DC Predicts: Premiership Week 3 Predictions

Welcome to my third weekly premier league predictions article. I am 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.

Last week I scored 6 points consisting of 3 correct outcomes and 1 perfect score. Mark Lawrenson fared exactly the same as me and scored 6 points compromising of 3 correct outcomes and 1 perfect score.

Mark Lawrenson overall after the first two weeks of predicting leads me by 14 points to 12!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/50097-dc-predicts-premiership-week-2-predictions- Click here to read my predictions from last week.

How will I fare this week? Here are the predictions:

Arsenal Vs Newcastle

Arsenal aren’t quite firing on all cylinders at the moment. Again they are playing good football but they are still lacking the finishing touch. That defeat against Fulham demonstrates that. Having Fabregas back though will give them a bit more flair.

Newcastle has started very promisingly, against Manchester United they played really well and surprised people at how committed the team was. They are going to have a much better season than last year.

This could be an interesting game but I think Newcastle will find life very hard at the Emirates. They will have to spend most of the game defending and it depends whether they can get Owen on the end of something as to whether they can score at a critical point and fluster Arsenal.

However I get a feeling that Arsenal are going to come out of the blocks in this game and put on one of their good performances.

Verdict: 3-0

Bolton Vs West Brom

Both of these teams were the victims of cup upsets during the week in the Carling Cup. However I think you can bet your life savings that premier league survival is far higher on their agenda than a Carling Cup run. So I don’t expect midweek to have any bearing on this game at all.

Bolton are looking a lot stronger this season. As usual they are very physical and in your face and hard to score against. To me it also looks as if they have a bit more firepower too which could make life for Bolton fans more comfortable this season.

As for West Brom, they are not playing particularly badly but they lack goals. Where are the goals that keep West Brom up going to come from? I wonder why West Brom didn’t persuade Kevin Philips to have another crack at the premiership? He is the man they need in my opinion.

Bolton with home advantage shouldn’t have many problems. I don’t think West Brom will present much of a threat up front and Bolton should be able to snatch a goal.

Verdict: 2-0

Everton Vs Portsmouth

Portsmouth have had two of the worse fixtures they could have hoped for in Chelsea away and Manu at home. They played badly against Chelsea but they did play a lot better at home to United. However having 0 points on the board and being rooted to the bottom could play on their mind a bit and they will be desperate to get off the mark. Everton is a very hard place to come and do that.

Everton did a good job against West Brom and despite a small squad will always be very hard to beat at home.

I think this will be a very hard fought game and it will be won and lost in midfield.

I can’t pick a winner from this game and I don’t think there will be one.

Verdict: 1-1

Hull City Vs Wigan

Hull City are adapting to premiership life really well. They impressed in their first match when they beat Fulham. Nobody expected them to get a draw away to Blackburn but they worked really hard and fought tooth and nail for a draw. If they can continue like this and improve furthur then I think we may see a surprise package in Hull.

Wigan haven’t won a game yet but I can’t see them being sucked into the battle for relegation. They played extremely well against Chelsea and I felt they deserved at least a point from the game.

However being on 0 points is always very difficult and like with Portsmouth, there will be that desire to get off the mark as quickly as possible. The KC stadium I think is going to be a very difficult place to go and get a result ,so I am not sure whether Wigan’s season is going to start at Hull. I fancy Hull to edge this one.

Verdict: 1-0

Middlesbough Vs Stoke

Middlesbough look a far better team this season, they have more strength in depth. In particular they have more strength up front and this is an area they have been lacking in since Yakubu and Viduka were sold. They also look really strong at the back too.

They played really well against Liverpool and were very unlucky to lose in injury time. This will play on their minds but I think Stoke at home will be a good game for them.

Stoke did really well to snatch a victory from 2-1 behind against Villa. They showed that they had real fighting spirit and that is going to be so important as I do feel it will be hard for them to avoid the drop.

I expect them to put up another strong performance against Boro but I think at home Boro will simply have too much for them.

Verdict: 3-1

West Ham Vs Blackburn

Paul Ince has made a decent start to managerial life in the premiership and I can see Blackburn having another great season. They seem to have kept most of their best players rather than the dash for the exit door that some were expecting. However Blackburn may have been a bit disappointed to drop points against Hull who made themselves very hard to beat.

West Ham don’t look in great shape just yet. As usual they are waiting for players to come back but against Man City they were all over the place at times and unsure of themselves. That 3-0 defeat will have hit them hard.

I think this could be a tight game but I fancy Blackburn’s attack to prevail in this game.

Verdict: 0-2

Aston Villa Vs Liverpool

Liverpool haven’t been playing very well which has often been the case at the start of a premier league season for them. However in the past they have regularly dropped points but so far this season they have been able to grind out results. In terms of challenging for the title that is a very good sign. However they do need to up their game very quickly. They can’t go on nicking games late on all season whilst playing this badly.

Aston Villa’s inexperience probably cost them the points at Stoke last weekend but I expect them to be really up for this game and at home they are going to cause Liverpool problems.

Liverpool also had a very tough workout against Standard Liege midweek and there may be some tired legs from that.

So I think Villa can win this one.

Verdict: 2-1

Chelsea Vs Tottenham

Tottenham have problems at the moment. They are desperate for a new striker. Defoe and Keane are gone and most probably Berbatov too. That leaves them only with Darren Bent and he is not good enough at this level in my opinion. Against a defence as good as Chelsea’s a lack of firepower is going to cause you a real problem.

Chelsea put on a great performance against Portsmouth and grinded out a result against Wigan. Chelsea are only going to get better and better and they are my firm favourites for the premier league title.

Chelsea always perform brilliantly at home. That unbeaten record is still going and that gives them a lot of confidence when they play at Stamford Bridge.

I don’t see Chelsea having any problems in this match.

Verdict: 3-0

Sunderland Vs Manchester City

Sunderland look like a really strong team now. There is experience and strength all over the team now and I think Sunderland will be one of the surprise packages along with Hull City this season. Sunderland play with full commitment and desire. You can tell Roy Keane is leaving his mark on the players.

Manchester City looked unconvincing in their first game and left a lot of question marks in people’s heads. However they pulled up a very good performance against West Ham. Elano looked very good as did Daniel Sturridge. I still feel Man City need a few more signings if possible to add some extra strength in depth.

I can see this being a very open game. Sunderland are going to be very hard to beat at home.

I can see Sunderland nicking this one.

Verdict: 2-1