Guardiola feeling the pressure
Arsenal 2 Burnley 0
Regardless of what Arsene Wenger says, his top Gunner Alexis Sanchez is emitting negative vibes. On the positive side, he continues to be among the goals. Burnley have won more home games than any other side bar Chelsea and Spurs, but they are hopeless on the road. This is a cast iron home win.
Liverpool 2 Swansea 0
When Liverpool are on a roll, they are impossible to stop. Their opening 70 minutes at O.Trafford were a lesson in studied, pressing, counter attacking football. Paul Clement has a really uphill task. His stuttering Swans are letting in way too many goals. Home banker.
Chelsea 2 Hull City 0
The reverse fixture at Hull’s KC Stadium marked manager Antonio Conte’s decision to adopt the 3-4-3 formation. Incidentally, Hull is one of just a handful of teams that play three central defenders. Diego Costa returns to propel Chelsea home.
Bournemouth 2 Watford 1
Walter Mazzari’s visitors can’t buy a goal. The Troy Deeney-Odion Ighalo striking partnership has floundered badly, leaving Watford exposed to the relegation monster. Bournemouth are primed to take advantage of the Londoners’ woeful form.
Man City 2 Tottenham 2
The sooner Brazilian midfield workhorse Fernandinho returns to City, the better. Pep Guardiola’s moneybags simply can’t operate without him. Spurs striking pair Harry Kane and Delle Ali will be hoping to make light work of the absence of Jan Vertoghen.
Westbrom 2 Sunderland 0
I will be very surprised if David Moyes’ Black Cats get anything out of this game. Sunderland were listless in conceding three first half goals at home to Stoke City. To make matters worse, they don’t seem financially equipped to make a foray into the transfer market. This is West Brom’s game to lose.
C. Palace 1 Everton 1
The Toffees played their best game under Ronald Koeman in dispatching Manchester City 4-0 last Sunday. A repeat performance would most certainly propel them past Palace. But Big Sam Allardyce simply can’t afford to be dropping any more home games.
Southampton 2 Leicester 1
Champions Leicester City’s indifferent form has Claudio Ranieri confused over which is the most appropriate system to deploy. An attempt at the 3-5-2 failed spectacularly at home against Chelsea. Home advantage will propel Southampton home.
Boro 1 West Ham 1
Slaven Bilic would be making a monumental error if he sells Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli. The North African is much better than he has shown so far. He should provide a key building block as the team launches an assault onto top ten positions.
Stoke City 1 Man Utd 1
I wasn’t fully satisfied by the Red Devils display in their one all draw with Liverpool. Paul Pogba had his worst outing since joining United whereas Zlatan Ibrahimovic was anonymous for long spells. Stoke showed they have mettle and metal to cope with whatever Manchester can throw at them.
