Thrills in store on Super Sunday

ANSWERING THE CRITICS
After his stellar shift, Sherwood was full of praise for Rudy Gestede for his deadly double. “Rudy Gestede, obviously another two goals for him. People have questioned whether Rudy will score goals in the Premier League but I think he’s answered that already. He can score at any level of the game because he’s such a threat,” said the Villa manager.

Man City 4 Newcastle 1
After their barnstorming start to the season, no one could have predicted Manchester City’s wobble. The title favourites had a night to forget at White Hart Lane where the team lacked leadership in the absence of Vincent Kompany, Joe Hart and David Silva. Yaya Toure, Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero will restore normalcy against basement club Newcastle United.

Everton 2 Liverpool 2
Everton are benefitting from a decongested fixture schedule courtesy of their failure to qualify for European football. Liverpool have dominated this tie in recent years but I am going for shared spoils in a high scoring thriller as these teams have drawn six out of their last seven games. Daniel Sturridge and Romelu Lukaku will ensure that.

Aston Villa 1 Stoke City 1
Aston Villa are a mixed bag. I like their endeavour and movement as they have so many mobile, albeit not so effective players. What they have lacked is the killer instinct in front of goal. I think Tim Sherwood must start with hulking forward Rudy Gestede for presence.

Arsenal 1 Man Utd 1
How I miss the intensity of ties between these sides when they were the only title contenders. Remember the battle of the buffet and all those altercations between Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane? I expect a bit of the same when Louis van Gaal’s table toppers make the trip to North London. Caribbean-born Frenchman Anthony Martial and Theo Walcott are the players to watch.

C. Palace 2 West Brom 1
I didn’t like what I saw on Monday night as West Bromwich Albion surrendered a two-goal lead to fall 2-3 to Everton. Tony Pulis blamed injuries to key defenders Jonas Olsson and Dawson for the loss. I am not sure they will be back in time to tackle Alan Pardew’s highly muscular and athletic Eagles. I am therefore going for a narrow Crystal Palace win.

Swansea 1 Tottenham 2
Isn’t so hard to bet against a club coming off a 4-1 victory. Swansea had a September to forget, so Gary Monk will have instructed Bafetimbi Gomis, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Andre Ayew to come out all guns blazing. However, given the form of Korean powerhouse Son Heung-min and Spurs’ great head-to-head record, I am going for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

Sunderland 1 West Ham 1
For how long are Sunderland going to flirt with relegation without actually going down? A rapid change in performance is needed for the Black Cats to stem the rot that has seen them fail to win any of their first seven games. Slaven Bilic’s Hammers are a dangerous away side but Sunderland simply cannot afford to lose this game.

Bournemouth 2 Watford 1
Even without the excellent Callum Wilson who has been ruled out for six months with anterior cruciate ligament damage, the Championship winners should have too much for their fellow newcomers. The Hornets depend on a counter attacking game to surprise opponents. A narrow home win on card.

Norwich 3 Leicester 2
Leicester were the last club to lose a game, but I think they will lose their second match on the bounce. Just like Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester, Alex Neil’s newly promoted outfit play an open, expansive no-holds barred game. I can see entertainment per excellence and goals galore as Norwich edge it.

Chelsea 3 So’ton 2
Jose Mourinho is genuinely worried about his underperformers because they are not responding to his legendary motivational skills. He has now declared that no one is ‘untouchable’. I think Sadio Mane’s excellent form means Southampton are set to run the champions close but Chelsea’s ‘big names’ will finally come good.