Premier League Picks Of The Week 4

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 4

Here are my Premier League Picks Of The Week 4:

27 goals - most by Arsenal = 3

272 shots - most by Chelsea and Man City = 24 each

93 on target - most by Arsenal = 11

91 corners - most by Tottenham = 10

216 fouls - most by Fulham and Huddersfield = 14 each

41 bookings - most by Arsenal = 4

1 red card - Rashford for Man United

4 penalties - 1 scored (Murray for Brighton)

What a game! Brighton made an impressive comeback despite being two goals down and missing a penalty against Fulham, extending their unbeaten home run which goes back to January. The Cottagers had lead through André Schürrle (43’) and Aleksandar Mitrović (62’), who had also scored and impressed last week. And after Pascal Groß was denied from the spot by Marcus Bettinelli, it looked all doom and gloom for the Seagulls. But Glenn Murray’s brace secured a point for the home side (67’ and 84’ pen), bringing his total to eight goals at home this year, the same as Harry Kane. Chris Hughton’s men had more chances to make it an even better comeback, but he had no complaints about his team’s character and resilience after grabbing the point. For Slaviša Jokanović it definitely felt more like two points dropped than one point won after a competitive encounter, Mitrović ending up as the villain after giving away the late penalty with his handball that decided the match. Tough luck!

What a team! West Ham’s miserable start to the season continued as Wolves made it four defeats out of four for the Hammers under Manuel Pellegrini, sub Adama Traoré with an injury-time winner (93’). Nuno Espírito Santo was understandably very happy after his side’s first top-flight win since 4th February 2012.

Newcastle have just the one point to show after four games, losing the battle at champions Manchester City thanks to a top-quality finish by Raheem Sterling (8’) and full-back Kyle Walker with his first goal for the Citizens in his 52nd appearance for the club, and what a hit it was (52' - his new lucky number?)! DeAndre Yedlin had pulled one back to level the score temporarily for the visitors (30’), but Rafael Benítez’s men could only produce one more shot on target, they were outplayed and -scored by Pep Guardiola’s side in the end, 2-1. The Magpies’ miserable run against the Sky Blues stretches to 22 top-flight meetings without a win, having lost the past 10 clashes away from home. Meh.

What a man! Southampton boss Mark Hughes was a very relieved man at Selhurst Park after his side recorded their first win of the season, only their second away win in the last 15 trips, despite missing a spot kick at Crystal Palace, thanks to goals from Danny Ings (47’) and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (92’). Roy Hodgson conceded the Saints were the better side after the Eagles struggled without surprise omission and record club goal scorer Wilfried Zaha. Christian Benteke was frustrated and denied again and again by man of the match Alex McCarthy as the home side bagged their third defeat on the trot. Low.

What a goal! I bet Alisson Becker was glad to get that howler out of the way! Liverpool clung on to the three points after Leicester’s fight back in the second half, to make it four wins out of four for the first time in 28 years. The Reds were leading by two goals at the break, thanks to Sadio Mané (10’) and Roberto Firmino (45’). But the Foxes hit back hard and pulled one back as Rachid Ghezzal netted the Brazilian stopper’s giveaway (63’), Jürgen Klopp’s men were all over the place and looked like they were going to crumble as they have done in the past. But they held on. It was not an impressive performance, but still a win, the keeper will be very relieved. It will have been a very sour birthday cake for Claude Puel to bite in this weekend. Click here for my match notes.

Both Pedro (72’) and Eden Hazard (85’) produced a fine strike and drill finish respectively to continue Chelsea’s 100% start to the season despite not exactly impressing against Bournemouth. It’s the results that count most, right?! Even Maurizio Sarri celebrated the win, which says a lot!!!

What the hell?! Huddersfield’s lead lasted only 87 seconds as Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled the score for Everton (36’) after Philip Billing’s header had put the Terriers ahead. Marco Silva conceded it wasn’t a good game despite maintaining the Toffees’ unbeaten start to the season, whilst David Wagner was happy but a bit frustrated for not seeing more rewards for all the work. Their 81-year wait for a Goodison win goes on!

Cardiff scored their first goal of the season, two in the space of 25 minutes actually (Victor Camarasa 45’+2 and Danny Ward 70’), but still ended up losing against Arsenal in the earlier kick-off on Sunday. Some crazy football, Gunner stopper Petr Čech not at his best, but some splendid goals as well (Shkodran Mustafi 11’, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 62’ and Alexandre Lacazette 81’), all added up to 2-3, the Bluebirds shot down at the final whistle. What a relief it was for Unai Emery, whilst Neil Warnock ended gutted.

Sunday afternoon, both matches went a bit mad in the second half! Watford came back with Troy Deeney (69’) and Craig Cathcart (76’) headers turning the game around against Tottenham to make it four wins out of four season opening fixtures for the first time in 30 years after Abdoulaye Doucouré’s own goal had given Spurs the lead (53’). 
Manchester United meanwhile made a comfortable win at Burnley thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s brace (27’ and 44’) look more difficult going down to ten men after sub Marcus Rashford saw red just ten minutes after coming on (71’). Paul Pogba was denied from the spot by Joe Hart and Lukaku missed a couple of sitters to complete his hat-trick. David de Gea made a couple of late saves to keep a clean sheet, it ended 0-2, José Mourinho much happier (well, he didn’t look it saying his farewells to the fans again after the full-time whistle). It was a Super Sunday indeed, no easy rides for anyone!

My Predictions - Actual Results

Leicester 0:2 Liverpool - 1:2 or my match notes

Brighton 3:1 Fulham - 2:2

Chelsea 2:1 Bournemouth - 2:0

Crystal Palace 0:0 Southampton - 0:2

Everton 1:1 Huddersfield - 1:1

West Ham 0:0 Wolves - 0:1

Man City 4:0 Newcastle - 2:1

Cardiff 1:2 Arsenal - 2:3

Burnley 1:1 Man United - 0:2

Watford 1:2 Tottenham - 2:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter, Sky Sports and SFR apps and coverage.

Rashford Brace Beats The Reds

Sports - Football - Premier League - MUN 2:1 LIV

Marcus Rashford's first-half brace was enough for Manchester United to beat arch rivals Liverpool 2-1 in the Saturday lunch-time kick-off at Old Trafford, widening the gap between the two sides in 2nd and 3rd place respectively to five points in the Premier League table.

It was only the second time José Mourinho managed to beat Jürgen Klopp in nine attempts, the Red Devils having only lost once at home this season against bitter rivals City, winning 16 and drawing two. The last time they lost against the Reds at Old Trafford was 0-3 in March 2014.

The first real chance, out of nowhere, just under quarter of an hour gone, Rashford headed down and collected Romelu Lukaku's header won against Dejan Lovren off a goal-kick, ran into the box on the left, pulled the ball back to make more space away from Trent Alexander-Arnold and placed the right-footed shot perfectly across into the right corner of the net to give the home side the lead, no chance for fully stretched Loris Karius.

And the number 19 doubled the lead ten minutes later, the ball falling back to him inside the box off Virgil van Dijk, with all the space in the world, the local lad made no mistake of slashing the ball from the left across past Alexander-Arnold and in to make it 2-0. Again Lovren could not cope with Lukaku in the build-up, Liverpool were all over the place, United on top.

It was the first time a Red Devil scored a brace in the first half against Liverpool since Gary Pallister in 1997.

On the other side of the pitch, David de Gea didn't get much to do in the opening half an hour, Sadio Mané and van Dijk putting chances wide, whilst skipper James Milner, in for Jordan Henderson, and Roberto Firmino served the Spanish keeper easy catches.

There was no real threat or sign from the Premier League Player of the Month of February Mohamed Salah either, isolated and kept very quiet by the home side. The Egyptian is the league joint-top goal scorer this season alongside Harry Kane with 24 goals - having scored in every single one of the Reds' league matches last month.

It wasn't the usual LFC trademark of pressing pressing pressing, more watching watching watching and giving the ball away by the Reds. Nicht gut.

And it could have been worse, seven minutes before the break, Juan Mata missed a sitter, all alone in the middle of the box, a couple of yards out, tried a flashy overhead kick, putting the golden chance wide.

Lovren put a Milner corner sky high in the final minutes before the interval after a period of pressure by the Reds on the hosts' box, but again nothing to worry the Red Devils too much and it stayed 2-0 at the break.

A penny for Klopp's thoughts and to be a fly on their dressing room's wall during the halftime team talk by the German boss... No changes were made by either side at the break.

United have not lost a home game in the league that they have been leading at the break since May 7th 1984 (1-2 vs Ipswich Town).

Van Dijk put another header off a corner high shortly after the break before Salah failed to control the ball in the box with Ashley Young all over him, no reaction from the officials.

United captain Antonio Valencia got away with bouncing Andy Robertson's cross off his left hand, blocking any Liverpool threat, the visitors pushing and pressing a bit more after the restart, but still not threatening de Gea.

Seconds after Adam Lallana replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the sub tried to push and break into the box but failed just like his team mates, Milner firing high from distance afterwards.

The ball finally went in for the Reds thanks to Eric Bailly putting Mané's cross from the left into the back of his own net, de Gea could only punch it in to make it 2-1 with just under 25 minutes to go. Game on.

That was only the second goal United have conceded in the second half in 15 PL matches at Old Trafford this season, the other one scored by Man City's Nicolás Otamendi.

Rashford was replaced by Marouane Fellaini minutes later, the United boss looking to break Liverpool's momentum.

Lovren and Fellaini clashed a couple of times as United threatened on the left, the ref ignored it all, but had a word with Klopp who was fuming, before bringing on Georgino Wijnaldum for a struggling Alexander-Arnold for the last ten minutes.

Firmino back-footed the ball in the box instead of taking the chance himself, Mané and Fellaini tumbling and falling all over each other in the box, neither getting the ball nor a call from the ref.

Klopp brought on Dominic Solanke for the final minutes, in place of Robertson in a last desperate offensive change, just when United were having a rare period of play in and around the Liverpool box, winning their first corner.

Valencia was booked for felling down Mané shortly after Mourinho had brought on Jesse Lingard in place of Mata, but United cleared any threat once again, waste for Liverpool.

Six minutes were added on, the visitors desperate to get something out of the match, the home side surrounding them and keeping the wall/bus solid at the back, in and around the box.

Mané won a late corner unable to release a shot surrounded by Red Devils, who broke on the counter after the set piece, Karius having to come out to clear the threat.

Liverpool's 11th corner in the 95th minute, Klopp told Karius to stay put and not come out for it, their 12th corner followed 96th minute, Salah smashed the ball high.

It was just not meant to be. A late change for the home side killed the last seconds, Alexis Sánchez replaced by Matteo Darmian. It stayed 2-1, United frustrating and topping their rivals in the game and in the table.

Liverpool have only won one in seven games immediately following a CL match, unable to capitalise on Paul Pogba's pre-match injury, which brought Mata into midfield, Bailly and Rashford also starting, making up the three changes for the home side.

Manchester United have won 50% (10/20) of league games without the Frenchman starting since the beginning of last season, 60% (28/47) when he did start.

Liverpool made one change after their Champions League draw against Porto, Milner in for Henderson with the captain's armband, as mentioned above.

No team in the top five European leagues have scored more goals away from home this season than LFC = 35.

It was the 200th meeting between the two rivals, 170th in the league - United edging it with 68 wins to Liverpool's 55, the most defeats the red Merseysiders have suffered against any other side.

There has never been four successive draws in the 170 league meetings. Klopp felt his side had deserved something out of the match, crucial refereeing decisions going against his side.

But the German cannot deny his side were just that one step behind, that final touch missing, because the Red Devils stayed on top and in control, despite the lack of possession.

Frustrating indeed, and rare to see the front trio not clicking and scoring. They will face Watford at Anfield next Saturday evening to pick themselves up and get back into the groove again.

HT Stats: MUN 2-0 LIV
Possession: 36%-64%
Shots: 3-5
On target: 2-2
Corners: 0-5
Fouls: 6-5
Yellow cards: 1-1

FT Stats: MUN 2-1 LIV
Possession: 32%-68%
Shots: 5-14
On target: 2-2
Corners: 1-13
Fouls: 10-16
Yellow cards: 2-1

Man United Goals: Rashford 14' & 24'.

Liverpool Goal: Bailly OG 66'.

Man United Team: 1 De Gea; 18 Young, 3 Baily, 12 Smalling, 25 Valencia (c) (booked 89'); 31 Matic, 39 McTominay; 19 Rashford (booked 27') (27 Fellaini 70'), 7 Sánchez (32 Darmain 97'), 8 Mata (14 Lingard 88'); 9 Lukaku. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 2 Lindelöf, 16 Carrick, 20 Romero, 23 Shaw.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius; 26 Robertson (29 Solanke 84'), 4 van Dijk, 6 Lovren, 66 Alexander-Arnold (5 Wijnaldum 80'); 23 Can, 7 Milner (c), 21 Oxlade-Chamberlain (booked 35') (20 Lallana 62'); 19 Mané, 9 Firmino, 11 Salah. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 12 Gomez, 14 Henderson, 22 Mignolet, 32 Matip.

Referee: Craig Pawson
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku
Ground: Old Trafford
Attendance: 74,855

Click here for my last LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from BBC match report, Sky Sports app, Twitter and SFR coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 18

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 18

The 18th week of the Premier League action saw:

29 goals - most by Huddersfield, Man City & Liverpool = 4 each
263 shots - most by Chelsea = 24
93 on target - most by Man City = 11
104 corners - most by West Ham = 9
234 fouls - most by Tottenham = 20
40 bookings - most by Brighton & Tottenham = 4 each
3 red cards - Ndidi for Leicester, Deeney for Watford, Hogg for Huddersfield
6 penalties - 3 scored (Mooy for Huddersfield, Noble for West Ham, Rooney for Everton)

What a game! Huddersfield ended their goalless and winless away run in style thrashing Watford 1-4 at Vicarage Road, the first top-flight meeting between the two. It was the Terriers' first away win and goal since 12th August when they started the Premier League campaign with a convincing 0-3 win at Crystal Palace. Elias Kachunga scored his first Premier League goal, Aaron Mooy doubled the lead from close range. The Hornets' poor discipline showed again, captain Troy Deeney shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle with just over half an hour gone, the third successive game and fourth time this season Marco Silva's men were reduced to ten men. Laurent Depoitre made it three after the break smashing the ball in after José Holebas slipped. Huddersfield skipper and former Hornet Jonathan Hogg was then sent off, second yellow, and Abdoulaye Doucouré pulled a goal back for Watford with a superb half-volley from 25 yards out. But Mooy made it two for him and four for the visitors, sealing the win from the spot, taking David Wagner's side up to 11th on 21 points, one point behind Watford in 10th. Sehr gut!

What a team! Newcastle have lost eight of their last nine Premier League games (D1, L8) after Arsenal's Mesut Özil's brilliant volley was enough to beat the Magpies at the Emirates, their longest winless run in the league since May 2015 (10). Their fourth straight defeat saw Rafael Benítez's men drop into the relegation zone and the Spanish boss crying out for "something in January". It is sad when there is more happening off the pitch than on the pitch. Gunners boss Arsène Wenger meanwhile has Özil to thank, the German's moment of magic was the only thing that brightened up a dull afternoon in London.
At the other end of the table, Manchester City outclassed Tottenham, beating the London side 4-1 at the Etihad, recording their 16th successive Premier League victory, topping and bossing the table eleven points ahead of local rivals Manchester United. The Red Devils won 1-2 at West Brom on Sunday to avoid the gap getting even bigger. It was not the most convincing win though... ZzZ

What a man! Man of the match Kevin De Bruyne bossed the show at the Etihad, scoring City's second, winning the (missed) penalty and making six key passes. In contrast to the top Belgian, Dele Alli was nowhere to be seen for Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino's men lucky to end the game with eleven men after some reckless challnges. Spurs are now without a win in 10 away games against the "big six" (4D, 6L).
Man of the match at the Vitality Stadium was Mohamed Salah,becoming the first Liverpool player to score at least 20 league and cup goals in a single season since Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge in 2013-14, and the first to score 20 goals before Christmas since the great legend Ian Rush in 1986-7. The extraordinary Egyptian touched the ball 48 times with an 80% pass success rate, scored a fine individual goal and put in four crosses in Liverpool's 0-4 win at Bournemouth, keeping the Reds unbeaten in the last 12 matches in all competitions. Click here for my full match report.
And last but not least, Wayne Rooney has made it ten goals in his last nine Premier League games for Everton, missing one but netting the other spot kick to seal the comeback and 3-1 win against bottom side Swansea on Monday Night Football. The Toffees are continuing their revival under Big Sam, having now won four of their past five games, which has taken them up to ninth in the table. What crises?!

What a goal! Crystal Palace hadn't scored in their last ten league games on the road before downing Leicester 0-3 in convincing fashion at the King Power Stadium Saturday lunch time. I certainly didn't predict that! Their last away goals were on their 1-2 win at Anfield under Big Sam in April, the longest such goalless away run by any top-flight side since 1949-50. Under fire Christian Benteke certainly made up for his penalty screw-up last weekend, scoring the opener and setting up man of the match Wilfried Zaha to double the lead with a lovely stepover move and shot. Birthday boy Wilfred Ndidi's second yellow for simulation hit the Foxes and threw away any chance of a comeback, Bakary Sako making it three goals and three points for the visitors in the final seconds of the game. Roy Hodgson has worked wonders, his side unbeaten in the last seven league games (3W, 4D), with three consecutive away clean sheets for the first time in the league, rising up from the bottom dumps to 14th. Claude Puel's men remain eighth in the table, nowhere near as impressive as in the midweek thrashing of his former club Southampton.

What the hell?! There were plenty of penalties this week (some mentioned above)! Glenn Murray missed from the spot for Brighton, the goalless draw against fifth-placed Burnley taking his side's winless run to seven matches, the last win was their 1-0 victory at Swansea on 4th November, keeping the south-coast club in 13th. Stoke boss Mark Hughes wasn't happy with referee Graham Scott after he pointed to the spot for West Ham's Manuel Lanzini's dramatic tumble. Hammers boss David Moyes blamed fatigue. Either way, the game ended 0-3 to the visitors at the Bet365 Stadium after kick-off was delayed for an hour due to a power outage. This defeat means the Potters have now lost five out of their last six and conceded the most goals in the Premier League, leaving just one point and one place above the relegation zone. All that can't come from refereeing decisions, the "Hughes out" shouts getting louder and louder...
Romelu Lukaku and José Mourinho have issues! The United forward opened the scoring against his former side West Brom, celebrations muted again like last time, his boss showing no reaction whatsoever, sitting stone cold frozen in the dugout. Your team just scored ffs! It is well known that the Portuguese has been flirting with PSG, mark my words, I've got the feeling his days in Manchester are counted! He doesn't seem to like or enjoy it there much! Depressing!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Leicester 2:0 Crystal Palace - 0:3
Arsenal 4:2 Newcastle - 1:0
Brighton 0:1 Burnley - 0:0
Chelsea 3:1 Southampton - 1:0
Stoke City 2:2 West Ham - 0:3
Watford 2:0 Huddersfield - 1:4
Man City 2:1 Tottenham - 4:1
West Brom 1:1 Man United - 1:2
Bournemouth 1:2 Liverpool - 0:4 or my match report
Everton 2:1 Swansea - 3:1

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 17

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 17

The 17th week of the Premier League action saw:

21 goals - most by Leicester & Man City = 4 each
238 shots - most by Tottenham = 25
88 on target - most by Leicester = 11
99 corners - most by Tottenham = 10
209 fouls - most by Watford = 18
15 yellow cards - most by Palace, Everton, Bournemouth & West Ham - 2 each
2 red cards - Cleverley for Watford, Shelvey for Newcastle
0 penalties - :-o

What a game! It was an easy record-breaking 15th consecutive Premier League win for Manchester City after beating Swansea 4-0 at the Etihad thanks to David Silva's double, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Agüero with the other goals and some brilliant exemplary football - unstoppable top dogs!
West Ham saw their goal disallowed for offside after some woeful defending by Arsenal - lucky Gunners! Petr Čech nearly handed the Hammers the lead but was lucky to see his defender clear the ball off the line after the keeper was unable to punch it clear. Former Manchester United striker Javier Hernández hit the bar after some more poor defending with a poor clearance, the visitors lucky to see the ball bounce off the bar, off the line and away. It ended 0-0 and a point each at the London Stadium. Arséne Wenger was again a very fortunate man to see his side get anything at all after a useless performance, but still making it no win in the last three league games. David Moyes on the other hand can be and is "really enjoying" life in East London after beating champions Chelsea at the weekend and holding the Gunners to a point. Revival.

What a team! It was all late drama on Tuesday night! What a late turnaround for Crystal Palace, and what a resurrection by Roy Hodgson, undefeated in the last six! The dramatic 2-1 win against Watford at Selhurst Park took the London side out of the relegation zone for the first time this season, at least temporarily after Tuesday night, off the bottom at least and just goal difference separating them from safety after Wednesday's matches. Tom Cleverley's late sending off for a second yellow card started the downfall for Marco Silva's side (87'). The Hornets leaked two goals in the final minutes, Bakary Sako (89') and James McArthur (90'+2) turning the game on its head and three crucial points into the home side's bag, the only win in the bottom half of the table this week!
And Burnley are flying higher and higher. Sean Dyche's side broke into the top four, at least for the time being after their 1-0 win against Stoke City on Tuesday night thanks to Ashley Barnes' late match winner at Turf Moor. This is the highest position the Clarets have been in the top flight since 1975! And even after the Wednesday matches, only goal difference separates them from the Champions League. Just imagine that!!!
Much in contrast to the other two matches on Tuesday night, it was all too easy and no competition for Chelsea, 1-3 winners at Huddersfield, keeping up the pace with second-placed Manchester United. This defeat was the fifth in the last six matches for the Terriers, nicht gut for David Wagner.

What a man! Romelu Lukaku has been under fire to say the least for his dip in form, so, when he gave Manchester United the lead with a header against Bournemouth, the unexpected non-celebration was weird. Nearly rude. Spoilt. Or something's up. Attitude. It was enough to give the Red Devils the win and three points at Old Trafford, even though the Cherries made much more of the match, actually played, and had more chances against an average side. Yes average. Apart from man of the match David de Gea, no one really showed up, did their job. José Mourinho's side have been less than impressive lately - his antiques off the field and in front of the microphones and cameras have failed to distract from that. Me at least. Attitude. Attitude. Attitude. Where's the quality? For that you have to look to the blue side of Manchester. Full stop.

What a goal! Top: Riyad Mahrez gave Leicester the lead at Southampton with a cheeky left-footer after a great individual run. Shinji Okazaki doubled the Foxes' lead and Andy King made it three, Claude Puel's men are in form and showing some of their good old fab football again we saw 2015-16. Maya Yoshida pulled one back for the Saints, but Okazaki sealed it making it four on the counter, 1-4 at St Mary's and four wins on the trot in the league. Too easy. Mauricio Pellegrino however, has not been questioned and under fire anywhere near as much as other bosses have been after such disappointing displays and results.
Flop: Wayne Rooney was on the spot for Everton after Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow spilled Aaron Lennon's header. Jonjo Shelvey's sending off just added to Rafael Benítez's misery. All the takeover malarkey off the field should not affect the play on the pitch and can definitely not be used as an excuse for such clumsy defending and just bad football.
Serge Aurier fooled the Brighton keeper too to give Tottenham the lead with a mishit cross from the right, similar to Willian's accidental equaliser for Chelsea against Liverpool in Week 13. Son Heung-min sealed the points for Spurs late on to make it 2-0 at Wembley, the Seagulls unable to form any kind of competition. Shame.

What the hell?! It's getting a little repetitive, oh what a surprise, oh shock, oh wow, Liverpool changes, rotation rotation rotation. As long as it brings results, boss Jürgen Klopp knows best... Or does he?! The Reds missed lots of chances and had a goal disallowed. Was it a goal? Nope, handball and booking for Dominic Solanke instead, obvious, replays confirmed, so, 0-0 it ended at Anfield, a point each. It was a deserved point for West Brom as they worked hard and stuck to their plan very well, bagging Alan Pardew's second point out of the three matches he has been in charge. Loris Karius made a couple of crucial top-quality saves to avoid a worse result for the Reds. The German manager was of course not happy, the post-match interviewer didn't get to feel the fumes this time though (unlike after the draw against Everton), no complaints, accepting the result, his side were just not good enough. Verdammt noch mal!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Burnley 1:1 Stoke City - 1:0
Crystal Palace 0:1 Watford - 2:1
Huddersfield 0:3 Chelsea - 1:3
Newcastle 1:1 Everton - 0:1
Southampton 1:2 Leicester - 1:4
Swansea 1:5 Man City - 0:4
Liverpool 3:1 West Brom - 0:0
Man United 3:1 Bournemouth - 1:0
Tottenham 2:1 Brighton - 2:0
West Ham 2:3 Arsenal - 0:0

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter, Sky Sports News and SFR live match coverage.

MUFC Parked Bus Gets Point At Anfield

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 0:0 MUFC

Liverpool were once again unable to capitalize on their dominance, handing bitter rivals Manchester United a point at Anfield in the Saturday lunchtime kickoff.

Click here for my live match notes.

The goalless draw was not as boring as last season's, but José Mourinho will be just as satisfied with his bus parked at the back getting him another point, again.

The Reds were on top, from start to finish, chance after chance, the Red Devils just had star keeper David de Gea to thank for keeping a clean sheet.

On the other side, Simon Mignolet did not have much to do, but the couple of times the Belgian stopper was called upon, he kept solid.

Jürgen Klopp's side coped much better at the back in general, covering, marking, challenging, which was missing a lot in previous matches.

Romelu Lukaku, who scored in every league game before this meeting, created most and pulled one save out of Mignolet in the first half for the visitors.

But in the second half, there was no sign of him. The home side took over completely.

Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah worked most and hardest to push and produce something for the Reds, but the final edge, inch, push was missing.

So many misses, close calls, 10-0 shots in the second half, but none on target, just showed once again, stats don't count, goals do!

Emre Can and Georginio Wijnaldum missed sitters, even Joel Matip came close, keeping de Gea on his toes, literally (making a crucial save with the tip of his boot earlier in the first half).

All those misses and frustrations aside, Liverpool can take some encouragement out of this point though too.

Klopp has just lost once against Mourinho in seven meetings (W3 D3).

The Reds have kept their first clean sheet in the league since the 27th August, when they thrashed Arsenal 4-0.

The fact that Mourinho is happy with the point shows how times and forces have changed.

The draw keeps United unbeaten in second place on 20 points, two points and six goals behind high hitters City, whilst the Merseysiders are down to eighth, but level on 13 points with Burnley, Arsenal and Chelsea above them.

Next weekend LFC will be heading to Wembley to face 3rd placed Tottenham, who scraped and scratched out a 1-0 win against Bournemouth who are 19th.

Fingers crossed, the Reds can jump on Spurs' weaknesses at home and it will finally work and click for them. At some point, eventually, it just has to. It's their best chance to close the gap to the teams above, gain confidence and start a run.

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LFC team: 22 Mignolet; 12 Gomez, 32 Matip, 6 Lovren, 18 Moreno; 5 Wijnaldum, 14 Henderson (c), 23 Can; 11 Salah (21 Oxlade-Chamberlain 78'), 9 Firmino (29 Solanke 87'), 10 Coutinho (15 Sturridge 78'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 7 Milner, 17 Klavan, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

MUFC team: 1 De Gea; 25 Valencia (c), 12 Smalling (booked 74'), 4 Jones, 36 Darmian; 21 Herrera, 31 Matic; 18 Young (booked 87') (2 Lindelof 92'), 22 Mkhitaryan (14 Lingard 63'), 11 Martial (19 Rashford 66'); 9 Lukaku. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 8 Mata, 17 Blind, 20 Romero, 38 Tuanzebe.

HT Stats: LFC 0-0 MUFC
Possession: 63.4%-36.6%
Shots: 9-6
On target: 5-1
Corners: 1-3
Offsides: 2-1
Fouls: 2-6
Yellow cards: 0-0
Red cards: 0-0

FT Stats: LFC 0-0 MUFC
Possession: 62.2%-37.8%
Shots: 19-6
On target: 5-1
Corners: 7-3
Offsides: 3-1
Fouls: 7-13
Yellow cards: 0-2
Red cards: 0-0

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Man of the match: David de Gea
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 52,912

Click here for me previous LFC match report.

All images, facts and stats were taken from the Sky Sports and BBC match reports and coverage.

FT Notes: LFC 0-0 MUFC

Sports - Football - Premier League - FT LFC 0:0 MUFC

LFC have made 24 starting XI changes in the opening 7 PL games, more than any other side.

The Reds have conceded 12 goals in the last 7 games, their joint worst.

Klopp just lost once against Mourinho in 7 meetings (W3 D3).

2' Conceded two early corners... Gulp...

5' First free kick goes to LFC, 21 Herrera v 10 Coutinho.

13' Another free kick for LFC, in their own half, Young fouled Moreno.

15' Wijnaldum first shot on target, soft, slow, curl, into de Gea's gloves. 70%-30% possession!

17' Foul by Young, another free kick for the home side, Mourinho fuming to the fourth official. Salah goes down too easily, looking for contact, nothing given.

20' Liverpool on top, pushing, pressing, Salah omnipresent in around the box, but missing that final touch/inch/boom.

22' First free kick for the Red Devils, Martial fouled. A couple of yards outside the left corner of the box. Cleared, LFC counter, offside?!

24' Lukaku cross from the right finds no one, out wide for a throw-in.

26' Young fuming, free kick not given, Liverpool offside again.

27' Emre Can wins a free kick in his own half.

30' Matic shot high, but not far. Closest United have come so far. 5-3 shots, 3-0 on target.

34' Coutinho shot deflects out for a corner. De Gea kicks one chance away with his left boot stretched out, Matip's shot, Salah puts rebound just wide.

36' Ref has a word with Henderson & Lukaku, prior not happy with latter's felling down of his team mate. Tempers rising.

38' Free kick given against Salah, looked like a nice dive to me... Cleared.

40' Young wins a corner on the right. Cleared. Free kick to LFC. Offside? Foul.

41' Salah shot inside the box straight to de Gea.

42' Firmino wins a free kick just inside his own half. Coutinho with some lovely footwork through into the box, shoots to de Gea, who collects comfortably.

43' MIGNOLET SAVE punches away Lukaku's left-footed attempt. Closest United have come.

44' Lovren down, LFC kick ball out... Replays show Lukaku is just bigger, stronger... But did his foot kick/lash out afterwards?!

1 minute added on. HT 0-0, Possession: 63.4%-36.6%, Shots: 9-6, On target: 5-1, Corners: 1-3, Offsides: 2-1, Fouls: 2-6, Yellow cards: 0-0, Red cards: 0-0.

Liverpool on top, chance after chance, but as always, stats don't count, goalless at the break, 0-0.

46' United kick off the second half, conceding a free kick.

47' Liverpool creating again, Can from the left, Firmino in the middle but de Gea collects again. Flag was up anyway for offside.

49' One half of Anfield cheered but the ball came off the outside of the net for a Liverpool corner. Coutinho with the chance.

50' Liverpool free kick on the left, conceded by Young.

53' Coutinho again with a great break and cross, but flag goes up again, way offside.

55' Wijnaldum right-footed shot high. Goal kick.

57' Can misses a sitter! How did he head that wide so close to the goal line?!

60' Strong run by Salah on the right, wins a corner.

61' Coutinho takes the corner, poor, clear. The Brazilian goes down too easily on the edge of the box, nothing given.

63' First change for United: 22 Mkhtaryan off, 14 Lingard on.

65' Another Liverpool corner cleared.

66' Second substitution for the visitors, Rashford replaces Martial.

67' 16-6 shots, 5-1 on target after Salah missed another chance, shooting off target from the edge of the box. Will the stats count for nothing once again come the FT whistle?! The Reds' dominance is just unreal!!! But it's the goal(s) that count(s)!!!

69' Herrera's gone down, Wijnaldum late on him, United free kick in their own half.

71' Coutinho cross from the left, great run by Salah, but can't quite get there to head it in. Inches away. So close. But yet so far.

73' United free kick, Firmino foul on Smalling, wasted wide and away, not much threat there.

74' YELLOW for Smalling, free kick to Liverpool near the halfway line.

76' Another chance wasted for the Reds, 8-0 attempts this half!!!

77' Free kick to United in the centre of the pitch. Sturridge is getting ready to come on.

78' Double LFC change, Salah replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sturridge on for Coutinho. Like-for-like the commentator says, I don't quite agree.

81' Liverpool pushing, subs making first impact. United clear the threat, win a throw-in in the opposition's half.

82' Emre Can wins a free kick against Darmian, replays show a dangerous high boot. Whistle goes a again, another free kick closer to the box...

83' Headed out for a goal kick. Disappointing.

84' Emre Can with an urgent, aggressive run from the left, shot doesn't quite create the threat he was looking for, de Gea collects.

87' YELLOW Young sees yellow for a dangerous challenge. Last change for Liverpool, Firmino is replaced by Solanke.

88' Jones down, United free kick, Liverpool threat stopped, Klopp not happy. De Gea takes it.

89' Mignolet catches, Liverpool with the ball again, get a throw-in.

90' The Ox gets a cross in, blocked out, Gomez takes the throw, ball defended out for a corner.

3 minutes added on, the Ox takes the corner, blocked by Lukaku, another corner comes from it eventually. The Ox again, headed high & away for a goal kick by Lovren. Another chance. Another miss. 2 minutes to go...

92' Last United substitution, Lindelof comes on for Young. Mourinho killing more time.

94' Corner for the Reds. Headed high once again. How many chances! How many misses! The FT whistle blows, 0-0! Possession: 62.2%-37.8%, Shots: 19-6, On target: 5-1, Corners: 7-3, Offsides: 3-1, Fouls: 7-13, Yellow cards: 0-2, Red cards: 0-0.

LFC team: 22 Mignolet; 12 Gomez, 32 Matip, 6 Lovren, 18 Moreno; 5 Wijnaldum, 14 Henderson (c), 23 Can; 11 Salah (21 Oxlade-Chamberlain 78'), 9 Firmino (29 Solanke 87'), 10 Coutinho (15 Sturridge 78'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 7 Milner, 17 Klavan, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

MUFC team: 1 De Gea; 25 Valencia (c), 12 Smalling (booked 74'), 4 Jones, 36 Darmian; 21 Herrera, 31 Matic; 18 Young (booked 87') (2 Lindelof 92'), 22 Mkhitaryan (14 Lingard 63'), 11 Martial (19 Rashford 66'); 9 Lukaku. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 8 Mata, 17 Blind, 20 Romero, 38 Tuanzebe.

All facts and stats were taken from the Sky Sports website and match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 7

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 7

The 7th week of the Premier League action saw:

22 goals - most by Tottenham & Man United = 4
256 shots - most by Arsenal & Everton = 23
75 on target - most by Arsenal = 11
92 corners - most by Everton = 9
188 fouls - most by West Ham = 15
24 yellow cards - most by West Brom & West Ham = 3 each
0 red cards
1 penalty - 0 scored (Berahino denied by Forster for Stoke)

I'm going sober for October - please click here to help and sponsor me and Macmillan Cancer Support!

What a match! It was a routine win for Arsenal beating Brighton 2-0 on Sunday at the Emirates, a nice 21st anniversary present for their boss Arsène Wenger. The second goal was sweet, Alexis Sánchez's back-heel pass finding Alex Iwobi nicely to make it 2-0 and three points for the Gunners, taking them up to fifth in the table, just three goals behind the champions. The French manager has now won Premier League matches against 45 different clubs - a record! Man City totally outplayed Chelsea, beating the Blues 0-1 at Stamford Bridge, which keeps them in fourth place on goal difference. It was disappointing to watch, no competition at all, the result not quite reflecting the Citizens dominance, staying top of the league on goal difference.

What a team! Crystal Palace lost again, surprise surprise. Just like their local rivals, it was too easy for United as well, winning comfortably 4-0 and it could have been more. The thrash took the Red Devils just one goal behind the top. Watford showed strength and stubbornness once again, grinding out a result, a late late late equaliser, 2-2 at West Brom. In contrast to that, Bournemouth and Leicester shared their miserable form, no goals, a point each. And why Everton don't like Sundays: They lost their last five Premier League matches on this day by an aggregate score of 1-13! Burnley meanwhile remain unbeaten away from home after beating the Toffees convincingly 0-1 at Goodison Park, the win taking them up to sixth on 12 points from seven games with more away points than in the whole of last season. Ronald Koeman's side meanwhile are down in 16th on seven points. Contrast.

What a man! Harry Kane can't stop scoring! The star striker made it 0-3 to Tottenham within 23 minutes at Huddersfield, in style! Floating and bossing it! The 24-year-old Spurs forward has 13 goals in September, equalling the record in a single month by Lionel Messi (March 2012) and Cristiano Ronaldo (October 2010). Romelu Lukaku continued his top run too, adding a late goal to make it 4-0 to United and keeping his scoring streak going. Daniel Sturridge got a rare start for Liverpool and had scored five goals in the four previous league starts at St James Park, seven in total against Newcastle, making them his favourite opponent. But the out-of-form striker did not impress on Sunday, wasting chance after chance. Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring with a smacker from outside the box, the Reds seemingly in total control. Until the defence mucked it all up again, Joel Matip desperately running back after leaving a big gap between him and Dejan Lovren, kicking the ball against Joselu, for it to roll over the line oh so slowly to make it 1-1. So so so agonising for Jürgen Klopp's men once again, here is my full match report. The only positive stat: The Reds haven't lost a Premier League game in October for the last seven years according to Martin Tyler. Yay?

What a goal! Richarlison's last-breath equaliser for Watford, completing the comeback from two goals down to save a point at West Brom, in the 95th minute, was his second consecutive 90+th minute goal. Peter Crouch scored a late winner as well for Stoke City, three goals in seven appearances for the 36-year-old striker, two of those as a sub, prove he has still got it. Diafra Sakho's last-minute winner for West Ham against Swansea relieved the London Stadium and manager Slaven Bilić of all tension and despair. For now. Marcus Rashford's top-quality free kick, made it too easy for Marouane Fellaini to net, putting United on top, temporary at least. Kevin De Bruyne's finish for City against a less-impressive Chelsea, the build-up and conversion, was just top-quality! Boom!

What the hell?! Dele Alli was rightly booked for his diving antiques in Tottenham's comfortable win at Huddersfield. After his England middle-finger ban, you would think he would try to stay out of trouble. Manager Mauricio Pocchetino rightly came out strong saying the 21-year-old has to learn and work on his attitude. Do these players forget they are being watched?!?!?! It made a change to the officials act and react correctly. Bournemouth were denied an obvious handball by Leicester's Danny Simpson! And Lovren had his shirt pulled to bits, again, nothing given. The refs are just blind, ignorant and/or oblivious. When will the FA introduce something called VI-DE-O that will show the officials within seconds whether their decision can stand or not. And how many times do I rant about it!!! FFS!!!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Huddersfield 2:4 Tottenham - 0:4
Bournemouth 1:1 Leicester - 0:0
Man United 3:0 Crystal Palace - 4:0
Stoke City 1:1 Southampton - 2:1
West Brom 1:1 Watford - 2:2
West Ham 2:0 Swansea - 1:0
Chelsea 2:2 Man City - 0:1
Arsenal 2:0 Brighton - 2:0
Everton 2:1 Burnley - 0:1
Newcastle 2:1 Liverpool - 1:1 or click here for my match report

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures, stats and facts taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter, Sky Sports and SFR match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 1

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 1

In the first week of the Premier League action we saw:

31 goals - most by Arsenal & Man United = 4 each
257 shots - most by Southampton = 29!!!
80 on target - most by Arsenal = 10
126 corners - most by Palace = 12
217 fouls - most by Huddersfield & Man United = 19 each
33 yellow cards - most by Chelsea = 4
3 red cards - 2 for Chelsea (Cahill & Fábregas) & Shelvey for Newcastle
1 penalty - 1 scored (Roberto Firmino for Liverpool, see my match report for more details)

What a game! Wow! It certainly returned with a bang! Welcome back to the Premier League! Yeah! We saw 13 goals in the opening two games alone, Arsenal coming back 4-3 against Leicester and Liverpool dropping points 3-3 at Watford! But another game gets my vote: Champions Chelsea shattered down to nine men after two red cards and shocked 2-3 at home by Burnley on Saturday! MOTD was just cracking, goals and action galore! MOTD2 less so but hey, you can't have everything! ⚽👊😜👊⚽

What a team! Newly promoted Huddersfield had a dream start thrashing Crystal Palace 0-3 at Selhurst Park! It was a miserable first game for Frank de Boer, seeing Danish centre-back Mathias Jørgensen's header fly in off his own player Joel Ward before Steve Mounie's double condemned his side to an opening day defeat. David Wagner and his side were celebrated and very happy after their first success on their return to the top flight after an absence of 45 years. But the pundits were quickly distracted and already hailing and crowning the Red Devils as the champs-to-be after their 0-4 thrashing of West Ham on Sunday. It was United's 17th opening day win in the Premier League era, a record. The Hammers have suffered most defeats on the first day = 11. But hold your horses and calm down! It was only day one!

What a man! It was certainly the debutants' day! New Gunner Alexandre Lacazette and Blue striker Alvaro Morata, Red Mohamed Salah, and Red Devil Romelu Lukaku were all on the scoreboard, the last one twice. Super subs Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud made the difference for Arsenal on Friday night with two goals in two minutes, 83' and 85' respectively! And good old Wayne Rooney of course was back on the scoreboard for Everton after 13 years away. He had to! On the other hand, all the red cards = red faces! Shame on Gary Cahill and Cesc Fábregas for Chelsea and Jonjo Shelvey for Newcastle! Needless, unprofessional, you would have thought they know better and it's only day one!!!

What a goal! There were so many of them to choose from, I'll go for the earliest smacker = Lacazette's header after just 100 seconds for Arsenal. Sadio Mané's opener and leveller for Liverpool was a fantastic finish! And Jamie Vardy impressed with a confident and strong double. Eventhough they ended up losers at the Emirates, they resembled the classy, flashy, entertaining Foxes we so loved to watch in the season before last.

What the hell?! Do the officials remember and understand the offside rule?!?!?! Although teams seem to have forgotten how to defend set pieces, Arsenal and Liverpool especially! But come on! It's only day one and the referees are already doing their best/worst to drive everyone mad! Giving or denying or ignoring decisions that look clear to everyone else! See my match report for details... Argh!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Arsenal 2:1 Leicester - 4:3
Watford 2:1 Liverpool - 3:3 or my match report
Chelsea 3:1 Burnley - 2:3
Crystal Palace 1:1 Huddersfield - 0:3
Everton 4:2 Stoke City - 1:0
Southampton 3:1 Swansea - 0:0
West Brom 1:2 Bournemouth - 1:0
Brighton 1:2 Man City - 0:2
Newcastle 2:2 Tottenham - 0:2
Man United 2:1 West Ham - 4:0

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks blog.

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