Friday 30 November 2012

Gameweek 15 Predictions

Good day to one and all, and welcome to another week of my Premier League predictions. I have to say, I'm not doing too well at the moment; I haven't won any of the previous 5 prediction weeks, and haven't taken more than 3pts in most of them. Need to put that right. Joining this week, as always is Del, and James Allen, a Bristol Rovers supporter and writer of football blog 'The Pirates Tale' .
 
So, in the biggest game down at the bottom this week, Harry Redknapp has his first home game in charge of QPR and will attempt to close the gap between themselves and Aston Villa who sit just out of the relegation zone, meanwhile in-form Southampton travel up to Liverpool, who looked to be hitting some form themselves but took a blow when they lost at Tottenham earlier in the week.
 
That result will have seen memories of the 5-2 defeat to Arsenal fade from view for Spurs fans, and they've got yet another London derby, this time in the shape a difficult trip to high-scoring Fulham, Rafa Benitez, who's new side only managed a draw at home to the Cottagers in midweek, have to play West Ham, West Brom look to get over their defeat to Swansea and could still go 3rd when they host Stoke, there are games of slightly less promise when a jaded-looking Newcastle team play Wigan, and clean sheet merchants Norwich and Sunderland go head-to-head.
 
Towards the top of the table, Arsenal look to get their challenge for 4th back on track when they have what appears to be a comfortable game against Swansea, and it's Man City who look the most likely of the Manchester clubs to slip up this weekend as they play host to Everton, who played out a draw with the Gunners midweek, and Man United have a slightly more forgiving game at struggling Reading.
 
Lets get to the games:

West Ham vs. Chelsea
 
I think an upset is definately on the cards here. West Ham have averaged almost 2pts per game at home this season, and they do work incredibly hard for each other. They grind out results, which big Sam has got teams doing throughout his career. This game will be no different, so it'll be a very difficult match for Chelsea.
 
It would be utterly impossible for Rafael Benitez's new team to not be affected by whats' happened off the pitch. I can't stress enough how stupid a decision it was from Abramovich to sack di Matteo, how can Chelsea players be fully concentrating on their football if the fans are still chanting di Matteo's name? To me, they look like a team in limbo, and I would compare that to West Ham, who I'm sure will fight for every ball and be very competitive.
 
I think Cahill and Luiz might struggle with Andy Carroll, and if he can win all the flick-ons for the likes of Nolan and Jarvis to run onto, I've got a feeling there's a goal in this game for West Ham. If they do score first, I highly doubt that Chelsea will have that mental strength to get back into it, so I'm going to be controversial and go 1-0 to West Ham.
 
Del says: 2-1
James says: 0-1


Arsenal vs. Swansea

Arsenal should have enough about themselves to win this fairly comfortably. They might only be a point above Swansea in the table; drawing their last two games wasn't a great way to follow up the 5-2 derby win over Spurs, but I still think they'll win and players like Giroud look to be finding their feet at this level- I fancy him for a goal.
 
Swansea continue to impress under Michael Laudrup; a win over West Brom saw them climb up to 8th in the table and I'm happy to consider them safe. To get anything from Arsenal ,who need the points significantly more than them will be too much to ask, so I'm going to say a 2-0 win for the Gunners.
 
Del says: 3-0
James says: 2-1
 
 
Fulham vs. Tottenham

I can see goals in this one. Both sides are amongst the highest-scoring in the Premiership, and neither have a particularly solid defence. In fact, they have scored (25) and conceded (23) exactly the same number of goals as each other, which is almost 2 goals a game.
 
Having just looked at Arsenal in the prediction above, you thought that the 5-2 would have a massive impact on both sides seasons, that Arsenal would somehow get back into the title race and that Tottenham would capitulate and sack AVB. The previous two results for both teams since that suggest that neither will happen, because Tottenham were fairly good value for wins over West Ham and Liverpool, whilst Arsenal have drawn a couple of games.
 
Fulham did well to keep a clean sheet at Chelsea in midweek, and they had a couple of chances to snatch it themselves which will be pleasing for Martin Jol. To be honest, I don't know why Tottenham sacked him; they finished 5th under him twice and nearly got into the Champions League. It's fair to say Jol will have revenge on his mind, but I'm edging towards a 2-3 win for Tottenham in a dramatic game.
 
Del says: 1-0
James says: 1-3
 
 
 

Liverpool vs. Southampton

Liverpool seem to be having a very stop-starty season. They keep winning a game, but then they don't get any sort of consistency in matches afterwards. That's proved to be the case for them in November too; they got a great result in a point at Chelsea, then a very convincing 3-0 win over Wigan, but after that they haven't been able to string 3 or 4 results together- an average draw at Swansea and an arguably unlucky defeat at Tottenham has seeped out some of their momentum. They've now got to do it over again.
 
Southampton are looking good to get out of the relegation battle at the moment. They've picked up 7pts from their last 3, which is more than what they had attained all season before that. Whilst Gazzaniga is liable to a few costly errors as the Norwich game proved, they look capable of competing at this level and scoring goals. The likes of Sunderland, Villa and Wigan ought to watch out for them.
 
I've decided to go for a close Liverpool win, with Suarez to be the main factor again as he has been Liverpool's saviour this season. Southampton won't give the Reds' defence an easy time, but I'm going 2-1 Liverpool.
 
Del says: 1-1
James says: 2-0
 
 
Man City vs. Everton

(see previous article for full match preview)
I say: 2-1
Del says: 2-0
James says: 2-0

QPR vs. Aston Villa

I'll go as far as saying that if QPR don't win this, I'm pronouncing them down. Redknapp has taken on almost an impossible task to keep them up, and I would worry about the long-term financial stability of that club as well, because if they can't stay in the Premiership, they won't be able to afford the wages that some of their players are on.
 
My opinion could change if they get 6 or 7 points from their next three games and start looking like a force, but I just think the gap is too wide. Villa got an important win over Reading on Tuesday, and I think Christian Benteke is starting to justify some of his hefty price tag- he's keeping Darren Bent out of the team.
 
Lambert mustn't be impressed with Bent's attitude despite his talent, and I actually commend the Scots' egalitarian management style. He doesn't pick players just because they're big names. Then again, Benteke has got an extra 'eke' on the end so he must do to some extent. Will go for a 0-1 away win for Villa, to send QPR into very serious relegation trouble.
 
Del says: 1-3
James says: 1-1
 
 
West Brom vs. Stoke

Last week, I predicted the West Brom reality check at the wrong time. They did get a fabulous 4-2 win at Sunderland but lost at Swansea on Wednesday. You can't win them all. It doesn't sound quite right to say Baggies are trying to get back on the road with a win here, because to be joint-3rd, they were overachieving in the first place, but neither do I think that they'll sink like a stone now because of that result.
 
Stoke are on 19pts which is a great return at this stage of the season. Not once for me have I thought about them being relegation candidates, simply because of their defensive record, particularly at home, and conceding so few goals always takes the pressure off the strikers.
I'm settling on a 1-1 draw, which considering how well these teams seasons are going, both teams will be satisfied with a point each.
 
Del- (not predicted)
James says: 2-1
 
 
Reading vs. Man Utd

There's normally at least one surprise result of the weekend, but I don't think this will be it. Reading's defence isn't exactly woeful, but it's average for a team in the relegation battle and that's not nearly going to be enough to stop Manchester United.
 
The Red Devils have their last Premiership match before the crucial Manchester derby and I'm sure all four attackers will want to put their case forward for a start next week- when you've got that kind of incentive and motivation I can't see any team getting in their way.
 
I did think Reading may be able to get themselves on the scoresheet, bearing in mind that Man United have the joint-10th best defensive record in the division, but on reflection I reckon that United will control the midfield so much that Reading won't have a chance to get on the ball and make things happen for themselves. 0-3.
 
Del says: 0-3
James says: 1-3
 
 
Norwich vs. Sunderland

I'm seeing a bit of a bore draw for this game. Norwich have done exceptionally well in recent weeks and to continue their form by getting 4pts out of Manchester United and Everton was fantastic for them, and it meant a point at Southampton was a good result in the circumstances. United, Everton and Southampton are all sides with a lot of goals in them as well and they've been restricted- the fact that Norwich haven't conceded more than one goal in a game since early October speaks volumes for their defence.
 
You feel a clean sheet is there for the Canaries, because with Sunderland I'm still not sure where the goals are going to come from. They followed up a great win at Fulham with just 1pt from West Brom and QPR at home, which is relegation form again. They can't afford to lose this game, so I'm going with a goalless draw as my official prediction, though I wouldn't be totally surprised if Norwich found it in themselves to get a winner.

Del says: 1-1
James says: 1-0


Newcastle vs. Wigan

It's a case of stopping the rot for Newcastle. They've still got a number of key players out and I don't think their small squad is coping with these Europa League games. To be honest I don't think the Europa League is worth it for clubs, because the financial rewards for TV money aren't anywhere near what it is for playing in the Champions League, and it doesn't give clubs enough money to give themselves the squad they need to compete on several fronts. Once they've got their top players back though, Newcastle fans shouldn't lose too much sleep over their relegation problems this season.
 
Wigan couldn't be expected to get anything out of Man City on Wednesday and I thought they gave a decent account of themselves, considering they've not got the biggest squad either. They got an important win over Reading on Saturday, so if they had got anything in midweek, it would have been a bonus rather than a necessity. 1-0 Newcastle.

Del says: 2-1
James says: 2-1
 
 
Those were my predictions, my thanks to James and Del who sent in theirs. It's Friday night, so I'm off to watch Blues play Middlesbrough later. Might write something on the game, we're 19th in the Championship at the moment, whilst Middlesbrough are up to 3rd and if they win they go into the automatic promotion places. Christ, this is gonna be a nightmare. Wish me luck.

No comments:

Post a Comment