WEEK 9
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Predictions will generally be posted by Friday each week,
AND the analyses should be up by Wednesday following each weekend’s games.
The odds that I quote on each game are the first available and are quite
possibly subject to change as the game day approaches.
All times are Mountain Standard Time
LAST WEEK’S SUMMARY
WEEK 8
Well that was a better week than last. We got four right, two wrong and the rest were either a push or no bet. The first winner was my Gold Star pick, Chelsea over Notts Forest, so I’m happy about that. Crystal Palace and Bournemouth are both continuing their excellent start to the season. Sunderland’s very large money outlay to strengthen their squad seems to be paying off, and while Liverpool are in a bit of a slump at the moment, Manchester City, and especially Earling Haaland, are gathering a head of steam. We are a quarter of the way through the season and lots of things can change, but at the moment even though Arsenal are top of the League currently, I don’t think it will end that way. The main contenders for relegation at the moment are Wolverhampton, West Ham and Burnley with a strong challenge expected from Brentford and Notts Forest.
WEEK 9 October 24-26
WEEK 9 GAME 1 – Fri Oct 24th 1:00 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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LEEDS |
WEST HAM |
 |
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| Odds -1/2 | O/U 2 1/2 | Odds +1/2 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: I suppose West Ham will win a game eventually, not sure it’s gonna be this week though. Leeds can be formidable at home but my feeling here is this could end up a draw. That being said I still can’t put any money on the Hammers. I’ll take Leeds and keep my fingers crossed. Leeds -1/2 | |||||||
| RESULTS: 2-1 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: West Ham put up a better show than last week’s effort against Brentford. Well it could hardly get worse! Going behind by two goals in the first fifteen minutes didn’t help their chances much. Despite all of their pressure, it took until the last seconds of regular time for them to find the back of the Leeds’ net. Leeds are not going to be world beaters with this line-up, but they just might have enough talent to keep them in the Premier League. The most important word there is, might! West Ham on the other hand, may as well start looking at the form of the teams in the Championship League, ’cause that’s who they will be playing next season. | |||||||
WEEK 9 GAME 2 – Sat Oct 25th 8:00 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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CHELSEA |
SUNDERLAND |
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| Odds -1 1/2 | O/U 2 1/2 | Odds +1 1/2 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: The Black Cats have had an excellent start to their season. Thing is they have the same amount of game points as Chelsea. This could be tricky. To win this bet Chelsea would have to win by two clear goals. Cole Palmer is still out, but even without him, they demolished Notts Forest last week. Obviously the odds are on Chelsea to win at home, but by two goals? I’m going with the lads from the North East to keep it close. Sunderland +1- 1/2 | |||||||
| RESULTS: 1-2 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: Sunderland were one goal down before five minutes were up. 2/3rd’s of the possession was not enough for the Blues to extend their lead and The Black Cats equalized before the half. I thought 1-1/2 goal handicap may be a bit steep for the home team to overcome, and as far as Sunderland were concerned a draw would have been a fair result. Chemsdine Talbi had other ideas. Eight minutes of injury time were added and at the three minute mark, the Moroccan struck from a lay off from Brian Brobbey to give the visitors all three points much to the delight of their traveling fans. Chelsea should have won this game, but as they have shown in previous games this season, they blow hot and cold, You just never know which team is going to turn up in any given week. | |||||||
WEEK 9 GAME 3 – Sat Oct 25th 10:00 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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NEWCASTLE |
FULHAM |
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| Odds -1/2 | O/U 2 1/2 | Odds +1/2 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: As I have said before, somewhere or other, Fulham are a much better team that their current League position would suggest. Newcastle are still struggling to find their feet and going up to St James’s is not as daunting as it used to be. Nevertheless I will take the Magpies to prevail on their home turf. If the venue’s were reversed, I would be taking the Cottagers. Newcastle -1/2 | |||||||
| RESULTS: 2-1 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: In typical Fulham fashion, they did enough to win but ultimately fell short. As I said in my predictions, if this game had been in London, I would have taken the Cottagers. They held their own for almost all of the game only to be undone in the 90th minute by a Bruno Guimaraes that sent the visitors home empty handed. The stats were pretty even and Newcastle were struggling to contain a Fulham side that have plenty of talent, but are a little short on luck. | |||||||
WEEK 9 GAME 4 – Sat Oct 25th 12:30 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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MANCHESTER UNITED |
BRIGHTON |
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| Odds -1/2 | O/U 2 1/2 | Odds +1/2 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: Lets not kid ourselves here. So United go to Liverpool last week and take home three points. As they say “it takes more than one swallow to make a summer” and from where I sit Manchester United are going to need a lot more migratory birds to bring any kind of respectability to this season. Brighton can be unpredictable and for that reason I think I’m going to steer clear of this one. No Bet | |||||||
| RESULTS: 4-2 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: Bryan Mbeumo seems to have finally found his shooting boots. His two goals, and an improved performance by Matheus Cunha who scored the first goal at the 24th minute mark, gave the home team a comfortable lead. After last week’s efforts at Liverpool, maybe the new boys are starting to settle in. At the end of the weekend, they sit 6th in the League, which is a far cry from where they were after their opening games this season. Brighton can be awkward opponents, especially for United, but they were soundly beaten until the last few minutes when they made the score look a little more respectable. Danny Welbeck’s resurrection continues plus an injury time header by teen-aged substitute, Charalambos Kostoulas, who pulled two back for Brighton, but it was too little too late for the visiting Seagulls. | |||||||
WEEK 9 GAME 5 – Sat Oct 25th 3:00 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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BRENTFORD |
LIVERPOOL |
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| Odds +1/2 | O/U 3 | Odds -1/2 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: Well at first I thought this was Bournemouth v Liverpool and I thought this might be interesting, Then I realized that that it was Brentford. Now I know Liverpool have their problems, but surely they don’t extend to getting beat by this load of useless, so called, professional footballers. No hesitation here. Liverpool -1/2 | |||||||
| RESULTS: 3-2 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: This was nothing short of pathetic. For Liverpool to get beaten by this Brentford team should give any Red’s fans nightmares. Watching this game was almost unreal, in the sense that you couldn’t believe what was happening. Liverpool were atrocious! And if the question was to arise as how can a team that was so good last year be so bad, now I have a theory. Last year the team was handed over to Arne Slot. Not much needed to be done as all the heavy lifting had been done by Jurgen Klopp. This year we see lots of new faces and the team is now Slot’s baby. He has had big boots to fill, last year they still belonged to the previous coach, this year he’s wearing his own footwear. As for the game, Milos Kerkez scored Liverpool’s first goal, but he just happened to be standing in front of the goal, and the ball more or less bounced off him, a lamp post could have scored it. Apart from that the rest of his game was abysmal, he doesn’t seem to know were he is half the time and when he does, giving up the ball to the opposition seems to be his go-to play. Putting teammates and supporters alike out of their collective misery, he was substituted at the one hour mark. I could go on for pages about the rest of the rubbish Liverpool served up, but whats the point? If they don’t improve sharpish, they’ll end up comfortably nestled in the middle of the table alongside Everton and Leeds (and Brentford). | |||||||
WEEK 9 GAME 6 – Sun Oct 26th 10:00 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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ASTON VILLA |
MANCHESTER CITY |
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| Odds +1/2 | O/U 3 | Odds -1/2 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: The way I see it Aston Villa were lucky to get a result at Spurs last week. It had more to do with Tottenham playing like muppetts than any creativity on Villa’s part. I don’t think lightening is going to strike twice in as many weeks, and with City getting the bit between their teeth lately, I see a pretty convincing win for the lads from Manchester. Manchester City -1/2 | |||||||
| RESULTS: 1-0 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: What the hell happened here? Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse than the Liverpool Brentford game, it does. Just when it looked as if Man City were getting back in form, this pops up. These two could play every week and the result would be reversed. I cannot see how Manchester can get beat by Aston Villa, who have shown nothing but mediocrity so far this season. Matty Cash scored in the 19th minute for Villa and never really looked in danger from that point on. Maybe it was the sickening away strip that did it (much like the same approach with Liverpool). Is this a plan: that if the other team look at these horrible colours long enough, maybe you’ll have a seizure or something. City were obviously off their feed this week and it remains to be seen if this is a trend setting in: much like last year’s fallow spell, or a temporary glitch? Their next game bears close scrutiny. As for Villa, I’m not sure if they are back to form yet; again a very welcome result, but can they maintain? | |||||||
WEEK 9 GAME 7 – Sun Oct 26th 10:00 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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BOURNEMOUTH |
NOTTINGHAM FOREST |
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| Odds -1/2 | O/U 2 1/2 | Odds +1/2 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: I see that Forest have a new manager. Well not only is that not going to save them this week, I don’t see it saving their season. You could bring in Genghis Khan at this point and he is still not going to make the players that you have at your disposal any better than they are at the moment. Bournemouth have the wind behind them and I see them making sawdust of the Tricky Trees. Bournemouth -1/2 | |||||||
| RESULTS: 2-0 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: Well lookie here. Bournemouth are second in the League, who could have seen this coming? As far as the game went, the stats were pretty even, except for the score. Notts Forest’s new manager, Sean Dyche, has an uphill struggle with this team, and he wasn’t helped with a defeat in his first league game in charge. The Cherries are unbeaten in seven games this season and need to be taken seriously by any and all opponents. Whether they can continue on this trajectory remains to be seen, but there is no taking away from what they have achieved so far. Nottingham Forest have commitments in Europe that won’t help their position at home, but may help to pad out their coffers if they can progress a little further in their adventures across the Channel. Also I might mention that this was my Gold Star pick. | |||||||
WEEK 9 GAME 8 – Sun Oct 26th 10:00 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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WOLVERHAMPTON |
BURNLEY |
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| Odds -1/2 | O/U 2 | Odds +1/2 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: Wolves haven’t won a game and yet they are 1/2-goal favorites in this battle of the doomed. Burnley scored a very welcomed three points last week at the expense of Leeds. Truth be told Wolves have been playing better than their results would suggest. Sooner or later Wolverhampton will rack up some points, maybe not enough to save their hide, but they won’t get a better chance than this. I’m not going to take out a second mortgage, but maybe a small wager on the Old Gold. Wolverhampton -1/2 | |||||||
| RESULTS: 2-3 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: Wolves thought they had at least a point against fellow bottom dwellers Burnley. Unfortunately, for them, Burnley needed the point/s just as much as they did. For the fourth game in a row, they let in a late goal to snatch defeat from something close to a victory. It’s hard to see them coming back from this. Burnley went up by two goals, courtesy of Zian Flemming, but let their guard down and allowed the home side back into the game. It wasn’t until the 5th minute of injury time that the Clarets snatched the victory. Wolves’ fans were not happy and a groundswell of dissent is building for change. Given Wolves’ position in the League, plus their lack of talent pool; all I see is darkness in the future for the Old Gold. | |||||||
WEEK9 GAME 9 – Sun Oct 26th 10:00 |
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| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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ARSENAL |
CRYSTAL PALACE |
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| Odds -1 | O/U 2 1/2 | Odds +1 | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: Arsenal are at home. But there is going to be a large contingent of Palace supporters there, especially since the Eagles have gotten off to such a good start. In my opinion, Arsenal really haven’t impressed me, not only this season but for quite some time. Their standing in the League has more to do with the impotence of the teams around them than actual talent on their part. Crystal Palace have shown that they can play with the “Big Boys” and I wouldn’t be surprised to see an upset here. Even so Arsenal still need to win by two goals to make this bet profitable. I think this is best left alone. No Bet. | |||||||
| RESULTS: 1-0 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: Ex Eagle, Eberechi Eze, scored the only goal to send Arsenal top of the league for the time being. As has become expected, Arsenal scored from a set piece and the win sent them four points clear at the top. Palace held their own, and as I predicted 1-1/2 goal favorites, Arsenal, didn’t cover the spread. I didn’t put any money on this one, but wasn’t surprised to see the result. It could have gone against the Gunners and have ended up differently. Palace have more games than they are used to this year, and maybe the extra fixtures will slow them down. Arsenal on the other hand, did not play particularly well and a comeuppance is on the cards. | |||||||
WEEK 9 GAME 10 – Sun 26th Oct 12:30 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOME | AWAY | ||||||
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EVERTON |
TOTTENHAM |
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| Odds Pick | O/U 2 1/2 | Odds Pick | |||||
| PREDICTIONS: Everton are not the team they think they are, but it helps that they are at home. Spurs are all over the place! On paper the Londoners are a much better team, but as we all know football is not played on paper. Spurs should skate this, but I’ve seen many games in the past few years that should have been shoo-ins that they have managed to screw up; how about last week with Aston Villa?! As this is a Pick, I will take Tottenham, but not with any degree of confidence. Tottenham. Pick | |||||||
| RESULTS: 0-3 | |||||||
| ANALYSIS: A convincing win for Spurs, but the final score is a little unkind to Everton. After Tottenham went in front, they sat back and let Everton come at them. A fine performance again from goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, kept the Toffees at bay and an unexpected second from Micky van de Ven just before half-time looked to have the game sewn up. After the break, Everton tried to get back on terms, but Spurs held on. Then right at the end of play, Pape Matar Sarr popped up and put the icing on Tottenham’s cake. This win puts Spurs third, five points behind bitter rivals, Arsenal, who they have to play at the end of the month. | |||||||