Burnley vs Man United
Prediction: 1-1
Analysis: What is going on with Manchester United? Only two premier league games and one horrendous Capital One Cup game and fans are already calling for David Moyes to come back (never thought we'd hear that). Angel Di Maria should end up being a fantastic transfer and Manchester United will finally have the player they've been missing since Ronaldo. It's no guarantee however that Di Maria makes his debut on Saturday and even if he does, the chemistry probably won't be there yet. Look for Manchester United to continue their struggles against a Burnley side still looking for their first point in the premier league since the 2009-2010 season.
Man City vs Stoke
Prediction: 3-0
Analysis: This is the case of one team looking good while the other doesn't. It doesn't help this game is at the Etihad either. Manchester City are living up to my expectations of repeating this year and Stoke look worse than I expected. Man City will score early and coast their way to victory at home for this one.
Queens Park Rangers vs Sunderland
Prediction: 0-1
Analysis: After being blown-out against Tottenham on Sunday and a miserable performance in the Capital One Cup against Burton Albion on Wednesday, things won't get much better for QPR (Ugh...). As much as I want to believe that QPR have a chance to win, or at least get a draw, I just don't see it happening. The entire squad of QPR looks like strangers (which they practically are) and the new 3-5-2 formation isn't working. In my opinion, it'll still be another 3-7 games before the new formation will set in and the players begin to mesh...unless Redknapp decides to play the correct players (which I highly doubt). After seeing the defeat against Burton Albion on Wednesday, I have a huge rant about QPR...but I'll save that for the next podcast. Oh yeah, and Sunderland are fit (D, D, W). Even the harsh environment that is Loftus Road won't be able to stop the bleeding. The injury to Faurlin is much more devastating to QPR than people think.
Newcastle vs Crystal Palace
Prediction: 1-0
Analysis: Newcastle looks decent, except did they forget how to score? Looks like there's going to be some early struggles in the offense without QPR's Loic Remy there. I still expect them to win this game against a horrible Crystal Palace team but I wouldn't put my money on it.
Swansea vs West Brom
Prediction: 1-0
Analysis: Swansea looks to be the (very, very) early surprise of the season. 6 points right off the bat including 3 at Old Trafford (but I guess that doesn't mean much...). West Brom does look better than I expected since they were one of my teams predicted to be relegated but I don't expect the decency to last. I can almost guarantee Swansea will easily win this game but I'll play it safe and go with just a 1-0 victory.
West Ham vs Southampton
Prediction: 0-0
Analysis: Here's a game where I don't know really what to expect. But I can say Southampton is having trouble scoring after losing so many crucial pieces to their squad. I'm still going to say it'll be a boring 0-0 draw though.
Everton vs Chelsea
Prediction: 1-3
Analysis: Some might say this is a bold prediction for a game at Goodison Park but I beg to differ. Historically, Everton does seem to do well against the top teams of the league but with how the past two games have gone for them I don't see them having a chance against a strong Chelsea team (Blegh, I hate having anything positive to say about that garbage team). The defense has been a problem for Everton and even the miraculous Tim Howard can't save everything. I expect a close game in the first half but watch everything to start slipping away in the 2nd for Everton. If I'm right, 2 points after 3 games is going to be a problem for the team looking to make their way to the Champions League this year.
Aston Villa vs Hull City
Prediction: 1-1
Analysis: Another game which I'm not sure what the outcome will be so I don't have much analysis here either. Hull would probably win this game if it was at home but I'm going to give Aston Villa the benefit of the doubt and go with a 1-1 draw here (If you want to see how the 3-5-2 is correctly run, watch Hull this season).
Tottenham vs Liverpool
Prediction: 1-2
Analysis: Probably the most anticipated games of the week for me. Tottenham looks to continue their dominance after a huge 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers on Sunday and Liverpool look to rebound after a loss to Man City. I don't expect the same result for Tottenham as last week though because I think it was more of QPR being terrible than Tottenham being great. With Balotelli and Lallana expected to play in this game, look for Liverpool to scrape away with the win at White Hart Lane.
Leicester City vs Arsenal
Prediction: 0-2
Analysis: This game may end up being more interesting than I'm expecting. Arsenal doesn't seem to be playing up to their potential (except for the last 3 minutes in the game against Crystal Palace and the last 10 minutes against Everton) and they should feel fortunate to even have 4 points going into this game. But after already playing 5 games this past month, things should start to click for this Arsenal squad. I'm expecting a 2-0 win but the injury to Giroud may become problematic.
Let me know what you guys think will be the outcome of the Week 3 games and don't forget to quickly vote in the poll on the sidebar of the site. Also, here is what the table would look like after Week 3 if my predictions were correct:
 |
| Man City will score early and coast their way to victory at home for this one. |
2) Chelsea - 9 points
3) Swansea - 9 points
4) Arsenal - 7 points
5) Tottenham - 6 points
6) Liverpool - 6 points
7) Sunderland - 5 points
8) Hull City - 5 points
9) Aston Villa - 5 points
10) West Ham - 4 points
11) Newcastle - 4 points
12) Man United - 2 points
13) West Brom - 2 points
14) Southampton - 2 points
15) Everton - 2 points
16) Burnley - 1 point
17) Leicester City - 1 point
18) Stoke - 1 point
19) Crystal Palace - 0 points
20) QPR - 0 points
UPDATE:
Week 3 Record: 4-6
Season Record: 4-6
About the Author
Alex SappeCo-creator and co-editor-in-chief of Three By Five Sports Network
Co-host of the Third and Long Podcast
Co-host of the Footballistically Speaking Podcast
Follow me on Twitter @AlexSappe
Despite my frustration with QPR, I still don't take my own advice and I continue to bet on them. This is how you lose money...
ReplyDeleteOops...nevermind. Most predictions are wrong but QPR won so this is how you make money.
ReplyDelete