PREMIERSHIP PREDICTIONS
Premiership Predictions & Correct Scores for the opening day of the season: 14th - 16th August 2010
by Doug Martin
Hello everyone. Here we go again. It seems only yesterday since the World cup ended. The last game I predicted was of course the World Cup final when I correctly predicted that Spain would win. What I didn’t realise was that Holland would play the way they did which ruined the game for me. How the Dutch can blame the referee is unbelievable. Talk about pulling the wool over your eyes. There has only been around a month gap between the World Cup ending & the start of the new season. Of course if you support a side out of the Premiership your season has already started. I think that Manchester United will win this years title ahead of Chelsea who I feel will feel the strain of defending their title. I can’t really see Liverpool challenging either as they are regrouping after a dreadful season last year. Manchester City could be the side to take advantage of their demise & gain entry into the top four. Really can’t see Tottenham repeating their 4th place finish of last season which will please Arsenal fans no end. Again Arsenal will challenge for the title but like recent previous seasons will come up short.
Hopefully I can improve on last seasons record of 57% for correct results.
Anyway, enough of my insane ramblings & on with the predictions for the first Weekend of the season.
Good luck & see you next week.
Match 1: Tottenham - Manchester City: (Saturday 14th August - 12.45pm):
How convenient that the two sides who battled for a 4th place finish should meet on the opening day of the season. Who says that the fixtures are rigged? Manchester City were very disappointed to have missed out on 4th place to Spurs last season, the 1-0 defeat at home to Spurs as well as the defeat at White Hart line were in the end what did it for Manchester City. City have again spent heavily this pre season & I think they will challenge for honours again this season. The big question is if they can end their trophy drought & win a major honour for the first time since they beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the League cup final in 1976. I think not because they appear as a club to have no luck when it comes to winning trophy’s. That will end one day but not yet methinks. Spurs will do really well to do as well as last season & with the distraction of the Champions league I think they will fail to come in the top four. As mentioned before hand Spurs gained the league double over Manchester City last season. Not so this season & Manchester City to gain some revenge & win this game. It will be interesting to see if their Italian Manager will be in charge come the end of the season?
Result Prediction: Manchester City to win
Score Prediction: Spurs 0 City 2
Match 2: Aston Villa - West Ham: (Saturday 14th August: 3pm):
A big shock for Aston Villa fans as Martin O’Neil resigned as manager last week. This was really bad timing with the season so near. Will Villa challenge for a top four finish like they have the last couple of seasons? I think not as O’Neil was doing really well to get Villa as high up the table as he did. This will be proved over the next few months. However, Villa should win this game against a West Ham side that I expect to struggle again. They only just stayed up last season & that was mainly due to Burnley & Hull being so crap. They should just stay up this season mainly because of the promoted sides who have come up, ie, Blackpool & West Brom who I expect to go straight back down. The only worry for West Ham is that there is no Portsmouth this season. Villa to win this game then but the season will I suspect be a big anti climax for their fans & they will almost certainly end in mid table. A shame as I like the Villa but modern football has moved on in that unless you have millions of pounds to flush down the toilet then you don’t stand a chance of gaining any success.
Result Prediction: Villa to win
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 2 West Ham 1
Match 3: Bolton - Fulham: (Saturday 14th August: 3pm):
Bolton should do better under Owen Coyle this season. They did well to pull clear of the relegation zone last season & stay up. At least they will be playing better football than they were under Gary Megson. They face on the opening day a Fulham side who will be gutted that they have lost their manager Roy Hodgson who steered them to two to half finishes in the league & of course The Europa cup final where they were very unlucky to lose to a late goal. Fulham’s way form was not good last season & if my memory serves me right they only won one game & that was at Portsmouth on the opening day of the season. They might struggle to take three points out of this game as Bolton finished strong at home last season as well as being generally strong at home over many years. This is the sort of Game that Bolton tend to win in their recent annual bid to stay up & I see no reason for anything other than a home win. A season of struggle for both sides methinks.
Result Prediction: Bolton to win
Score Prediction: Bolton 2 Fulham 1
Match 4: Sunderland - Birmingham: (Saturday 14th August: 3pm):
Sunderland started & finished well last season. In between they were crap. They had some good results last season beating Liverpool, Arsenal & Spurs at home as well as drawing at old Trafford against Manchester United. That away point against Manchester United was a blip in their away form as they gained very few points away from the Stadium of light. Their away form then is something they need to improve if they are to have realistic hopes of getting into Europe. Birmingham had a great season but again their away form was not good but it only fell away in the last third of the season after they were knocked out in the FA Cup at Portsmouth. A home win methinks but it should be a close game as both sides are hoping to make further progress on last time. Sunderland fans will be disappointed that their nearest & dearest rivals Newcastle bounced straight back after relegation but that will be softened by the hope that they can gain six points from them. Me too. A home win then & Birmingham’s away form or lack of it to continue.
Result Prediction: Sunderland to win
Score Prediction: Sunderland 3 Birmingham 1
Match 5: Blackburn - Everton: (Saturday 14th August: 3pm):
Last season Blackburn had a great home record but one of their few home defeats was against Everton when they lost 3-2 towards the end of the season (A result that I predicted). I like Blackburn as a club & am pleased that they punch above their weight to stay in the Premiership but I don’t like the football that their manager insists on them playing. Mind you if I was a Blackburn fan then I wouldn’t complain. Interesting game to predict. Will Everton repeat their victory of last season? I think that like last season Blackburn will have a slow start & starting with defeat ton Everton. Everton had a great second half to last season & would have finished higher if they had played half as well in the first half of the season. Blackburn will stay up as there are worst sides than them in the league but without stating the obvious they won’t be winning anything including any friends for the way that they play.
Result Prediction: Everton to win
Score Prediction: Blackburn 1 Everton 2
Match 6: Wigan - Blackpool: (Saturday 14th August: 3pm):
Blackpool are in the top flight for the first time since 1971. Then they came straight back down never to return until this season. One hell of a wait if you support them. Can’t see them staying up but their manager should provide some laughs along the way. I remember seeing Blackpool playing in the 4th division in the 1980’s so it is a major shock to see them playing in the Premiership. I think they will lose this game as Wigan like a lot of other sides will have too much for them but they will enjoy their day out no matter what. Wigan struggled a lot last season & were lucky to not get dragged into the relegation zone at the end. Only because of the crapness of the bottom three did they stay up, ditto West Ham & Bolton. This game was supposed to be played at Blackpool’s ground but it wasn’t ready because of building work on a new stand. This says much about their board who I suspect will be completely unprepared for life in the Premiership. A home win then & a long hard season for Blackpool ending in relegation which will be a shame as football in this country needs it’s old clubs to be playing well.
Result Prediction: Wigan to win
Score Prediction: Wigan 3 Blackpool 1
Match 7: Wolves - Stoke City: (Saturday 14th August: 3pm):
Wolves did really well to stay up last season which will have been a massive vindication for their manager Mick McCarthy who was relegated with Sunderland some years ago with a record low points tally. This fixture last season ended in a drab 0-0 draw. This game should be better than that game. In fact both games between these sides ended in draws with the game at Stoke ending in a 2-2 draw. I think Wolves will just sneak a win in this game to get their season off to a flyer but it will be a close game. Stoke came mid-table last season which was a vast improvement on their first season back in the top flight. Both sides have a lot of history especially Wolves who had a great side in the 1950’s. Can’t see them recreating those great days but their fans will be happy just to be playing for consecutive seasons in the top flight for the first time since the 1980’s. Both sides should stay up this season, especially Stoke who should break into the top ten. A home win then.
Result Prediction: A Wolves win
Score Prediction: Wolves 1 Stoke City 0
Match 8: Chelsea - West Brom: (Saturday 14th August: 5.30pm):
Chelsea start the defence of their title with a relatively easy game at home to a West Brom side who will be hoping to end their record of more or less going back down after every promotion to the Premiership. The only time they stayed up was under Bryan Robson in 2005. They still went down the season after though which of course cost Bryan his job. Chelsea should win this game but Albion will give it a good try. I can’t see Chelsea winning the title this season as I think they have peaked. Their side is getting on in terms of age & that won’t help either. This of course doesn’t mean that they won’t have a bad season as they could be a really good bet for one of the cups. Maybe even the Champions League as that is the Trophy the players really want having come close on so many occasions. A home win then but I think it will be Chelsea’s away form that will be their problem as most sides will be up for beating the champions on their own patch.
Result Prediction: A Chelsea win
Score Prediction: Chelsea 3 West Brom 1
Match 9: Liverpool - Arsenal: (Sunday 15th August: 4pm):
Last season Arsenal beat Liverpool in both games, 2-1 at Anfield & 1-0 at Highbury, err, the Emirates. I think that despite signing Joe Cole & having a new manager Liverpool will still not do well this season. I cant see them doing better than last season but that won’t be too hard. Arsenal will probably come third by the end of the season behind Manchester United & Chelsea as they can’t or won’t compete with them in the transfer market. Arsenal’s strongest problem could come from Manchester City who could overtake them into third place as their resources seem massive. I think that Arsenal will win this game but it will be close as games between these teams tend to be. I might pop down the pub myself & watch this game but then again all those "Plastic" Liverpool fans might make it unbearable. An away win then just like last season (which I predicted).
Result Prediction: An Arsenal win
Score Prediction: Liverpool 1 Arsenal 2
Match 10: Manchester United - Newcastle United: (Monday 16th August: 8pm):
The runners up of last season & only the League cup to show for their efforts. I think that United will bounce back this season & regain their title & with some ease. They face a Newcastle side who did really well to bounce back from relegation to come straight back up as Champions of the 2nd division, err, the Championship. The problem for Newcastle is that they still have their wonderful chairman in charge which means more or less no money to spend. They should be safe from relegation but it will only be a season of boring mid table football for them & as they are as bad as Manchester City in terms of luck at winning trophies I don’t think they will break their duck by winning the FA or League cup. A Manchester United home win then but the question for most United fans must be when they are going to get rid of their dreadful American owners?
Result Prediction: Manchester United to win
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2 Newcastle 0
That’s all for this week. Good luck & see you all in a few days.
Douglas Martin
dap martin@hotmail.co.uk
13th August 2010
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