Premier League Fixtures: Week 2 Schedule, Score Predictions for EPL Matchday
Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte all made winning starts to the new Premier League season in the opening weekend as Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea picked up victories.
There was no such winning start to the 2016-17 campaign for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal as the Gunners were beaten 4-3 by Liverpool, while defending champions Leicester City were surprisingly downed 2-1 at newly promoted Hull City.
United take on Southampton in Week 2 as they look to make it a second win in two for Mourinho, while the Foxes and Arsenal go head-to-head at the King Power Stadium, with both teams looking for their first points of the season.
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Read on for a full fixture list ahead of 2016-17's second weekend of action, predictions for each clash and a closer look at the headline matches.
| Date | Time (BST/ET) | Fixture | Prediction |
| Aug. 19 | 8 p.m./3 p.m. | Manchester United vs. Southampton | 2-1 |
| Aug. 20 | 12:30 p.m./7:30 a.m. | Stoke City vs. Manchester City | 1-1 |
| Aug. 20 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Burnley vs. Liverpool | 1-3 |
| Aug. 20 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Swansea City vs. Hull City | 2-1 |
| Aug. 20 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Tottenham Hotspur vs. Crystal Palace | 2-1 |
| Aug. 20 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Watford vs. Chelsea | 0-1 |
| Aug. 20 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | West Bromwich Albion vs. Everton | 1-1 |
| Aug. 20 | 5:30 p.m./12:30 p.m. | Leicester City vs. Arsenal | 2-2 |
| Aug. 21 | 1:30 p.m./8:30 a.m. | Sunderland vs. Middlesbrough | 0-0 |
| Aug. 21 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | West Ham United vs. Bournemouth | 2-0 |
Manchester United vs. Southampton
Friday's clash at Old Trafford is likely to see the return of Paul Pogba in a United shirt after the Frenchman missed the Red Devils' 3-1 opening win over Bournemouth through suspension.
However, the £89 million man already has competition for his place after Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini both played excellently against the Cherries in a 4-3-2-1 formation.
Mourinho will have been delighted to see Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata all get on the scoresheet in his first Premier League game in charge, while new centre-back Eric Bailly also looked impressive, per Sky Sports Statto:
In an opening weekend of tight matches, United's was the most comfortable victory, and the Manchester outfit will hope for more of the same in front of their own fans on Friday.
The Red Devils have not beaten Southampton at Old Trafford since 2013, losing to the south-coast club 1-0 in both of the last two seasons and drawing 1-1 in 2013-14.
Mourinho will surely be confident of breaking that run after Claude Puel's Saints could only draw 1-1 with Watford in their opening match of the season.
Per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe, Saints were relieved to get away with a point against the Hornets and will take time to adapt to a new manager and new players in 2016-17:
Against a United side that have hit the ground running in the new term, Saints will do well to keep their unbeaten record at Old Trafford intact for another season.
Leicester City vs. Arsenal
Arsenal's injury troubles in defence came back to bite them on the opening Sunday of the 2016-17 season as they conceded four to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
Encouragingly, they did manage to score three times—through Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers—and their next opponents, Leicester, did not look so good themselves in defence as they lost to Hull.
Claudio Ranieri's side looked surprisingly vulnerable from set pieces against the Tigers, and Arsenal could capitalise if they exploit that weakness on Saturday.
Equally, though, with the Gunners clearly short and exposed at the back without Gabriel Paulista or Per Mertesacker, the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Ahmed Musa could be in for a good day.
The Times' Rory Smith believes the champions merely looked rusty against Hull and do not have major problems that will dog them all season:
However, both Arsenal and Leicester are under huge pressure now as back-to-back opening defeats would be devastating for either of them as they go in search of the Premier League title.
With bags of attacking prowess set to be on show, along with two shaky defences, a goal-heavy contest is likely.
