Premier League Picks Of The Week 33

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 33

The 33rd week of the Premier League action saw:

28 goals - most by Watford and Leicester = 4 each

278 shots - most by Tottenham = 29

85 on target - most by Man City = 11

121 corners - most by Man City = 17

187 fouls - most by Burnley = 16

39 bookings - most by Liverpool and Arsenal = 4 each

1 red card - Young for Man United

3 penalties - 3 scored (Mooy for Huddersfield, Vardy for Leicester, Milivojeviç for Crystal Palace)

What a game! It was another easy win for Manchester City on Wednesday night, running all over Cardiff and ending 2-0 winners at the Etihad. It's the champions’ eighth league win in a row, putting them back to the top temporarily, a point ahead of Liverpool with six games to go, before the Reds' match on Friday. More to that one below. The Citizens' game was rearranged from the weekend thanks to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Super Sunday?! Super Shambles more like! Arsenal were a shadow of themselves last Sunday, Everton the only side playing and competing, beating Unai Emery’s side comfortably, 1-0 at Goodison Park thanks to Phil Jagielka's cheeky poke in (10'). The English centre back was a last-minute replacement for injured Michael Keane shortly before kick-off, at 36 years and 233 days, he is the oldest player to score in the Premier League this season. 19 out of 20 PL teams have kept an away clean sheet this season... Everyone except the Gunners! Comfy three points after their games in hand for Tottenham** and Chelsea* opened up the race for the top four between the London rivals (see **week 31 and *week 27 respectively under the results for their rearranged games).

What a team! Burnley produced a great comeback against Bournemouth! Sean Dyche's side fell behind early on thanks to Ashley Barnes heading the ball into the back of his own net (OG 10'). But two goals fired in in just two minutes turned the game on its head at the Vitality stadium (Wood 18', Westwood 20') and Barnes himself made sure his side went away with three goals and three points, scoring on the right side of the pitch this time after the break (56'). Does Eddie Howe and co have to be worried? Hardly. The result sees the Cherries in 13th and still ten points clear from the drop zone, the Clarets two points and one place behind them in 14th.
And the fourth consecutive league win for Leicester after thrashing already relegated Huddersfield 1-4 means life’s good for new boss Brendan Rodgers (LWWWW) and man of the match Jamie Vardy (brace 44', pen 84'), their side matching the points total of 2017-18 already after 33 games, the result moving them up to seventh!

What a man! Super sub skipper Jordan Henderson provided one and scored one for Liverpool! The Reds had fallen behind at Southampton early on thanks to Shane Long's composed finish (10'). Naby Keïta levelled the score with a header, his first goal for the club (36'). It looked like Jürgen Klopp's men were going to drop points in the title race, before Mohamed Salah produced a brilliant solo goal with only ten minutes to go (80'), a great run and finish for Momo’s 50th, finally! And Hendo sealed the win from close range (86'), his first goal of the season, making him the first Premier League substitute to score a goal, assist a goal and receive a yellow card since Graziano Pellè did so for Southampton against Crystal Palace in May 2016. The result put the Reds back on top after their fourth successive league win against the Saints for the first time in their club's history, whilst Ralph Hasenhüttl's side fall down to 17th, five points away from the drop zone.
Eden Hazard just ran through everyone and everything on Monday, starring for Chelsea with an excellent brace against West Ham (24', 90'). The Blues won their game in hand on Wednesday (as mentioned above *week 27), the Belgian star also contributing and scoring in that 3-0 win against Brighton, but Monday's victory topped it all, moving the side up to third. What and where would Chelsea and Maurizio Sarri be without him?!

What a goal! Wow Watford, Vicarage Road saw some super goals on Tuesday! And a th-r-ash! Abdoulaye Doucouré's opener was a stunner (23') before Ryan Babel equalised for Fulham (33'). But after the break, the Hornets overran and crushed the Cottagers, smashing goals from Will Hughes (63'), Troy Deeney (69') and Kiko Femenía (75'), condemning the visitors to relegation. Fulham join Huddersfield down and out, making them the earliest two relegated teams ever in the Premier League era!

And the Molineux stadium witnessed something special on Tuesday night as well! Scott McTominay gave Manchester United the lead (13') with a fine strike from over 20 yards out, his first goal for the club. Diogo Jota was crucial in the host's comeback, equalising 12 minutes later (25') and falling victim to Ashley Young's fouls, two clumsy tackles in a crazy five-minute spell which saw the Red Devils' skipper booked twice and consequently sent off (57'), Mike Dean's 100th PL red card, interesting read and reactions. Ole Gunnar Solskjær's side were all over the place after that and Wolves capitalised. Chris Smalling put the ball into the back of his own net (OG 77') after his keeper David de Gea was unable to collect the ball and it ricocheted. Defence?! Scenes! Man Who?! Ole Ole Ole?! The new permanent boss tasted his first defeat since signing for United, his side falling back down to sixth as a result.

What the hell?! The new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium finally saw its first match with an over-spectacular introduction on Wednesday. Better late than never. Shame they couldn’t even fill it. But Tottenham won their first game in the £1bn ground, ending the 689-day wait, 2-0 against Crystal Palace, Son Heung-min opening the scoring (55') and Christian Eriksen sealing the win (80').**week 31
Luka Milivojeviç’s 11th goal in all competitions, his 10th spot kick won it for Palace at Newcastle on Saturday, ending a five-match winning run of Rafael Benítez’s side. Only Andrew Johnson in 2004-05 has scored more penalties in a single PL campaign (= 11, also with Palace). It was against the run of play, the winning side recording the fewest shots. No side has actually won a Premier League game with fewer attempts this season (< 3). Crazy stats. C'est le foot.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Wolves 0:2 Man United - 2:1

Watford 2:1 Fulham - 4:1

(Chelsea 2:1 Brighton - 3:0)*week 27

Man City 3:1 Cardiff - 2:0

(Tottenham 2:1 Crystal Palace - 2:0)**week 31

Southampton 1:2 Liverpool - 1:3

Bournemouth 2:2 Burnley - 1:3

Huddersfield 0:2 Leicester - 1:4

Newcastle 4:2 Crystal Palace - 0:1

Everton 1:2 Arsenal - 1:0

Chelsea 2:0 West Ham - 2:0

(Tottenham 1:0 Brighton was postponed to the 23rd April due to the FA Cup ties, see week 35)

*(Both matches rearranged from *week 27 and **week 31 because of the League Cup final and FA Cup ties respectively, stats added to respective weeks)**

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and RMC Sports coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 30

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 30

The 30th week of Premier League action saw:

33 goals - most by Liverpool = 4

237 shots - most by Liverpool = 23

81 on target - most by Man City = 9

103 corners - most by Chelsea = 13

220 fouls - most by Brighton and Man United = 18 each

38 bookings - most by Brighton = 5

0 red cards

3 penalties - 2 scored (Milivojević for Crystal Palace, Aubameyang for Arsenal)

What a game! It was a super comeback by Newcastle against Everton, their best, winning a Premier League game from two goals down for the first time since October 2003 against Fulham under Sir Bobby Robson. Rafael Benítez's men were 0-2 down and showed no sign of any threat at half-time, however, the Magpies took the Toffees apart after the break. Ayoze Pérez was the controversial hero with a brace (81’, 84’) plus an assist (Rondón 65’), for a perfect second-half comeback, including a Jordan Pickford flop. More to the England keeper's disastrous performance below.

It was a Super Sunday indeed, three games, plenty of goals, including two braces at Anfield, later than late equaliser at Stamford Bridge and end of a run at the Emirates. More to the first two below. The Gunners shot down and ended the Red Devils' unbeaten run in the league under caretaker Ole Gunnar Solskjær, thanks to Granit Xhaka's swerving shot making David de Gea look like a fool (12') and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang converting a super-soft penalty (69'). The visitors had hit the woodwork a couple of times before the break and didn't go down easily, so it was a sweet win for Unai Emery's men, their ninth home win in a row, which takes them above United and back up to fourth, just one point behind Tottenham in third.

What a team! Liverpool kept the title race going thrashing Burnley 4-2 at Anfield, but not without controversies and tensions. Roberto Firmino (19’, 67’) and Sadio Mané (29’, 90’+3’) with a brace each made up for Ashley Westwood’s controversial opener (6’), where Alisson looked like being fouled before the corner went into the back of the net. The Red keeper was booked for his objections against the decision, double argh! Sub Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson pulled one back late on (90’+1’), but the home side sealed and bagged the three points despite all ups and downs. Manchester City had kept the pressure on with a win the day before, more to the questionable calls at the Etihad against Watford below.

Fulham join Huddersfield in deep trouble after a flopping defeat at Leicester. West Ham have to be careful not to join the two clubs in the drop zone after yet another disappointing result at Cardiff! Consistently inconsistent! More below.

What a man! The double-century for Harry Kane was set up by Dele Alli (26’), but was all for nothing thanks to the super goal by Southampton mentioned below. The Spurs star looked offside anyways. More to the usual useless refereeing below, as always. 

Jamie Vardy’s 100th and 101st banked Brendan Rodgers his first win as Leicester boss against Fulham. The managerless London side look doomed and down with Huddersfield.

And it was Eden Hazard of course, who else, to spare Chelsea from yet another miserable defeat against Wolves. His 92nd minute equaliser was like scripted, fitting to the top player he is, curled in to the bottom corner to nullify Raul Jiménez’s opener on the counter (56’). It was the only shot on target for the Blues. Cruel. More to Manchester City's hat-trick-man below. 

What a goal! Brighton’s and Southampton’s second goals were both unstoppable crackers into the top corner, no chance for either keeper. The prior was Anthony Knockaert’s winner at Crystal Palace (74’), whilst the latter was James Ward-Prowse’s incredible free-kick that shocked Tottenham (81’) after Yan Valery’s equaliser (76’). The prior was especially outraging for Roy Hodgson after the Brighton winger got booked with just 28 seconds on the clock, lucky it wasn’t red! Glenn Murray’s 100th was double-sweet/sour after that (depending which side you're on)! 
The first Manchester City goal looked offside: The defender made contact with the ball, yes, but when the cross was made, Raheem Sterling was offside. The long debate between the linesman and ref was double-annoying. The Watford bus was broken after that. Sterling doubled the lead, Sergio Agüero looking offside in that buildup. The hat-trick was no doubt though, the former Red running through the Hornets defence, to make it three goals in 13 minutes (46’, 50’, 59’), 3-1 to the Citizens, keeping them at the helm. For now

What the hell?! Everton keeper Pickford should have been sent off. He was the last man, didn’t go for the ball and took the man out, in this case Rondón, in a goalscoring opportunity. Penalty was given, but the England stopper was lucky to stay on the pitch. Matt Ritchie's poor take of the spot kick was an easy stop, the more aggrieving and annoying it was for the home side. And was Newcastle’s late winning goal offside? Marco Silva was not happy but cannot ignore his side's inconsistencies and lack of oomph. Just poor all round. The Portuguese cannot deny that his side did not deserve more and had lucky calls of their own. He is not alone with his frustrations about the officials, I rant on about them every week! Week in week out there are too many errors. In any other profession, one would expect consequences if someone would make so many bad calls! Penalties, suspensions, sackings... I am not gonna repeat all the bad calls I mentioned above... And there were more! Cardiff’s second goal was just as questionable as City’s opener. As well as Burnley’s first. Etc. Etc. So. Many. Calls. JUST WRONG! AGAIN! ARGH! BOO! WTF?!

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Crystal Palace 2:1 Brighton - 1:2

Cardiff 2:0 West Ham - 2:0

Huddersfield 1:0 Bournemouth - 0:2

Leicester 2:1 Fulham - 3:1

Newcastle 2:1 Everton - 3:2

Southampton 1:2 Tottenham - 2:1

Man City 2:0 Watford - 3:1

Liverpool 3:0 Burnley - 4:2

Chelsea 3:1 Wolves - 1:1

Arsenal 3:2 Man United - 2:0

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Sky Sports app, Twitter and RMC Sports live coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 19

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 19

The 19th week of the Premier League action saw:

32 goals - most by Tottenham and Everton = 5 each

249 shots - most by Crystal Palace = 31

94 on target - most by Man United = 10

94 corners - most by Crystal Palace = 12

177 fouls - most by Everton = 19

27 bookings - most by Everton = 4

1 red card - Delph for Man City

3 penalties - 3 scored (Sigurdsson for Everton, Salah for Liverpool, Hazard for Chelsea)

So, halfway through the season, how much better/worse is your side off? 
Click here to see the main gainers (and losers) in the comparison table. 

What a game! Manchester City lost again! After the shock home defeat against Crystal Palace last week, Pep Guardiola’s side could not keep hold of a lead again and ended up failing and falling 2-1 at Leicester. Bernardo Silva had opened the scoring for the champions (14’), but just five minutes later Marc Albrighton headed in the equaliser (19’). Ricardo Pereira’s blasting strike (81’) put the Foxes ahead, before Fabian Delph’s sliding tackle ended the afternoon early for the Bradford-born and any chance back into the match for his side, the defeat seeing City slide down to third. Their Spanish boss doesn’t like December, seeing six of their 11 league defeats in the month of Christmas. Claude Puel meanwhile, will be thinking he is dreaming, his change of formation was spot on. The 2016 champions are up to seventh after taking max points against top sides, when the Frenchman was being doubted and under fire most. 

What a team! Liverpool thrashed Newcastle 4-0 to extend their lead at the top to six points. Cheers were even louder at Anfield after hearing the result mentioned above come through from the King Power Stadium. An unmarked Dejan Lovren had opened the scoring with a belter from the centre of the box (11’). Mohamed Salah doubled the score from the spot (47’) after being pulled back in the penalty area by Paul Dummett. Xherdan Shaqiri (79’) and Fabinho (85’) doubled the score to complete the comfortable win, their 16th in 19 games, and secure their 12th clean sheet. It was Jürgen Klopp’s 100th win as LFC boss in his 181st match and the Magpies’ heaviest league defeat at Anfield since December 1987. The Reds are only the fourth Premier League team to be unbeaten at the halfway stage of a season after Arsenal 2003-04, Manchester United 2010-11 and Manchester City 2017-18. Each of those sides went on to win the title.

Tottenham are the closest chasers at the moment, moving up to second after they hammered Bournemouth 5-0 at Wembley. Boss Mauricio Pochettino remained humble though, pointing to Liverpool and City as “the real contenders”.

What a man! Manchester United caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær was all smiles after watching his side make it back-to-back wins under him with a convincing 3-1 win against Huddersfield, making Old Trafford bounce again. The Red Devils were on fire, much more open, positive, liberal and riveting, with ten shots on target. Paul Pogba scored twice, a nice sweeper (64’) and 30-yard rocket (78’), after Nemanja Matić poked one home earlier on (28’). The French world champion has been directly involved in four goals in two league games under the Norwegian (2 goals, 2 assists), the same total he registered in his last 12 matches under The Sacked One (José Mourinwho).

Eden Hazard became only the tenth Chelsea player to reach the landmark of 100 goals for the club, his brace (45’+1’, 58’ pen) was enough to secure a win at Watford and keep his side in fourth. 

What a goal! Everton shook off the 2-6 home embarrassment against Tottenham last week by thrashing Burnley to bits 1-5 at Turf Moor. Lucas Digne’s long-range effort gets the pick, a smacker to complete his brace (13’, 71’) and add to man of the match Yerry Mina’s early opener (2’) and Gylfi Sigurðsson’s spot kick (22’). Ben Gibson had pulled one back for the home side before the break (36’), but Richarlison came off the bench to add a late goal to the Clarets’ misery (90’+3’). The win takes the Toffees up to eighth, whilst Sean Dyche watched his side trying hard but suffering and failing harder, the defeat keeping them stuck in 18th, having conceded 41 goals after 19 games, two more than they shipped in the whole of last season (39).

What the hell?! Crystal Palace had 31 shots against Cardiff, their highest number since 2003-4, including last week's hero Andros Townsend and Luka Milivojević hitting the crossbar and post respectively, but it somehow stayed goalless. Frustrating for manager Roy Hodgson, who was left rueing all the missed chances. But the former England boss can be more than happy with four points from the two last to games after beating the champions last week. Neil Warnock can still be satisfied as well, watching his side staying stubborn, keeping a clean sheet and collecting only their second point on the road this season. The sides remain 14th and 17th respectively. This was the first-ever Premier League meeting between two managers aged over 70 (Warnock 70y 25d, Hodgson 71y 139d on the day of the game).

Three goals in nine minutes decided the only clash left on the day after Boxing Day. Southampton went ahead against West Ham thanks to Nathan Redmond scrappy finish (50), before Felipe Anderson’s brace decided the encounter, one low strike (53’) and a powerful shot (59’). Injury-hit Hammers held on to the lead to secure their fifth win in six games, taking them up to ninth, whilst the Saints remain 16th.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Fulham 0:1 Wolves - 1:1

Burnley 1:2 Everton - 1:5

Crystal Palace 2:1 Cardiff - 0:0

Leicester 1:1 Man City - 2:1

Liverpool 3:0 Newcastle - 4:0

Man United 4:0 Huddersfield - 3:1

Tottenham 3:1 Bournemouth - 5:0

Brighton 2:2 Arsenal - 1:1

Watford 2:2 Chelsea - 1:2

Southampton 0:0 West Ham - 1:2

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports and MOTD.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 17

Sports - Football - Premier League -  Week 17

The 17th week of the Premier League action saw:

28 goals - most by Man City, Watford, Southampton and Liverpool = 3 each

238 shots - most by Liverpool = 36

76 on target - most by Liverpool = 11

90 corners - most by Liverpool = 13

187 fouls - most by Wolves = 15

25 bookings - most by Southampton = 3

0 red cards

0 penalties

What a match! Liverpool played Manchester United off the park on Sunday. The Reds’ 3-1 win at Anfield was a let-off for the Red Devils, they could and should have been thrashed by much more, they were so bad, 36-6 shots, 11-2 on target! The opening goal was created by Fabinho with a beautiful cross and finished with a lovely take off the chest and shot in by Sadio Mané (24’). The visitors only got back into the game thanks to Alisson’s spill, netted by Jesse Lingard (33’), the hosts bossed it before and after. But it was substitute Xherdan Shaqiri who made the difference, with his brace shortly (= 144 seconds) after coming on (73’, 80’), both times helped by deflections, winning it for the Scousers. The Swiss is only the second LFC player to score at least two goals in their first game against United, the first since Nigel Clough in January 1994. The win extended the unbeaten run for Jürgen Klopp’s men and took them back to the top, a record 19 points ahead of their bitter rivals, whilst José Mourinho’s side’s misery continues, equalling their worst start to a top-flight season after 17 games back in 1990-91 (also 26 points). Even the Portuguese conceded how much better the opposition were in the match and are in general. Full. Stop.
Hence, it came to no surprise when the news broke on Tuesday, of the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager's dismissal. The more of a surprise was his replacement, former United forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

What a team! Manchester City made an easy recovery from their first league defeat last weekend, brushing aside Everton 3-1 at the Etihad in the early kick-off on Saturday. Gabriel Jesus’ brace (22’, 50’) and Raheem Sterling’s header minutes after coming off the bench (69’) were enough to down the Toffees, Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the only response (65’) against the dominant Citizens. The win put Pep Guardiola’s men back to the top of the table, at least for the day, whilst Marco Silva was left disappointed, with his main men Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson firing blanks and missing sitters, wasting the little and few chances they had, seeing them fail and fall down to eighth. 

What a man! Ralph Hasenhüttl was entertaining to watch on the sideline in his first match as Southampton manager and could not have asked for a better start, shocking and beating Arsenal 3-2 at St Mary’s. The surprise result ended the Saints’ 14-game winless streak and the Gunners’ 22-match unbeaten run. Charlie Austin’s 85th minute winning header ended a cracking contest, that saw Danny Ings (20’, 44’) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (28’, 53’) keep the competitive encounter going with a brace each for either side, strong headers and capitalising takes. Juicy footy. The victory took the Saints out of the drop zone, up to 17th, their Austrian boss left apologising to his counterpart Unai Emery after forgetting to shake hands as emotional celebrations took over. Who can blame him after that epic win?!

Eden Hazard scored one (33’) after having assisted the opener (Pedro 17’) to make sure Chelsea ended up 1-2 winners at Brighton on Sunday, leaving boss Maurizio Sarri relieved and full of praise for the 27-year-old. Blues defender Marcos Alonso was a very lucky man to remain on the pitch after fouling Solly March late on, who had pulled one back for the home side (66'), making the last half an hour a tense affair. Tough luck for the Seagulls.

What a goal! Captain Luka Milivojeviç's stunning strike from 25 yards out gave Crystal Palace the lead against Leicester and ended up securing a much-needed win for Roy Hodgson’s side. It's the first time the Foxes haven’t scored on the road in the league this season. Jamie Vardy got so close, the ball coming back from the inside of the post and back to the keeper. It stayed 1-0 at Selhurst Park to make it three wins on the trot for the home side, taking them up to 15th, two consecutive defeats for the visitors, pushing them down to 12th.

Salomón Rondón scored his 40th PL goal for his club, Newcastle’s first second-half goal of the season, at Huddersfield. With that the Magpies edged past the Terriers, against the run of play, to move six points clear of the drop zone. David Wagner’s side are falling further and further after their fourth successive defeat despite all the chances they created (15-8).

And it was a delightful day for Watford against Cardiff, youngster Domingos Quina making it 3-0 with a lovely turning curler (68’). It could have been double that score if it weren’t for Neil Etheridge’s solid and exemplary display and saves. The Welsh side hit back late on though and got one beautiful curler of their own back to make it 3-1 (Junior Hoilett 80’). Bobby Reid’s back-heeler was deflected, but poked back in (was it offside though?), making it two goals in two minutes and 3-2 (82’). Too little, too late.

Robert Snodgrass’ opening goal from 20 yards put West Ham ahead at Fulham (17’) in the evening kick-off on Saturday. Michail Antonio doubled the Hammers’ lead from close range (29’), the Cottagers unable to defend and keep control at the back. Or the front. They didn’t offer much after that, an easy win and crucial three points for the Hammers, the Cottagers remaining slumped and dumped at the bottom of the table.

What the hell?! How did Dele Ali miss that last-minute chance for Tottenham against Burnley?! Super sub Christian Eriksen made up for it though, to his team mates' relief, scoring the winner moments later in added time, finally breaking Sean Dyche’s men’s resistance, who failed to record a single shot on target at Wembley. Mauricio Pochettino will be a very happy man, being the first Spurs boss to record 100 PL wins in 169 games (10 matches quicker than a certain Arsène Wenger), and a club-record total of PL points after 17 games = 39.

Bournemouth suffered their sixth defeat in seven at Wolves, who won for the third time in a row in the top flight for the first time since March 1980. Worrying times for one, down to tenth, relieving and encouraging for the other, up to seventh.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Man City 1:0 Everton - 3:1

Crystal Palace 0:1 Leicester - 1:0

Huddersfield 1:1 Newcastle - 0:1

Tottenham 4:1 Burnley - 1:0

Watford 3:1 Cardiff - 3:2

Wolves 0:2 Bournemouth - 2:0

Fulham 2:2 West Ham - 0:2

Brighton 1:1 Chelsea - 1:2

Southampton 2:2 Arsenal - 3:2

Liverpool 2:1 Man United - 3:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Gillette Soccer Saturday, MOTD, Twitter and Sky Sports match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 8

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 8

Here are my Premier League Picks Of The Week 8:

26 goals - most by Arsenal = 5

255 shots - most by Fulham and Chelsea = 21 each

96 on target - most by Man United = 10

114 corners - most by Chelsea = 12

214 fouls - most by United = 16

43 yellow cards - most by Southampton = 6

3 red cards - Morgan for Leicester, Ralls for Cardiff, Kabasele for Watford

2 penalties - 1 scored (King for Bournemouth)

What a game! Bournemouth’s 0-4 thrashing of ten-man Watford was their biggest away win in the Premier League and the victory took them up to fifth. The Cherries have now taken 16 points from their opening eight league games, last season it took Eddie Howe's men 16 matches to reach that tally. Vicarage Road will not remember its 100th Premier League fixture fondly.
Old Trafford meanwhile witnessed a Fergie-style comeback Saturday evening. Manchester United were 0-2 down at half-time, but hit back to beat Newcastle 3-2, sub Alexis Sánchez with the 90th minute winner that rang good old memories around the ground after it looked oh so bleak at the break! The Red Devils had David de Gea to thank they were not thrashed in the first half, Kenedy (7’) and Yoshinori Muto (10’) hitting two goals in three minutes and the Magpies creating plenty more threats and chances against a very poor home side. But under-fire José Mourinho said something right during the interval and made the right changes at just the right times to turn the game around, man of the match Juan Mata (70’) and sub Anthony Martial (76’) starting the comeback. Rafael Benítez’s men slip down to 19th remaining winless in their eight league games this season, only in 1898-99 have they gone longer without a victory from the start of a top-flight campaign (first ten matches).

What a team! Huddersfield's comeback has finally given David Wagner's side a glimmer of hope in all the darkness, taking them off the bottom of the table up to 18th. The Terriers are still looking for their first win of the season, but Christopher Schindler's equaliser (66'), the German defender's first goal in the Premier League, secured an important point at Burnley after Sam Vokes had given the home side the lead (20'). 
Wolves' unbeaten run continues after six matches, their best run in the top flight since 1979. Nuno Espírito Santo named an unchanged starting XI for an eighth consecutive opening fixture. Matt Doherty's goal (56') was enough to down Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, Roy Hodgson's men still looking for their first home win.

Tottenham equalled their best start to a Premier League season having 18 points from eight games after beating Cardiff 1-0 thanks to Eric Dier's early goal (8'). The Welsh side were reduced to ten men after Joe Ralls was sent off with just under an hour gone, seeing them falling to the bottom of the table still remaining without a win.

At the other end of the table, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea remain unbeaten, the last three teams without a defeat. More to the meeting between the prior two below, whilst the Blues had it too easy, ending 0-3 winners at Southampton.

What a man! Glenn Murray’s 99th Albion goal and fifth of the season won it for Brighton against West Ham on Friday night (25’). The 35-year-old has been involved in 33 goals in 44 home appearances since the start of 2016-17. The Amex king ended the Seagulls’ five-game winless run in the league, whilst serving the Hammers their first league defeat in four league games. Only Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has scored more Premier League goals this season. The Belgian was essential in the Blues' win at Southampton with four key passes, 99 passes, 85.1% pass accuracy, five shots and the opening goal (30'). Ross Barkley assisted the opener and doubled his side's lead (57') before Alvaro Morata put the icing on the cake and made it 0-3 deep into injury time (93'). It's the first time an Englishman has assisted and scored for Roman Abramovich's side since Frank Lampard in December 2013.

What a goal! Gylfi Sigurðsson’s 50th Premier League goal was a stunning strike from 25 yards into the top corner (77’). That cracker gave Everton a 1-2 win at Leicester after Foxes captain Wes Morgan was sent off for the second time in three league games. It’s the Toffees first consecutive win this season and their first victory on the road which takes them up to eleventh, level on points with their opponents in tenth.

Arsenal were showing off on Sunday, thrashing Fulham 1-5 at Craven Cottage with some flashy finishes. It was all level at the break and looked very frustrating, but the Gunners shot the home side to pieces after the break. Alexandre Lacazette (29', 49') and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (79', 91') both starred with braces either side of Aaron Ramsey's star goal (67'). The Welsh midfielder scored within a minute of coming on as a substitute, starting and finishing a stunning team move. Manager Unai Emery can be a very happy man after seeing his side record their ninth consecutive win in all competitions, their best run since April 2015, taking them up to fourth.

What the hell?! United’s comeback win mentioned above confused everyone! Yay! Nay! No way! Half-time was the end of Mourinho, full-time the resurrection was complete. Some of the refereeing decisions were just wrong though, a goal kick was given when it should have been a corner, more like a penalty after a blatant handball! No discrediting the Red Devils and their fight back, but, it cannot hide the cracks and lacks of the team that have been oh so evident this season! Their next game will be at Chelsea after the international break, a real test of character and team play.

The one game you thought and expected the most of, had the least to show for, no goals at Anfield, just misses, and what a miss it was by Riyad Mahrez from the spot for City. Neither side recorded a single shot on target for over an hour! The goalless draw kept both clean sheets and unbeaten records in tact, as mentioned above, the top three locked on 20 points. Click here for my full match report.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Brighton 2:2 West Ham - 1:0

Burnley 3:1 Huddersfield - 1:1

Crystal Palace 0:1 Wolves - 0:1

Leicester 2:1 Everton - 1:2

Tottenham 3:1 Cardiff - 1:0

Watford 2:1 Bournemouth - 0:4

Man United 1:1 Newcastle - 3:2

Fulham 1:2 Arsenal - 1:5

Southampton 0:3 Chelsea - 0:3

Liverpool 2:1 Man City - 0:0 or my match report

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Sky and RMC sports apps and coverage.