English Premier League Predictions: Week 3

Each week, ISH Soccer Writer Adam Leightman, will predict the outcomes of every Premier League game, and one big European match as well.

Burnley VS. Manchester United

Burnley hosts Man U where both teams are in desperate need of their first win of the season. Manchester United is coming off of a humiliating 4-0 thrashing from MK Dons in the Capital One Cup. Man U is in turmoil, but the addition of Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid should help boost confidence in the club. Burnley has been decent so far in the Premier League, but have failed to earn a point yet. The quality just is not there for Burnley to make a real impact this year.

 

 Manchester United 1-0 Burnley

Newcastle VS. Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace is in for a tough year. After their manager, Tony Pulis quit just 24 hours before the season started, Palace lost their first 2 games. The season is not going to get easier with Newcastle looming. Newcastle United is in a must win situation. After losing the opener 2-0 to Manchester City, they dropped points again with a 0-0 draw to Aston Villa. Yoan Gouffran will have his first big game of the season.

Newcastle 2-0 Crystal Palace

West Ham VS.  Southampton

The Hammers look to make it two straight wins after an impressive 3-1 over Crystal Palace. Southampton has played well in the first two games of the season, but only has one point on the table. These teams are evenly matched and the game will go right down to the wire.

West Ham 1-1 Southampton

Manchester City VS. Stoke City

Stoke has struggled to get their season going in the right direction. They only have one point against Hull and Aston Villa. With the champions next on the schedule, their season is only going to get worse. Manchester City, on the other hand, is off to a very fast start. With two impressive wins against Newcastle and Liverpool. Their run of good football should continue this weekend.

Manchester City 3-0 Stoke City.

Queens Park Rangers VS. Sunderland

Queens Park Rangers is sitting in dead last after a 4-0 defeat from Tottenham last weekend. They must find a way to bounce back at home against Sunderland. Sunderland is coming off two hard fought draws against Man U and West Brom. Both teams will fight hard for the win, but both teams will have to settle for the draw.

QPR 1-1 Sunderland

Swansea City VS. West Brom

The Swans have shocked the world by starting the season with 6 points in two weeks. Gary Monk has his team playing at top form and it is only the third week of the season. West Brom has had a respectable start to the season with 2 draws. However, they will want to expand their good form by picking up the full 3 points on the road.

Swansea 1-2 West Brom

Aston Villa VS. Hull City

The Villains and Hull have had very even starts to the season. They Both have 1 win and 1 draw. Both teams have struggled to create offense though, so look for this game to be very low scoring. Aston Villa will have a slight advantage since they are at home.

Aston Villa 1-0 Hull City

Tottenham VS. Liverpool

Tottenham has had a phenomenal start to the season. They have 6 points from 2 games and have a +5 goal differential. Mauricio Pochettino’s team is clicking on all cylinders, but might have some trouble with Liverpool. Liverpool looked strong against Southampton, but showed some signs of weakness last week in it’s 3-1 defeat at Man City. However, I think Liverpool will bounce back with another win this weekend.

Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham

Leicester City VS. Arsenal

Leicester’s tough start to the season continues as they face the FA Cup holders. They earned a tough point against Everton and looked strong in a    2-0 defeat at Chelsea. Arsenal is coming off a very hard week with games at Everton and home to Bestikas in the Champions League Playoff. Leicester has a great chance at an upset this weekend.

Leicester City 1-0 Arsenal

Game of the Week

Everton VS. Chelsea

Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea team head north with 6 points from 2 games. This will be their toughest test of the season so far, because Everton is a very strong home team. Everton has played will in both games, but have had to settle for 2-2 ties in both games. Look for the same score in this contest as well.

Everton 2-2 Chelsea

Non-English Game of the Week

Schalke VS. Bayern Munich

The reigning German champions, Bayern Munich, look to continue their dominance against Schalke. Schalke started the season with a shock defeat to Hannover last week. Schalke will look to respond with a huge win against Bayern at home this weekend, however Bayern is just too good to be stopped.

Bayern 3-1 Schalke