It may be the first day of the new year, but for the Predict360 guys that means just one thing…time for their latest Premier League forecasts!
There has been plenty of movement in the league table this week, and with two correct predictions from the last round of fixtures we have ourselves a new leader! Step forward Mohammed Anabtawi.
Manchester United’s 2-0 win over West Brom and Moe’s correct forecast means the Red Devils leapfrog Manchester City and Liverpool into top spot.
Meanwhile, Shivam’s spot on prediction for Chelsea’s win at Everton sees the Blues climb out of the Predict360 league basement and back into contention.
There were points for all of our other experts for predicting the right results, apart from Mark’s beloved Everton.
Best of luck gentlemen.
TED TOTSIDIS - @TedTots (Arsenal)
What went wrong last time? Put simply, Arsenal's defense and my score prediction. Seven goals for and three soft, soft goals against. It wasn't doom and gloom by any means, but it was touch and go until Theo Walcott popped up for his second of the night and what was to be the flood gates opening, although I wasn't impressed at all by the way we defended and we need to try keep a clean sheet in our next match.
On the up side, I did predict that Walcott and Olivier Giroud would be amongst the goals but given our inconsistency / my inability to pick an Arsenal score of late, I was hoping the generous lads at Sport360 would award bonus points for picking goal scorers too :) cheers lads.
This week's prediction: Our next match is away to Southampton, who are currently flirting with the relegation zone and means one thing for us after such an emphatic win; we'll be goal-struck and will struggle to make an impact.
There's a good chance we'll spend most of our time pressing and dominating possession, yet will fail to take our chances and frustrate everyone to no-end. I'm confident we'll walk away with all three points and I'm super hopeful we can put in a good performance to set the tone for 2013.
Plus I'm hoping we score early and don't have to labour away until the closing stages of the match to get another just to shore things up. But then again, this is Arsenal and we are capable of just about anything at the moment, so I won't dispel the possibility of something like that happening, as long as in the end, this is all that matters: Southampton 0 - 2 Arsenal
SHIVAM MANGHNANI - @ShivamLM (Chelsea)
What went wrong last time? Nothing really and I’m back in the running after my correct prediction! Winning against Everton at Goodison Park – a notoriously tough place to go – is the mark of potential champions. Going down to an early goal through lack of concentration is not ideal, but the lads fought back well to grab the victory. Everton perhaps deserved a point out of the game, but Chelsea should receive plaudits for the way they closed out a tight match. And it was great to see the marauding Frank Lampard of old grabbing the headlines for his brace. Still a top player.
This week: I dislike QPR, I will make no qualms about that. I sincerely hope we beat them by nine or 10 goals, but I think it might be slightly less than that. Given this match comes off the back of two difficult away games there is a danger the players may take their foot off the gas against the relegation threatened Hoops.
If Chelsea get a couple of early goals then there is a chance they could slow down the tempo ahead of their third round FA Cup trip to Southampton and the two-legged League Cup semi-final against Swansea City. I don’t see how QPR will be able to turn around their fortunes and they looked just woeful against Liverpool on Wednesday night. As far as I’m concerned, QPR are all but relegated and it would be great to see Chelsea put one more nail in their proverbial coffin. Chelsea 4-0 QPR
MARK SCHUMANN - @MarkSchuey (Everton)
What went wrong last time? It's safe to say that I was just a touch disappointed with the Chelsea result. Everton certainly didn't deserve to lose. After scoring the early goal I hoped Everton would continue to apply pressure but fair play to Chelsea for getting back into the game.
This week: We travel to Newcastle this week and I’m expecting three points. In this fixture earlier in the season, Everton threw away the win by conceding late on. Let’s hope the same doesn't happen again. The return of Marouane Fellaini from suspension will be a big boost for the team and gives us that something extra. It would be nice for Everton to start the new year in style and for that reason I’m backing the boys for the win. Newcastle 1-2 Everton
OBAYDAH AL-NAMER - @LFCArabia (Liverpool)
What went wrong last time? Apart from Brendan Rodgers’ absence with a virus, it was a really good display from Liverpool and a good way to bounce back after the poor performance at Stoke. Okay, QPR were extremely poor, but it was a much needed win and an encouraging performance from the Reds, while Luis Suarez was – as usual - electrifying. I still can't imagine that the Uruguayan might leave us, but hopefully 2013 carries many positive news for LFC fans.
This week: Liverpool welcome Sunderland to Anfield for the first game of 2013 and the hosts will be hoping to secure three points against a struggling team that has only won seven games in 32, although they did beat Manchester City a week ago.
Having said that, I do fancy Liverpool to get something out of this game and start 2013 on a high. And with the attack-minded players they are rumoured to bring in January, they will have enough fire power to start winning at Anfield on a regular basis. Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland
DARREN BALL - @AbuDhabiDaz (Man City)
What went wrong last time? Defending. It was a thrilling game and a great one for the neutrals, but the lapses in concentration could have cost City. After starting the match like a train, City let Norwich force their way back into the contest, but we looked good going forward and it was great to see Sergio Aguero have a great day. We do need to tighten up, but I’ll be happy if we won 4-3 every week!
This week: City are back at the Etihad Stadium and host draw-experts Stoke. There is a real prospect that if City fail to break down the stubborn Potters defence, this match could transform into a long-ball, punting contest, and who would that suit more? City with Aguero and Tevez or Stoke with Kenwyne Jones and Peter Crouch? That’s what I thought.
However, I’m confident that City will do enough to get the win and at the Etihad – which we have turned into a fortress in recent times – a clean-sheet too to round of an efficient start to 2013. Manchester City 2-0 Stoke.
MOHAMMED ANABTAWI - @MoeAnabtawi (Manchester United)
What went wrong last time? I thought we played very well in our last match against West Brom and I am extremely pleased we kept a rare clean sheet. Nemanja Vidic – back at the heart of the defence - was immense; marshalling the troops and organising his defenders like a general. The Serbian’s return to the team will surely plug the leak in United’s porous defence.
This week: Wigan beat Manchester United last season when it mattered the most for United to win. United must win to maintain that 7 point lead over nearest title rivals City. With Phil Jones and Rafael coming back from injury, and Shinji Kagawa’s return, Alex Ferguson is destined to reshuffle the pack.
United might have won 4-0 at Old Trafford and we might be on better form than Wigan over the past eight matches, but nothing can be taken for granted. We lost 1- 0 last season and if not careful the Reds can drop points. I would love to see a clean sheet, but I reckon we will concede one goal.
If all goes to plan, this should be (I’m not saying will be) a comfortable win for Manchester United and a great birthday gift to Sir Alex Ferguson. Wigan 1-4 Manchester United
SIMON THURSTON - @SimonPThurston (Tottenham)
What went wrong last time? Another correctly predicted win, but an incorrect score sees me lagging near the bottom of our league. However what is pleasing is the character my team are showing in potentially tricky games, particularly away from home, where we are the Premier League's joint top scorers. Sunderland were on a good run and had beaten Manchester City prior to our visit to the Stadium of Light, so were in confident mood.
But after falling behind to John O'Shea's goal just before half time, two goals in three minutes early in the second half secured the victory.
This week: Reading have the joint second worst defence in the division and only West Ham have score fewer goals away from home, so even without the suspended Gareth Bale I expect Spurs to cause them problems all afternoon.
The Royals have also lost seven of their last nine matches, and although they did win last time out at home to the Hammers, a trip to White Hart Lane is a different proposition. It'll be interesting to see what line up Tottenham deploy for this fixture.
This season most teams have 'parked the bus' at the Lane, causing us to drop points against Norwich, West Brom, Wigan and Stoke. But although Reading have achieved back-to-back clean sheets, I don't think that will be the case today. The Royals have conceded 24 goals in eight league trips to Tottenham, and I believe it will be another long afternoon for them. Tottenham 3 Reading 0
CURRENT LEAGUE TABLE (after 14 rounds)
Man United (Moe) – 13pts
Liverpool (Obaydah) – 12
Man City (Darren) – 12
Chelsea (Shivam) – 10*
Tottenham (Simon) – 9
Everton (Mark) – 8
Arsenal (Ted) – 8*
*Game in hand
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