Premier League Predictions- Week Ten

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Each week, I will now post my predictions for the weekend, and see if i can get more right than BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson.

This week, for the 12-14 February, the predictions below stand.

This week's predictions	Score	Lawro	Edward
Man Utd v Man City	2-1	1-1	2-0
Arsenal v Wolves	2-0	2-0	5-0
Birmingham v Stoke	1-0	1-1	2-1
Blackburn v Newcastle	0-0	1-2	2-1
Blackpool v Aston Villa	1-1	1-2	1-1
Liverpool v Wigan	1-1	2-0	2-0
West Brom v West Ham	3-3	2-1	1-3
Sunderland v Tottenham	1-2	0-2	1-2
Bolton v Everton	2-0	1-1	2-1
Fulham v Chelsea	0-0	1-1	1-4

I expect the big winners this weekend to be Arsenal. A home tie against Wolves has come at a great time for the Gunners. who closed the gap on leaders Man Utd by a point last weekend, despite a stunning 4-4 draw at Newcastle. Now only four points behind, Arsene Wenger's side could have one eye on the home Champions League tie with Arsenal on Wednesday but a morale boosting result wouldn't go amiss four days previous.

Marouane Chamakh scored both goals as Arsenal won 2-0 against Wolves in November, but has gone off the boil since.

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Robin van Persie is in particularly good form, having scored eight goals in his last six games, whilst Theo Walcott has been in impressive form alongside Cesc Fabregas.

The only concern for Arsenal is that they are missing the suspended Abou Diaby, so Denilson may come in, but Arsenal will have enough quality to win on Saturday and win comfortably.

Wolves are not to be underestimated having beaten Man Utd last weekend, but an away day at the Emirates could be another kettle of fish, given they lost against the three other teams who currently occupy the top four places.

With games against West Brom and Blackpool on the horizon, maybe Mick McCarthy might find it sensible to priorities his games in order to keep the Midlanders from going down.

Wolves were the first team this season to beat Manchester United, when they defeated the Red Devils 2-1 last weekend.


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The other big winners this weekend could be West Ham, who travel to West Brom, who won't be under the guidance of Roy Hodgson.

West Brom's home form has generally been OK, winning three of their last six, but their yo-yo Premier League form seems to be again playing on their minds after an incredible slip from their fourth placed position in early November.

When Odemwingie has scored this season, West Brom have never lost.

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I've said before that their main problem is that they concede too many goals and fail to score enough, something which showed in their 3-0 loss to Manchester City last weekend.

It's obvious that they need to pick up points from games like this but West Ham have something to play for too.

The Hammers will, no doubt, be spurred on by the fact they have been given the chance to play at the Olympic Stadium and that alone could be the necessary boost that the players and the club needs to ignite their season.

Add to that the fact that Avram Grant's side could jump out of the bottom three with three points at the Hawthorns and the script is written for an away win.

Each of the strikers, Obinna, Piquionne, Keane, Cole and Sears have all been on fire of late and Grant has good selection problems, something West Brom are struggling for up front, with only Peter Odemwingie having scored more than four goals this season.

Victor Obinna has scored five goals in his last three appearances.

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The big game of the weekend seems to obviously be the Manchester derby at Saturday lunchtime.

Manchester United v Manchester City always gives that added spark and with Carlos Tevez back in the goals last weekend, Manchester United, without Rio Ferdinand, might have a huge task on their hands.

That said, United lost against against Wolves last night and they can't afford another slip up, with Arsenal only four points behind.

United have, indeed, won three of their last four City derbies at Old Trafford and I expect them to do the same once more, if they can keep City out.

Michael Owen scored a controversial injury time winner as United beat City 4-3 in the league at Old Trafford last season.

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Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov are in great form up front and Ryan Giggs seems to play well whenever he is picked, and their experience might see them through on Saturday.

City have got used to playing their 4-5-1 system away from home because they don't concede many goals but they might have to keep their neighbours out if they are to take anything from the weekend.

It will give us a good preview of how City might do this season and if they can manage to scrap three points, they will definitely be on for a Champions League trip next season, with Spurs slowly catching up, and Harry Redknapp's side having a game in hand, away at Blackpool, inbetween their Champions League ties against AC Milan.

Good luck to everyone's teams this weekend.

Want to play along? Please discuss your predictions below.

Premier League Predictions- Week Nine

Credit; here

Each week, I will now post my predictions for the weekend, and see if i can get more right than BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson.

This week, for the 5-6 February, the predictions below stand.

This week's predictions	Score	Lawro	Edward
Aston Villa v Fuham	2-2	2-1	1-0
Chelsea v Liverpool	0-1	2-0	3-0
Everton v Blackpool	5-3	2-0	1-1
Man City v West Brom	3-0	2-0	4-0
Newcastle v Arsenal	4-4	0-2	0-3
Stoke v Sunderland	3-2	2-0	1-2
Tottenham v Bolton	2-1	2-0	3-1
Wigan v Blackburn	4-3	1-1	1-2
Wolves v Man Utd	2-1	0-2	0-3
West Ham v Birmingham	0-1	2-1	1-1

I expect the big winners this weekend to be Manchester City. Roberto Mancini;s side have been threatening to fire for some time now and, after their draw at Birmingham midweek, I think we could see an adverse effect against a West Brom team which concede goals for fun and haven't scored on their last four away games.



Edin Dzeko has yet to hit the back of the net in the league for City, but I expect him to get off the mark against West Brom.

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City's home record is generally pretty good, winning their last 3 in the league but the goals continue to fly in, with Mancini's side having scored four goals in three of their last four home ties.

If City are to challenge for the title, they would need to improve their goal difference, with Arsenal being ten goals better off with 14 games left to play.

Dzeko would be my pick for any fantasy teams this weekend, providing he starts alongside Tevez, while David Silva is set to be included alongside the Toure brothers, who were both missing in their 2-2 draw at Birmingham.

It's important that City win and they could really add to West Brom's problems, the Baggies being only two points clear of the relegation zone and having recorded only eight points away from home all season, four of which being against Arsenal and Manchester United.

Peter Odemwingie has scored nine goals and The Baggies have never lost when he has scored.

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It's worrying times for the Midlanders but Peter Odemwingie's goals might be the difference between staying up and going down, although Carlos Vela;s introduction will be interesting and surely his quality will show on occasions. Big players perform on big occasions, it's a big game for the Baggies tomorrow ahead of ties with West Ham, Wolves, Stoke and Birmingham over the coming weeks.

The other big winners of the weekend could be Arsenal, who travel to St James' Park for the second time this season, having beaten the Toon army in the 5th round of the League Cup.

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Games like this will define Arsenal's league season but their away record has improved this season, having picked up 10 points from their last four away days.

If they can carry on where they left off, without the injured Samir Nasri, they can keep the pressure on Manchester United, who face Wolves before the Manchester derby next Saturday.

It seems the return to fitness of Robin van Persie has really made a difference to the Gunners and Arsenal have started playing the football we grow to expect, especially with Cesc Fabregas returning to form.






Robin van Persie has scored 5 goals in his last three league games and also scored against Leeds in the FA Cup replay.




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On the contrary, Newcastle are looking to life after Andy Carroll and it seems a strange decision not to have brought anyone in, even on loan, to replace the physical front-man on transfer deadline day.

The fans will have been looking forward to a decent season but whether Shola Ameobi (who is out injured for 6 weeks), Leon Best and Peter Lovenkrands can score enough goals remains to be seen.

They couldn't hit the target against Fulham as the side fell to their first league defeat in 5, but a league double for the Magpies doesn't look likely, with the team having only won two of their 16 Premier League games with Arsenal.

The big game is obviously at Stamford Bridge, where Fernando Torres is set to make his bow against his last club, Liverpool.

It will be interesting to see how the Spaniard fits into the system, but I'd guess that he'd play on the right of the three, with Drogba down the middle and Anelka on the left.






Chelsea's front three will have to be switched after they signed Fernando Torres for £50m.




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Another interesting selection will be whether Florent Malouda will again be on the bench, with the French winger out of form and having now lost a previously cemented place up front.

Carlo Ancelotti might have problems selecting Malouda, with Lampard, Ramires and Michael Essien looking solid in midfield, but it's a selection problem that the boss will welcome, given Chelsea's recent lack of strength in depth.

Liverpool are also looking forward, having beaten the Blues at Anfield earlier in the season, so it will be good to see how Luis Suarez applies himself against a top team.

The Uruguayan score on his debut against Stoke and will be looking to get his name on the score sheet yet again.

It's sure to be a good game but I think Chelsea will be inspired by their new signings. Although Torres will be all the rage before the game, Liverpool's defence can't just worry about him or someone like Anelka will step up and hurt them, with the Frenchman failing to punish sloppy defending in the reverse fixture.

Good luck to everyone's teams this weekend.

Want to play along? Please discuss your predictions below.

Premier League Predictions- Week Seven

Credit; here

Each week, I will now post my predictions for the weekend, and see if i can get more right than BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson.

This week, for the 15/16 January, the predictions below stand.

This week's predictions	Score	Lawro	Edward
Birmingham v Aston Villa	1-1	1-1	1-2
Chelsea v Blackburn	2-0	2-0	5-0
Liverpool v Everton	2-2	1-1	2-2
Man City v Wolves	4-3	2-0	4-0
Stoke v Bolton	2-0	2-1	0-0
Sunderland v Newcastle	1-1	2-0	1-3
Tottenham v Man Utd	0-0	2-1	1-1
West Brom v Blackpool	3-2	2-1	1-1
West Ham v Arsenal	0-3	0-2	1-2
Wigan v Fulham	1-1	1-1	2-1

This weekend promises to be a true cracker with no less than four derby games, a battle of the promoted teams, and United travelling to Spurs, but how can you predict results in the Premier League at the moment?

I expect the big winners this weekend to be Chelsea. The Champions have been out of the goals and form of late, but with quality comes expectation and they have to step it up sooner rather than later.

Blackburn are no lightweights and won't be pushed around but have an awful record of late at Stamford Bridge, having lost 5-0 last season and only scoring once in their last six visits.

On paper, it doesn't look good and one player who usually plays well against Blackburn is Nicolas Anelka, who has scored four in his last five start against the North West outfit. Anelka also had a good record against Rovers for City and may be one to bank on for the fantasy league team,providing he starts ahead of Solomon Kalou.



Rovers fans, players and staff, will be sick of the sight of Nicolas Anelka, who has always scored goals against them.

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Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba both scored in the 5-0 victory last season and if they return to form, it could be a long, hard Saturday afternoon for Steve Kean's side.

Another team who are due a big score are Manchester City, who face a Wolves side who beat them 2-1 at Molineux in October.

The records don't make good reading for City fans and, although they have won their last 3 home games against Wolves 1-0, although the Midland side won 1-0 on the previous three occasions at Maine Road.

City's home form this season, however, is very good and they have only lost one of their last seven at Eastlands, and winning four of their last five.




Edin Dzeko will be hoping to win lots of trophies at Manchester City and they can go top with a win at home to Wolves.

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It will be interesting to see whether new signing Edin Dzeko makes his first start alongside Carlos Tevez, with Mario Balotelli out injured, and City will be all out to claim top spot before their city rivals travel to Spurs on Sunday.

At the bottom, West Brom will be looking to stop the rot against a Blackpool side who will be high on confidence after their 2-1 midweek win against Liverpool.

The Baggies have lost their last 6 in all competitions and in the preview on who I think will go down, I identified their lack of a natural goalscorer, a leaky defence, and a lack of discipline might send them down, but it's crucial they get something on Saturday.

Another few wins for Blackpool and they'll secure their place in the Premier League for a second season, a huge achievement for the smallest club in the league. Ian Holloway has brought the club on leaps and bounds and it wouldn't be a total surprise if they went to the Hawthorns and took three points, with DJ Campbell on fire and Charlie Adam running the midfield.





Gary Taylor-Fletcher and DJ Campbell were both on target against Liverpool on Wednesday.







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Roberto Di Matteo simply has to get a result to stop the slide and I think they might, but it might not be three points which they desperately need.

You can take your pick for the game of the weekend, but I'd suggest that Sunderland will be all out for revenge after their 5-1 reverse to Newcastle not even 3 months ago.




Kevin Nolan scored a hat-trick against Sunderland last time the sides met.


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It will be interesting to see whether Sunderland can find a better performance this time and I expect that, along with the game at White Hart Lane to be the pick of the action.

The final word, however, lies with West Ham, who simply have to beat Arsenal at home after Avram Grant was handed a stay of execution.

He might need something special but miracles do happen.

Good luck to everyone's teams this weekend.