Weekend Premier League Preview - Man Utd vs. Arsenal on Super Sunday

Tom Byrne once again previews the weekend's Premier League action and gives us his predictions.

Aston Villa v Wolves

Prediction: 1-1 Wolves have won all three of their games this season and will go into this derby match high on confidence, however Villa are also in good form despite losing Downing, Friedel and Young over the summer. With both teams having only conceded one goal each, this could a very tight game.

Wigan v QPR

Prediction:0-1 Wigan are probably the most underwhelming side in the league and will further prove it this weekend. QPR should be buoyant, free from the shackles of the Carling cup, about to sign philosopher Joey Barton and recently taken over by Tony Fernandes who has offered many fans part refunds on their season tickets. It may not be the most entertaining of games but QPR should just about come out on top.

Blackburn v Everton

Prediction: 1-2 Everton will have been very disappointed to lose to QPR last week but should bounce back against a disorganised Blackburn, although they will have to do it without Louis Saha. They key will be to start getting goals out of Tim Cahill, who has been very quiet since the turn of the year. Blackburn may feel relieved to have got their first win of the season in the Carling Cup to follow on from their opening two defeats in the league. Everton are also winless but have only played once.

Chelsea v Norwich

Predication: 4-0 Chelsea struggled against West Brom last week and may well have lost in Shane Long could cross as well as he can finish but Norwich will not put up as much of a fight. Jaun Mata will be a refreshing addition to the Chelsea squad and should be involved at some point, although probably from the bench. I think Chelsea may start with Drogba in this one and introduce Torres when the pressure is off and the game is won,a though given Kalou's 'performance' last week they could both start.

Swansea v Sunderland

Prediction: 0-1 Sunderland will have been bitterly disappointed to have lost to Newcastle and may not be integrating their new signings as well as Steve Bruce smugly claimed after their draw with Liverpool. Swansea did well to get a draw from Wigan in their last game but Sunderland are a step up and players like Larsson and Gyan should make a difference here.

Liverpool v Bolton

Predication: 2-1 Liverpool will take heart from last week€™s win at Arsenal, however fortuitous it was in the end and should carry on their good start to the season against a Bolton team who pushed Man city all the way last week. It will be interesting to see how Kenny Dalgliesh tries to integrate his new signings into a team with Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll which will prove even more difficult when Steven Gerrard recovers from his groin infection

Newcastle v Fulham

Prediction: 1-0 It is doubtful that Newcastle will have signed a replacement for Joey Barton in time for their game, but if they do it's unlikely he would be ready to play in this one. That removes quite a bit of creativity from their midfield and shows just how thin their squad is. Fulham kept up their reputation as awful travellers last week at Wolves and Dnipro. While Newcastle were struggling through extra time in the Carling cup, Fulham were huffing and puffing in the Ukraine. However tired both teams may be, and creatively lacking Newcastle may be, I€™d expect Fulham to round off a hatrick of away losses.

Tottenham v Man City

Prediction: 1-3 This fixture last season proved how right Mancini was to pick Joe Hart over Shay Given as he put in the goalkeeping display of the season to earn city a point. Things are different 12 months on though. Spurs were jubilant at finally making the Champions League while City were having trouble adding the players Mancini still wanted whilst integrating the new arrivals wasn€™t proving as easy as Football Manager suggests. Now however, Man City are firmly on the up while Spurs€™ progress under Redknapp seems to have stalled and may go into reverse if they lose Luka Modric.

West Brom v Stoke

Prediction: 2-0 West Brom have played incredibly well in their first two games and would have managed to get several points on the board if they hadn€™t been playing Man Utd or Chelsea. They should open their account against a Stoke team that haven€™t quite got to grips with the Thursday to Sunday games that a run in the EUROPA league will bring. They struggled last week at Norwich and were lucky to get a point after a 94th minute equaliser.

Man Utd v Arsenal

Prediction: 2-0 The chances are that Man Utd won€™t need a Wayne Rooney special (see the penalties awarded in2004 and 2009) against Arsenal this season. Arsenal will have gained some confidence from their win over Udinese but will be missing 2 of the best players from that night (potentially three if Vermaelen doesn€™t make it) added to the missing Gibbs and Wilshire an already thin squad starts to look threadbare. Whilst United have issues in defence they weren€™t exposed by Spurs and they are experienced enough to stop them being shown up here. Arsenal have never scored more than 1 goal at Old Trafford in the Premier league and it€™s hard to see them starting now, give the trouble at the club they will be glad to get this fixture out of the way and carry on with the season after the International break. Last week I got 6/10 correct and one perfect score Arsenal v Liverpool Prediction: 0-1 Result: 0-2 Aston Villa v Blackburn Prediction: 2-0 Result: 2-1 Bolton v Man City Prediction: 0-3 Result: 2-3 Chelsea v West Brom Prediction 2-1 Result: 2-1 Everton v QPR Prediction 3-0 Result: 0-1 Man Utd v Tottenham Prediction: 2-0 Result: 3-1 Norwich v Stoke Prediction: 0-1 Result: 1-1 Sunderland v Newcastle Prediction 2-1 Result: 0-1 Swansea v Wigan Prediction: 2-1 Result: 0-0 Wolves v Fulham Prediction: 2-1 Result: 2-0
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