Hello! Starting this week, I will be making predictions for every English Premier League game, except for the games that occur on Fridays. Now, this series will be different from the articles I write for the NFL. These predictions will not include betting, as it is much harder to predict games in soccer because of the result of a game can be a win, loss or draw, which differs from most other sports that end in either a win or loss. My explanations for my picks will also be a little bit shorter since there are more games to predict. I will also try to not include my bias for Chelsea because I am a big supporter of theirs. Now without a further ado, let’s get to the predictions!
Huddersfield Town at Burnley FC: This is not a game that people outside of the fans of these two teams are going to watch. I expect this to be a very dull game where much of the game is played in a scrappy midfield. However, the form of these two teams is very different. Burnley, which always plays well at home, has won two consecutive games in a row. This is encouraging for them because they started off the campaign poorly. Meanwhile, Huddersfield has had a really tough go of it this season. I do not know where their goals are going to come from, and they haven’t won a game in the Premier League all year. I expect Burnley to win this one at their home stadium, Turn Moor. Burnley 2, Huddersfield Town 0
Wolverhampton at Crystal Palace: These are two of my favorite teams in the BPL so far this year. Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has been in exceptional form this year, carrying Palace in many of their recent games. Meanwhile, the Wolverhampton Wolves, one of the newly promoted sides, has fared really well since making the jump to the Premier League. They play an exciting brand of soccer and aren’t afraid to attack teams. In a game of evenly matched opponents, I will go for a draw. Crystal Palace 1, Wolverhampton 1
Everton at Leicester City: This is a very interesting match. Everton, after starting out well, has been a little bit inconsistent. Everton’s Forward, Richarlison, has been very good this season, also midfielder Sigurdsson has been rounding into form as well. Leicester, I feel, has been one of the more inconsistent teams this year. They have been much better at home and vulnerable on the road. Both of these teams play attacking soccer, although the Leicester Foxes will sit back and defend to hit their opponent on the counter-attack. I think that works to their advantage here, as we should see a game with a few goals in it. Leicester City 2, Everton 1
Cardiff City at Tottenham Hotspur: This is a game, especially at home, that Tottenham should really feel comfortable in. In all honesty, I would be surprised if this game isn’t one-way traffic. Spurs will be looking for a response after their midweek loss to Barcelona out of league. I can definitely see Tottenham striker Harry Kane scoring a brace or more in this game. Meanwhile, as I said about Huddersfield earlier, I don’t know who’s scoring the goals for Cardiff. On the road against a top-six side does not bode well for Cardiff, who would be lucky to get a point out of this fixture. Tottenham 3, Cardiff 0
Bournemouth at Watford: I think this will be one of the most entertaining games of the weekend. Also, these are two of my favorite consistent teams in England. I really like how Bournemouth play an exciting, attacking style of soccer. They really like to pass the ball and score pretty goals. Watford does that too, but I think of them as more of a physical side who can beat you with set pieces. In what should be an open game with chances at both ends, I think Bournemouth’s style of play will hurt them in this game. Also, Watford has a great home field advantage at Vicarage Road. I’ll take Watford in a fun matchup.
Watford 2, Bournemouth 1
Newcastle United at Manchester United: Wow, talk about a must-win game, if Manchester United do not beat Newcastle United this Saturday, I am not sure how much longer United manager Jose Mourinho will coach the club. Personally, it is so boring to watch the Red Devils play these days. It seems to me that the players do not have any options to leave their positions and try to get forward to score goals. I felt the same way after watching their scoreless draw at home against Valencia on Wednesday out of league. Each time the Red Devils don’t impose their will on teams, the fear factor that Manchester United used to have is being diminished. Newcastle United have also really struggled this season, having many problems defensively. Manchester United need to win this game and I cannot go against them here. I think Manchester United wins, but in a close, scrappy game at home. Manchester United 1, Newcastle United 0
Arsenal at Fulham: On paper, this might seem like a sure win for Arsenal, but I think this may be a tricky game for the Gunners. Arsenal had to travel all the way to Azerbaijan to play a Europa League game on Thursday. This means that Arsenal won’t have a lot of time to prepare for Fulham. Fulham, one of the promoted sides, has played well at home and has been average away from home so far this season. I think Arsenal can be caught overlooking Fulham here. I do not think Fulham will win this match, but with their home field advantage, I think that they can get something from this match. Fulham 1, Arsenal 1
Chelsea at Southampton: I think this game represents a trap game for Chelsea as well, but less so when compared to Arsenal. Chelsea will have played in the Europa League on Thursday, but their playing at home, which is crucial in this case. Chelsea’s star forward, Eden Hazard will be back in the starting eleven and looking to continue his magnificent season. I think Hazard has been the player of the year in the Premier League so far, he makes Chelsea go and he has been in brilliant form all season long. Chelsea plays against Southampton, who like to play a more attacking style under manager Mark Hughes. However, they have struggled to stop teams from scoring goals, whether they play at home or away. I think Hazard gets on the score sheet and Chelsea win, but the Blues do concede a goal too. Southampton 1, Chelsea 2
Manchester City at Liverpool: Here we go, the game of the week by a longshot. This is the game of the week even though both of the teams come into this fixture in sort of average form. Manchester City played Hoffenheim in Germany on Tuesday and won 2-1 in the Champions League. However, I thought Hoffenheim could have gotten something from that game, and City looked vulnerable defensively. Liverpool, who also played away in the Champions League, lost 1-0 at Napoli. Liverpool and Napoli were even in the first half, but Napoli deserved to win that game after a dominant second-half performance. I think both of these teams are almost limping into this fixture, which is why I am choosing to go for a draw here. I think both managers would be satisfied with that result. Liverpool 1, Manchester City 1
