Cardiff City caused a shock last weekend as they came from behind at home to beat Manchester City 3-2. José Mourinho got what he seemingly set out to do on Monday night in a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford, leaving Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool as the only two sides with 100% win records heading into this weekend. Manchester United looked the most likely winners on Monday as Chelsea rarely threatened going forward. Tottenham have relied on two penalties to pick up six points from their opening two games having not been awarded a single penalty throughout the whole of last season. This weekend sees Liverpool host Manchester United and the North London derby as Arsenal take on Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester City are looking to rebound from defeat with a home tie against Hull City, whilst Everton travel to Cardiff City. Arsenal bounced back from their opening day defeat to record two victories over Fenerbahçe in their Champions League qualifiers and beat Fulham in between. There will be no love lost on Sunday when they host their local rivals. Crystal Palace host Sunderland in Saturday's televised games but the fans and media will be focussing on 'Super Sunday' with the two heavyweight clashes this weekend. Let's take a look at a few betting opportunities for the weekend:
Manchester City vs Hull City Saturday 31 August 12:45
*Manchester City won 9 of their last 11 at the Etihad Stadium *Matija Nastasic to return in the centre of defence for Manchester City and adding strength to their set piece defence *David Silva, Sergio Agüero, Jesús Navas have all looked good in creating opportunities for a Manchester City side that have scored 6 goals in their first two games *Hull City's only goal in two games has come from the penalty spot *Comfortably beaten 2-0 at Chelsea in their only away game so far this season, a Chelsea team who have not beat any team by more than 1 goal since *Had the fewest attempts on goal this season Recommended bet: Manchester City to win -1.5 goals 11/20 Bet365
Liverpool vs Manchester United Sunday 1 September 13:30
*Liverpool failing to convert many of their chances, the same as last season *Philippe Coutinho kept quiet by Aston Villa last season *Liverpool defence not greatly tested so far Robin van Persie and co will be a test *Manchester United have thrashed Swansea City and avoided defeat to José Mourinho's Chelsea *Wayne Rooney looked sharp on Monday night *Robin van Persie scored in both games versus Liverpool last season Recommended bet: Manchester United to win or draw 1/2 Bet365
Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur Sunday 1 September 16:00
*Arsenal beaten by Aston Villa before playing uninspiring Fenerbahçe and Fulham sides *Arsenal played first team on Tuesday night against Fenerbahçe and picked up some knocks *Arsenal's defence has conceded 4 goals in their opening two Premier League matches *Tottenham have started the season with two wins to nil in the Premier League *Tottenham have had a number of efforts on goal despite not converting any from open play yet *Tottenham's midfield is looking very lively even without Gareth Bale Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Andros Townsend and Gylfi Sigurðsson all firing in a number of attempts from midfield Recommended bet: Tottenham Hotspur to win or draw 5/6 bet365
Barrie's View is a football stat man focusing mainly on the English Premier League. Barrie also contributes to other large football blogs, including Back Page Football and Football Talk, and has been cited by the USA Today.
