The highlight games for this weekend’s action are MAN CITY versus ARSENAL and WOLVES versus MANCHESTER UNITED. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these as well as all game-week 3 matches with his unique and insightful commentary. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.
Please note all prices quoted below were correct at the time of publication
Game Week-3
Saturday 28th
MAN CITY v ARSENAL
BT Sport 12.30 in England
This relegation battle sees Pep 2 head North to face up against Pep 1. Both teams suffered opening day defeats. However, City got back on track in Game Week-2, comfortably hammering the sorry Canaries by a 5-0 scoreline.
Jack Grealish scored his 1st-goal in a City shirt after the unfortunate Norwich goalkeeper, Tim Krul was credited with City’s opener to make it 2-0. Aymeric Laporte added a 3rd before the break to give Pep’s High Flying Blues a comfortable lead.
Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez rounded off the rout in the 2nd-half to get the current Premier League Champions back on track after last weeks defeat against Spurs. Talking of Tottenham (nice Segway!) the Transfer speculation continues as to whether or not Harry Kane is heading to the Etihad (he is!)
This Game Week-3 set of fixtures brings up a couple of situations, one being the fact that, once all completed on Sunday evening, it will see just over 48-hours until the Transfer Window ‘slams shut’ on the 31st. That leaves Man City and Daniel Levy 2-days to sort out the protracted transfer of Harry to City.
No doubt, Sky Sports will be all over it until 5 to 11, when the headline will pop up on the screen that there’s ‘Breaking News’ ‘Man City sign Harry Kane for £150 Million’
Sky Sports have a habit, some say brilliant, others refer to as annoying (John Newsome!) of constantly referring to a piece of information as ‘Breaking News!’
Last week, the headline was, ‘Breaking News-Harry Kane turns up for Training!’ So it’s now ‘Breaking News’ that someone goes to work!
What are Sky Sports expecting the lad to do? go to B snd Q and buy some Hammerite (other paints are available!) It’s ‘Breaking News’ once Dan the Man rinses the City owners of £150 Million.
It could even be suggested (only by this EveryTip contributor) that one of the stipulations of the Transfer was Tottenham had to get the victory against Man City in the opener, with Pep privately stating, ‘Ok then, go on, Spurs are rubbish anyway so we will give them a helping hand and 3-points, then City get Harold Kane’ Obviously in a Spanish accent.
The 2nd outcome, following this Game Week-3 set of fixtures, is after being on a break since the end of May, the Premier League has another rest due to the International Break and reconvenes on the 11th of September.
That, by the way, is not a criticism, it is just an observation as the International fixtures have to be fitted in somewhere and the opening weekend of September is the place. After those sets of World Cup Qualifiers, there are 4-Premier League Game Weeks, another bunch of Qualifiers, then 4-Game Weeks, taking the Premier League up to the middle of November.
Once those are completed, the Internationals are over until March 2022 and it’s the Premier League all the way (plus the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup) so one would say, a plethora of club football.
Arsenal sit in the Bottom 3 of the Premier League table, following back to back defeats. The same Zero-points as Norwich, Newcastle, Burnley and Wolves.
On Sunday, an abject display by the Gunners resulted in a loss against Chelsea by a 2-0 scoreline. Both goals were conceded in the 1st-half.
Although abject and disappointing for the Gunners faithful, Thomas’s Blue Engines are a class act this season and most will come unstuck against Chelsea, so all connected with Arsenal should remain patient and move on to the next game.
The next game is against Man City! Alright then, remain patient and wait for the next one after City. The new signing, Ben White missed the game against Chelsea through illness.
Last week, both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette missed the fixture against Brentford due to illness, which turned out to be a result of COVID-19. It now looks like Ben has picked up the disease so, from someone who was struck down with Covid, John Newsome wishes the lad well in his recovery.
That goes for anyone who gets the illness. Get a jab or two!
Arsenal have signed Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on a permanent deal for an initial fee of £30 Million which could rise with bonuses.
Martin played at the Emirates at the back end of last season, on a loan from the Spanish Giants but has somehow decided to leave Spain and head to London full time.
The Sheffield United goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale also comes into the club, with Arsenal paying the Blades £24 Million which, again could rise to £30 Million, depending on how Double A-Ron performs.
One thing to add to that is the Gooners have been on the Social Abuse sites and given Young Aaron some terrible stick. That’s a brilliant welcome from the Arsenal faithful who should be ashamed of themselves for not giving the lad a chance before judging.
In last season’s fixture between the Real Pep Shady against the imposter who is struggling to stand up, this was a Game Week-5 affair but due to the delayed start in the campaign, took place in October. Raheem Sterling scored the solitary winning goal midway through the 1st-half to give City the victory.
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Saturday 28th
ASTON VILLA v BRENTFORD
15.00 in England
The Dean Smith Derby, sees Thomas Frank’s Bees take on his former boss, Dean Smith’s Villains. Aston Villa gained their 1st-victory of the new campaign, beating Newcastle by a 2-0 scoreline.
Danny Ings scored on the stroke of half-time to settle the nerves of the Holte End before Anwar El-Ghazi converted a penalty in the 2nd-half to get the win over the ex-Villa gaffer, Steve Bruce. Danny’s goal was a superb effort that was almost an overhead kick but not quite fully, however, still brilliant.
The result not only pleased Dean Smith but helped soften the blow of learning that his beloved Jack Grealish scored in a Man City shirt. A little tear was quickly removed from Big Deano’s eye, before the post-match press conference at Villa Park.
Brentford are still unbeaten in the Premier League after Saturday’s goalless draw against fellow Londoners, Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Both teams failed to fire and despite a lively contest, the Bees couldn’t break down a resilient set of Eagles but will be extremely satisfied with the start of their inaugural campaign in the Promised Land.
The last time Brentford headed North to Villa Park was exactly 3-years ago, in August 2018, however, this was a Championship fixture that ended in a Desmond 2-2 draw. At the time, Aston Villa were under the guidance of Steve Bruce with Dean still at the Brentford helm.
Neal Maupay opened the scoring for the Bees, with Jonathan Kodjia equalising to take both teams in level at the break. The 2nd-half panned out exactly the same, with Neal once again scoring for Brentford and Jonathan with the equaliser late on in proceedings to finish the game with the 2-2 scoreline.
Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins both were wearing the colours of Brentford that night in 2018, now in the Villa strip along with Dean Smith who took over from Big Brucey before leading Villa to the Promised Land via the Play-offs at the end of the 2018/19 season.
Thomas then took over from Dean in the Bees hot-seat, with the two set for an emotional reunion.
Bet 365 offer Aston Villa at Evens 1/1, the draw at 5/2 and 13/5 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
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Saturday 28th
BRIGHTON v EVERTON
15.00 in England
Brighton are one of the 5-teams that are 2 from 2 at the start of the 2021/22 Premier League season, following the easy victory against the newbies Watford late on Saturday Afternoon.
Shane Duffy and Neal Maupay scored the goals in the 1st-half to give Graham Potter’s men the victory by a 2-0 scoreline. It’s a testament to Shane’s professionalism, in his performance so far this term, as the Irish Defender was surplus to requirements last season and allowed to go on loan to Celtic.
The Big Man is back on the South Coast and is making it pretty difficult for Harry to leave him out of the starting eleven. The Seagulls sit alongside Liverpool, Chelsea, Leicester and Tottenham at the summit, all with 6-points from the opening 2-fixtures.
Everton were held to an away-day draw by a Desmond 2-2 scoreline on Saturday, against Leeds United at Elland Rd.
The Toffees got the advantage of a decision by VAR, who advised the on-field referee, Darren England, to have a look at the pitch-side monitor, eventually deciding to award a penalty as a result of Dominic Calvert-Lewin being man-handled by the Leeds Defender. The Sheffield Superstar 2, got up and coolly slotted the spot-kick away to give Everton an early lead.
Darren England, by the way, resides just down from Elland Rd, in Barnsley, so it was fitting a Barnsley Boy awarded the spot-kick against Leeds United. The home side did equalise to take both teams in level at the break.
Demarai Gray put the Toffees back in front early in the 2nd-half with a brilliant solo effort but unfortunately for Rafa Benitez and his men, Marcelo’s Whites again equalised to give both a share of the points. Fact.
Don’t be surprised if the Toffees bring in a couple of Defenders before the Window shuts, with the rumours that Everton are pursuing Samuel Umtiti and Malang Sarr because Rafa Benitez has only 4-realistic Defenders on his books. Like everyone else, the last few days of the Transfer Show will be interesting, if not fun.
When the cardboard Toffees headed the long-distance South back in April, on the Amazon Parcel Transporter, the real Toffees were over the moon that fans weren’t allowed in the stadium as the fixture ended in a drab 0-0 draw.
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Saturday 28th
NEWCASTLE v SOUTHAMPTON
15.00 in England
Newcastle suffered back to back defeats on Saturday with Steve Bruce now starting to become increasingly under pressure. Following last week’s home loss against West Ham, the Magpies travelled away to Villa Park, succumbing to a defeat against another set of Claret and Blues, this time Aston Villa by a 2-0 scoreline.
It looked like Newcastle had lasted until half-time without conceding until Villa scored just before the kettle was put on.
The Magpies then conceded a 2nd, after the break, to ultimately suffer the defeat that leaves Big Brucey’s Black and Whites in the bottom 3, in a cluster of 5-teams that have played-2 and lost-2. It was mentioned that the already unpopular Geordie Boy Bruce, would become even more unpopular, if that’s possible, should Newcastle start the new campaign badly.
The Toon Army are a volatile bunch and may let their feelings known in this fixture at St James Park, especially towards the beleaguered owner, Mike Ashley.
There is a rumour that Everton’s wantaway Columbian star, James (Ham-es) Rodriguez is wanted by Newcastle with supposed talks being held between the two clubs, it’s just whether Rafa Benitez would want to help his old club.
James Ward-Prowse is staying on the South Coast after recent speculation linking the Midfielder with a possible move to Aston Villa. Jim W-P has signed a new 5-year contract worth around £75,000 a week (a week!)
The influential Saints Captain, helped his team to a point from a draw by a 1-1 scoreline, at St Mary’s, against Manchester United on Sunday.
Ralph Hasenhuttl, sporting a (not so!) trendy waistcoat and Grandad Shirt, resembling one of the Shelby Clan from the popular TV programme, Peaky Blinders, somehow inspired his boys to get a positive result against Ole’s Trollies.
A speculative effort from Che Adam took a wicked deflection off Fred and spun past a helpless David De Gea to nestle in the back of the net and give Southampton a half-time lead.
United were all over the Saints, having the majority of possession and up in the other stats, such as Shots on Goal etc but like always, the main statistic is the one in the goals column and although, Ole’s Wheels equalised in the 2nd-half Wreck-It’s boys hung on for their first point of the season.
Southampton, like Newcastle, are set to raid Goodison Park, with the Toffee Defender Thierry Small a target. There is also the possibility that an old boy could make a return, with Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain being on the Saints radar.
The old saying ‘watch this space’ comes to mind for both teams on show today. This was a very entertaining game at St James Park last season with Newcastle running out winners by a narrow 3-2 scoreline.
Joe Willock opened the scoring, with Miguel Almiron adding a 2nd before half an hour was on the clock. Takumi Minamino, on-loan from Liverpool at the time, pulled a goal back for the Saints but that wasn’t the end of the 1st-half scoring, with Miguel adding his 2nd and Newcastle’s 3rd before the break.
James Ward-Prowse replied early in the 2nd-half and with Jeff Hendrick receiving a Red Card, the cardboard Toon Army had a nervous 40-minutes but Newcastle hung on for the victory.
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Saturday 28th
NORWICH v LEICESTER
15.00 in England
The Premier League fixture compilers must be Ipswich Town fans after compiling the Canaries first 3 games of their return to the Top Flight.
Liverpool, Man City and now Leicester, to take Norwich into the International break feeling like an under pressure Boxer, reeling on the ropes following the opening 3-minutes of the bout.
Daniel Farke’s men were trounced by Man City, suffering an away-day defeat by a 5-0 scoreline, after last week’s loss against Jurgen’s Reds. The unfortunate Tim Krul was credited with City’s opener deflecting a shot into his own net after 7-minutes. Tim then conceded a 2nd to leave Norwich trailing at half-time by 2-goals.
City then scored 3-more after the break to run out comfortable winners and leave the excitable Daniel Farke thanking the guys who arranged the Norwich fixtures.
Manchester United’s young Full-Back Brandon Williams, surplus at Old Trafford, looks set to be heading to Carrow Rd on a season-long loan deal that will enhance Mr Farke’s squad.
Norwich need to remain positive as not many will get anything from Liverpool or Man City and at least it gets the fixtures out of the way early doors.
Like Newcastle, Burnley, Wolves and surprisingly Arsenal, the Canaries sit at the foot of the table, resembling the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest, with Nil-points. James from Swinton, nowhere near Carrow Rd is fast becoming fed up with the Beautiful Game.
Not only have his new love, lost both of their opening fixtures, but his beloved Sheffield United have also lost 3 out of 4 of their starts in the Championship and sit 2nd from the bottom of the table with just a point. At least the Blades are used to that position.
Jim’s first footballing love, Barnsley FC are coping slightly better with 1-Win, 1-Loss and 2-Draws from their opening 4-fixtures.
What will have irked young James and the rest of the Barnsley faithful is the Super Reds were beating Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, by 2-goals to nil, then faded and allowed QPR to score twice, resulting in a Desmond 2-2 draw.
Jimbo then headed down to Bramall Lane and saw the Blades equalise an earlier Huddersfield goal, in the 92nd-minute then concede 2-minutes later to ultimately lose the Yorkshire Derby. Funny though!
The Little Blunt went out and drowned his sorrows with the lovely Jade, only 2-Pints of Fruit Kopparberg mind, as James is like a Jack Russell after a few jars and ends up spraying everywhere. The little lad is contemplating a career move and is looking at becoming a Bus Driver.
Jim has stated though that if successful, he’s going to get some Oxo Cubes and sell them to the passengers. James currently pretends to mend cars and recently put some new brakes on the Aygo, also checking the motor over to make sure it’s up to scratch, for which John Newsome is extremely grateful. Cheers Blunt!
Leicester were on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline on Monday Night Football, succumbing to a defeat at the London Stadium against West Ham. Wearing a very fetching Mint away shirt, that’s the colour of Mint, not the speech, as in that shirts ‘mint!’ It is mint, by the way, both in design and colour, bet it smells fresh too.
After conceding a goal midway through the 1st-half, the Foxes task became a lot more difficult when Ayoze Perez was shown a Straight Red Card for a horror challenge on Pablo Fornals.
The on-field referee, Michael Oliver initially missed the tackle but after being asked by VAR to check the monitor, Michael immediately produced the Red and Ayoze was off to put the kettle on for his mates half-time cuppa.
Although the Leicester players were perplexed by the decision, it was the correct one, with VAR getting the decision right. Barnsley Boy, Darren England was in the Stockley Park Industrial Unit.
After the break, Brendan’s not so Wonderful’s again shot themselves in the foot, when Caglar Soyuncu passed the ball back to Kasper Schmeichel blindly and didn’t see the excellent Michail Antonio, who intercepted the ball and gave it to a teammate who scored a 2nd Hammers goal.
Youri Tielemans pulled a goal back for the Foxes to give the travelling faithful, brief hope of a comeback, however, not to be as West Ham scored twice more to inflict the dominant defeat on Leicester.
Rod Stewart and Lennon were happy, with the pooch knowing that the Hammers shirt with ‘Stewart’ and ‘76’ on the back wasn’t this time heading in his direction.
Sir Roderick was dancing around the kitchen at his gaffe not far from the London Stadium, as he poured the lovely Penny and himself a glass of wine and got a handful of Doggy Treats for Lennon whilst singing in his distinctive voice, ‘I’m forever blowing Bubbles, pretty Bubbles in the air’
Roddy Boy was doubly delighted after seeing his beloved Green and White Hoops hammer St Mirren (who?) in the SPL (Scottish Pub League) by a devastating 6-0 scoreline.
There was one slight disappointment from the weekend’s football that did amuse Little Lennon, with Celtic’s arch Glasgow rivals Rangers, under the guidance of Steven Gerrard, also gaining a victory in the Pub League, beating Ross County (who?) by an away-day 4-2 scoreline.
At least that gave the puppy an excuse to bark out the weekly tune, ‘He’s Celtic, United but Brendan has decided that Leicester is the best place to be!’ Woof-Woof!
Jamal Lewis scored the only goal, the last time the Canaries hosted the Foxes at Carrow Rd, to give Norwich the victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
Bet 365 offer Norwich at 4/1, the draw at 13/5 and slight Odds On 7/10 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.
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Saturday 28th
WEST HAM v CRYSTAL PALACE
15.00 in England
West Ham are one of the Premier League Five as they are now known, well for one week anyway, after comfortably beating Leicester at the London Stadium by an emphatic 4-1 scoreline. The Hammers leapfrog all of Tottenham, Brighton, Liverpool and Chelsea and top the table on goal difference, with all 5, registering 2-wins from 2.
Pablo Fornals opened the scoring after some great play from the Hammers forward line with Said Benrahme providing the assist, to give David Moyes Boys a half-time lead and a man advantage following the sending off of Leicester’s Ayoze Perez.
Said then scored himself early in the 2nd-half following great intuitive play by Michail Antonio who nipped in to intercept a bad back pass to the Foxes ‘keeper and set up his mate who coolly slotted home.
It was then the Michail Antonio show who scored twice, which not only took the boy to the top of this terms goal scoring charts with 3 for the season so far, it also makes Antonio, West Ham’s all-time Premier League leading goal scorer with 49, so far, now 2-more than the great Paolo Di Canio. The Italian won’t be happy!
Respect to Mr Moyes as this EveryTip contributor has been a critic over the years, especially following the lads time at Old Trafford but credit where due and certainly David deserves some credit for assembling a great set of Bubbles with the possibility that Jesse Lingard could arrive before the end of August.
Said Benrahme, Jarrod Bowen, Declan Rice, Pablo Fornals and of cause, Mr Antonio are great players but Jesse will enhance an already brilliant team, who, it’s worth mentioning again, are sitting at the top of the Premier League. There won’t be many occasions folk have said that over the years.
Crystal Palace, under the new gaffer Patrick Vieira have now played 180-minutes in the Premier League, over 2-games and failed to score in that time.
In the recent goalless draw against fellow Londoners and new boys Brentford, Palace did come close a few times with strikes from James McArthur and Wilfried Zaha.
Wilfried is still an Eagle and the Ultras will be hoping that stays the same after the Window shuts on the 31st. Whilst Pat’s Boys haven’t scored yet, to keep a clean sheet is a plus and no doubt the goals will come.
Crystal Palace are targeting Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah but it will probably cost the Eagles in the region of £10 Million, with the Gunners having to decide whether to keep the lad and give Ed a contract extension or sell. This was a pre-Christmas affair last season, which ended in a draw by a 1-1 scoreline.
Christian Benteke had a night filled with mixed emotions, firstly receiving a Yellow Card, then scoring to give Palace a half-time lead.
Sebastian Haller equalised for the Hammers after the break before Christian received a 2nd-Yellow and ultimately a Red Card and an early bath.
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Saturday 28th
LIVERPOOL v CHELSEA
Sky Sports 17.30 in England
The fixture of the weekend sees 2 of the 3 favourites to win the Premier League title go head to head early on in the campaign. Not many have mentioned Liverpool as potential Premier League winners for this term, with most favouring Man City or Chelsea.
Yet with Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez returning, plus Jordan Henderson back in the fold, Jurgen’s Reds are back on track with virtually the same starting eleven as when the title was achieved a couple of seasons back.
After the win in the opening game, comfortably beating Norwich, Liverpool ventured up to Turf Moor and gained a victory against Burnley by a 2-0 scoreline, with a goal in each half. That elevated the Reds to the top of the table, for 24-hours, until today’s opponent’s result on Sunday.
Meaning because C is before L in the alphabet, Chelsea sat top, themselves only for 24-hours too, then replaced by West Ham. With all-5 of Tottenham, Brighton, Liverpool, Chelsea and West Ham having 2 from 2 in the Win Column. Last week saw 10-Winners and 10-Losers, with 7-Home Wins and 3-Away Wins.
In Game Week-2, there were 7-Winners (obviously 7-Losers) and 3-Draws, with 5-Home Wins and 2-Away Wins. So from 20-fixtures, there are 12-Home Wins, 5-Away Wins and 3-Draws. Compare that to last season’s opening 2-Game Weeks.
In Game Week-1 of the 2020/21 campaign, there were 2-Home Wins and 6-Away Wins, with no-Draws. The Eagle-Eyed out there who are good at Math will immediately shout out, ‘That’s only 8-results!’
Correct. However, both the Manchester clubs were given the opening weekend off due to being rubbish in Europe, so only 8-fixtures.
In Game Week-2, there were 10-games, with 5-Home Wins and 5-Away Wins, again no-Draws.
In Game Week-3 there were 2-Home Wins, 6-Away Wins and 2-Draws.
That obviously suggests that last season’s lack of fans in the Stadium had a detrimental factor on the Home team, whereas this term, with the faithful allowed back in the grounds, the players respond better. Diogo Jota scored the 1st against Burnley with Sadio Mane adding a 2nd to secure the victory.
It’s early days yet, with 5 of the 10 who all registered opening day wins, gaining the victory in Game Week-2, giving the 5-teams, 6-points at the top of the pile.
Like all the Premier League teams, when Game Week-3 finishes on the 29th, there will then be a break of a fortnight due to the International break, plus 2-days until the Transfer Window shuts at 23.00 on the 31st of August. It’s unsure whether Jurgen will bring any new players in before the Window closes.
There’s idle talk of Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski being linked with the Anfield Rappers but it’s extremely unlikely that either will head to Merseyside. A more realistic piece of Transfer News is a player leaving, that being Xherdan Shaqiri who looks to be on his way to France to join Lyon.
It was mooted last week that Harvey Elliott would probably go out on loan, however, Jurgen started Harvey against Burnley and the youngster had a great game so maybe will stay at Anfield and become a regular in the Liverpool 1st-team. Chelsea comfortably beat a struggling Arsenal team on Sunday getting the victory by a 2-0 scoreline.
Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea went out and paid Inter Milan £97 Million for the services of the ex-Blue Romelu Lukaku. Unlike Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Thomas threw Big Rom straight into the starting eleven and was immediately rewarded for that decision with Mr Lukaku tapping home the opener after 15-minutes at the Emirates.
Reece James then added the 2nd before the break and with no further goals in the 2nd-half, Chelsea held on for the victory and went to the summit of the Premier League table.
Thomas’s Blue Engines have 6-points from 2-fixtures, matching Liverpool, Brighton and Tottenham but having a better goal difference than the Seagulls and Spurs and just sitting at the Top due to C for Chelsea being before L for Liverpool in the alphabet, as both have scored the same 5-goals.
There is still the possibility of Joules Kounde coming in from Seville and Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid before the end of the Window.
At Anfield last season, Mason Mount scored the only goal just before the break to give Thomas the victory over Jurgen by a 1-0 scoreline.
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Sunday 29th
TOTTENHAM v WATFORD
14.00 in England
Tottenham, surprisingly sit joint top of the table with 6-points from 2-fixtures having beaten Man City in the opener and Wolves on Sunday, both by a single 1-0 scoreline.
Dele Alli, who has not only broken free from the shackles of Dracula but has also grown his hair, went down under a challenge from the Wolves goalkeeper to win a penalty.
The dreaded VAR did have a look but in a tweak to the controversial system, it appears that the on-field referee’s initial decision is not going to be changed unless it’s a glaring error. Dele jumped up and converted to give Spurs an early lead.
Tottenham held on for the victory to be part of the Premier League Five, who have all registered 2 from 2, so far. Harry Kane was named as a substitute and given the final 20-minutes by Nuno, obviously to show Man City that the lad is fit enough and to allow Mr Kane to wave goodbye to the travelling LillyWhites.
Man City are still to-ing and fro-ing with Tottenham regarding the signing of Harry Kane. A lot of so-called pundits appear to think that Harry will not be sold this summer but will be next season.
It’s been documented in this column that Tottenham are at the optimum moment to sell HK and won’t get anywhere near the £150 Million, that is being targeted by Daniel Levy, next season.
Daniel is a shrewd businessman and although no one at Tottenham (apart from Harry!) wants Mr Kane to leave this Summer, £150 Million could change that.
After the horrendous pandemic that has swept the World, Tottenham, like most clubs need dollar and although, as mentioned, Harry is officially not for sale, Daniel is not daft and will know that this will be the prime opportunity to sell Big Harry.
Mr Kane has just turned 28, a couple of weeks ago, in the prime of his career, with 3-years left on his current Tottenham contract. The £150 Million price-tag, is the maximum that Spurs and Mr Levy will ever get for Harry Kane.
Even if Tottenham refuse to sell, in 12-months time, Harry will be 29 and the contract will only have 2-years to go. That £150 Million will have reduced dramatically.
Mr Levy knows this and will play a game similar to Poker to wait for the right time and offer, which could be in the final minutes of the expiry of the Transfer Window on August 31st.
Big Harry is reportedly on £200,000 a week (a week!) so the money isn’t the issue, Man City would match that and more, the issue is the current state of play at Tottenham.
It’s ridiculous to think that Harry Kane will want to stay at Tottenham and compete in the Europa Conference League when a Champions League outing is on offer. That said, Spurs may not progress in that particular competition as Nuno’s men are a goal down from the 1st-leg, against Ferrero Rocher of Portugal. The Ambassador is over the moon.
The correct name of the club is Pacos De Ferreira but the chocolate pseudonym is much funnier! It will be a significant factor in the Harry Kane Affair if HK is omitted from the matchday squad for this fixture against Watford.
If an hour before kick-off, on Sunday afternoon, Nuno doesn’t pen Harry’s name on the team sheet, then the Spurs faithful will know the lads off to Manchester.
Tottenham’s record signing, Tanguy Ndombele appears to have seen the ice-berg too and wants away from the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium like his mate Harry.
Spurs signed Big Tangfastic for a fee of £63 Million, just 2-seasons ago but now the 24-year old French Midfielder has had enough of London and wants out, so like HK, will probably not play in this fixture against Watford.
It’s not all bad news for the faithful as not everyone wants to leave and there is the possibility of a new signing, with Papa Matar Sarr, an 18-year old Midfielder currently at the French club Metz, coming in on a 6-year deal.
However, the caveat to that is, Papa will be straight back on the Eurostar and will spend another season at Metz to further develop the lad’s career.
After the brilliant opening day victory against Aston Villa, Watford’s honeymoon period quickly came to an end last Saturday with the Hornets suffering an away-day defeat against Brighton by a 2-0 scoreline.
Xisco Munoz side conceded both goals before the break and failed to offer up a threat to the Seagulls, succumbing to the loss. It’s unlikely that Watford will add to the squad before the 31st.
It’s been a couple of years since Watford headed the short distance down to London to face Tottenham. Both were under different managers at the time, with Mauricio Pochettino still at Spurs and Quique Sanchez Flores at the Watford helm.
Abdoulaye Doucoure gave the Hornets the lead in the 1st-half, with Dele Alli equalising for the LillyWhites after the break to give both teams a share of the points from the 1-1 draw.
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Sunday 29th
BURNLEY v LEEDS UNITED
Sky Sports 14.00 in England
Sean Dyche’s Clarets are now 2 from 2 in the defeats column following Saturday’s loss against Liverpool away at Anfield by a 2-0 scoreline.
Burnley conceded a goal in either half to ultimately lose the tie and sit with Norwich, Arsenal, Newcastle and Wolves at the foot of the table with Nil Points from the 2-outings.
Although the Clarets got the victory against Liverpool at Anfield last season, that was more of an exception to the rule and Jurgen’s Reds won’t lose many at home this term so Sean shouldn’t beat himself up too much and quickly move on to a much easier fixture against Leeds United.
Still, a tough game but Leeds are not of Liverpool’s standard, no one can argue with that, so the Burnley faithful, all with an extra coat, should look forward to an improved performance. Leeds United came back twice against Everton on Saturday to earn a point from a Desmond 2-2 draw.
After Liam Cooper manhandled Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the box, the dreaded VAR intervened and informed the on-field referee to award an Everton penalty, which was duly converted.
The on-field referee, Darren England, is from Barnsley, just down the M1, from Leeds. Nice one Darren!
Mateusz Klich equalised for the home team to send the Marching On Together crew into overdrive after witnessing live, the first Premier League goal at Elland Rd in 17-years, making the scores level at the break.
Everton again went back in front early in the 2nd-half with a goal that the young goalkeeper Illan Meslier will feel that he could have done better in saving.
It was then left to Raphinha to score the goal of the game to equalise and earn Leeds United a well-deserved point following last week’s mauling at Old Trafford.
Kalvin Phillips was back in the starting eleven and looks set to stay at Elland Rd which although is brilliant for the Whites faithful, is disappointing for the Red Devil’s who certainly could do with KP at Old Trafford. Marching On Together!
Back in May, Burnley were already on the beach when Leeds United turned up at Turf Moor, with the Whites running out easy away-day winners by a 4-0 scoreline.
Mateusz Klich gave Marcelo’s men an early lead with 2nd-half goals from Jack Harrison and a couple from Rodrigo, giving Leeds the easy victory over Sean’s Flip-Flop wearing Clarets.
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Sunday 29th
WOLVES v MANCHESTER UNITED
Sky Sports 16.30 in England
Wolves match Norwich, Arsenal, Newcastle and Burnley in being 1 of the 5 who have suffered back-to-back defeats in the opening 2-fixtures following Sunday’s loss against Tottenham in the Nuno Espírito Santo Derby.
Jose Sa, the new Wolves goalkeeper, was deemed to have fouled Dele Alli early on in proceedings to gift Spurs a penalty. Dele converted past the unlucky Mr Sa to score the only goal of the tie to inflict a 2nd-defeat on Bruno Lage.
Bruno probably needed a drink afterwards, maybe a pint of something? At least this will be an easier fixture against Manchester United, following games with Leicester and Tottenham.
In last weeks defeat against the Foxes, Adama Traore was put clean through to score an easy goal, however, fluffed his lines and put wide. On Sunday, Adama had an almost mirror image chance but once again failed to convert. That’s the fine margins between having 2-points from 2-draws on the board, then sat at the bottom with nothing.
The Baby Oil Man definitely needs to work on his finishing as it has cost Wolves the chance of getting 2-Draws. The baby oil is put on Mr Traore, apparently to prevent the opposition from grabbing hold. Of course, it is Adama!
After last week’s opening victory against Leeds United, everyone was waxing lyrical about Manchester United, yet this EveryTip contributor did offer a cautionary note that Ole’s Wheels comfortably beat Marcelo’s Whites last season at Old Trafford with Mr Bielsa offering up a style of football that simply suits United.
So although the victory by a 5-1 scoreline was exciting for the faithful, it was only the same as last term’s 6–2 win against Leeds at an empty Old Trafford. Cut to a week later and the real Manchester United turned up against Southampton at St Mary’s.
Last season, Ole’s Trollies fell behind and trailed at half-time by a 2-0 scoreline, yet OGS was able to introduce Edinson Cavani at the break, who changed the momentum of the game and inspired the Grey Devils into gaining a victory by a 3-2 scoreline.
This season, Edinson wasn’t available and for some reason, Ole decided to start with Anthony Martial leaving Jadon Sancho on the bench, more about that is to come.
Wearing a new Blue Away kit with Yellow shorts, apparently the 3rd-kit? (Why wasn’t the 2nd-kit used?) United were all over the Saints from the start, yet similar to last season, conceded a goal against the run of play. Fred was credited with their goal.
There was a contentious issue in the build-up which saw Bruno Fernandes appear to be fouled by the big Saints Defender, Jack Stephens.
The on-field referee, Craig Pawson, played on resulting in a deflected shot off Fred spinning past a helpless David De Gea, to give Southampton a lead at the break. Mason Greenwood replied in the 2nd-half but United couldn’t push on for the victory and ended with a point from a 1-1 draw.
A lot of the old-pros immediately stated that it wasn’t a foul on Bruno but in truth, even though referees have been advised to let play continue and not blow up for every contact, which is right, however, 9 times out of 10, Bruno would’ve got the free-kick.
Unfortunately on this occasion, it was the 1 out of 10th time and Southampton gained the advantage. It was a foul!
A point to make about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United, in contrast to Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea, is United have spent £115 Million on Jadon Sancho and Rafael Varane and put them both on the bench.
Thomas paid £97 Million for Romelu Lukaku and stuck the Belgium straight into the Chelsea starting eleven against Arsenal. Some might say, ‘So what?’ Both guys are 48-years old, Ole was 48 in February, Thomas reaches that number this week. Yet Thomas Tuchel is a serial winner and is the manager of the current Champions League winners, Ole isn’t!
As a manager, Ole hasn’t won anything and is not the boss of the current (insert any trophy here!) Mr Tuchel dropped Timo Werner to the bench, even though the young German was a regular starter for Chelsea.
Mr Gunnar Solskjaer decided to start Anthony Martial against Southampton, for the first time in an age, instead of bringing in Jadon Sancho. Rafael just sat twiddling his thumbs looking smooth on the United bench for the full 90-minutes. There’s the difference between a serial winner and a serial, well, not winner.
It’s difficult to say Ole is a serial loser after what the lad has achieved in the game, however, that was as a player, as a manager, OGS has yet to win anything and on current form, doesn’t look like winning anything anytime soon.
The real problem at Old Trafford has yet to be addressed, it’s all very well paying millions for a Forward line and Millions for a Defence when the Midfield is not good enough to firstly protect the Defenders and then to supply the Forwards. Against Southampton, Ole picked Fred and Nemanja Matic.
As stated in last week’s column, there’s an amnesty regarding Fred, so no comment and Nemanja, although once of quality, is past his sell-by. Against a poor set of Saints, United’s Midfield was simply inferior, with James Ward-Prowse, wearing the wrong colour shirt, being a class above.
Aston Villa supposedly offered £25 Million for JWP, which resulted in the Saints-Captain signing a new deal at St Mary’s.
Why haven’t Manchester United gone to Southampton with a cheeky little bid for James? At least enquire! Added to that, there’s a brilliant Midfielder at the Amex, which John Newsome documented last season and that is the excellent Yves Bissouma.
Granted, Brighton may not want to sell Yves (nicknamed Christmas in the dressing room) but as mentioned on many occasions, money talks and at worse, United should at least make an enquiry about Mr Bissouma and offer an amount that the Seagulls would struggle to turn down.
Can any of the United faithful both cardboard and real, say that the current Midfield crop at Old Trafford are better than the 2-South Coast lads, James Ward-Prowse and Yves Bissouma? Doubtful.
After just 2-fixtures of the new campaign, it’s already apparent that Ole’s Trollies are way off the pace of Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City and for that matter, Leicester, who should be included in the conversation.
Manchester United somehow finished as runners-up to the Noisy Neighbours, however, as this is a prediction site, John Newsome predicts that Ole’s Wheels will struggle to finish in the Top Four unless the Midfield is addressed and that still may not get United up to the level of the others mentioned above.
Ole’s Zebra Devils got the victory by a 2-1 scoreline, over Nuno’s Gold and Blacks, at Molineux, in the final fixture of the 2020/21 season.
The United youngster Anthony Elanga scored early on in proceedings, with Nelson Semedo equalising soon after.
Juan Mata scored late on in the 1st-half to give the away team the lead at the break.
With no further goals, an under-strength Manchester United team got the victory over a whimpering set of Wolves who had one flip flop on the beach, knowing Nuno was on his way out of the club.
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