Jacobs 0. Seaman Saturday Hull 1-3 Palace 4pm The Tigers have gone five games without a win despite a string of summer signings that should have boosted their charge for mid-table finish. Things could get worse for the side if they fail to beat Palace at home today. The bad thing is that they are coming up against a Neil Warnock side that have won two and drawn two since the new manager took over at Selhurst Park two games into the season. Hull have a big shout to stop Warnock’s run of good form but Palace, unlike last season, have been good on the journey and this away fixture could play in their favour. Saturday Leicester 3-0 Burnley 4pm Leicester City entertain Burnley in a clash of last season’s Championship top two. The Foxes have been enjoying a good run to their top flight while Burnley have only found the back of the net once in the league, with Monday’s 4-0 humbling at The Hawthorns being a stern reminder that the team will need drastic changes to their style and set up if they are to start getting results, let alone scoring goals. While Leicester can count on an array of forwards fit for this fixture, The Clarets are without their lead strikers in Sam Vokes and Danny Ings. They stand no chance. Saturday Liverpool 3-3 West Brom 4pm Six games into the season and last season’s surprise package and runners-up have already lost the title fight, or so it seems. With Daniel Sturridge still out, Liverpool are finding it difficult coping with the departure of Luis Suarez as Mario Balotelli has only served to remind them that fate is too big a burden to fight against. Captain Steven Gerrard, after the 1-0 Champions League defeat at Basel, questioned the commitment of his team mates. The Kop will need more than the 12th man at Anfield against a West Brom side that has always proved a hard nut to crack for Liverpool. Until Suarez’s magic last season, Liverpool had not beaten West Brom in more than three outings and the storyline could return to the usual in favour of West Brom. Saturday Sunderland 1-3 Stoke 4pm Sunderland are a side that will need another relegation battle to survive this season. Gus Poyet is yet to taste victory this season and pressure is beginning to build on him. Stoke have always played with a defensive approach while on the road, forcing their opponents to wear themselves out as they wait for a one-off chance to kill the game. If they employ the same tactic at The Stadium of Light, then Sunderland will fight it difficult coping in a game that Poyet should have won easily. I still feel Poyet will have to wait for another day. Saturday Swansea 4-2 Newcastle 4pm I will daringly go for double prediction in this fixture. Swansea is the rock that will break the camel’s back as a big win will force Mike Ashley to finally listen to the fans’ plea. Allan Pardew has been resolute under pressure but last week, the fans started taking the campaign to have him fired to his family and relatives. Newcastle have been short of ideas in every corner of the pitch and might need penalty shootouts to win a game with their impressive shot stopper in goal. Sadly, the league is no knockout tournament. Ashley might need to consider the payout issue by sacking Pardew because the man has proved he is not going to resign. Saturday Villa 2-1 Man City 6.30pm Manuel Pellegrini has always found it tough against the ‘small teams’ but this time round, he badly needs a win to move to within two points of leaders Chelsea knowing anything can happen when Arsenal visit the Bridge. However, to do that, City will have to cope without winger Samir Nasir, who opted for an operation and will be a month out. Last week, City had to show their mettle when Hull proved a thorn to deal with. They will need a similar mettle against a Villa side that had been in fine form until Arsenal and Chelsea consigned them to two 3-0 defeats. Belgian striker Christian Benteke, who has been out since April, could end his long layoff against City but his impact will not be much. This fixture last season saw Villa beat City 3-2 but now they will be without Ron Vlaar, who is still fighting on the stretch with a calf injury. Sunday Man United 3-1 Everton 1pm Everton are coming back from Thursday night trip to Russia where they were held to a 1-all draw by Krasnodar. Samuel Eto’o scored Everton’s equaliser and will be hoping to find the net again when he comes up at Old Trafford. United are without their skipper Wayne Rooney as well as defenders Blackett, Smalling and Evans. But this is also how they had to cope against West Ham last week when they fought tooth and nail for a 2-1 win. New signing Radamel Falcao is yet to find the back of the net despite the manager playing out with the striking force that is ‘Galactico’ enough any day. A section of pundits believe Rooney has been United’s weak link up front and that his absence will give the team the attacking edge. Sunday Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal 3.05pm Chelsea under Jose Mourinho are Arsenal’s boggy side. Wenger and his nemesis Mourinho have infamously traded quite some barbs in the recent past and the atmosphere will be further tensed when former Gunner’s skipper Cesc Fabregas turns up in Blue. For Wenger, this fixture couldn’t have come at such a bad time when injuries are the order of the day. Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud, Yaya Sanogo, as well as long-term injury victim Theo Walcott are all out. Jack Wilshere is struggling to be fit. But Wenger will be counting on the confidence Danny Welbeck has regained after being fitted into his favourite central striking position supported by the mercurial Alexis Sanchez, Oxlade Chamberlain and Mesut Ozil. The Gunners have enough ammunition upfront to outlast Chelsea today, but that will only be as long as their midfield can hold out against Chelsea’s full cast. More test will be needed to keep out Diego Costa from continuing with his fine form in front of goal. Wenger never beats Mour, they say. I will think otherwise. Just for this one. Sunday Spurs 0-2 Southampton 3:05pm Mauricio Pochetino will face his old club for the first time. For instance, the fans could easily chant something that says regardless of the result, the Saints will remain ahead of Spurs. Southampton are currently second on the log with 13 points, while Spurs sit sixth with just eight points. Ronald Koeman has showed that he is capable of pulling results and is content to have exchanged a lot with Liverpool, from players to league position. Nasser Chadli has been Spur’s most outstanding player with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor looking off colour. For a Spurs side that is brimming with so much confidence, tipping the ante against Pochetino will add to the glamour and the dream season they are having. Sunday West Ham 1-1 QPR 5:15pm West Ham United were unlucky to leave Old Trafford without a point after they had pinned United to the wall for the better part of the second half. The 2-1 result is the same as Queens Park Rangers suffered at St Mary’s Stadium when Southampton showed some mettle to scrape through with a win. Now the two sides long horns but it is the visitors who have been goal-shy this season. One of the fixtures to expect a boring game.
