Must be a tough day for managers today. Almost every club is looking to sign or sell players and to add to the drama, they have to prepare their teams for the weekend games as well. This is why managers have assistants to deal with most of the team’s training and preparation and in some cases clubs appoint directors of football to handle the transfers.
Assuming Curbishley has both, what the hell does he do at West Ham then? Motivate them? He’s not a great motivator to begin with, so…
Anyway, on with this weekend’s predictions – to add your own, copy-paste the list at the end of the article and make your predictions in the comments.
Saturday 1 Sept 2007
Bolton vs Everton
Should be an interesting game – Faye is supposed to leave Bolton although Anelka is staying (no news yet whether Diouf would stay or not but I figure with Anelka staying he’d stick around too), and between Anelka and Diouf Bolton have a chance of coming away from this with a win.
Everton have Yakubu and Gravesen joining them in the last week, and added threat up front could jolt Everton into action, although I just don’t see them as a side that goes into an away game and comes away with 3 goals.
I’d bet on Bolton’s players doing better than Everton’s players on the day.
Soccerlens Prediction: Bolton to win – a gamble, I know.
Fulham vs Tottenham
A supposed ‘must-win’ game for Martin Jol and Tottenham while another chance for Lawrie Sanchez to figure out why his side is not winning despite his Irish luck. Fulham have quality but with Bent, Berba, Lennon, Dawson and Kaboul all in line for a recall on Saturday, I’d side with Tottenham.
Soccerlens Prediction: Tottenham to win.
Liverpool vs Derby
An easy one. Liverpool are in awesome form at home this year (the only two teams in recent memory to beat them at Anfield are Manchester United and Barcelona) and against a Derby side that is out of its depth in the Premier League, Rafa could (but won’t) field a second string and still win. No offense to Derby, but Rafa’s second string is quite decent 🙂
Soccerlens Prediction: Liverpool to win.
Middlesbrough vs Birmingham
One with goals. Brum and Boro can’t stop scoring or leaking them at the moment, so it’s bound to be an open game. Question is whether Birmingham have the quality to beat Boro and at least away from home, they don’t.
Soccerlens Prediction: Middlesbrough to win.
Newcastle vs Wigan
Not as easy as it looks. Wigan have been fighting hard this season, and Newcastle, despite their ‘undefeated’ record, will have a real fight on their hands. Good thing they have Owen and Martins and Viduka scoring in the last week, plus with Smith manning central midfield and the Zog and Milner on the wings, surely it’s too much for Bramble and co?
Soccerlens Prediction: Newcastle to win.
Reading vs West Ham
Both teams have an annoying tendency to win or draw when you expect them to lose and lose when you expect them to at least get a draw. Reading were good at the start of the season but got knocked about too easily by Bolton and while West Ham have been flat so far, I’d expect them to come out fighting today.
I doubt that it would be a draw though.
Soccerlens Prediction: West Ham to win.
Manchester United vs Sunderland
Manchester United have lost these types of fixtures before but after what happened at the start of the season they’re not going to let their guard down. Sunderland have done ‘OK’, but they haven’t brought in the right type of players (still need a defender and midfielder on the last day). Even with two new recruits, they’re likely to lose.
Soccerlens Prediction: Manchester United to win.
Sunday 2 Sep 2007
Arsenal vs Portsmouth
Arsenal are on a roll and getting better at breaking down stubborn sides while Pompey are improving but like Reading, still unpredictable in how they will fight or collapse. They could give Arsenal a scare, at most, but that’s not going to change much.
Soccerlens Prediction: Arsenal to win.
Blackburn vs Manchester City
It will be very interesting to see how Manchester City play here. I see them being more adventurous and taking the fight to Rovers, but as always it’s the central midfield I’m worried about with City. Blackburn have the will to fight and to score goals but if Petrov and Elano can get away from the hard tackles, they should be able to help City score.
This is still a Blackburn win though.
Soccerlens Prediction: A Blackburn win.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea
Aston Villa will play this game pretty much the same way they played against Liverpool, which makes it quite simple for Chelsea – get a goal in the first half, get the second on the break and stay on top of the table. Easier said than done, and Villa, especially if they sign a new striker on the last day, could push Chelsea a long way.
Soccerlens Prediction: Chelsea to win.
Make Your Predictions
If you noticed, I didn’t predict any draws this weekend. Considering that we had 3 draws last week and 3-4 draws is perhaps the average, I’m also shooting myself in the foot with this, right?
Well, go ahead, prove me wrong – copy-paste the list below and make your own predictions in the comments. Remember to tally it up and put up your final score (1 point for predicting the right result, total out of 10) here in the comments after the weekend.
Bolton vs Everton
Fulham vs Tottenham
Liverpool vs Derby
Middlesbrough vs Birmingham
Newcastle vs Wigan
Reading vs West Ham
Manchester United vs Sunderland
Arsenal vs Portsmouth
Blackburn vs Manchester City
Aston Villa vs Chelsea
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