Our Tips
We explain who we’re tipping this weekend… read on for our safe, risky and wildcard picks!
Manchester City v. West Ham
For our ‘safe’ pick this week, we’ve chosen Manchester City to continue their impressive start to the season and beat West Ham in the 4pm Sunday kick off. Pep’s side have started with back to back wins in the league, edging past Sunderland and then beating Stoke 4–1 away from home. On both occasions, City were sensational in parts and relatively poor in others. Yet, they got the result they needed. A 6–0 aggregate win over Steaua Bucharest in their Champions League qualifier was more convincing, and the players do seem to be buying more and more into Guardiola’s system and ideas. Certainly, Sergio Aguero will look to continue his great run infront of goal, as he’s now scored 6 times since the start of the season. Raheem Sterling, another who seems to have benefitted from the Pep game plan will hope to get amongst the goals, after assisting on several occasions already.
West Ham, on the other hand, were narrowly victorious in their opening game at the London Stadium last week against Bournemouth. After a dire performance against Chelsea on the opening weekend, a late Antonio goal was a welcome rest bite for Slaven Bilić side, who haven’t really got going yet. Hammers’ fans have incredibly high expectations for their team this season, following their highest ever Premier League points tally and the move to a new stadium. Yet, thus far, they will be disappointed with what they have seen. The speedy return of Dimitri Payet is paramount if West Ham are to push on in the early parts of this season, especially following the injury news to both Andy Carroll and, new signing, Andre Ayew. However, even if Payet is fit for the game this weekend, we still expect City to win this, comfortably.
Southampton v. Sunderland
For our ‘risky’ pick, we’ve nominated the Saints to beat David Moyes’ new side. Sunderland have started the season with back to back 2– 1defeats, and don’t look like improving that record this time around. Although, Puel’s new side, Southampton, have also started relatively poorly. A 1–1 opening day draw at home to Watford was followed up by a convincing defeat at Old Trafford. Southampton will feel, however, that the prospect of Sunderland visiting St Mary’s is much more appealing. The issue for Southampton is that they lack considerable fire power up front. The departure of both Pelle and Mane is significant because it severely limits the Saints’ options upfront. Shane Long can’t find the back of the net regularly enough, and doesn’t perform on a consistent basis. January signing Charlie Austin, who is another attacking option, has struggled to hit the heights he managed at QPR. Recent transfer news has linked the English striker with a move away from the club, as he continues to find it difficult to settle down. Lastly, Southampton have signed Nathan Redmond from Norwich, who, although a good player, will need to become accustomed to playing through the middle. A speedy winger for most of his career, Redmond is yet to learn all the tricks of the trade needed to play in the centre.
For Sunderland, it’s a question of whether or not the new boys can settle in quickly enough. Moyes has brought in Donald Love, Paddy McNair and Adnan Januzaj from Manchester United, his old club, whilst also acquiring Manquillo from Atletico Madrid. Finishing last season on a high, Sunderland fans would’ve hoped that this was finely the season where their team wasn’t involved in a dog fight at the bottom, yet, it seems that the script has already been written. If, however, Moyes can restore some confidence to his team and integrate the new players than there is no reason why Sunderland can’t kick on. Jermain Defoe, is as good a natural finisher as anyone in the league and is more than capable of scoring on a consistent basis. Further, Patrick van Aanholt, at full back, is a very talented player who adds his fair share of goals to the team.
We’ve predicted a narrow win for Southampton, as we expect home advantage to see them through. But, we wouldn’t be surprised if this was the occasion when Sunderland decided to turn up and ruin our fun!
Watford v. Arsenal
Here’s our really outrageous pick. We fancy Watford to get something against under achieving Arsenal. After a horrendous start against Liverpool, Arsenal were fortunate to get a point at the King Power last weekend, as Musa and Leicester were denied a clear late penealty. Since then, Arsenal have done very little to inspire much confidence going forward. A severe lack of transfer activity and injuries to Aaron Ramsay and Iwobi, have added further frustration amongst fans. Reports of a breakdown in the deal for Valencia central defender, Mustafi, further compounds an utterly dismal summer transfer window for Arsene Wenger. With divisions appearing between those who want Wenger to stay and those who chant #WengerOut. Watford, on the other hand, will be relatively pleased with their start. An impressive 1–1 draw at St Mary’s was followed up by an unfortunate turn of events against Chelsea, where they lead until the 75th minute, only to then lose out to two late goals. Watford will feel aggrieved that Diego Costa was still on the pitch to grab the late winner, after he got away with a supposed dive after already being cautioned. Capoue, formerly of Spurs, has been very impressive thus far, grabbing a well taken goal against Chelsea and scoring on the opening day.
One would still expect Arsenal to grab the three points they desperately need at Watford this Saturday. But… if Watford can start brightly and keep the pressure on Arsenal, there is no reason why this can’t be another terrible day for Wenger.
Football Survivor is a brand new, one pick, weekly, Premier League fantasy game. Start with 10 lives, and try to beat your friends! But remember… you can only pick each team once! So be wise! Join in the fun at www.footballsurvivor.co.uk
