Hull v Stoke – 2.30pm
Hull entertain Stoke on Sunday following their defeat to Lokoren in the Europa league qualifying on Thursday and given that this is their first foray into European competition, the expected Sunday hangover could yet follow a team who look somewhat under prepared to deal with the rigours of both Premier League and European action this season. The loss of new signing Robert Snodgrass for 6 months is a huge blow to boss Steve Bruce and they will be surely looking to recruit some new faces before the window shuts at the end of the month if they are to cope with what is sure to be a tough season. Stoke themselves got their season underway with a hugely disappointing home defeat to relegation tips Aston Villa and will be determined to get some points on the board in this trip to Hull and with a full week to prepare for this clash I can see an away day victory on the cards although i am not yet convinced enough to back Stoke to win given that they are very much a home side, but on the handicap of plus 1 they are well priced at 11/20 and should avoid defeat at the least. Prediction Hull 1 v 2 Stoke Bo’s Best Bets Stoke not to lose – 11/20 Stoke to win – 15/8 Tottenham v QPR – 2.30PM Another London Derby for Tottenham with QPR the visitors to White Hart Lane as Harry Redknapp makes his first return to his former club since his rather acrimonious departure following all that will he won’t he nonsense regarding the England job. Harry has been up to his old wheeler dealer signings (we know he hates that term) and have recruited well in the shape of Ferdinand, Caulker and Mutch while Mauricio Isla arriving from juventus on loan represents a pretty fine coup. Given that they are also set to announce the signings of Leroy Fer and Eduardo Vargas, I am fairly confident that QPR are going to be a much better outfit than the one that departed the Premier League 2 years ago in such shameful fashion (yes I’m looking at you Joey Twitter Barton) and as such I expect a pretty good performance from them on Sunday. Spurs have yet to make any major investments in the transfer market although the recruitment of defenders Ben Davies and Eric Dier should help to make them sronger at the back although another centre forward must surely be on the managers wishlist with Roberto Soldado doing little to inspire confidence. Spurs were are also involved in Europa League action on Thursday although you would expect them to make a multitude of changes to the team that overcame Limassol in Cyprus. This could be a really good game on Sunday and I have a feeling that Harry might be the happier of the two bosses come 5pm on Sunday with the two sides having played out a rather entertaining draw and you can back QPR not to lose this one at a very decent 9/5. The draw pays at 10/3. Prediction – Tottenham 2 v 2 QPR Bo’s Best Bets BTTS – 5/6 QPR not to lose – 9/5 2.2 DRAW – 20/1 Sunderland v Man United – 5pm If Louis van Gaal thought that the rebuilding job at Man Utd would simply be a case of applying a new formation and telling people you are going to win with your trousers pulled down, then last Saturday’s defeat at home to Swansea would have been the rudest of all awakenings but as the Dutchman is surely not quite as arrogant as his public persona might suggestm, he must surely be aware of the depth of this challenge and for now the rebuilding starts here. Marcus Rojo has been brought in from Sporting Lisbon and he is sure to be an important part of Louis’s new look 3.5.2 shape but it is clear that much more will need to be done in the market if this United team are to have any chance of a top 4 position this season. Yes they were without 9 first team players last weekend but even with a full pool to choose from, this United side are clearly lacking in every area across the park. The interesting thing about this shift in formation is that it seems to cut adrift many of the clubs wingers (a problem I know too well from my time on football manager when rebuilding with a new look shape). Nani has gone home while the futures of Young, Valencia, Zaha and even the super talented Januzaj look to be in doubt. This is not going to be a quick fix and I think Van Gaal would be quite happy to come away from this game with a point and I think that is all they will get. Sunderland are still looking for that elusive striker as doubts remain about the abilities of Wickham and Fletcher to deliver enough goals to keep them in the right part of the table but with a packed house on Sunday, you can be confident that Poyet will have his men ready for this one and I fancy the Black Cats to take a point or maybe even better. Prediction – Sunderland 1 v 1 Man Utd Bo’s Best Bets – Sunderland not to lose – 23/20 Man City v Liverpool – 9pm (Monday Night) preview to follow... Comments are closed.
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