Son Heung-Min is returning to full fitness, Spurs will be expecting to push on and turn more of their draws into victories. So far this season, they have been held to draws far too many times due to a lack of a real cutting edge while Kane was out of form and Son was first finding his feet, then when he did start scoring he suffered an injury. With those two being supplied by Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela, who this season has metamorphosised from a lost sheep into a football player, Spurs always look capable of scoring. The arrival of Toby Alderweireld to partner Jan Vertonghen at the back has given them a solid look, especially with Eric Dier giving them protection. West Ham are on the same points as Spurs, but their form has been built on an attacking threat, rather than a solid base. That attacking threat has suffered in recent weeks, due to the injuries to their forwards which saw Slaven Bilic being forced to turn to Andy Carroll. Now that cutting edge will be even more blunted by the loss of their star man, Dmitri Payet, who has been outstanding in the early part of the season. My guess is that Payet's loss is too much for the Hammers to cope with and Spurs run out 3-1 winners.

Crystal Palace v Sunderland
Monday night's Premier League fixture sees the high flying Eagles face the lowly Black Cats at Selhurst Park. Palace will be boosted by their victory over Liverpool in the previous round of matches prior to the international break. Manager Alan Pardew will be looking for them to push on and nail down a top 10 spot over the next few games. Surprisingly, considering the attacking threat their pacey attack seems to possess, Palace games are not usually high scoring, with just 14 goals scored and 12 conceded in their first 12 matches of this campaign. Their defending deep and hitting on the counter tactical approach is not as effective at home usually, so Pardew might need to look for something different to beat Sam Allardyce's Mackems. It is unlikely that an Allardyce team will push forward and leave themselves exposed to the quick counter, so the onus will be on Yohan Cabaye to create something. Sunderland will be just looking to stop the rot that has seen them crash to four defeats in their last six league matches. Allardyce will no doubt be looking for the worst defence in the Prem to tighten up and pick up clean sheets for him to build on. My guess is this is a 0-0 lacking in any real quality or attacking drive, as both teams look to sit deep and hit on the counter.

Written by Tris Burke November 20 2015 09:16:28