EPL PREVIEW – Saturday 23rd
Aston Villa v Newcastle (13.30pm) Newcastle travel to Birmingham to take on Aston Villa in the lunch time live TV game on BT Sport having lost their opening fixture to the Champions Man City while Villa will be looking to build on their terrific opening day away victory at Stoke. Many of been tipping the Villains for relegation this season but should they pick up another 3 points on Saturday then such predictions might begin to look a little hasty. Paul Lambert has brought some much needed experience into his side with the signings of bargain basement but Premier League experienced campaigners in the likes of Richardson, Cole and Senderos while Alan Hutton has been brought back into the squad following 2 years “out in the cold” Isn’t it funny how these poor relegated players get left out in the freezing cold? Although in Hutton’s case, a loan move to Real Mallorca could hardly be described as a cold affair and whether he is happy to be swapping the Balearics for Birmingham, is debatable. But I digress. I think this will be a close affair with Newcastle likely to be stronger away from home this season with their quick counter attacking style and I fancy this one to finish all square. Look for new signing Remy Caballa to provide the Geordies inspiration. Prediction – Aston Villa 1 v 1 Newcastle Bo’s Best Bets – BTTS – 4/5 Chelsea v Leicester – 4pm Chelsea looked thoroughly dominant in their away day win at Burnley on Monday night and they face another of the league’s new boys in the shape of Leicester on Saturday and another 3 points should be in the bag for Jose’s men. Leicester did brilliantly to get a point in a 2.2 draw with Everton (as predicted by Bo) at home but a trip to the Bridge should represent “a bridge too far” for a side that will be relying on their home form to keep them in the division. Chelsea meanwhile, my pre season tips to win the league look to be purring in attack with Jose’s “maestro” Cesc Fabregas conducting an orchestra containing fellow new boy Diego Costa, World Cup winner Andre Schurlle and the ever improving Will.I.an. I expect all 3 to be singing from the same hymn sheet come Saturday. I expect nothing other than a very comfortable 3 points for Chelsea and a few goals to boot. Diego Costa should find the target in his home debut and I would also suggest Schurle to find the net if he starts as I expect. Prediction – Chelsea 3 v 0 Leicester Bo’s Best Bets – Chelsea -1 goal to beat Leicester – 4/6 Andre Schurle to score anytime – 7/4 Diego Costa to score anytime – 4/5 Crystal Palace v West Ham – 4pm Both teams got their seasons underway with narrow defeats to respective North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham and both will see this as an opportunity to get some points on the board. Palace, were expected to name Malky Mackay as their new boss to replace the outgoing Tony Pullis until it turned out that he sent some rather racist, homophobic and sexist texts with his pals during his time at Cardiff. Lovely timing by resident villain Vincent Tan. All part of the pressure according to the LMA. Staggering response from the former Celtic defender :) I think this statment by the LMA on behalf of Mackay deserves to be quoted. "These were two text messages sent in private at a time Malky felt under great pressure and when he was letting off steam to a friend during some friendly text message banter," added the statement. "The LMA does not condone in any way any potential breach of equal opportunities laws but would also point out that out of over 10,000 text messages and 70,000 documents produced over a long period of time it may not be a complete surprise that some inappropriate comments can sometimes be made by employees, like Malky, working under great pressure in highly charged situations." Mackay was said to be "very concerned about seriously inaccurate and misleading reports" of his involvement. "It has never been alleged that he wrote any homophobic or sexist messages and he has confirmed he did not do so," said the statement. So, let's sum this up. He was racist but that's ok because he's under pressure and it's just banter and "it has never been alleged that he wrote any homophobic or sexist messages" despite those allegations being all over the press this morning. Clearly it has been alleged and the very fact they are attempting to defend the man from his comments leaves a foul stench. and now the Scotsman's future as a Premier League manager is in serious doubt. It never fails to amaze me that these idiots are in charge of football clubs. Why on earth would you ever use racist/sexist/homophobic and or offensive language on a company phone? I'm sure plenty of us have indulged in some racist horseplay or sexist jibes with close friends but to do so pn a phone owned by your boss hows a real level of stupidity prevalent in the game. But forgetting all that nonsense, Palace had a terrific home record last year while West Ham were pretty rank on the road so you would be forgiven for marking this down as a home win but given the troubles of both sides in recent weeks, I can see a share of the spoils with both still looking to find their way after poor pre season preparations and Palace still scraping the barrel for a new boss. Tim Sherwood is poised with his mobile in hand. Much depends on whether Palace will still have the same ruggedness without Pullis that they had in abundance last season and the signing of veteran defender Brade Hangelaand looks to be a fine investment to this department, while West Ham badly need new boys Ener Valencia and Mauro Zarate to start firing in attack if they are to avoid another relegation scrap. That being said, I am going for the draw but I would not be surprised if The Eagles do snatch the win. Prediction Crystal Palace 1.1 West Ham Southampton v West Brom – 4pm Despite all the gloom at St Mary’s over the summer, Southampton actually looked pretty decent in their away day defeat to Liverpool last Sunday and were certainly unfortunate not to take a point, and while it will undoubtedly take some time for all of the new signings to bed in, I expect the Saints to find themselves in mid-table comfort for much of the season and they can start that process by taking 3 points against a West Brom side under new management in the shape of long term coach, Alan Irvine. The Baggies played pretty well in their home draw with Sunderland and while I expect this one to be close, the home side should just have the edge. I doubt I will be backing the Saints to win though as both are still too unpredictable but BTTS at 4/5 looks to be the best bet for this one. Prediction – Southampton 2.1 West Brom Bo’s Best Bet – BTTS – 4/5 Swansea v Burnley – 4pm Swansea got their season off to the most sensational of starts on Saturday as they overturned Louis Van Gaal’s Man Utd at Old Trafford with a fine and well deserved 2.1 victory. Of course had this result happened a year ago it would have been met with a lot more shock and awe than it did last week given that Old Trafford is no longer the fortress it once was and if you are looking for a figure to blame then that pasty white bloke who featured in the Daily Mail on Sunday claiming he was not given the time to “succeed or fail” would surely be your first point of call. Fail you did Davie, as much as you would like us to believe otherwise and the rebuilding job for Van Gaal is absolutely enormous. Swansea though under Gary Monk are a much changed proposition with most of their Spaniards departing and new additions coming thick and fast, and while we cannot draw too much of a conclusion from that victory last week, i expect them to be too strong for a Burnley side who are going to have to learn fast in this league if they want to survive. A home win should be on the cards and Bony as ever is the likeliest to find the net. Prediction – 2.0 Bo’s Best Bet – Swansea to win – 4/6 Everton v Arsenal (6.30pm) Everton and Arsenal go head to head in the tea-time kickoff on Saturday with the hosts looking for a first 3 points following their opening day draw at Leicester while Arsenal, fresh from a tough clash in Istanbul will be looking to take something before the return leg at the Emirates next Wednesday. Arsenal struggled to create much on their European travels although this can largely be blamed on a truly rotten pitch and a truly rotten striker. Ok, Giroud is not THAT bad but if Wenger cannot see that his side badly lack a world class finisher then this season is unlikely to see an improvement on last season’s 4th place despite the arrival of the highly talented Alexis Sanchez. Yes the Gunners look stronger on paper than they have done for many a year but without that focal point in attack then it could be yet another year of frustration for an Arsenal support all too familiar with mid season capitulations. A world class holding midfielder and another defender is always required if they are to truly challenge for the title this year. Everton might not have improved a great deal but retaining Lukaku and Barry was absolutely vital for them to continue the good work under Bobby Martinez and I expect them to be pushing top 6 and possibly top 4 again this year. Arsenal were punished badly on their last visit to Goodison at the tail end of last season in a rousing 3.0 defeat and while I expect an improved performance in comparison to last year, I do feel that with a crucial Champions League tie to come in the week, this might be asking too much for Wenger’s men to come away with anything more than a point. An entertaining clash this looks sure to be, I think BTTS is a strong possibility and if anyone is going to win it, it should be the Blues but I still feel it is too close to call (or bet with much confidence) Prediction Everton 2.1 Arsenal Bo’s Best Bets – BTTS – 4/7 Comments are closed.
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