PREMIER LEAGUE BACK WITH A BANG: Before I get started into this weekend’s action, I just want to mention what an excellent job the Irish team did last week in qualifying for the Euros next year. It was a really spirited performance by the team. They performed admirably over the two legs, and actually played some really nice football at stages over the two legs.
So onto pressing matters; club football is back and there are some excellent and possibly tricky games ahead this weekend.
I have to look at Man City against Liverpool to begin with. City are pretty much odds on to win this one, and to me the pricing is a bit too heavily in favour of the home side. Sure Man City have some excellent players at their disposal in Yaya Toure, De Bruyne and Sterling, but they may also be without two integral players in David Silva and especially Aguero.
Many of the Man City players are brilliant on the ball, but with who is available to them for the game, I’m not so sure movement off the ball will be enough to create regular chances. Even with Aguero and Silva might be coming back, they won’t be fully fit and because of this I think Liverpool will really cause them trouble.
Man City will need to match Liverpool physically, which I think will be a struggle for them. Under Klopp I think Liverpool have that added dimension of physicality and are much better at pressuring sides, something they will do in spades against the quality City have. I think Liverpool will have a good game, the Crystal Palace game was not flattering for them, they were off a very busy schedule and coming into the International break and they looked worn out.
Swansea to pick it up against Bournemouth
I usually like to pick teams based on current form, but I will stray away from that somewhat this week. I’m looking at Swansea who have had somewhat of a disappointing season by their standards. But from their perspective I don’t think there is a team in the league they would rather play this weekend than Bournemouth. It is a great chance for the team to have a positive start coming out of the break in the season and the team should eb pretty fresh and ready to go this weekend against an injury ravaged team in Bournemouth.
Swansea have some quality players in their side, the likes of Gomis, Ayew, Sigurdsson and Shelvey can all play some really good football when on form. The best thing about this fixture for them is that Bournemouth will also try and play football, and with the injuries they have experienced, Swansea will simply have better players. Wilson was the biggest loss of the season for any team this season in my opinion, he is a quality striker and without him Bournemouth have really struggled.
Carroll Will be a Danger
I am going to go for another lay in the London Derby this weekend. West Ham will set up to make this really tough for Spurs. When I watched the North London Derby a couple of weeks ago, Spurs were excellent for most of the game, yet they still were close to losing that game. They played the better football than Arsenal for much of the match, but something Arsenal did really bothered Spurs. And it was not a very Arsenal thing to do. They went direct!
Route one football is the way for West Ham to go on Sunday. Spurs were not able to cope with Giroud in the air when Arsenal resorted to direct football, and while he is good in the air he is no Andy Carroll. I would be shocked if Carroll didn’t start this weekend, especially with Payet out, I don’t think West Ham have it in the side to match Spurs in football. It might be nice on the eye, but I thin it is the way to go and the only way they will get a result from the game.
Spurs have been on good form and West Ham have a big loss in Payet, but if you look at the history of London Derbies, form largely goes out the window. And in the history of this fixture there is a huge amount of draws and I have a feeling this weekend will be another one. That is why I am going to lay Spurs.
Watford Sneaky Against United
I’m not hugely confident on this one if I’m being honest. But looking at the rest of the fixtures this weekend I don’t see a huge amount of value out there. I am just looking at the United team and all the injuries they have at the moment, and the fact that Rooney is also a doubt due to illness and I see a chance for Watford to snatch a victory.
Many might see this as a bold call, but with no Martial, and possible no Rooney I don’t see many goals for United. Even if Rooney is playing, as we all know he hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders lately. With Carrick out as well United will be missing a real spark.
Watford are a better side than many people give them credit for. They have had a few really good result in the past few weeks and are starting to find their feet in the Premier League after a suspect start. I can see them sneaking a 1-0 victory in this one, slightly against the run of play. United have had an excellent def so far, they are the reason they are in the top 4 right now if you ask me, but I think going forward will be the issue for them without some key players.
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