No
matches took place the previous week due to the international break,
in which a dominant England defeated a pitiful San Marino 5-0 in a
World Cup Qualifier after two goals each from Wayne Rooney and Danny
Welbeck and a first England goal for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. This
leaves England top of their World Cup qualifying group with seven points from three games, and their next fixture is a tough away game
against Poland.
Tottenham
Hotspur vs Chelsea
The
early kick-off this week is a London derby between Tottenham Hotspur
and Chelsea at White Hart Lane. Tottenham will be looking to continue
their current run of form that has seen them rise up the table into
fifth position after victories against Aston Villa and Manchester
United. It seems as if Andre Villas-Boas is now settling in at
Tottenham after a shaky start, and his celebration after the victory
against Manchester United showed just how much this run of form meant
to him.
However,
if they were looking for the ideal team to come up against next to
continue their run of form, that team would not be Chelsea. Top of
the league and flying, Chelsea football club are looking dominant
this campaign, with the best goal difference in the league, showing
that not only do they have a high-scoring formidable attack, they
also have strength and depth at the back. New signing Eden Hazard has
fallen straight into this Chelsea side that are playing arguably some
of the best football in the league, scoring well created, team
crafted goals. Chelsea will be looking for all three points come the
weekend in order to continue their unbeaten start to this Premier
League season and perhaps even extend a points lead, which is very
important at this stage in the season.
Prediction:
Tottenham 1-2 Chelsea
Fulham
vs Aston Villa
Fulham
are sitting comfortably in mid-table at the moment after a draw with
Southampton and a loss to Manchester City. However form picked up
after a win against Wigan Athletic and a comprehensive 3-0 win
against West Brom, which leaves them in ninth place.
Aston
Villa aren't off to the best of starts as they hover above the drop
zone, and even though it has only been seven games, the warning signs
may still be there. After 2 losses and a draw leading up to this
game, Villa be hoping that they are good enough to get three points,
and get themselves away from danger. A loss could see them slip into
the bottom three if there are wins for newly promoted sides Reading
(who play Liverpool) and Southampton (who play West Ham).
Prediction:
Fulham 2-0 Aston Villa
Liverpool
vs Reading
Liverpool
have started regaining their form again with 2 successive wins
against Norwich and West Brom after a poor run of form that sees them
in the bottom half of the table lying in 14th place. Liverpool will
be hoping to continue with their winning streak going into next
week's Merseyside Derby with high-flying Everton.
3rd
from the bottom Reading are going down a slippery slope with only 2
points from their last 3 games, along with being eliminated from the
Capital One Cup by QPR. However, with a game in hand they will hope
they can start a push up the table towards a more comfortable
position, starting with their game against Liverpool.
Prediction:
Liverpool 3-1 Reading
Manchester
United vs Stoke City
2nd
in the league Manchester United are looking for their elusive 20th
Premier League championship and after the signings of Shinji Kagawa
and Robin Van Persie many pundits were tipping Man Utd for glory this
season, but after 7 games they find themselves 4 points behind
leaders and next opponents Chelsea who are playing some of
the best football seen over the past few seasons.
Stoke
have been coming through the most difficult patch of games they will
have all season. Playing Manchester City, Chelsea, Swansea and
Liverpool in the past 4 games seems difficult enough, but then an
away trip to Manchester United trip to cap it off. From those past 4
games, Stoke managed to pick up a respectable four points. Sitting in
12th place in the league, Stoke City will be hoping that their
upcoming games against Sunderland, Norwich and QPR will see them move
up the table.
Prediction:
Manchester United 1-1 Stoke City
Swansea
City vs Wigan Athletic
After
a superb start to the season, Swansea's momentum has started to slow,
after only picking up one point in their last three
games. Unfortunately for Swansea City it doesn't look like
results will be getting any better in the coming games, as their next
three games are against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Swansea will be hoping that 3 points over Wigan can give them a boost
going to into their game against champions Manchester City.
5
points from 7 games is not the ideal start for Roberto Martinez and
his side, but after a good performance in their draw against Everton,
Martinez will be hoping Wigan can kick start their season properly
against Swansea, Wigan and Tottenham in their coming games. New
signing Arouna Koné has
been putting in a series of good performances since signing for
Wigan, adding a goal and an assist last week at Everton.
Prediction:
Swansea City 2-1 Wigan
West
Bromwich Albion vs Manchester City
6th
place West Brom are off to a flying start to the season after picking
up 14 points from 7 games. Steve Clarke will be extremely happy with
the football his side are playing, and will be hoping that they can
carry on this momentum into the weekend's clash with champions
Manchester City. Clarke will be hoping for a strong performance from
West Brom, but he must be thinking that 3 Points could see them rise
as high as 2nd place dependant on results.
Last
year's winners Manchester City are still undefeated so far in this
year's campaign, despite sitting in 3rd place on joint points with
second place rivals Manchester United. Roberto Mancini and his side
will be hoping that they can add on their recent performances and
will be wanting to add another win to their collection after
victories against Sunderland and Fulham in recent games. Their
upcoming games against Swansea and West Ham could be the opportunity
that City need to string together a series of wins that could see
them catch Chelsea at the summit of the Premier League.
Prediction:
West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Manchester City
West
Ham United vs Southampton
West
Ham are off to a very comfortable start to the Premier League season
with 11 points from 7 games. The Hammers will be hoping that they can
re-find their previous form in preparation for their game against
Southampton after a 3-1 loss to Arsenal last match. New signing Andy
Carroll seems to have slotted straight into the West Ham side and
will be hoping he can start scoring some goals.
17th
place Southampton had one of the hardest starts to a new Premier
League season ever, playing Manchester City, Manchester United and
Arsenal in their first five games. However recent results including a
win against Aston Villa and a draw with Fulham are starting to show
some hope. In their upcoming fixtures against West Ham, Tottenham and
West Brom, Nigel Adkins and his side will be hoping to pick up some
points to get them away from the bottom three.
Prediction:
West Ham United 1-1 Southampton
Norwich
City vs Arsenal
After
a series of three losses, two of them quite significant, Norwich and
Chris Hughton will be hoping that they can get a win this weekend
against tough opposition Arsenal. Conceding ten goals in their last
three Premier League games, Norwich City's defence has taken it's
fair share of abuse in the past few weeks and it will be an aspect of
their game that Chris Hughton will be looking to drastically improve
and quickly in order to not open the floodgates against a very
attacking Arsenal side.
Arsenal
currently sit in 7th place in the Premier League with twelve points
from seven games which will be pleasing to manager Arsene Wenger as
Arsenal have just come through a tough run of games including matches
against Manchester City and Chelsea. Wenger will be hoping for nine
points from Arsenal's next three games against the League's bottom
three, Norwich, QPR and Reading. New signings Olivier Giroud,
Santiago Carzola and Lukas Podolski are slotting into the first team
well, all contributing goals to this new look, more experienced
Arsenal side.
Prediction:
Norwich City 0-3 Arsenal
