Saturday 22 October 2011

Predictions For Premier League Gameweek 9.

It's that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of this weekend's Premier League games. I had a good week last week when I managed eight correct outcome and only two incorrect outcomes. I caught up a little on the leader in my predictions league, but I dropped to third place after a new entrant came in above me.

There's a long way to go this season, but at the moment I'm on a good run and I'm hoping to continue in the right direction. The real big game of the week is obviously the Manchester derby, and it's a game that could be a real pointer to how this season will finish. Here's a look at how my predictor league stands.

 PosName
Week
Total
 1 ahujag 80 645
 2 b_red_devils 155 605
 3 JamrockRover 115 550
 4 Smashit_Tuckit 70 430
 5 gooner2194 55 430
 6 lubu722 75 400
 7 Bradley08 100 395
 8 nawa87 100 385
 9 NickHemmings 85 370
 10 DK1247 80 365



Wolves v Swansea Wolvverhampton Wanderers Vs. Swansea City

                                                   Saturday October 22, 12.45pm, BST


Wolves had a great start to the season, but they have lost their last five games and they need to arrest that slide. They will see a game against Swansea as an ideal opportunity to do that.

The way Wolves are playing at the moment none of their players are a particularly good fantasy buy, but long term Matt Jarvis looks like he can do a job.

Swansea have looked good since their promotion, but all of their points have come at home. They will need to improve their defensive record away from home if they are to get anything out of this game.

The best fantasy buys from Swansea at the moment are Michel Vorm and Scott Sinclair with Ashley Williams not a bad choice either.

I think Wolves will get things back on track with a much needed win.


Prediction: 2-0

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Aston Villa v West Brom Aston Villa Vs. West Bromwich Albion

                                                   Saturday October 22, 3pm, BST


Villa's unbeaten start to the season came to an abrupt end away to Man City last week. Their home form has been good so far though, and they will really want to win this local derby.

Gabriel Agbonlahor remains the best Villa fantasy buy at the moment, but Darren Bent is always a good long term buy.

West Brom got a much needed win against Wolves last week, and they will be looking to win their second local derby in a week against Villa. It won't be an easy task for them, but if they're at their best they can manage it.

Chris Brunt and Shane Long are probably the best West Brom fantasy buys at the moment.

I think Villa will just edge a hard fought match.

Prediction: 2-1
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Bolton v Sunderland Bolton Wanderers Vs. Sunderland
 
                                                   Saturday October 22, 3pm, BST

Bolton eventually got to play against a team other than one of the top teams in the Premirr League last week, and they won away to Wigan. That win lifted them off the foot of the table, and another win here would be a great boost for them.

I still think Martin Petrov is the best bet of all the Bolton players for any fantasy manager.

Sunderland are only ahead of Bolton on goal difference, and I haven't been impressed by them at all so far this season. They brought in a lot of players over the summer, but they don't seem to have improved their team.

The best fantasy buy from Sunderland is definitely Seb Larsson, but Nicklas Bendtner could benefit from the excellent crosses of Larsson too.

I think Bolton will have enough to beat a pretty poor Sunderland team.

Prediction: 3-2
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Newcastle v Wigan Newcastle United Vs. Wigan Athletic
 
                                                   Saturday October 22, 3pm, BST

Newcastle are still unbeaten so far this season, but they left it late to get an equaliser at home to Spurs last week. It leaves them in the top four still, and it's not a position they have been used to for many years now.

With Newcastle doing so well there are quite a few players to pick from for any fantasy manager. Tim Krul, Ryan Taylor, Steven Taylor, Jonas Guiterrez, Leon Best and Demba Ba are all looking pretty good at the moment, but maybe not in the long term.

Wigan have now lost five Premier League games in a row, and it's hard to see where they will get their next point from. I think this season will be a real struggle for them, and it could end rather badly.

Ali Al-Habsi is probably the only Wigan player worth buying for a fantasy team, as he is constantly overworked in their goal.

I think Newcastle will have more than enough to comfortably see off Wigan and continue their great start to the season.

Prediction: 2-0
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Liverpool v Norwich Liverpool Vs. Norwich City
 
                                                   Saturday October 22, 5.30pm, BST

Liverpool are up to fifth in the table and they have three winnable games in a row starting with Norwich. If they can win those three games they might well be considered as genuine title contenders, but I think a top four finish is the height of their capabilities.

Charlie Adam and Luis Suarez are both good fantasy bets, and id Steven Gerrard is back to his best he has to be considered too.

Norwich have played very well since their promotion, and won three of their eight games so far. If they continue to play so well they should achieve their ambition of staying in the Premier League for another season.

Anthony Pilkington is the man of the moment for Norwich, and his recent goals have been a real bonus for them.

I think Liverpool should have more than enough to win this game if they approach it in the right manner.

Prediction: 3-0
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SUNDAY
Arsenal v Stoke City Arsenal Vs. Stoke City
 
                                                   Sunday October 23, 1.30pm, BST

Arsenal have now won five home games in a row in all competitions, as they look to put their disastrous start to the season behind them. Their away win in the Champions League on Wednesday night was a real boost, and a win against Stoke would be another one too.

It's impossible to recommend any Arsenal defenders t the moment, but Robin Van Persie is well worth putting in any fantasy team.

Stoke find themselves in a lofty seventh place in the table, but they are still struggling away from home with only two goals in four games. They played a game on Thursday night in the Europa League, and it could have an effect on their ability to put up their usual performance.

In fantasy terms both Asmir Begovic and Jonathan Walters look like very good buys at the moment.

I think Arsenal should be able to continue their revival with another home win.

Prediction: 2-0
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Fulham v Everton Fulham Vs. Everton 
 
                                                   Sunday October 23, 1.30pm, BST

Fulham are unbeaten at home so far this season, but they are yet again drawing too many games for their own good. They had to play a European game on Thursday night, and it could make things a little tough for them in this game.

Danny Murphy, Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora all look like decent buys at the moment.

Everton's good start to the season has faded with defeats to Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea, and they need to get back on track. They are short of a real goalscorer, and without one I can't see them seriously challenging for a European place this season.

There are no Everton players currently performing well enough to consider for any fantasy team.

I think this will end in a draw which won't be a great result for either team.

Prediction: 1-1
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Man Utd v Man City Manchester United Vs. Manchester City
 
                                                   Sunday October 23, 1.30pm, BST 

United are currently two points behind City at the top of table, and one of the two teams will definitely top the table when the weekend is over too. United's home form is absolutely magnificent, and there are the top scorers at home so far this season. Their defence may have looked a little dodgy so far this season, but the return of Nemanja Vidic should be a real boost for them.

In the fantasy stakes David de Gea, Phil Jones, Nani, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney are all looking good at the moment, but I think Nani and Rooney are the best long term bets.

City have scored more goals away from home than any other team so far this season, and attack has to be their best tactic in this game. They have so many good players to choose from that their line up is far from certain, but it should make for a good game.

Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Sergoi Aguero and Eden Dzeko all look to be good fantasy buys, but I think Silva and Aguero are the best bets.

I hope this will be a good game, and I think it will end up in a draw.

Prediction: 2-2
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Blackburn v Tottenham Blackburn Rovers Vs. Tottenham Hotspur
 
                                                   Sunday October 23, 3pm, BST

Blackburn are still rooted to the foot of the table, but they are showing some signs of recovery. The return of Christopher Samba to their team has helped, but they need to move up the table very soon or manager Steve Kean will pay the price for their bad start.

In fantasy terms there are no Blackburn players excelling at the moment, but I still think Junior Hoilett has the ability to do so.

Spurs were only a couple of minutes away from winning their fifth league game in a row against Newcastle last week. The loss of Ledley King will be a blow to them defensively, but they still have some very good attacking players.

Both Rafael Van Der Vaart and Emmanuel Adebayor are the current pick of the Spurs players for any fantasy manager.

I think Blackburn might just have enough about them to take a point off Spurs.

Prediction: 1-1
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QPR v Chelsea Queens Park Rangers Vs. Chelsea 
 
                                                   Sunday October 23, 4pm, BST

QPR still haven't won a home game since their long-awaited return to the Premier League, and no other team has scored less goals than them so far this season. They will want to get a result against their local rivals, but they will need to create more chances than they are doing at the moment to get anything out of the game.

From a fantasy perspective QPR players aren't exactly setting the world alight, and I wouldn't recommend buying any of them at the moment.

Chelsea's only defeat so far came in their trip to Old Trafford, and they look like their new signings might just be making the difference that they needed. They are conceding more goals than in previous seasons, but I think they're making an awful lot of chances too.

John Terry, Jose Boswinga, Frank Lampard and Ramires are all pretty good fantasy buys, but Ramires is out injured this week. I think Fernando Torres might finally start scoring a few goals when he returns from suspension next week.

I can't see anything other than a good win for Chelsea in this game.

Prediction: 0-3
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That's it for this week but feel free to tell me where I have gone right or wrong as the case may be.


It's not too late to join over 900 teams in my Fantasy League and there are prizes for the top three teams at the end of the season. Just go to the site and use the code 125540-42785 to join my league when your team is set up.

To join the predictions league just go to the site and set up your predictions. Then use the code F688F-JCO to join my league. I'll update the league table in my predictions every week.

Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter, tumblr and Facebook too.

I'm also a member of a very good and very active Arsenal group on Facebook which you can join here.


See You Tomorrow.

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