Premier League Predictions: Matchweek 2

FRIDAY:

CRYSTAL PALACE V MAN CITY

Palace were wasteful in their opening game against Everton and I fear that they could be in for a long season.

There are issues over Jean-Philippe Mateta's contract, Ismaila Sarr is wanted by Liverpool and they'll also have Europe to contend with again.

Sarr was left out of the squad against Everton if he's left out of it for this one, it can only mean that he's moving closer towards the exit door.

City got the post-Pep era off to a winning start against Bournemouth but were far from their best and had to leave it late.

It wasn't until Rayan Cherki came on that they started to look threatening as it was his impact from the bench that decided the game.

They're not going to play the swashbuckling football they played under Pep as the Bournemouth game showed, but they're still going to be there or there abouts because they still have a strong team on paper.

Because of this I can see them come out on top here and I'm backing Erling Haaland to get himself on the scoresheet after a surprisingly quiet game against Bournemouth.

PREDICTION: 1-2

SATURDAY:

LIVERPOOL V NOTTINGHAM FOREST

There were both positive and negative aspects of Liverpool's performance against Newcastle with the latter being the defending for the goals they conceded and the lack of cutting edge in attack.

They had issues defensively in pre season and whilst you can blame the defenders for the errors they made, they had no help from the midfield as the gap was exposed by Newcastle for both goals.

I'm hoping that they can bring in a proper no.6 before the window closes because that is one area they need to address along with one or two others.

Forest have won this fixture in each of the last two seasons and their new boss Oliver Glasner also has a good recent record against the reds as he's won three of his last four games against them in all competitions.

HIs new side got off to a losing start against Leeds where they missed a number of good opportunities which came back to bite them right at the end.

New signing Liam Delap could make his debut in this game after arriving from Chelsea and he was definitely a signing that needed to be made as a consistent goal scorer was what Forest lacked last season.

Forest may have won this fixture in each of the last two seasons, but I'm backing Liverpool to get off the mark here because they're at home and they're going to play a brand of football that their fans will get behind and when that happens, Anfield is at it's best.

PREDICTION: 2-1

BOURNEMOUTH V EVERTON

Bournemouth were very strong at home last season and their style of play hasn't changed one bit under new boss Marco Rose.

They caused Man City problems in their opening game and although they'll be disappointed for conceding two late goals, they'll still feel encouraged by the performance they put in.

Everton were by far better on the road than they were at home last season but their record against the Cherries at the Vitality is not the greatest.

They did win this fixture last season courtesy of a Jack Grealish winner but that win has been their only win at the Vitality in the Premier League.

Because of Bournemouth being strong at home and having a good record against the Toffees in this fixture, I'm backing them to get their first win under Marco Rose.

PREDICTION: 2-1

COVENTRY V HULL

Both games between these two ended goalless in the Championship last season so something will surely give in this one.

Coventry were taught a Premier League lesson by Arsenal in their opening game which will be seen as a free hit as no one expected them to get anything from that game.

Hull on the other hand were outstanding against Man United as they pressed them high, outworked them and were more up for the fight.

Pretty much everyone wrote them off during pre season and that result and performance will have no doubt silenced the doubters.

I still think they'll go down but the result and performance will give them a lot of confidence moving forward.

But having said that, I think Coventry will come out on top here because they're at home and their home form last season played a key role in their promotion.

If they're to stay up this season, their home form will be key as it was for Sunderland and Leeds last season.

PREDICTION: 1-0

TOTTENHAM V NEWCASTLE

Spurs as everyone knows were terrible at home for the whole of last season and have been for the last year and a half.

They got torn apart by Brentford in their opening game which was a reminder that their problems from last season are still there.

Expectations were rightly high during pre season because of the amount of money they spent and they've spent even more over the last few days with Savio and Omar Marmoush from Man City being their most recent buys.

But the defeat to Brentford will be seen as a reality check and showed that they're still a very long way off from being where they want to be.

Newcastle were written off by a lot of people in pre season and they must've used that to their advantage against Liverpool as they put in a performance no one expected.

Matthias Jaissle's side were unlucky not to come away with all three points in that game as they were arguably the better side and caused Liverpool problems on the counter attack.

Jaissle will have taken a lot of encouragement from that game and it will surely give his side a lot of confidence moving forward.

Because of Spurs having such a terrible record at home, I can only see a win for the Magpies here and a fairly straightforward one.

PREDICTION: 1-3

SUNDAY:

CHELSEA V BRIGHTON

Chelsea's opening day win at Fulham showed both why they could have a good season and why they won't be fighting for the title.

They were excellent going forward and I'm looking forward to seeing their front three of Palmer, Rogers and Pedro more as the season progresses.

But they were let down by some poor goalkeeping by Robert Sanchez who was at fault for both the goals they conceded. They're to win trophies this season, they need a more reliable keeper.

Brighton were outstanding in their opening game against Villa and they were massively helped by Villa being so poor.

The Seagulls won this fixture 3-1 last season with Danny Welbeck scoring twice and their now former striker will be lining up against them in this game.

I'm not expecting him to make a difference in this game but I do see Chelsea having enough to come away with the points and I can see Cole Palmer put in another good display.

PREDICTION: 3-1

LEEDS V BRENTFORD

Leeds had a strong home record last season and it was one of the key reasons why they stayed up.

They had James Trafford to thank for in their opening game against Nottingham Forest as it was his saves that kept them in the game before Anton Stach's brilliantly struck goal.

Brentford were incredible against Spurs and they probably could've won by more give how bad Spurs were on the day.

Their away form hasn't been great during the early stages of a season recently and they're up against a Leeds side whose home form was strong for the whole of last season.

Both games between these two last season ended in draws and I think this one will be the same as I see both teams being competitive.

PREDICTION: 1-1

SUNDERLAND V FULHAM

Sunderland had a brilliant home record last season and it was one of the key reasons why they had a fantastic season last season.

Repeating that home form will be tricky this season because of them being in Europe but they'll still look to keep making it difficult for teams when playing at home.

Fulham gave a good account of themselves against Chelsea in Alvaro Arbeloa's first game in charge as they created a decent amount of good chances.

Their away form wasn't as strong as their home form last season and I don't see that changing a great deal this season.

Because of Sunderland having a good home record, I'm backing them to get their first win here.

PREDICTION: 2-1

MAN UNITED V IPSWICH

Man United simply did not turn up against Hull as the latter clearly wanted it more and were more up for it.

Michael Carrick will without a doubt demand a reaction from his side in this one and especially as they're at home because they'll have the crowd on their side.

Ipswich looked very good in their opening day win over Sunderland and they might be better equipped to stay up than they were last time.

They have more proven top flight players than they did last time which could be the difference between them

going down and staying up.

Because of this they'll definitely be more competitive this season and I can see them being competitive in this one because of the quality of side they're facing.

But I think United will just edge it as they should have just enough quality to see the result over the line.

PREDICTION: 2-1

ASTON VILLA V ARSENAL

Villa looked all over the place against Brighton and I fear that they could be in for a long season.

They've lost some important players over the summer and could potentially lose more including Ollie Watkins, who was left out of the squad last weekend and could well be again with Al-Hilal closing in on a deal for him.

Arsenal looked very good against Coventry and their performance sent out a message to the rest of the league saying stop us if you can.

Because of how open and disorganised Villa were against Brighton, I can only see a win for the Gunners here and a fairly comfortable one.

PREDICTION: 0-3