It’s that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. I did reasonably well last week with one perfect prediction, five correct outcomes and four incorrect outcomes which saw me drop to fifth place in my predictions league. Here’s a look at how the top five in that league stands.
Pos. Player. Res Cls Exa Slm Pts
- Always a Gooner 5 16.5 15 3 39.5
- Gunnerdapper 11 12 12 3 38
- Murray1886 6 18 9 3 36
- SeniorBurger 6 12 15 3 36
- JamrockRover 9 16.5 6 4 35.5
I had a fairly good week with my fantasy team too thanks to using my wildcard and I have hopefully put my slow start behind me now. David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, Antoine Semenyo, Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland and Joao Pedro all did very well for me. Salah was my captain and he probably will be again next week with Liverpool at home to Everton.
I am tempted to use my bench boost this week in an attempt to continue my upward movement in the overall rankings. I will probably hold on to my transfer too and have two to use the following week. I would love to find a way to bring Viktor Gyokeres into the team, but I would have to sell Salah or Haaland to do so.
Saturday September 20
Liverpool v Everton
12.30pm BST, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool got a very late penalty to win 1-0 away to Burnley and maintain their 100% record at the top of the table. They have won their two home games so far and they will be confident of winning this one too. They’re the only team to win all of their games so far with no other scoring more goals.
Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Djik and Hugo Ekitike are all looking good for fantasy managers and Alexander Isak should join that list shortly.
Everton drew 0-0 at home to Villa last week to leave themselves in seventh place. They won their last away game against Wolves, but they will find Liverpool a much tougher proposition. They have taken seven points from their last three games, but three of their next five games are against big six teams.
Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish are the Everton players to have for fantasy managers with James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford possibilities too, but maybe not in this game.
I think Liverpool will continue their perfect start to the season with a narrow victory in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Brighton And Hove Albion v Tottenham Hotspur
3pm BST, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton lost 2-1 away to Bournemouth last week and they’re only one point above the bottom three. They have taken all four of their points at home, but this will be toughest game on their own patch so far. They have a very hard run of games coming up, but they can give any team a run for their money.
Kaoru Mitoma continues to be the Brighton player to have for fantasy managers.
Spurs won 3-0 away to West Ham last week to move up to third in the table with three wins from their four games. They have won their two away games without conceding a goal with only Chelsea scoring more goals on their travels. They are in the middle of a very good run of games and only Liverpool and Arsenal have scored more goals with no other team conceding less.
The Spurs defenders and keeper are looking like they could do well for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think this will be a close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end in a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Burnley v Nottingham Forest
3pm BST, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley lost 1-0 to a very late goal at home to Liverpool in their last game to leave themselves above the bottom three only on goal difference. Their only points so far came at home though and they have a good chance of getting something from a Forest team in transition. They have lost three of their four games with only three other teams conceding more goals.
I’m not sure there are any Burnley players who can make a difference for fantasy managers.
Forest lost 3-0 away to Arsenal last week and they’re a point above Burnley going into this game. They have taken one point from their first two away games with only three other teams conceding more goals on the road. They have lost their last two games without scoring and they conceded six goals in those games with only West Ham and Wolves conceding more goals.
With a new man at the helm it’s difficult to know which Forest players can do well for fantasy managers, but Chris Wood is usually a good bet.
I think Burnley will make a game of it and they might just get a draw for themselves.
Prediction: 1-1
West Ham United v Crystal Palace
3pm BST, London Stadium, London
West Ham lost 3-0 at home to Spurs last week and that defeat saw them drop into the bottom three. They’re one of two teams without a point at home with no other team conceding more goals on their own patch. The win against Forest a couple of games ago looked like it might be the turning point they needed, but three defeats in four games is not a good start and no other team has conceded more goals.
Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and maybe even El Hadji Malick Diouf are all capable of returning points for fantasy managers.
Palace drew 0-0 at home to Sunderland last week to remain unbeaten after four games, but they have drawn three of them. They have taken four points from their two away games and they’re one of two teams who haven’t conceded a goal on their travels yet. They are one of three teams still unbeaten with no other team conceding less goals, but they have drawn three of their four games.
Palace’s defenders and keeper are all good options for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Palace should be good enough to take the three points in a tight game.
Prediction: 0-1
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United
3pm BST, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves lost 1-0 away to Newcastle last week to remain rooted to the foot of the table without a point. They have lost both of their home games with only West Ham conceding more goals on their own ground. Only Villa and Leeds have scored less goals with only West Ham conceding more, but this is a game that they should be favourites to win.
I can’t see any Wolves players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Leeds lost 1-0 to a very late goal away to Fulham last week and they’re only one point above the relegation zone going into this game. They’re one of five teams who still haven’t scored away from home with no other team conceding more goals on the road. All of their points so far have come at home with only Villa scoring less goals.
The Leeds defenders and keeper can all do a good job for fantasy managers when they play at home.
I think this could be a big game in the fight to stay in the top flight and the chances are Wolves will make home advantage pay.
Prediction: 2-1
Manchester United v Chelsea
5.30pm BST, Old Trafford, Manchester
United lost 3-0 away to City last week and they’re now only one point above the bottom three. Their only win so far came at home to Burnley and they really need to get something from this game. They have only won once in their four games with only three other teams conceding more goals.
Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko might all be ones to watch for fantasy managers.
Chelsea conceded a very late goal to draw 2-2 away to Brentford last week and those lost points saw them drop to fourth place. Only Spurs and Liverpool have taken more points away from home and no other team has scored more goals on their travels. They’re one of three teams still unbeaten with no other team scoring more goals.
Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are all looking very good for fantasy managers along with the Chelsea defenders and keeper.
I think Chelsea will pile even more pressure on United by taking the three points in this game.
Prediction: 1-2
Fulham v Brentford
8pm BST, Craven Cottage, London
Fulham scored very late to record their first win of the season in a 1-0 victory over Leeds last week. They have taken four points from their two home games with only four other teams conceding less goals in their own ground. Their only defeat was a controversial one against Chelsea and they will fancy their chances in this game.
I’m not sure there are any Fulham players doing enough to interest fantasy managers at the moment.
Brentford scored very late to draw 2-2 at home to Chelsea last week, but they’re only one point above the bottom three. They’re one of five teams without a point away from home with only Burnley and Leeds conceding more goals on the road. They could do with getting something from this game with three of their next five games against big six teams.
Igor Thiago, Dango Ouattara and possibly Kevin Schade are all ones to watch for fantasy managers.
I think this is a game which could go either way and it’s most likely to end in a draw.
Prediction: 2-2
Sunday September 21
Bournemouth v Newcastle United
2pm BST, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth won 2-1 at home to Brighton last week and that win saw them move up to third place. They’re one of four teams with a 100% record at home and they have some good home fixtures coming up. They have won their last three games, but all of those victories were by a single goal.
Antoine Semenyo, Evanilson and Marcos Senesi are all good options for fantasy managers.
Newcastle got their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory against Wolves last week. They have drawn their two away games 0-0 and they’re one of three teams not to concede a goal on their travels so far. They have kept clean sheets in three of their games, but only three other teams have scored less goals.
Newcastle’s defenders and keeper are all looking very good for fantasy managers while new boy Nick Woltemade is a possibility too
I think Bournemouth are playing well enough at the moment to win this game narrowly.
Prediction: 2-1
Sunderland v Aston Villa
2pm BST, Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Sunderland drew 0-0 away to Palace last week to leave them in sixth place. They’re one of four teams with a 100% record at home with only Arsenal scoring more goals on their own ground. All of their goals so far have come at home and their next two home games are against the current bottom two.
The Sunderland defenders and keeper are all looking like good priced choices for fantasy managers.
Villa drew 0-0 away to Everton last week to leave themselves one place off the foot of the table without a win to their name. They haven’t scored in either of their away games, but they will be hopeful of doing so against one of the newly promoted teams. They are the only team without a goal so far, but they play against two of the newly promoted teams in their next three games starting with this one.
I can’t see any Villa players doing enough to make a difference for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think this will be a close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Arsenal v Manchester City
4.30pm BST, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal won 3-0 at home to Forest last week to move up to second place in the table. They have won both of their home games and no other team has scored more goals or conceded less on their own patch. They have won three of their four games and they kept clean sheets in each of those victories with no other team scoring more or conceding less goals.
Arsenal’s defenders and keeper are great choices for fantasy managers with Viktor Gyokeres looking good too.
City won 3-0 at home to United to put their consecutive defeats behind them. They won their opening away game 4-0 against Wolves, but then lost their next away game 2-1 after leading at Brighton with only Chelsea scoring more goals on their travels. If they can get something from this game they have a very good run of games after it.
Erling Haaland is in great form for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think this will be a very close game with Arsenal probably making home advantage count.
Prediction: 2-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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