After a busy international schedule, it’s business as usual in the Premier League with all 20 teams in action from Saturday through to Monday. The first match to get us underway is between current champions Leicester City and the side they knocked off the perch, Chelsea. Neither team has made a flying start to the season so this seems to be a match which is anyone’s for the taking. Later on Saturday we see a London derby between high flying Crystal Palace and struggling West Ham. The form book is pointing to an Eagles win but you have to feel West Ham’s bad run must come to an end soon.
Burnley will be looking to bounce back from their controversial last minute defeat to Arsenal when they make the trip down to the St Mary’s to play Southampton. The Saints are after their fourth win in a row in all competitions on home turf so confidence will be high coming into this one. To end the action there is a huge clash between Liverpool and Manchester United. Jose Mourinho has lost three of his five meetings against Jurgen Klopp and with Liverpool in sensational form of late, the Portuguese boss may well be in for a very tough evening.
Saturday 15th October 2016
Chelsea v Leicester City (12:30) – Chelsea to win to nil (2/1 with BetVictor)
With four wins from his first four matches, Antonio Conte would’ve been rather pleased with how his career at Chelsea began but defeats last month to Liverpool and Arsenal have highlighted that there is still plenty of work to be done. It’s in defence where the biggest problems lie for the Italian but there were notable signs of improvement when employing the 3-5-2 formation during their 2-0 win over Hull. The Blues are also set welcome back John Terry for this clash so another clean sheet doesn’t look out of the question here.
The Foxes have scored in all three of their away league matches so far this season but they all came from rather unreliable sources, a huge defensive mistake, a penalty and a long range wonder strike. Leicester were so impressive on the road last season but this year they haven’t got going and Ranieri doesn’t seem to have a quick fix. They won’t necessarily make it easy for Chelsea, but with Conte likely to stick with the 3-5-2 for this one, his side should be able to come out on top while also keeping a clean sheet.
Crystal Palace v West Ham (17:30) – Crystal Palace to win (6/5 with Betfair)
Few West Ham fans would have pictured themselves in the relegation zone after seven league games but a string of poor performances have put them right near the foot of the table and with plenty of problems to sort out. The good news for Slaven Bilic is that left back Aaron Cresswell is in contention to return to a West Ham defence that has been very leaky in his absence. In addition, Andy Carroll may also be fit enough to feature, and if so, he will surely replace the ineffective Zaza who has struggled to adjust to Premier League life.
The return of these two players and a starting place for a resurgent Pedro Obiang would no doubt improve the Hammers but it’s hard to back anything but a home win with Palace in such good form. Their main man, Christian Benteke has been such a handful for opposing teams and he will relish playing against a defence which has let in 17 league goals this season. At the other end, skipper Scott Dann is in line from a return from a hamstring injury and the captain should be able to help guide his side to their fourth league victory of the season.
Sunday 16th October 2016
Southampton v Burnley (16:00) – Southampton to win and Charlie Austin to score (11/8 at Sky Bet)
Burnley may have had the best away record in the Championship last season, but so far life on the road has been tricky for them. They’ve been brushed aside 3-0 by both Chelsea and Leicester as well as succumbing an extra time defeat to Accrington Stanley in the League Cup. They’ll be looking to keep things tight here as they did for the vast majority of their recent match against Arsenal, but with them looking more vulnerable away from Turf Moor, it’s hard to see them keeping out a Southampton side growing in confidence.
Following a fairly disappointing start to the season, Claude Puel has seen plenty of recent improvement from his men who are now six games unbeaten in all competitions. They have fired blank in the last two fixtures but against Leicester they were unlucky not to have had a couple of goals. Charlie Austin was the man with all the chances that day and while it was not his most clinical showing, he has been in great form recently, scoring five goals in his last five matches. He looks set to return to scoring way here and help the Saints record back to back league victories at home.
Monday 17th October 2016
Liverpool v Manchester United (20:00) – Liverpool to win (11/10 with Betfred)
This is a fixture which is often one of the most highly anticipated for both sets of fans and neutrals alike. It is the Liverpool faithful who will surely be in a more confident mood approaching this one though. They have seen their side win their last four league games, scoring 13 goals in the process. Wins against Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as a draw away at Spurs show that Klopp’s men aren’t afraid of the big occasion. Expect them to attack in numbers as they have done so effectively this season even if midfield pair Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum aren’t able to recovery from their injuries in time for this clash.
Mourinho may have only beaten Klopp on one occasion in his managerial career but at least his side has the superior recent head to head record coming into this match. The Red Devils have won their last four league meetings against Liverpool and Anfield is not a place they seem to mind travelling to.
This is unlikely to be enough to spare them however as the Merseyside outfit simply look too hot to handle right now and they provide a sharp contrast to a United side that managed just to score one goal in four of their last five league matches.