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.

Rooney Grabs A Point From The Spot

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 1:1 EFC

Here are my live match notes, stats and facts:

Pre-match surprise: Coutinho and Firmino dropped to the bench, part of six changes for the Reds!!! (See the full line-ups at the bottom of these live match notes.)

15' 76%-24% possession, Reds pushing, Toffees leaving too much space at times, Big Sam going ballistic on the sideline, even Jürgen Klopp was taken aback next to the big raging boss.

23' 93%-46% passing accuracy, quality and dominance but still no real danger nor breakthrough.

29' 5-0 attempts, 0-0 on target, on top but somewhat disappointing so far for the Reds.

36' first BOOKING of the derby goes to Sigurdsson for a late tackle on Henderson, studs on ankle, ouch.

42' second BOOKING Gueye, late tackle from behind on Senegalese team mate Mané, free kick for the home side on the left -

GOAL - Salah fights his way through from the right, lifts and swerves a beauty up, away and into the left corner with his magical left foot, keeper no chance, 1-0!

Two minutes added on.

MISS - Mané skips past the last Toffee, runs in from the left, has three other Reds free in front of goal to choose from, but the Senegalese striker puts it wide instead. Should have been 2-0!

HT LFC 1-0 EFC
Possession: 80%-20%
Shots: 12-1
On target: 1-1
Corners: 3-0
Fouls: 4-6
Yellow cards: 0-2

Two CHANGES made by Big Sam after the break, Lennon and Schneiderlin on for Davies and Niasse. Rooney has gone from useless right-back to up front. Will it bring Everton into the game?

49' Salah header JUST wide, brilliant Milner cross. Liverpool continuing the way they were going, on top, dominant.

50' Sigurdsson puts the ball wide from the left, no real threat.

52' Fifth corner to the Reds, looking dangerous, Toffees struggling, crumbling, sixth corner, headed away, threat still not cleared, all Liverpool at the moment.

55' Seventh and eighth Liverpool corner, Salah fires it high from the edge of the box. 15-1 shots, but just 1-1 on target.

63' 77%-23% possession, I don't know how that has gone down, it's still all Red, one-way traffic. 35-2 touches in the opposition box.

65' Pickford was just watching there as Gomez headed the ball over off a free kick on the left, close one.

67' First CHANGE made by Klopp, Firmino replaces goal scorer Salah. Calculated gamble by the German boss, the commentators ask.

73' 11-1 corners, first one for the visitors, the fans cheer as if they've scored, nothing from it.

76' PENALTY TO EVERTON Lovren pushed down Calvert-Lewin in the box, no one else near, no threat as they were running towards the corner, clumsy one, soft one, a present. The visitors' first penalty at Anfield since 1988!!!

77' ROONEY EQUALISES from the spot, his first EVER goal in the Merseyside derby, Liverpool punished for their misses and clumsiness.

80' CHANGE Klopp brings on Coutinho for Oxlade-Chamberlain in response to that equaliser, Lovren had been booked for the penalty offence.

82' CHANGE Solanke is replaced by Ings, final dice thrown by Klopp.

82' Last CHANGE for Everton as well, Rooney handing the captain's armband over to Jagielka.

85' Schneiderlin BOOKED for felling down Milner. Coutinho to take the resulting free kick, Pickford saves and collects it to his top right. 22-3 shots, only 3-2 on target.

88' Lovren heads another Liverpool corner high. He will be kicking himself for giving away the win.

Four minutes added on, Firmino on the stretch, ball goes out for a goal kick. Henderson fires high late on, disappointing.

Full time whistle blows, Lovren still protesting to the officials, but he can moan as much as he likes, he has given the win away with the penalty foul. 1-1 and one point each, all the dominance and chances don't count for anything!

Positive note: Liverpool remain unbeaten in the last ten matches in all competitions and have equalled their longest-ever unbeaten run against the Toffees in all competitions = 15 games, set between March 1972 and April 1978.

FT LFC 1-1 EFC
Possession: 79%-21%
Shots: 23-3
On target: 3-2
Corners: 2-1
Fouls: 8-11
Yellow cards: 1-3

Klopp's post-match interview!!! Wow! The German normal and usually smiley one didn't take the questions about the spot kick lightly!!! No matter how angry he is about the referee, he can't ignore his side's weaknesses and how they couldn't take the game away from Big Sam's side. Next: West Brom at Anfield on Wednesday!

Liverpool team: 22 Mignolet, 12 Gomez, 6 Lovren (booked 76'), 17 Klavan, 26 Robertson, 14 Henderson (c), 7 Milner, 21 Oxlade-Chamberlain (10 Coutinho 78'), 19 Mané, 11 Salah (9 Firmino 67'), 29 Solanke (28 Ings 82'). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 5 Wijnaldum, 23 Can, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Everton team: 1 Pickford, 43 Kenny, 15 Martina, 30 Holgate, 5 Williams, 17 Gueye (booked 42'), 29 Calvert-Lewin, 26 Davies (12 Lennon HT), 10 Rooney (c) (6 Jagielka 82'), 18 Sigurdsson (booked 36'), 19 Niasse (2 Schneiderlin HT, booked 85'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 33 Robles, 4 Keane, 27 Vlasic, 31 Lookman.

Referee: Craig Pawson
Man of the match: Jonjoe Kenny
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 53,082

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 8

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 8

The eighth week of the Premier League action saw:
28 goals - most by Man City = 7!!!
236 shots - most by Burnley & Man City = 20 each
79 on target - most by Man City = 11!!!
92 corners - most by Tottenham = 9
197 fouls - most by West Ham = 14
33 yellow cards - most by Huddersfield = 5
1 red card - Andy Carroll for West Ham (2 yellows)
3 penalties - 3 scored (Troy Deeney for Watford, Wayne Rooney for Everton, Manolo Gabbiadini for Southampton)

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What a game! The much anticipated lunch-time kick-off on Saturday between arch rivals Liverpool and Manchester United ended up goalless and not being the game of the century. But the way Jürgen Klopp's side dominated, possession and chance after chance, it was surprising to see United not even trying to compete. In the first half Romelu Lukaku at least pushed and pressed trying to create a threat. But after the break there was no sign of the Belgian, or anyone else from the visitors. It was obvious José Mourinho was happy with just the point and he could thank star keeper David de Gea that it stayed that way. The Reds will be happy they didn't concede, showed much more strength at the back and front, but still missed the breakthrough and will feel more like two points dropped than one gained. With this draw, the German manager has only lost once in eight competitive meetings against his Portuguese counterpart (W3, D4). The two sides have drawn three consecutive league meetings for the first time since 1921. Click here for my HT and FT match notes, and here for my LFC match report. Much in contrast to that, Southampton's Super Sunday 2-2 draw with Newcastle at St Mary's was much more of a thriller, it had everything. Manolo Gabbiadini's double including the leveller from the spot saw Mauricio Pellegrino grab a point against his former Red boss Rafa Benitez and deservedly so. The game had everything, both sides giving it all! That's full on football! That's entertainment! That's what you go to matches for!

What a team! League leaders Manchester City rolled over Stoke City from the start to the finish, just with a mini scare in-between when the visitors got a couple of goals back to make it 3-2 just after the break. Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was just out of this world, setting up three of the goals, taking his PL total to 32 assists, more than any other player since his debut in September 2015. I could reel down the Sky Blues' line-up, they all starred and outplayed their opponents scoring SEVEN! Yes, 7, sieben, sept, siete!!! That's 17 goals in their last 3 home league games! Mark Hughes' face and reactions on the sideline and post-match said it all... Watford frustrated the hell out of Arsenal! Troy Deeney levelled from the spot which some called a controversial penalty. Skipper Per Mertesacker had given the Gunners the lead in the first half, but the home side crumbled a bit after the break. The Hornets could smell the blood, hitting the woodwork late on and just bossing it. And then Tom Cleverley nicked it, 92nd minute, smashing in the rebound after some pinball in the box to make it 2-1 and Vicarage Road erupt. Oh, how they love late goals! Five of their 15 goals have come after the 90th minute. The win takes Watford up to 4th. Never ever write them off! They have been brill and are more than up for it!

What a man! Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham's double earned Swansea City their first home win of the Premier League season, beating Huddersfield 2-0 and easing some of the pressure on manager Paul Clement. The Blues could have done with him, see below... Harry Kane didn't score!!! But Christian Eriksen did, handing Tottenham their first Premier League win at Wembley, sparing Spurs the blushes and seeing off Bournemouth 1-0. It was not a game to write much about, the paper planes were very missed! Craig Shakespeare has been sacked, with Leicester going six league games without a win, can't say I was surprised. Title winner Claudio Ranieri was given the marching order after a similar run. Big difference: The Foxes are third from bottom after rescuing a point at West Brom on Monday night, clueless where, when and how the next win will come from. The game did not have much to be encouraged or entertained about, apart from Nacer Chadli's sublime free-kick that gave the hard-working Baggies the lead. But Riyad Mahrez levelled the score and snatched a point 10 minutes from time. It was obviously not enough to save his boss. Karma? Just a bit. Sorry, but not sorry. Who will dare to take over?

What a goal! CRYSTAL PALACE HAVE SCORED A GOAL! NO, TWO!!! OMG!!! Their first goals of the season. Their first win of the season. Their first points of the season. Against champions Chelsea!!! Just shocking. Roy Hodgson has certainly worked some wonders there! Wilfried Zaha scored the winner after Tiemoue Balayoko had cancelled out Cesar Azpilicueta's own goal, which ended Palace's 731 minute wait for a league goal. Anthony Knockaert's emotional reaction to his first ever Premier League goal said it all, Everton were just watching rather than defending, downed by Brighton and deservedly so. But experienced skipper Bruno was just daft handing the Toffees a penalty with a big fat elbow, Wayne Rooney netting the equaliser from the spot, pulling his side back from the gutter, in the 90th minute! Lucky bugger! Reckless from the Seagull. Mathew Ryan's late double-save for the home side kept the share at a point each, what a blast of a finish it was to a below-par game!

What the hell?! West Ham manager Slaven Bilić was very "disappointed and angry" with Andy Carroll and rightly so after the striker's daft sending off in just the 27th minute, seeing him booked twice within 99 seconds for using his elbow again and again. How stupid can you be?! Burnley got a draw out of the clash thanks to Chris Wood's late header in the 85th minute cancelling out Michail Antonio's opener to make it 1-1 and a point each. The draw keeps the Hammers dangling down in 15th, just two points from safety.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Liverpool 1:2 Man United - 0:0 or click here for my match report and notes
Burnley 2:2 West Ham - 1:1
Crystal Palace 0:5 Chelsea - 2:1
Man City 4:1 Stoke City - 7:2
Swansea 0:0 Huddersfield - 2:0
Tottenham 3:1 Bournemouth - 1:0
Watford 1:2 Arsenal - 2:1
Brighton 1:1 Everton - 1:1
Southampton 2:1 Newcastle - 2:2
Leicester 1:1 West Brom - 1:1

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 5

Sports - Football - Premier League Week 5

The 5th week of the Premier League action saw:

21 goals - most by Manchester City = 6!!!
267 shots - most by Liverpool = 35!!!
73 on target - most by Manchester City = 10
100 corners - most by Liverpool = 12
206 fouls - most by West Brom, Arsenal & Manchester United = 15 each
30 yellow cards - most by Crystal Palace = 5
1 red card - David Luiz for Chelsea
1 penalty - 1 scored (Anthony Martial for Manchester United)

What a game! Laurent Depoitre woke everyone up with the opening goal at the John Smith's Stadium, but Jamie Vardy levelled the score from the spot minutes later, Huddersfield 1-1 Leicester, Andy King making the most of nothing by Chris Löwe to get the penalty. It was end-to-end stuff after that, the home side dominating but unable to take advantage in the end. Swansea's back five frustrated the hell out of Tottenham and earned the clean sheet and well-deserved point at Wembley. Spurs are still waiting for a league win at the NW London ground, having already dropped more points there this season than at White Hart Lane the whole of last season. Arch rivals Arsenal performed so much better, fighting out a point at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's first league draw at home in 16 months. Both sides came close, creating a lot, but the Blues looked that bit more sloppy, giving the ball away too many times, whilst the Gunners stayed on top, covering and tackling well. David Luiz' stupid sending off late on added to the home side's clumsy and frustrating display and they will be relieved to have squeezed out a point. Antonio Conte's men have had as many red cards in their last five PL games as they had in their previous 73 games combined (3). Arsène Wenger meanwhile will just have felt that hint of disappointment his side couldn't capitalise and walk away with all the points after a het-up, intense, entertaining derby! 👊🏻👏🏻👊🏻👍🏻👊🏻

What a team! Crystal Palace are breaking all records - the Eagles suffered their fifth consecutive opening league defeat without having scored a goal! That's a first in top-flight history! And the longest run without scoring was broken after the 78th minute - a dry run of 439 minutes beating Newcastle's 438 minutes set in 2005-6. The rainy weather fit the mood at Selhurst Park on Roy Hodgson's return after 51 years. Next on the former Liverpool and England boss' fixture list: Man City away, United away, Chelsea at home. Will the 70-year-old still have a job end of next month? Frank de Boer's record shows that should and most probably will not be the case. Will Sam Allardyce be back in October? 💩🙈💩🙈💩

What a man! West Brom's Gareth Barry made a record-equaling 632nd Premier League appearance (Ryan Giggs the former king, now having to share the crown, surely to be beaten next week). How his keeper Ben Foster didn't see red for his full-on sliding tackle on Javier Hernández, I don't know. I think West Ham boss Slaven Bilić is still shaking his head now as I type. There's nothing more to write about the goalless draw. 😴😑😴😑😴
Wayne Rooney's return to Old Trafford was the most discussed topic this weekend, replays of his many top goals shown again and again. The Evertonian had a couple of chances but did not have much to shout about before he was substituted under great applause from both ends of the ground and even a handshake from United boss José Mourinho. The striker has never beaten the Red Devils in the Premier League. 🙈👏🏻⚽️👍🏻🙈

What a goal! Jermain Defoe scored his first goal since arriving at Bournemouth to make it 2-1 and a fine turnaround-win against Brighton. The match-winner came after a nice turn in the box and drill home by the former Sunderland forward. Substitute Jordan Ibe had set up both the winner and leveller, the latter with a clever backheel to Andrew Surman, who tapped it in easy. Solly March had given the visitors the lead ten minutes into the second half after Dale Stephens headed against the cross bar, Shane Duffy saw his header cleared and Davy Pröpper his follow-up blocked off the line by Surman. All that action and the goals after the interval made up for a dismal first half. ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️
Each of Xherdan Shaqiri's last six Premier League goals have been from outside the box, including the whacker that levelled the score for Stoke at Newcastle, nice one! 👏🏻⚽️👌🏻⚽️👍🏻 And Jamaal Lascelles' header off Matt Richie's corner gave the home side the lead and winner as it ended 2-1, a proper hard-fought win for the Magpies! 👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻
Antonio Valencia's opener for United against Everton in the fourth minute was a smacker! Edge of the box, right foot, smash, boom, bang, left corner of the net, Jordan Pickford had no chance! Unstoppable beauty! The 4-0 result was very harsh as the Toffees did come back stronger after the break, but just buckled under the pressure in the final minutes. Romelu Lukaku's goal and celebration added insult to misery. Either way, there are very happy Red Devils in second place, level on points and goals with City at the top, just the alphabet separating the two rivals. ⚽️😵👌🏻😵⚽️

What the hell?! SEVEN CHANGES FOR LFC! 34 SHOTS ON GOAL! But Burnley remained unbeaten away in the Premier League, after winning at Chelsea and drawing at Tottenham, but haven't won at Anfield for 43 years, Liverpool having won all three previous home games against the Clarets. Man of the moment Mohamed Salah equalised three minutes after Scott Arfield had given the visitors the lead with a nice volley. Ben Mee came close to net a winner, Joël Matip clearing off the line. Clarets keeper Nick Pope kept well and strong to deny Jürgen Klopp's men. The Reds were frustrated once again, similar to the Sevilla game on Wednesday. Argh! Just ARGH for all Red fans! 🙈😡🙈😡🙈
Loved seeing Elton John and Pep Guardiola chatting before the game at Watford! Only in England... "1-0 to the referee" chant by the Hornets fans was a brilliant response to Sergio Agüero's goal that gave Man City the lead at Vicarage Road. It was so close, even the Argentine was looking back at the linesman to make sure the flag wasn't up... But the game was sealed soon after, the same striker doubling the score a couple of minutes later, making it eight consecutive away games he has started and scored in (only RvP has a longer run of 9). Gabriel Jesus made it 0-3 before the break, another dodgy offside- looking one. What was the flag there for again??? Nicolás Otamendi added to the home side's misery in the second half and Agüero completed his hat-trick to make it 0-5 (his sixth in the PL, the only guys left to beat are Alan Shearer with 11, Robbie Fowler 9, Michael Owen and Thierry Henry with 8). Add a Raheem Sterling penalty to seal the deal 0-6, it was all too easy and ended Watford's unbeaten run. Why couldn't Liverpool do that?!?!?! City fans' reaction: "We're taking the piss!" -  with 15 goals to nil in three games for the Citizens, yes, you are taking the piss! Lol! 😂👏🏻👊🏻👍🏻😂
Oh, and how could I forget the Super Sunday clash between the Red Devils and the Angry Birds! 😈 v 🕊 yep, you read right! LMAO! 😂😈😂🕊😂

My Predictions - Actual Results
Bournemouth 1:2 Brighton - 2:1
Crystal Palace 0:1 Southampton - 0:1
Huddersfield 1:0 Leicester - 1:1
Liverpool 2:0 Burnley - 1:1
Newcastle 1:1 Stoke City - 2:1
Watford 1:1 Man City - 0:6
West Brom 1:1 West Ham - 0:0
Tottenham 3:1 Swansea - 0:0
Chelsea 2:0 Arsenal - 0:0
Man United 4:0 Everton - 4:0

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 2

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 2

The second week of the Premier League action saw:

22 goals - most by Man United = 4
254 shots - most by Liverpool = 23
89 on target - most by Liverpool = 13
100 corners - most by Tottenham = 14
227 fouls - most by Chelsea = 21
33 yellow cards - most by Newcastle & Spurs = 4
4 red cards - Marko Arnautovic for West Ham, Hal Robson-Kanu for West Brom, Kyle Walker for Man City, Morgan Schneiderlin for Everton.
2 penalties - 2 scored (Duran Tadic & Charlie Austin for Southampton, see below for more details)

What a game! Referee Lee Mason was very busy at St Mary's as Southampton ended up on top beating 10-man West Ham 3-2, but the game just had everything! We saw two penalties, a red card, chances galore, the bar hit twice, the Hammers ending up very unhappy conceding all of that whilst being denied a handball appeal against Jack Stephens. However, Mark Noble was lucky to escape any further punishment after his dangerous challenge on Mario Lemina. Hammer boss Slaven Bilic was surprisingly positive despite all that, no comment on the penalty incident and keeping it inside the dressing room whatever was said about the red card. Mauricio Pellegrino wants to learn from the difficult win. It ended their nine-hour wait for a Premier League goal at St Mary's ( = 9:15h) with a bang! City and Everton also didn't hold back... More below... ⚽👊😱👊⚽

What a team! Huddersfield, Manchester United and Chelsea all impressed with convincing wins. The newly promoted team are living in dreamland after recording their first home win beating Newcastle 1-0 to make it two out of two wins. Awesome! Meanwhile, the Reds Devils are already being crowned champions after they thrashed the great Swansea 0-4 in Wales. And seeing as their big boss José Mourinho always wins the title in his second season... So, cancel the next 36 games, we're done... Back to reality: The Blues have never lost a game where they scored first under Antonio Conte. The feisty Italian ditched the unlucky tracksuit from last weekend's hapless home loss to Burnley and was wearing his trademark dark suit again. And his team got back into gear and winning ways with it, despite Tottenham's utter dominance! And Watford! They were overlooked recording a great 0-2 away win at Bournemouth. And after frustrating Liverpool to a 3-3 draw last week, I think no one should underestimate Marco Silva's side! Well organised, well deserved! 👏👊⚽👊👍

What a man! It's now eight goals in 33 Premier League appearances for Chelsea's Marcos Alonso following his double against Tottenham. Not bad for a wing-back. Sub Hal Robson-Kanu went from hero to zero for West Brom, scoring the winner and then being sent off 71' and 83' respectively. It was a brilliant low right-footed strike that brightened up an otherwise dull match - it was the only shot on target! But Tony Pulis won't be too hard on the 28-year-old Wales forward, thanks to him, they recorded back-to-back wins at the start of the season for the first time since 1978! Joining the super-duper-early title race? Liverpool debutant left-back Andrew Robertson deserves a mention as well after a great performance, creating a lot and combining well with Sadio Mané when the striker scored the winner for the Reds. The former Hull man fully deserved the MOTM award! Keep your eyes on this one! ⚽👏👀👍⚽

What a goal! Alonso's first, the free kick curl through the wall into the right corner of the net was gobsmacking! It silenced Wembley as Chelsea took the lead against the run of play, shocking Tottenham. The opener for Huddersfield was lovely, too. The build-up into the box and shot by number 10 Aussie Aaron Mooy was just beautiful! It made John Smith's just that much noisier! If it wasn't loud enough already! Huddersfield for the league?! Definitely in the race with United atm! 👊👌😂👍👊
Talking about the devils, former Red Devil Wayne Rooney made it two in two for Everton scoring his 200th goal, totally against the run of play at Man City, where he also scored his 50th and 150th. He likes them! 😝😜😉😜😝 What a comeback it has been for the Evertonian! But Raheem Sterling's smacking equaliser made sure Man City fought out a point after a frustrating clash at home against the Toffees which saw Kyle Walker sent off and loads of chances missed and wasted. Morgan Schneiderlin was sent off late on, too, to add to all the action and drama, but Ronald Koeman can definitely be more confident and satisfied than Pep Guardiola after that away display, frustrating the hell out of the home side. Nice one. 👊👏⚽👍👊

What the hell?! Oh Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal... Arsène Wenger was not a happy man after being denied a penalty when Héctor Bellerín fell under a clumsy challenge by Mame Biram Diouf and Alexandre Lacazette's rifled-in equaliser was disallowed for offside. They were both 50%-50% decisions, but not refereeing howlers like I have bemoaned often enough in my weekly blog! The Frenchman needs to wake up! Stoke capitalised where his side just fell to pieces and just watched. They seem to be his bogey team having lost just once in their past eight home Premier League games against the Gunners, winning four, drawing three. Oh putain! 💩🙈😝🙈💩
On a completely separate note: Where has the players' discipline gone?! Or have the referees upped their game for more control? Seven red cards in the first two weeks! Last season it took till week eight to reach that total, two months rather than two weeks! WTF?! ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

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

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks Of The Week.

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

Week 24: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week

WOW!

Southampton kept possession and pressure high against Manchester United, the stats were stunning! Even Sir Alex Ferguson knew his side were fortunate to escape with three points! That doesn't happen all too often at Old Trafford! Saints opened the scoring and made it 0-1 after just two minutes when Jay Rodriguez got the better of David De Gea after Michael Carrick's screwed-up pass back. Wayne Rooney equalised soon after off a nice loft in by Shinji Kagawa who hit woodwork minutes later. The former Evertonian then tapped in Patrice Evra's header off Robin van Persie's free kick to make it 2-1, United's 1600th Premier League goal. Both goalkeepers were kept busy till the end. De Gea spilled Rickie Lambert's free kick after Adam Lallana was fowled by Carrick, but the keeper reacted nice and quick after that to avoid the worst. Artur Boruc blocked a couple of chances aswell, including a great save off RVP, who also had a goal disallowed for offside. Rodriguez was blocked by Nemanja Vidic and De Gea got across to save Lambert's free kick to deny Saints a single point.

OMG!

The Emirates saw great chances for both sides and a great comeback by Arsenal. With the defensive shambles of the Gunners, it could have been 3 or 4-0 to Liverpool! But the visitors stayed too deep and eventually lost their lead. We certainly saw the best and worst by both. Luis Suarez scored the opener finishing the job after slips and mess ups all over the place by the Arsene Wenger's men. Suarez and Daniel Sturridge were both far and fast ahead. Pepe Reina had to produce a couple of splendid saves against Theo Walcott at the other end too. But sloppy play ended up costing Arsenal again. Daniel Agger's header off a corner was cleared off the line before Jordan Henderson saw his shot high, Wojciech Szczesny was very lucky as he was off his line. Henderson's next shot was half-blocked by sub Andre Santos before it ricochet in to make it 0-2. But it took the Gunners only three minutes to come back into the game, Olivier Giroud heading in Jack Wilshere's free kick, unmarked, 1-2 and Walcott smashing in the equaliser from the right. Late action included Giroud's booking for simulation, messing up a walk-in chance and Suarez pulling a last-minute save out of Szczesny, both sides ending up dropping two points rather than winning one!

TOP!

It was a huge win for Fulham against West Ham at Craven Cottage! Dimitar Berbatov was brilliant and could have had a hat-trick!!! Damien Duff's free kick was squeezed in by the the Czech striker with a fine header from a very tight angle, 1-0. The goal looked offside, even he himself looked over to the linesman! Kevin Nolan put the Hammers level from a quickly taken free kick, Fulham were caught napping, 1-1. Seconds later, Hugo Rodallega headed in Duff's cross beating three defenders, 2-1. Berbatov saw a couple of chances go wide before Andy Carroll pulled a block-save out of Mark Schwarzer. At the other end, Rodallega pulled save out of Jussi Jaaskelainen before Mladen Petric hit the post off the rebound and Joey O'Brien eventually saw it into the back of his own net, JUST over the line to make it 3-1 and three points to Fulham!

FLOP!

Norwich were much better than the side that flopped against Liverpool and Luton, whilst Tottenham disappointed until Andre Villas-Boas got his changes, notes and influence going. Wesley Hoolahan stroked the ball into an empty unguarded net after a fine one-two, one-touch build-up, to make it 1-0. Tottenham were nowhere. A handball appeal against Jan Vertonghen was not given. Norwich were on top before Spurs sub Lewis Holtby came on with a couple of notes for the team. The notes worked their magic, Gareth Bale equalising with a top-draw left-foot smacker after a fine run ten minutes from time. Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled brilliant last-minute save out of Mark Bunn, keeping one point for Norwich, dropping two for Spurs.

HERO!

With five late goals in last three games, 10 in 13, Adam Le Fondre has been stunning for Reading once again! He pulled the first goal back against Chelsea with a sweet finish off a beautiful ball in to make it 1-2 three minutes from time. Adam Federici produced a fine leap-save off Ramires before taking late free kick deep into injury time for Le Fondre to curl in the equaliser after a couple of headers across the box. Super sub, or what?! It seemed like same old, same old for Chelsea, dropping goals and points late on, just like against the Saints the other week. And the Blues made such a strong start when Juan Mata was in off Fernando Torres, 0-1, showing off some top-class one-touch football! Frank Lampard claimed the second, seeing his header deflect in off a corner to double the lead. Oscar missed some golden chances, it could have been 3 or 4-0! Interim boss Rafael Benitez will be left scratching his head and wondering...

ZERO!

Brilliant saves by both keepers denied both QPR and Manchester City to alter the scoreboard, the prior being the happier winning the point whilst the latter will see it as two crucial points dropped in the title race. This clash was very different to the other goalless draw of the week between Sunderland and Swansea, the Welsh visitors creating more, but the whole game not having much to write home about.

My Predictions => Actual Results
Aston Villa 1-1 Newcastle => 1-2
QPR 1-2 Man City => 0-0
Stoke 2-1 Wigan => 2-2
Sunderland 2-0 Swansea => 0-0
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool => 2-2
Everton 2-0 West Brom => 2-1
Norwich 2-3 Tottenham => 1-1
Fulham 2-2 West Hame => 3-1
Man United 4-3 Southampton => 2-1
Reading 1-2 Chelsea => 2-2