Care for international breaks? Neither do I. In all honesty I’ve lost my passion for England, until we move on the old guard of Gerrard and Lampard, and begin to blood the youngsters early as the successful teams do, we’re only going to go downhill. Even if we qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, at this rate we would be lucky to make it out of the group stage.
All the more reason then, to be pleased at the return of club football. In the Premier League games, there's a key match in the potential relegation dogfight as promoted sides Cardiff and Hull go head-to-head, Liverpool will be hoping to continue their perfect start to the season at Brendan Rodger's old club Swansea, and under pressure Di Canio faces an Arsenal team starring Ozil for the first time.
As for the Championship, there’s a meeting between this seasons’ seaside surprise packages Bournemouth and Blackpool, Bolton must come off the bottom of the table when they host Leeds, and whilst ‘six-pointer’ is too grandiose a term for so early in the season, Sheffield Wednesday and Yeovil will want to hoist themselves away from that red line, with a win over their potential competitors. In addition, it’ll be interesting to see how Leicester, Nottingham Forest and Watford react to their first setback in the promotion race, they all lost last time out. Here's my preview of all the action...
Premier League
Man Utd vs. Crystal Palace
Last season’s champions by eleven
points? At home against the second division play-off victors? Surely this is going
to be a massive win for United? Well, possibly not. After losing to Liverpool,
the pressure is entirely on David Moyes and Manchester United to ward off the
press, because Palace have got that first win under their belt, they don’t need to get anything from this game, no
pressure on them at all. Inevitably more United players were away on
international duty midweek, and Moyes might also have his first Championship
League game on Tuesday in the back of his mind. Experienced players like
Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra need to be handled carefully ahead of the Man City
game. Palace will come to Old Trafford with bags of enthusiasm and
I’m sure they’ll relish the challenge, but I’ll back Moyes to continue that
Red Devils tradition of being able to grind out the result. 1-0.
Aston Villa vs. Newcastle
I don’t think I’m the only one
who finds Agbonlahor’s tackle on One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson quite
funny. It was hardly a malicious challenge, and Tomlinson looks out of place on a football field. It’s a pity that this
overshadowed what should have been an afternoon dedicated to Stiliyan Petrov. One win will count as a good return from Villa’s first three
games, all in the space of eight days against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
It was a hard start but to be nowhere near the drop zone, and to have only lost
games by one goal, will provide encouragement for Paul Lambert. Newcastle might have
kept back-to-back clean sheets, but that perhaps has had more to do with poor
attacking displays from West Ham and Fulham than Newcastle’s defending. Their
second half performance against Fulham was strong and they probably deserved
the goal, but because of the potential for French cliques in the dressing room,
I’m not sure this Newcastle team will be so strong when they concede first in games
and the morale is knocked. Benteke will provide a much sterner test of their
defence, Aston Villa to win 2-0.
Fulham vs. West Brom
West Brom have gambled £12.5
million on deadline day, for two experienced attacking players in Anichebe and
Sessegnon. It was the right decision in my view, I said from the start that the
squad the Baggies had might struggle, and the fact
that they are yet to score a league goal suggests they are missing Romelu Lukaku.
Martin Jol himself admitted that Fulham lacked energy in their defeat against
Newcastle, but the problem is, Jol doesn’t strike you as the kind of manager
who will instil energy in his players! The new players at West Brom though,
will be very keen to get off to a good start, and I think the whole team will
fight for that first win of the season. Fulham didn’t perform as well at home
last season as they normally do, and in a record stretching from their previous
campaign, they’ve lost their last five matches at Craven Cottage. I’m tipping this
to be a sixth. 1-2.
Hull vs. Cardiff
Both promoted clubs have made
positive starts to the season, considering a tough opening set of fixtures
each. For Cardiff to get four points on the board is an achievement, although I
can’t help feeling they will struggle on the road this season. They only won
ten away games in the Championship, which isn’t particularly good. Hull might be in the bottom three, but that
doesn’t reflect the start they’ve had. A first win of the season at home to
Norwich was sandwiched by respectable defeats at Chelsea and Manchester City,
where they were always unlikely to pick up points. Eighteen of Hull’s twenty-three
wins last season came by just one goal, which is a good thing in my opinion.
They have an ability to grind out results and hold onto important leads, I
think they’ll want the win a bit more than Cardiff, who after good results at
home, could perhaps afford rest on their laurels. 1-0.
Stoke vs. Man City
A difficult game for Manchester
City, but one Manuel Pellegrini needs his side to win if they want to develop
some consistency early on. Man City have had more players out on international
duty, and importantly, they’ll be without centre-backs Vincent Kompany and
Martin Demichellis, which gives Stoke a great chance of getting a goal. I think
they’ll grab a point as well. Mark Hughes might have changed their style of
play, but the positive aspects of Pulis’s time in charge can still be applied.
The height in Stoke’s team will still be there, perhaps making it difficult for
City’s smaller, more technical players to find a way through, and they’ll still
be a threat from set pieces. The last four times this fixture has been played,
the score was a 1-1 draw. Any guesses what I’m going for? 1-1.
Sunderland vs. Arsenal
Paolo Di Canio’s public
criticizing of his own players isn’t going to win him many friends within the
squad, I’m not quite sure what he hopes to achieve. Considering the atmosphere
within the Sunderland camp could also be a little fractious given the overhaul
of players, it seems like a very bizarre thing to do. After a twelve day wait,
Arsenal fans finally get a chance to see Mesut Ozil in a red shirt. Ozil has
unquestionably added to the quality of Arsenal’s squad, although there’s a
question mark in my mind as to whether Wenger would have signed him for £42
million had fans not been voicing their discontent at the club’s lack of
spending. It seems like a transfer to appease the fans as much as anything
else. Having said that, I think the creativity in this Arsenal team will
demolish Sunderland, which doesn’t look like a happy camp. I’ll go as far as 0-4.
Tottenham vs. Norwich
A steady start for Norwich, four
points from three games with the first win confirmed last week. When you spend
as much as Norwich have this summer, the key thing is that you start solidly,
and don’t get locked into a succession of defeats, which can be difficult to
break out of with the more exotic, foreign players. Chris Hughton will be
satisfied with that start, it gives the new signings some breathing space to
settle in. For Tottenham, a congested fixture period ensures before the next
international break, with seven games in the space of twenty three games. I
think they’ll cope reasonably well though, with the money received for Bale they’ve
improved the squad’s strength in depth, even if playing in the Europa League
for another season won’t be ideal. 2-1.
Everton vs. Chelsea
Three draws, against teams they
would typically be expected to beat, isn’t the start Roberto Martinez wanted,
but performances have been positive and Everton need to have patience with him. I said in the summer that the Toffees would struggle without Moyes for the first few months, as Martinez will oversee
a transition to a free-flowing, flexible playing philosophy, from Moyes’s more
rigid approach. The change won’t happen overnight, so I would actually expect
to see Everton in the bottom half of the table until around October. Chelsea
got their title bid off to a strong start with seven points, and the players
will have had time to get over the disappointment of losing in the Super Cup to
Bayern Munich, from a winning position in extra time. I think Chelsea will be
far too clinical in the final third for this Everton team in transition,
Mourinho’s men press their opposition far up the pitch so it’ll be difficult
for the Toffees to get comfortable on the ball, and become accustomed to the
way Martinez wants them to play. 0-3.
Southampton vs. West Ham
Andy Carroll is going to be a big
loss for West Ham, it’s unfortunate because I’ve always rated him,
his ability to hold the ball up and bring forward runners into the game is key
to the way his team play. It might be difficult for new boy Mladen Petric to
step up to the plate so quickly after signing. Southampton have got off to a
mixed start, with a win, a draw and a loss. In a similar way to Norwich, not
starting with two or three defeats gives the new players that chance to settle
into the squad before the pressure builds. I don’t think there’ll be many
goals, but with Carroll out for West Ham and Southampton’s big signing Dani
Osvaldo arguably due a goal, the Saints are the more likely to get one. 1-0.
Swansea vs. Liverpool
A 100% start to the season for
Liverpool was capped off by beating bitter rivals United, and looking at their
immediate run of fixtures, all six games are ones I would expect them to win.
It would be pre-mature to say they have the squad depth to sustain a title
challenge, we should find out more about their capabilities this season in the
next few weeks. As for Swansea, it was important they kickstarted their season
with a win at West Brom last week, but I’m sticking to my view that they will
struggle with relegation this season. Bony and Michu haven’t scored for three
games, and the Europa League starting with Swansea only sixteenth will create a
lot of pressure for the foreign players the Swans have in their team. Liverpool
will continue their perfect start to the season with a 0-2 win.
Championship
Burnley vs. Blackburn
Burnley and Blackburn come into the game having won by three goals in
their last match, both are amongst the higher scoring teams in the division,
with Danny Ings and Jordan Rhodes getting into their goalscoring stride. For
those reasons both sides might look to attack, I don’t think it’ll be your
average local derby where the teams are a little bit afraid of losing. I’m
prepared to bet Blackburn will get their goals through the left side. Burnley’s
right-back Kieran Trippier loves to bomb forward and try to support the attack,
so Blackburn’s loanee from Josh King, can exploit the potential gaps at the
back with his pace. Burnley have started the season surprisingly well, but I
find teams who are overachieving and playing pretty, flowing football don’t
tend to do as well on derby day, because playing against your rivals requires
more of a rigid mentality. Blackburn might want the win a little bit more,
although they’ve won their last two by big margins, they’re still only midtable
and there’s work to be done if they want to achieve promotion. The other thing
is Burnley seem to struggle against counter-attacks, Blackburn have a young,
energetic midfield which could take advantage of that. 1-3.
Bolton vs. Leeds
I don’t think I’m the only one who’s surprised by how poorly Bolton
have started. For a team who were 8/1 for promotion at the start of the season
to be bottom of the table is very disappointing, but the one thing you’d say is
that the international break came at the right time for them. After a very
difficult set of opening games, for September the Trotters have three winnable
home matches, the others being against Derby and Yeovil. The return of Darren
Pratley should help Bolton’s cause, this is the opportunity for Freedman to turn
things around. As for Leeds, it’s been a mixed start to the season, and far too
early to judge how well they’ll do. My gut tells me that they need an
out-and-out goalscorer, a tall target man like free agent Carlton Cole would be
perfect because of the width they have in the team. Without a reliable striker
though, they might find it tough in this game, because I would expect Bolton to
be dogged defensively, they’ll be desperate to scrape a first win of the season
to take themselves off the bottom. 1-0.
Bournemouth vs. Blackpool
A clash of the overachieving seaside towns. Both Bournemouth and Blackpool have made excellent
starts to their seasons. Having just been promoted from League One, Bournemouth
have taken a couple of drubbings but they’ve managed to win three of their
first five matches, they’ve gone into every game with an admirably attacking
mentality. A near-perfect start for Blackpool who have taken thirteen points, they
sit top of the league and to beat the division’s stronger teams like Reading
and Watford is impressive. I still don’t think they have the depth in the squad
to keep up their form for much longer though, likewise Bournemouth’s philosophy
of putting teams under constant pressure will be difficult to sustain when the
fixtures start to pile up and fatigue sets in. If we look at the table again in
January, I would expect to see both teams in a lower position than they are at
the moment. 1-1.
Huddersfield vs. Doncaster
Huddersfield have started the season with good home form, winning
three of their first four matches at the Galpharm in all competitions. This
match will only be Doncaster’s second away game of the season, after their
match against Charlton was abandoned. The Dons’ main threat is normally 6’3”
target man Chris Brown, but Huddersfield have a lot of height in their defence
which should be able to negate his threat. Also, the Terriers operate with an
attacking 3-5-2 system, against Doncaster’s preferred 4-4-2. A 3-5-2 system
tends to do well against 4-4-2 because they have a numerical advantage in the
key areas of defence and midfield. Huddersfield to continue their strong home
record with a 2-1 win.
Ipswich vs. Middlesbrough
Looking at the stats, this game screams 1-1 draw to me. Both teams
have both scored, and conceded, an average of 1.2 goals per game in their league
games, both have the look of a team that will sit midtable for the majority of
this season, and both drew their last match 1-1. Three times this season
Ipswich have dropped points from a winning position, three times this season
Middlesbrough have gained points from a losing position. Both teams like a
4-5-1 formation, but the problem is they’re aren’t always adventurous enough,
and find it difficult when it comes to making that killer pass, or getting
people into the box. Ipswich and Middlesbrough: welcome to a season of midtable
mediocrity. 1-1.
Leicester vs. Wigan
Leicester lost at Charlton last week, and the concerning thing from
their point of view, is having conceded six goals in their last three games.
Considering I didn’t expect them to reach the play-offs for the second time
when the season started, ten points from five games is a pretty good return, but
we’ll see whether they are play-off material in the next few games. Wigan got
an important second win of the season against Nottingham Forest last time out,
which caps an inconsistent start to the season. I might back Wigan to pinch a
win here. Four of Wigan’s last six goals came from set pieces, and the two
goals Leicester conceded at Charlton were set pieces, so I think that advantage
might just give Wigan the edge. 1-2.
Millwall vs. Derby
This is the biggest game of Steve Lomas’s managerial career so far.
James Henry has, rightly in my opinion, publicly urged Millwall fans to lay-off
their manager, who used to play for rivals West Ham. Henry’s outburst does suggest
the players are still motivated to play for Lomas, but it’s difficult to see his
comments having much of an impact though, only wins will change the Millwall
fans’ minds. All of this pressure and friction hanging over the New Den is
likely to take the pressure off Derby County, which could suit them. Nigel
Clough has a lot of young players in that squad, and from my experience young
teams tend to do well in away games where the onus is on the opposition to
attack. Derby’s one strength is that they move the ball around well, whereas
Millwall take a very route one approach, so I would expect the Rams to dominate
possession. That will frustrate Millwall, who could be forced into desperate
and rash challenges as the game goes on. Derby will have enough about
themselves to win 0-2.
Nottm Forest vs. Barnsley
Barnsley got their first win of the season against Huddersfield before
the international break, but I still think relegation is in store for them. They’ve
really struggled defensively, having conceded thirteen league goals from five
games, the 3-at-the-back idea hasn’t worked particularly well so far. The
problem with that system is it can leave you quite exposed on the flanks, and
that’s where Nottingham Forest are strongest. They tend to target the left side
with Reid and Cohen combining, and that will cause Barnsley a problems. 2-0.
QPR vs. Birmingham
As a Birmingham fan going to this game on Saturday, maybe blind faith
plays a part in my prediction, but I genuinely believe we’ve got a chance of
winning. QPR have had virtually their whole squad out on international duty over
the past two weeks, whereas our team have had a long time to prepare for this
match in training. We’re a very hardworking side, whereas QPR have a more
experienced, old team. This makes me think that if we press them high up the
pitch and prevent them from settling into their rythym, they might not have the
pace to hit us on the break, and the small pitch at QPR means there won’t be
much space for them to exploit in behind. If we play aggressively against QPR,
I have a feeling we can come away with an unlikely victory. 0-1.
Sheff Wed vs. Yeovil
Both teams’ position in the table will look concerning to fans, as
Wednesday are without a win so far, whilst Yeovil are yet to pick up points
since the opening day. On balance, I can see a scrappy game with not too many
goals. Sheffield Wednesday have five men in midfield which will make it
difficult for Yeovil to create chances, and at the moment the forwards they do
have don’t look capable of putting them away, as they’ve only scored one goal
this season. A goalless draw is certainly possible, but I’ll say Wednesday to
scrape the win with home advantage. 1-0.
Watford vs. Charlton
I didn’t expect Watford to lose at Blackpool last time out, and as
with Leicester and Nottingham Forest it’ll be an interesting test of their
promotion credentials, how they respond to defeat. Even though they’re only
seventh, they remain my tip for promotion, because some of the football they
play can be breathtaking, they’ve just had some difficult games. Charlton got
that important first win over Leicester which takes them well clear of the drop
zone for now, it means they can go into this game without ‘needing’ to get a
result. If they lost this game, and took four points from their next two
against Huddersfield and Millwall, I’m sure Chris Powell would be happy. 2-0.
Reading vs. Brighton
It will be slightly disappointing for Oscar Garcia not to beat
Millwall last time out, and that missed opportunity to take three points isn’t
exactly what he’ll want hanging over the players minds during the break. On the
other hand, Reading put their bizarre 6-0 drubbing in the cup at Peterborough
to one side by winning at Yeovil last time out, which keeps them in the short-term
play-off picture. Both are quite attacking teams so hopefully it’ll be a good
game on TV on Sunday, although I feel it would take another season or two of
stability for these clubs to get back into the Premier League. 3-2.
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