Hi scorers. It's Monday morning, it's raining, the weekends is over and it's getting darker by the day. There's a lot to be pessimistic about, but in this article I endeavor to cheer you up a bit and start get you through this long week, because there's always next weekend. Hope your team won, here's a look back at the games:
Arsenal 3-3 Fulham
I said: 1-0, +0pts
Del said: 2-1, +0pts
When predicting this game, I probably didn't take enough account of the fact that Fulham are actually the second highest scorers in the entire table - the arrival of Berbatov for the Cottagers has more than made up for the loss of Dempsey - but looked past this as Arsenal held the best defensive record in the league at the time. Having said that, once Arsenal went 2-0 up after 20 minutes with goals from Giroud and Podolski, I thought they'd end up scoring 4 or 5 and I slightly regretted not going for a higher scoreline. With Arsenal fans having probably expected that margin of victory as well, they will have been somewhat disgruntled by Fulham scoring twice before the break - Mannone might have done better in his attempts to keep out Kacaniklic's headed equaliser - and it all seemed to fall apart for Arsenal when Dimitar Berbatov converted a penalty in the second half to put Fulham in front. Giroud tied things up for the Gunners with 10 minutes to go but Arteta's missed penalty in the last kick of the game saw Arsenal get a result which must go down as two points dropped- they are now in 8th in the table and 4pts off the final Champions League spot.
Everton 2-1 Sunderland
I said: 2-0, +1pt
Del said: 2-0, +1pt
Fellaini's classiness, domineering nature and skill on the ball almost single-handedly turned this match in Everton's favour with 15 minutes to play, to give them the 3pts and put them 3 and 4pts clear of Tottenham and Arsenal respectively, neither of whom won this weekend and crucially they play each other next week. The Toffees' dominance in this match paid off when the Belgian struck a sweet strike past Mignolet to cancel out Adam Johnson's first half opener, he then played a world-class flick through the legs of John O'Shea to set-up Jelavic who brilliantly placed the ball in the far corner. A brilliant turnaround win for Everton was no less than what they deserved really, and with games against Reading and Norwich prior to Arsenal's visit of Merseyside, David Moyes might well feel confident of holding onto that 4th spot until Christmas.
Reading 0-0 Norwich
I said: 0-2, +0pts
Del said: 1-1, +1pt
I went a little bit with my gut instinct on this one, with Norwich's recent form and the fact that the pressure was all on Reading, but despite me predicting an away win, this is a much better point for Norwich than it is for the Royals. Them being 5pts clear of the relegation zone and having beaten Stoke last week, meant they could be comfortably satisfied with a draw here, whereas Reading are without a win so far this season, and badly needed the 3pts. To be fair to them, they've drawn 6 and lost 4 of their 10 games which isn't actually bad going, so they've been competing in a lot of matches but have lacked that bit of guile to edge teams out and also the mental strength they need to hold onto wins- they've actually been in front in 4 of their last 6 Premiership matches. At the moment, I've got a feeling it might go down to the last day for Reading, but Norwich look as though they'll be okay.
Southampton 1-1 Swansea
I said: 3-2, +0pts
Del said: 0-1, +0pts
I was routing for Southampton in this match, mainly because of Adkins' defiancy and hoping the fans' support for him is repayed, but also Southampton is always a really nice, welcoming place whenever I've been there and I've got a few friends who support them. But my prediction wasn't entirely hope over reasoned logic; both sides definately have goals in them, whilst neither are the best at the back - Southampton having the leakiest defence in the Premier League - so I expected this to be a higher-scoring match than it turned out to be. Despite a four point distance between themselves and safety, I'm far from ruling Southampton down and out. Yes, they conceded a goal on Saturday which they only had themselves to blame for as a result of comical defending, but if Adkins can fully address their defensive woes - either on the training pitch on in the January transfer window - Southampton would look like a midtable side. If and fully being the words in that sentence on which to place emphasis.
Stoke 1-0 QPR
I said: 0-1, +0pts
Del said: 2-0, +1pt
A lot of people have been saying Mark Hughes should get the sack now because of the amount QPR have spent over the summer on high-quality players, in comparison with where they are in the table (bottom). I can more than understand where these people are coming from, but the Rs have been putting in strong performances of late having given more than they've got in my opinion, so if I was Fernandes I'd be prepared to give Hughes until Christmas to get the results their play is worthy of. Having said that, next week at home to Southampton is an absolutely massive, dog-eat-dog game, and I think we're now beyond the stage where a draw will be good enough for either side - both have to win if they want to stay up, due to the gap at the bottom. As for Stoke, it was probably important for them that they could pinch that goal being, as always, so solid at the Britannia, and go 6pts clear of the relegation zone before they play several upper-midtable sides.
Wigan 1-2 West Brom
I said: 2-1, +0pts
Del said: 1-2, +3pts
Typical Wigan inconsistency. Having put in impressive performances against, and beaten, West Ham and Tottenham in their last two games I fancied the Latics to continue their run but the fact that they haven't won three consecutive matches since December 2008, and never in Roberto Martinez's era as manager, proves that consistency has always been a difficulty. Having said that, their ability to conjure up unexpectedly great performances and wins now and again will be more than enough to keep them in this division, because you only have to win a few matches to stay up. This is a fantastic result for West Brom, who climb to fifth with what is surprisingly their first away win of the season, and what's more, after Chelsea next week they've actually got some winnable games coming up, so they might be able to enjoy Steve Clarke's honeymoon period for a little while longer.
Aston Villa 2-3 Man United
I said: 0-2, +1pt
Del said: 2-3, +1pt
Well... I predicted a Manchester United win, but saying "with minimal drama" was a miscalculation, as Hernandez's hattrick gave Fergie's side a very late 3pts. Once the Mexican scored their first goal with such a composed, deadly finish and with over half an hour to play, you sort of knew what was coming. United had to dig deep and come from behind yet again this season, to get the much-needed 3pts. I heard a statistic that every team to have ever won the Premiership title have always been in the top 5 for goals conceded, and that United are currently 13th. As much as this is an impressive, and also telling statistic, their ability to grind out wins means I'm still sticking with my original choice of the Red Devils for this years' title, they've also got to play the likes of Norwich, QPR, West Ham and Reading, all pretty straightforward games, before the Manchester Derby in December. Villa's inexperienced side can take some heart from their performance despite the disappointment of the end result, I think there are some positive signs for them and the young players can only learn from this type of game.
Man City 2-1 Tottenham
I said: 1-1, +0pts
Del said: 2-1, +3pts
Anything Hernandez can do... Dzeko can do just as well. Just as United's supersub came on and won the game for them the night before, Edin Dzeko came on for City and latched onto a fantastically-weighted pass from David Silva, and poked the ball home for the winner. A lot of people are saying the Bosnian striker is best left as an impact substitute, but I would actually have him in the team ahead of Tevez. The fact that he's scored 6 goals mainly from coming off the bench means he should be given more of a chance from the start, I'd think differently if his main asset was his pace but he's got a great allround ability in my opinion in link-up play, holding the ball up for support and he's also a top finisher. For Tottenham, I think it'll make a big difference once Moussa Dembele comes back to their side, AVB is more than capable of building a team that can get into the Champions League in a couple of years, but it's also important for their general confidence that they don't lose the North London derby next week.
Newcastle 0-1 West Ham
I said: 2-0, +0pts
Del said: 2-0, +0pts
I've got some respect for Kevin Nolan for not celebrating whilst scoring against his old club, and Andy Carroll could have been another prodigal son to get on the scoresheet, but Tim Krul made a few great saves to keep a lacklustre Newcastle side in the game. The Magpies only really got going towards the end of the first half once Nolan had scored, the likes of Ben Arfa and Yohann Cabaye nearly levelling things up, before Demba Ba's powerful header was clawed away by Jussi Jaaskelainen, and it was adjudged not too have crossed the line. All in all, it was a frustrating afternoon for Newcastle, who lacked the creativity to unlock a stubborn and hardworking West Ham midfield that is typical of Allardyce's sides.
Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool
I said: 3-1, +0pts
Del said: 1-1, +3pts
With City and United winning earlier in the weekend, Chelsea knew they needed to win this match to stay within a point of the Red Devils, and when John Terry marked his return from suspension with a goal 20 minutes in, I thought Chelsea were destined to win. However, Di Matteo's side had a host of chances to put real daylight between themselves and Liverpool which they failed to take, the likes of Mata and Oscar missing guilt-edged opportunities, and the Reds made them pay. Luis Suarez heading in on the goalline from a set play gave Liverpool an equaliser, and at that point I expected Chelsea to throw the kitchen sink at them and probably conjure that ability to find a winner from somewhere, as United and City had done, but if anything the goal encouraged Liverpool and they looked the most likely to win it towards the end, Enrique having a shot from an angle that skimmed just wide of Cech's near post, that nearly won it for them in the dying seconds.
Those were the results, let's have a look at how the predictions game went. I have to say; I've not got a great feeling about this:
Me
Correct results- 2
Perfect scorelines- 0
Points- 2
Del
Correct results- 4
Perfect scorelines- 3, Wigan 1-2 West Brom, Man City 2-1 Tottenham, Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool
Points- 13
I can't believe it. I've been beaten 13-2 by Del, who is this week's winner for the first time. Congratulations to her, I'm going to have to up my game for next week...
Don't forget, if you fancy a go at this predictions game, feel free to send in your predictions by email:
Or by twitter: @_thescore
And I'll put yours up.
See you.
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