EPL Predictions!
By Sam McPhee
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Time of the week for the EPL predictions for this weekend’s matches. The spotlight match for this week is Chelsea v Liverpool with the obvious not-so-subplot of Fernando Torresplaying against his former side in only their second match since seeing him to Chelsea.
Elsewhere, the club at the top of the table, Man U, face their polar opposite club at the bottom of the table, Wolves. Arsenal face a recently weakened Newcastle side & Man City faces struggling West Brom. Spurs & Bolton face off in a match-up between two white & navy clad kit sides, though, obviously Bolton will be wearing their 2nd or 3rd jerseys in this one.
To the picks!:
SATURDAY’S FIXTURES
Aston Villa v Fulham
Chad Aston Villa 2-Fulham 2
Corey Aston Villa 1-Fulham 1
Everton v Blackpool
Chad Everton 2-Blackpool 1
Corey Everton 4-Blackpool 1
Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion
Chad Man City 3-West Brom 0
City is coming off a 2-2 draw against Birmingham where they gave up a late match penalty. They will not that mistake again, the partnership of Tevez and Dzeko is improving and should score 1 or 2 goals versus a struggling West Brom side.
Corey Manchester City 3-West Brom 2
Man City has dropped points in two consecutive matches , so a visit for West Brom may be just what the doctor ordered. The original headline-grabbing January transfer, Edin Džeko, has yet to break his duck & I’ll pick him to score until he does! Man City does struggle a bit though but end up with all the spoils.
Newcastle United v Arsenal
Chad Arsenal 3-Newcastle 1
It’s the Gunners turn to head north and get kicked and mugged on the pitch but hey at least they will not have to worry about Andy Carroll. They only have to worry about being tackled from behind by Barton. Look for Van Persie to get on the score sheet yet again.
Corey Newcastle 1-Arsenal 1
After selling their #1 striker, Andy Carroll, & recently losing Shola Ameobi to injury, Newcastle has virtually no fit strikers of any note (even incl. recent hat-trick grabber, Leon Best) & Arsenal are in decent form so by Murphy’s Law, from an Arsenal standpoint Newcastle will play well & someone like Nile Ranger will come out of nowhere & score a goal to steal a point. Arsenal doesn’t drop as many points as they used to in Northern England but I think they drop some against the Magpies this weekend as Newcastle likely muscle Arsenal around a bit.
Stoke City v Sunderland
Chad Sunderland 2-Stoke 1
Corey Stoke 0-Sunderland 0
Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton Wanderers
Chad Spurs 2-Bolton 1
Spurs have their backs to the wall in the race for Champions League football. They have had many injuries and I think they will continue to grind things out and get a close win in a hard match versus the Wanderers. Peter Crouch will score again this as Spurs look for more scoring out of their forwards.
Corey Spurs 2-Bolton 2
Spurs have struggled a bit lately & are beset by injuries though they will buoyed by Peter Crouch’s goal last time out. Bolton only have 1 win in their last 5 games & have been unlucky to not have come away with at least a draw in some of the matches. I think the combination of the teams’ fortunes will lead to a draw.
Wigan Athletic v Blackburn Rovers
Chad Blackburn 2-Wigan 1
Corey Wigan 1-Blackburn 1
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United
Chad Man U 3-Wolves 0
Unless Wolves went Chelsea on us and bought £70m in players we don’t know about this match will be all Man U especially since Rooney “is back in form”.
Corey Man U 2-Wolves 1
Wayne Rooney finally finding his scoring form only means bad news for Wolves who will be desperate for a result as they find themselves now propping up the rest of the table. I seriously doubt Wolves’ desire, however, will be enough to find a result against the machine that is Man U despite Man U remaining quiet in the January transfer window. They did a good bit of “non”-business, though, by not selling Howard Webb to another club… wocka wocka wocka…
Sunday’s Fixtures
Chelsea v Liverpool
Chad Chelsea 2-Liverpool 1
This is the “match of the century” as the newly acquired Fernando Torres will take to the pitch for the first time for Chelsea versus his old club Liverpool at the Bridge. Torres will not score a goal but his presence will add an edge to the match that should make things fairly entertaining. With all the battle of words going on in the press things will be open and chippy but Chelsea will come out on top in the end. Liverpool is not “back” as the British press suggests, let me repeat Liverpool is not back.
Corey Chelsea 3-Liverpool 1
In a battle of clubs that recently signed big name players including one between each other in Fernando Torres, I think Chelsea (whether Torres plays or not) will come out on top in this one. Despite the mood at Anfield visibly & audibly excited at the recent acquisitions of Andy Carroll & Luis Suarez it still doesn’t change the fact that their backline can still be a little questionable against the likes of Chelsea, especially if Jamie Carragher remains out of the lineup. This one (match) should be rockin’ from kickoff…
West Ham United v Birmingham City
Chad West Ham 2-Birmingham 2
Corey West Ham 2-Birmingham 0