Arsenal, Chelsea to draw
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 1
Arsene Wenger confronts his bogey side when Chelsea visit the Emirates Stadium in this weekend’s top fixture. The Gunners were imperious in dispatching 10-man Hull City, but it remains to be seen whether they can replicate this form against a team that has bossed them for a decade. I am going for a goal-scoring stalemate.
Liverpool 2 Hull 0
The sooner Liverpool expunge the Jekyll and Hyde element out of their game, the better. The Kop are capable of beating any team on their day, but they must maintain similar speed and intensity while facing run of the mill sides like Hull City. I am backing the 18-time champions to avoid a potential banana skin.
Man United 1 Leicester 1
Which Manchester United side is going to show up for this game? The exuberant, confident one that beat Leicester to the Charity Shield, or the version that bottled it badly at Watford? My contention is the Red Devils won’t be able to stop Jamie Vardy and Islam Slimani.
Swansea 1 Man City 2
It is always tricky to face the same side twice. City make the trip to Wales just 72 hours after playing them in the League Cup. And if there is any team with the guile and ambition to win twice at the same venue, it is Pep Guardiola’s side. I am backing Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling to wreak havoc.
West Ham 2 Sout’pton 2
Slaven Bilic must beat West Ham into shape pretty fast, otherwise they are in trouble. The Hammers always carry an offensive threat but they have developed a very undesirable habit of conceding needless goals. Southampton are usually very organised, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns into a goals fiesta. This should be an attractive game to watch as Dmitri Payet and Sofiane Boufal guarantee entertainment.
Bournemouth 1 Everton 2
The very fact that Toffees manager Ronald Koeman is dampening expectations of a possible title assault, speaks volumes. Few teams have a team as this Everton outfit. Idris Gana Gueye, Romelu Lukaku and wing wizard Yannick Bolassie will power the visitors to narrow victory.
Stoke 2 West Brom 1
There are no two ways about it. Stoke City must start winning games by translating their quality into performances. Nacer Chadli will be a marked man after his game-turning display last weekend. But I expect Wilfred Bony, Marco Arnautovic and Bojan Krkic to help the Potters win their first game this season. West Brom will be tough but I think Stoke will pass this test.
Burnley 1 Watford 1
This is the kind of fixture Sean Dyce will have earmarked as an absolute must win if the Championship winners are to avoid the drop. Unfortunately for them, they come up a Watford side that has scored seven goals in their last two games. Matter of fact, Watford start as slight favourites but I can see the home side battling to a draw despite the meaty challenge offered by Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney.
Sunderland 1 Palace1
As a rule of thumb, I never bet against teams that scored three or more goals in their previous encounters. I therefore can’t see how Sunderland are going to beat a Palace side stretching defenses with stylish displays from Andros Townsend and Wilfred Zaha. If Palace were a bigger team, I would have backed them to win.
Boro 1 Spurs 2
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs came across as edgy in their 1-0 victory over Sunderland last weekend. Aitor Karanka’s newcomers will provide them with an even stiffer challenge. Spurs usually thrive at difficult away grounds because they enjoy playing on the counter attack. Still, I fancy the home side to push Spurs hard.
Last week, Ssekamatte got six right with no perfect score out of 10 games.
