Let’s see how I did last time ’round on my predictions:
Chelsea v. Cardiff.
- Projected: Chelsea win.
- Result: Chelsea win
- Notes: Nada. Easy prediction.
United v. Southampton.
- Projected: United win.
- Result: 1-1 draw
- Notes: Thought United would win at home, but said it wouldn’t be easy. Hedged my bet there.
Liverpool v. Newcastle.
- Projected: Liverpool win.
- Result: 2-2 draw
- Notes: Completely botched this prediction.
Arsenal v. Norwich.
- Projected: Arsenal win.
- Result: Arsenal win
- Notes: Easy prediction.
Everton v. Hull.
- Projected: Everton win.
- Result: Everton win
- Notes: Said the Toffies would make this more difficult than necessary, and they ultimately did. I’m the man.
City v. West Ham.
- Projected: Draw.
- Result: City win.
- Notes: Not too sure what I was looking at here, but it wasn’t right.
Tottenham v. Villa.
- Projected: Spurs win.
- Result: Spurs win.
- Notes: Spurs are great and Villa are bipolar.
Well, pretty mixed results there. 4 (and a half; I’m taking partial credit for United because my ego needs a boost) out of 7. Woof.
Onto the next one.
Game of the Weekend: Arsenal v. Liverpool.
Easy choice for top game, but difficult choice for who’s going to take the 3 points. Liverpool have conceded 8 goals in 9 games, but have knocked in 17. Sturridge and Suarez account for 14 of those. Arsenal, meanwhile, have 19 goals scored and 9 conceded. Similar stats there, and both sides have seen explosive performances from previously maligned players. Both have marquee wins over Spurs (Arsenal) and United (Liverpool). I give Arsenal the edge here; they’re playing crazy team football right now, assisting most goals and it seems all of their players are in top form. Suarez and Sturridge will put up a fight, though. That’s some quality analysis. “Put up a fight.” Arsenal have kept only 2 clean sheets, Liverpool 3. Goals from everybody, but the Gunners get more.
Projected: Arsenal 3-2. Marouane Chamakh appears from nowhere and doesn’t do anything. He leaves again.
Does anybody remember this guy?
Chelsea v. Newcastle.
Despite Newcastle’s draw against Liverpool two weeks ago, I don’t think they take anything here. They fell to Sunderland last weekend, Hull a few weeks before. They got rocked by United, conceded 3 to Everton. Chelsea, meanwhile, are playing pretty well right now. Torres (who, by the way, scored more goals last year than Chicharito, Nani, Welbeck and Young combined; also outscored Aguero, among several others) is playing well, Hazard is back in top form, Oscar is adapting well to his new 10 role. Mata should start, but it’s hard to say with so many attacking options that Jose seems to hate. Chelsea’s defense has been solid (the Aguero goal was ridiculous, so it hardly counts) this year, with Terry back to his rock-solid form. Chelsea do have a habit of making easy games difficult, but they’ve beat Arsenal and City last week and drew at White Hart Lane the week before that. Not bad. Combine that with a solid performance against a good Schalke side, and they’re favorites here.
Projection: Chelsea 3-1. I don’t know, man, I’m not perfect. Figure it out yourself.
Everton v. Tottenham.
Mmm this will be fun to watch. Everton are continuously underrated, but are basically the Little Engine That Could. A few years ago, they barely put together a full team. They’ve been strapped for cash, but consistently get the best from their players. Martinez slipped in flawlessly into the hole Moyes left. They’ve struggled for goals at times, but a victory over Chelsea takes the sting away from a shelling at the hands of City. Meanwhile, Spurs are playing well, but similarly struggle for goals. Soldado is the leading scorer for Spurs in the league, and I think all 4 of his goals come from penalties. Sigurdsson, who was one of my favorite players before he latched onto Spurs, is starting to fulfill his potential. AVB made some solid buys over the summer, but his comments last week about the Spurs’ faithful haven’t helped him too much. This is a tough one to predict.
Projection: Everton 1-0. AVB is furious at the Everton fans for not giving it their all.
Other notable games:
City v. Norwich: City win here. Norwich have a horrible record against top teams this year, and a horrible record in general.
Fulham v. United: United win. Again, this may be more difficult than United want. Fulham have just one win at home, however, so I think United ultimately pull it out. Rooney and RVP on the scoresheet.
Southampton v. Stoke: Southampton win. Let’s put it this way: Stoke don’t win. Southampton’s defensive record will prove pivotal here, even though Stoke seem content with draws at home. They sit just outside of the relegation zone, and a loss to the Saints won’t help.
I’ll be very proud if I get 3 of these right. I’m confident in none of them.
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