Match to catch
The pick of this weekend’s Premier League matches is Saturday’s early kick-off at Old Trafford, where Arsenal will be looking to take revenge for last season’s humiliating 8-2 drubbing at the hands of a rampant Manchester United. Unfortunately for Arsene Wenger and co, their defence hasn’t improved a whole lot since that day and they still look extremely vulnerable — as evidenced by their midweek League Cup performance at Reading, where they shipped five goals but still won. This will also be United striker Robin van Persie’s first match against his former employers since his big-money summer move. Prediction: Man United to march on.
Keep an eye on
West Ham host champions Manchester City at Upton Park on Saturday and the newly-promoted side will be quietly confident of getting something from the game. The Hammers’ direct style is likely to cause problems for City’s less-than-convincing back line, although whether this will be the day that on-loan striker Andy Carroll breaks his duck remains to be seen. Prediction: Man City to edge a close game.
For the purists
Monday Night Football is back this week, but to be honest Sky Sports probably shouldn’t have bothered with West Brom against Southampton. The Baggies will be strong favourites to collect three points against a Saints side that can’t stop conceding goals this season, but with a kick-off time of midnight in the UAE it’s hard to imagine this one will be worth staying up for. Prediction: More misery for the struggling Saints.
In form
Fulham are quickly settling into their Jekyll and Hyde home and away form this season — three of their four wins so far have come at Craven Cottage and they remain formidable opponents in west London. Saturday sees Everton come to town for what could well be an entertaining game, with the finishing talents of Dimitar Berbatov and Nikica Jelavic in particular worth keeping an eye on. Prediction: Score draw.
Need a win
Sunday sees the Premier League’s two remaining winless sides – QPR and Reading – clash at Loftus Road in what could almost be an autumn six-pointer. Both sides have failed to impress so far this term, although Reading have at least found their shooting boots with eight goals in their two games in the last week (although unfortunately for them they’ve also shipped ten in that time!). Something has to give in this match with neither side really able to afford another defeat, but the most likely outcome is a draw that doesn’t suit either. Prediction: Honours even.
