English Premier League: Predicting the Results in Week 3
Last weekend's 10 games brought 23 goals, three red cards and results which saw the two Manchester clubs, City and United occupy the first two positions.
Looking at the performances of these teams, especially the signings they made over the summer period, it could be difficult to displace either.
So what did the results in Week 2 mean for the Predictions League? Having comfortably overcome Will Tidey, I was up against Adam Hirshfield, who led for most of the way until a 3-0 win for Man Utd over Spurs meant that he had to settle for a draw against me. So this is how things stand, with three points for a correct score and one for a correct result:
Chris Potter 8.5 (average over two weeks)
Adam Hirschfield 8
Will Tidey 4
This weekend could see the Manchester City debut of Samir Nasri (above), who may travel back down to North London with his new teammates to face Tottenham Hotspur, who were dumped on their backsides on Monday by a clinical and energetic Manchester United team.
United also have a big test of their credentials when they square up to Arsenal at Old Trafford in a match-up that has always been feisty.
Before then, there is derby between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa and possibly a chance for new team Swansea City to pick up its first victory of the season over a Sunderland team struggling for fluency.
This week's guest predictor is Thomas Atzenhoffer, a leading featured columnist in the World Football section who has racked up nearly 700,000 reads. He supports Liverpool.
Let's have a closer look at the 10 mouth-watering fixtures this week in football's greatest domestic league...
Aston Villa V Wolverhampton Wanderers
1 of 10Date: Saturday 27th August, 12:05 BST
Last season: Aston Villa 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Key Players: Richard Dunne (Aston Villa), Jamie O'Hara (Wolves)
Form: Wolves have impressively won their first two matches of the season, the latest being a 3-1 home defeat of Blackburn Rovers. Villa have also started the season well under new boss Alex McCleish and sit in fourth place on four points - one place and two points behind their opposition.
Odds: Villa 11/10 Draw 10/5 Wolves 3/1
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Aston Villa 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wigan Athletic V Queens Park Rangers
2 of 10Date: Saturday 27th August, 12:30 BST
Last season: N/A
Key Players: Hugo Rodallega (Wigan), Adel Taarabt (QPR)
Form: Wigan have drawn their two matches this season and could not find a way past a mediocre Swansea team last weekend. QPR recovered from an embarrassing home defeat to Bolton on the opening day of the season with a surprise 1-0 win at Everton.
Odds: Wigan 7/5 Draw 12/5 QPR 23/10
Prediction: Wigan 2-1 QPR
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Wigan 1-1 QPR
Blackburn Rovers V Everton
3 of 10Date: Saturday 27th August, 15:00 BST
Last season: Blackburn 1-0 Everton
Key Players: David Dunn (Blackburn), Louis Saha (Everton)
Form: A clash between point-less teams, although Everton have played one game fewer. Rovers boss Steve Kean (above) will be desperate for three points at home in front of fans who will be concerned about the club's lack of transfer activity and owners who will know Kean is an easy scapegoat for any failures. Everton usually start the season slowly, but a home loss to QPR is very below-par.
Odds: Blackburn 12/5 Draw 12/5 Everton 7/5
Prediction: Blackburn 1-2 Everton
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Blackburn 1-2 Everton
Chelsea V Norwich City
4 of 10Date: Saturday 27th August, 15:00 BST
Last season: N/A
Key Players: Didier Drogba (Chelsea), The Team (Norwich City)
Form:
Odds: Chelsea beat West Brom last weekend thanks to a late Laurent Malouda goal and are in sixth position. Norwich have drawn their two games 1-1, but were thumped 4-0 at home by lower league MK Dons in the cup in midweek.
Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Norwich City
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Chelsea 3-0 Norwich City
Swansea City V Sunderland
5 of 10Date: Saturday 27th August, 12:30 BST
Last season: N/A
Key Players: Leroy Lita (Swansea), Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland)
Form: Swansea drew with Wigan last week and, while they will need to win those games soon, they performed to a good standard and showed good skills and intelligence on the ball. Sunderland scraped a draw at Liverpool on the opening day, but lost out to rivals Newcastle United and will hope Gyan (above) can rediscover his form of 2010 on Saturday.
Odds: Swansea 6/4 Draw 40/17 Sunderland 11/5
Prediction: Swansea 1-1 Sunderland
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Swansea 1-3 Sunderland
Liverpool V Bolton Wanderers
6 of 10Date: Saturday 27th August, 17:30 BST
Last season: Liverpool 2-1 Bolton
Key Players: Charlie Adam (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Bolton)
Form: Liverpool kept the ball and defended well to pick up three points at Arsenal last weekend, but still look like they are searching for their best form. Nevertheless, they remain unbeaten. Bolton smashed QPR 4-0 but lost out 2-3 at home to Manchester City last weekend.
Odds: Liverpool 4/9 Draw 19/5 Bolton 38/5
Prediction: Liverpool 1-1 Bolton
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Liverpool 3-0 Bolton
Newcastle United V Fulham
7 of 10Date: Sunday 28th August, 13:00 BST
Last season: Newcastle 0-0 Fulham
Key Players: Demba Ba (Newcastle), Danny Murphy (Fulham)
Form: Newcastle fans have seen its best three players leave over the last month and the club dragged through the mud by a series of disruptive disputes, but can revel in two clean sheets and four points, including a 1-0 victory against bitter rivals Sunderland last weekend. Fulham were outplayed by high-flying Wolves last weekend, and must show more energy over the course of the 90 minutes to get a positive result
Odds: Newcastle 15/12 Draw 12/5 Fulham 3/1
Prediction: Newcastle 2-1 Fulham
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Newcastle 3-2 Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur V Manchester City
8 of 10Date: Sunday 28th August, 13:30 BST
Last season: Tottenham 0-0 Man City
Key Players: Rafael Van der Vaart (Spurs), Yaya Toure (Man City)
Form: Spurs were outplayed by a similarly depleted Man United team at Old Trafford on Monday in their opening fixture and were not clinical or decisive in the final third. News that former Arsenal forward Man Adebayor (above) has signed is a welcome boost, but he will ineligible to play against his old club City, who will look to dominate a midfield which could be missing the vital presence of Luka Modric.
Odds: Spurs 2/1 Draw 12/5 Man City 6/4
Prediction: Spurs 1-2 Man City
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Spurs 1-3 Man City
West Bromwich Albion V Stoke City
9 of 10Date: Sunday 28th August, 15:00 BST
Last season: West Brom 0-3 Stoke
Key Players: Peter Odemwingie (West Brom), Matthew Etherington (Stoke)
Form: Stoke gained a credible point against Chelsea two weeks ago but had to rely on an injury-time goal from Kenwyne Jones for a point at Norwich. West Brom incensed Chelsea by scoring the opening goal after just three minutes and witnessed a backlash, which meant they are yet to pick up a point and languish in the bottom three positions.
Odds: West Brom 11/10 Draw 12/5 Stoke 3/1
Prediction: West Brom 2-2 Stoke
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: West Brom 2-1 Stoke
Manchester United V Arsenal
10 of 10Date: Sunday 28th August, 16:00 BST
Last season: Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal
Key Players: David De Gea (Man Utd), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal)
Form: Man Utd have started off where they left off—in fine fettle. A 3-0 drubbing of a Spurs side containing Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart was particularly reinvigorating for the fans as several youthful players showed the future is looking rosy at Old Trafford. Six points means United are second in the league. Arsenal lost to Liverpool at home to heap further misery on manager Arsene Wenger, but the team's progression to the group stages of the Champions League shows there is still quality at manager Arsene Wenger's disposal. Dutch striker Van Persie (above) will need to find the back of the net in this match.
Odds: Man Utd 8/15 Draw 7/2 Arsenal 13/2
Prediction: Man Utd 3-1 Arsenal
Thomas Atzenhoffer says: Manchester United 3-1 Arsenal
