EPL 2015/16 - Game Week 2

The EPL will continue to be a great league. On opening day, so many exciting things happened. Manchester United looked ordinary, Aston Villa won away! Crystal Palace showed what they are made of, Leicester City were stunning, Everton had to fight back, Chelsea struggled against a fabulous Swansea, Newcastle looked refreshing, Arsenal were crushed by a solid West Ham at home, Philippe Coutinho fired a stupendous late winner at Stoke and Yaya Toure is back and so did Manchester City. Wow!!!

Aston Villa v Manchester United - Villa looked compact but then their opening opponents were Bournemouth. Villa have been losing to the Red Devils by 3 goal margins for the last few years except in Dec. 14 at Villa Park they held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw. Louis van Gaal after spending so much money looked like an ordinary manager/coach. United were flat and flattered to beat Tottenham through Kyle Walker's own goal. If they continue in the same vein, they are in for a tough season. Romero seemed a capable goalie and the full backs Darmian and Luke Shaw proved more than reliable . Beyond that everything is overrated. Villa need to ride on that first win and use the home ground to their advantage.

Tim Sherwood turned defensive Villa to attacking last season as he has no alternative - scrap for single point or go for wins. He seemed to have recruited well so Villa would not be that bad this season and he can afford to play a more patient game as it i only the beginning. They can hold their ordinary visitors. 1-1.

Southampton v Everton - The Saints are miserly in defence last season. Lost of goalie Fraser Forster to injury and Morgan Sneiderlin (to Man Utd.) may have caused them conceding 2 goals to Newcastle but they remain a good team that is difficult to beat under the very capable Ronald Koeman. Everton themselves were stunned by newcomer Watford before they saved a home point in a match they were expected to win. Historically both sides are on equal footing with each winning twice and drawn once but with both matches won at home only. 

Southampton are unbeaten here for six times to the Toffees, in fact Everton failed to score in their last three visits to the St. Mary's. Roberto Martinez would device a plan to at least earn a draw. 1-1.

West Ham v Leicester - I think this will be a cracking match. Unexpectedly so judging from their opening matches. Both new managers have inspired their teams that seemed like a breath of fresh air. Slavan Bilic is now a Hammer's hero after the shocking away 2-0 London Derby win over the Gunners. This is the greatest shock of the new season. Their early Europa competition rounds must have benefited them making them fitter and more competitive. Goalkeeper Adrian was outstanding as he was last season. Their defence was defiant, midfield overpowered Arsenal and their attack caught their opponents wrong-footed. They have even fielded an outstanding young English talent who is only 16 - Reece Oxford.

The Foxes made a great start on their own crushing Sunderland 4-2 with some intensive attacking style. Their cavalier attitude left Sunderland with no answer. Welcome back Claudio Ranieri. However, history favours the home side head to head and the Foxes have not won in the capital for 20 premier league games but their attacking play was infectious especially Mahrez who ruled Sunderland last week but hammers are made of steel and at Upton Park, Bilic has masterminded and 'turned Upton Park into Upturn Park. Draw. 2-2.

Swansea v Newcastle - The Swans were excellent at Chelsea. In fact I thought they played better. Gary Monk should be knighted. I mean few teams could go to Stamford Bridge and boss the place. This will be an interesting match as Swansea are now at home so they should be even more formidable right? Meanwhile, the Magpies did very well when they hosted Southampton. Few teams score more than a goal when they meet the Saints and given that Newcastle hardly scored last season, it was an encouraging start. Welcome back Steve McClaren.

Unfortunately, history favoured Swansea in terms of previous 5 head to head results where Newcastle lost 4 and drew 1. Papiss Cisse is worth a goal and the Magpies looked much more solid than last year but are no Chelsea. Swansea should just edge this game.  home win. 2-1. 

Sunderland v Norwich - The Black Cats looked bad and have to do immediate damage control to avoid a repeat of the last few seasons. The problem is that they have only won once in 6 meetings with the Canaries. A little bit of good news is that Norwich have only scored once in their last 6 visits to the Stadium of Light. Both sides have yet to find their feet. I do fancy Norwich but Sunderland are home so I say draw. 1-1.

Tottenham v Stoke - Tottenham is still fragile defensively. I thought they played better than Manchester United last week. Harry Kane looked threatening at times but he did not get the usual , service. Spurs need another forward. A draw at Old Trafford would be a fairer result. Now they will host Stoke City who suffered the same fate as they lost so narrowly to Liverpool. Stoke will be hard to beat and always a threat at set pieces and can move the ball around. Mark Hughes have now added some very useful players to strengthen his squad and none is more interesting than Xherdan Shaqiri and he may jump straight into the squad. Spurs have a superior record against Stoke but last season they lost both ties. 

If Tottenham are to be taken seriously they need to find a resolve to win games like this. I expect Harry Kane and company to bounce back with a win. 2-1.

Watford v WBA - The Hornets stung Everton last week but the home side crawled back and that was an away game for the newcomer. They certainly showed promise and guts but the Baggies haven't lost away to Watford since the mid-90s and will be the first time meeting in the top flight. If Watford win this match, it will be the first win in 15 games. WBA surprisingly showed little resistance to Man City so Watford might just get a new record here. 2-1.

Crystal Palace v Arsenal - The last five times they met, Palace lost all their games to the Gunners. So no chance for Palace? Think again. Under Alan Pardew, they became better. Last week at Palace, they were superb. West Ham's away win over Arsenal will offer them hope. Arsenal have put themselves under unnecessary pressure. If the Gunners were not as fit, why didn't Wenger have the strategy to play a different game? Now this becomes a must win match for the visitor because can you imagine that they lose another match? Anyhow, Palace seem to thrive against Liverpool but fall short whenever they play Arsenal. Probably a close win for Arsenal. 1-2.

Manchester City v Chelsea - Obviously the match of the week. This early showdown comes a bit early for last season's number one and two teams. Last season, both sides were even as they drew 1-1 home and away. On current from, City look the better side and at the Etihad must show who's the boss. Pelligrini's City in full flow is a sight to behold. But no matter how bad Chelsea may be, they are capable of not losing. So a draw is on the cards unless a moment of magic by one of their own stars could make a difference. You should enjoy David Silva or Eden Hazard creating or scoring. Then there is the epic battle of two midfield colossus in Yaya Toure and Matic. A draw allows Manchester United to look like champions heading the table.

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has wrongly chided and punished his doctors who treated Hazard. Firstly, he thinks he is now God. He was afraid of losing so much only he could come up with the logic. This has given away to him that he is a worried man. While I think it would end a draw in this match, I am now hoping that Manchester City wins. 1-1.

Liverpool v Bournemouth - The Reds laboured to win over Stoke last week with Coutinho's magic. If Liverpool were to put fear into their opponents heart, they have to stamp their authority starting from this home match. Their future is bright when you look at Jordan Ibe who is 19 and Joe Gomez who's only 18. Firmino has yet to feature, Coutinho already showed his  magic and Christian Benteke need a goal here to kick start his career. In each position, Liverpool actually have an upgrade in each position. You need to also know that there were many Liverpool players who once came from Bournemouth or later joined them - Jamie Redknapp, Adam Lallana, David James, Nigel Spackman, Sean O'Driscoll  (asst Manager), Jimmy Case, Danny Ings and Ted McDougall. Home win. 2-0.