DC Predicts: Premiership week 2 predictions

Welcome to my second weekly premier league predictions article. I will be predicting the Premier League fixtures every week and tracking my progress as I go along using a points system that I have devised which is as follows:

Getting the outcome of the match wrong: 0 points

Getting the outcome of a match correct: 1 point

Getting the exact score of a match correct: 3 points

BONUS POINTS

Getting five outcomes in a set of fixtures correct: 2 points

Getting five exact scores in a set of fixtures correct: 4 points

I will also be comparing my progress to BBC Sport’s Mark Lawrenson and seeing how our prediction success compares throughout the season.

After last week’s predictions, which you can look through again via this link.http://bleacherreport.com/articles/47926-dc-predicts-the-opening-premier-league-weekend-fixtures-predictions

I scored a total of 6 points. 3 correct outcomes and 1 perfect score

Mark Lawrenson with his predictions scored 8 points. He got 6 outcomes correct so therefore receives 2 added bonus points to take his score upto 8. Mark however, unlike me didn’t get any perfect scores.

So the opening fixtures of the premier league Mark Lawrenson leads me by 8 points to 6. Who will come out on top this week?

So here goes for week two’s predictions:

Blackburn Vs Hull City

There is a real feel good factor surrounding Hull City at the moment and everyone including the manager, the players and the fans are really up for the challenge and loving every minute of it. Winning your first premiership game and getting points on the board makes a real difference. They plugged away against Fulham and showed fighting spirit, which snatched them a win.

Blackburn have also had a very good start. There was slight doom and gloom when Hughes left and players leaving but Ince has made a very good start to life in the premiership.

I think both teams will really go for it in this game but playing away from home in the premiership will be a very new experience and I think Blackburn will have a bit more quality to just edge it in this game but Hull won’t be lying down.

Verdict: 2-1

Liverpool Vs Middlesbrough

Liverpool to me showed signs against Sunderland that they will not be championship contenders again this season. Sunderland played very well and only a late goal gave Liverpool the 3 points. Liverpool need to perform a lot better against the midfield sides otherwise they will continue to drop too many points in these sort of games as they have done in previous seasons.

You also sense that there are still a few problems behind the scenes. Is the relationship between Hicks and Gillett stable enough? Can Rafa and Parry move on from the whole Gareth Barry saga?

Middlesbrough looked like an improved team against Tottenham. They look better up front than they did for most of last season and as a unit they are just generally a better team all-round and more impressive to watch. There now seems to be a renewed optimism around the club and it’s fans.

Liverpool have home advantage but I think Middlebrough will continue to show signs that they are better team this season and snatch a point from Anfield.

Verdict: 1-1

Newcastle Vs Bolton

Newcastle really surprised me with their performance against United. I didn’t see where the goals would come from and how the goals would stay out. However Keegan managed to fire his troops up and all the players were playing for the shirt, which was great to see. They aren’t the strongest of the midfield pack teams but if they can keep the same commitment up all season they should sneak into the top 10 this season.

Bolton also had a decent start against Stoke and managed to score a few goals too. Bolton will be very hard to break down and beat for the whole season. I doubt Bolton will be in a relegation dog scrap this season. Elmander looks like he may be a decent signing and fans will have been pleased to see him score on his debut. He could well be a key to their season. A source of regular goals is vital for Bolton.

I think the Newcastle fans will be in fine voice after the draw with United and the whole atmosphere in the team will be a lot more positive. Bolton will make themselves hard to break down but I think Newcastle will be able to sneak a 1-0 victory.

It won’t be very pretty though.

Verdict: 1-0

Stoke City Vs Aston Villa

Stoke City had a hard start to the season against Bolton. Conceding 3 goals to a team better known for their defensive abilities isn’t the best way to start premiership life. They didn’t play particularly badly but they are lacking quality, which is always going to their biggest problem as opposed to their commitment and work ethic.

Tony Pulis has also been unhappy about the amount of players away on International duty, which only makes life harder for him. For their first league match at home it really is critical that they put on a good performance and show they have some potential and get points on the board.

Unfortunately Aston Villa are a side filling up with great young talent and there are goals all over the field. However in-experienced sides can sometimes lack consistency and I think they may underrate Stoke City.

Therefore I actually fancy Stoke to hold Villa to a draw here. The main thing is they organize themselves well enough to cope with Villa’s set plays, which are very strong.

Verdict: 0-0

Tottenham Vs Sunderland

I get the feeling at the moment that Tottenham are just going to have one of those seasons where they sit in the middle of the table and don’t achieve much else. They may have won a major trophy last season (if you call the Carling Cup major that is) but they haven’t shown any major improvement since then. There is still the future of Berbatov hanging around the club like a bad smell and I think that’s a critical distraction for the team.

Roy Keane is doing an impressive job and signing some decent players who have a track record. Sunderland have a very strong transfer budget, and after a solid first premiership season Sunderland are now really looking like they can push furthur up the table. Sunderland deserved to come away from Anfield with a point.

I think this will be an interesting match-up. I think we will see more from Spurs in this match as they are at home. Also with ex Spurs players in the Sunderland line-up there could be an extra edge to the game.

I think a score draw is the most likely outcome. A better result for Sunderland than for Spurs.

Verdict: 1-1

West Brom Vs Everton

Everton have a good core squad, but outside the first 11 and there is nothing of real premier league quality there. I really feel they need to sign a few solid players who are capable of doing a decent job when one of their star players is injured. The number of injuries that Everton get during the season will most likely determine their progress this season.

West Brom did a decent job against Arsenal. It was a close game as I expected it to be. At home I think West Brom will be hard to beat but Everton have some good attacking quality and with a leaky defence (and that’s just in the championship) I think West Brom will have a few problems in this particular match.

I think West Brom’s bet best is to make sure they leave plenty of men behind the ball throughout the match, and make life for Everton as tough as possible.

However I expect Everton to be able to score in this game and that will be enough to win them the game.

Verdict- 0-1

Fulham- Arsenal

Losing to Hull was a very disappointing start for Fulham. They need to get points on the board quickly, and their new signings to gel together otherwise this very quickly will become the third relegation battle in succession.

Against West Brom we saw that Arsenal hadn’t changed whatsoever. They played some good attacking football throughout the game but as usual that vital piece of cutting edge was lacking. I think Arsene Wenger will be disappointed that they couldn’t add any goals to the one Nasri scored in the 4^th minute of play.

I think Fulham will turn Craven Cottage into a fortress and make themselves extremely hard to play against. This will be the key to Fulham’s survival this season.

I think Fulham can hold Arsenal to a frustrating draw and Fulham’s season will be up and running.

Verdict- 1-1

Wigan Athletic Vs Chelsea

Chelsea started the season in great fashion against Portsmouth last weekend. They played great attacking football throughout and it’s clear to see the mentality Scolari’s team will have this season. I think a more attacking mentality suits this Chelsea team much better.

I think Wigan will have a very hard time trying to contain Chelsea especially with the difficulty they had containing Dean Ashton last weekend. If they do get the odd chance I can’t see where the goals are going to come from.

Wigan will make themselves tough to break down as they always do but I think a team with Chelsea’s quality will be able to find the holes.

Verdict: 0-3

Manchester City Vs West Ham

It was a tough first game for Mark Hughes last week, which will be a reality check for him. This job is not going to be easy. I also think he needs to sign some more players before the transfer window closes. With the amount of money at the club’s disposal the current players are probably wondering if they will be getting any new team mates. Once the transfer window closes the team will become more focused I feel and gel together.

West Ham have a decent squad in my opinion and if they can keep a settled squad and improve their fortunes on the injury front then they will be challenging for Europe. Dean Ashton in particular is one of their most important players and if he can get a good run of games without injury then he could well be their key man this season. He won the game for them against Wigan with two good goals.

Overall this is going to be a very good game with two similar sides with good attacking potential and I find it hard to pick it a winner. Ashton however will be becoming back from an injury so may not be 100% fit so I will pick Manchester City’s attack have the edge at home.

Verdict: 3-1

Portsmouth Vs Manchester United

Portsmouth had a great season last year winning the FA Cup and finishing a brilliant 8^thin the league. I think against Chelsea maybe the players went into the game a bit too over-confident and therefore got the huge reality check that they needed. Harry Redknapp is a fine manager and it’s not very often that you see his sides put together 2 abject performances in a row. He will sort them out and make sure they give United a real test.

United on the other hand didn’t play particularly badly against Newcastle. They brought some great saves out of Shay Given but you did get the sense they were running out of ideas a bit in the second half. Manchester United only got 2 points out of their first 9 last season so they have had slow starts before and gone on to be champions. There is no need to Sir Alex to be especially concerned.

Fratton Park probably isn’t the place they will have wanted to go to next though. Portsmouth have been a bit of a bogey team over the last few years for United and this will play on their minds a bit. I think this will be a very close game and I can’t see a winner from this game.

Verdict: 1-1