After a bed ridden week with a ridiculous fever, the coughing up of much lung butter and almost little to no action on the site, I’m back in almost full health to bring in the first full week of predictions for the new year… that’s if the chill engulfing Europe at the moment doesn’t postpone a bunch of matches again. (As I write this, three matches have been called off)
Never the less, in amongst the cold, the African Cup of Nations (kicking off on the 10th Jan) and new signings for any team that can afford to pay their players on time, this weekend throws at us a bunch of matches that are poised to deliver a few upsets.
match of the round will by far be Tottenham’s trip to Anfield against a Liverpool team who seem to have a little momentum propelling them at the moment and who are desperate to replace the Lillywhites in at fourth spot. Can it happen? Potentially. Will it happen though? Long story short, no… and this is how I picked the rest of ‘em.

I predict:
Hull City 1 v 2 Chelsea
Arsenal 4 v 1 Everton
Burnley – v – Stoke City
Fulham – v – Portsmouth
Sunderland – v – Bolton
Wigan 1 v 2 Aston Villa
Birmingham 1 v 1 Man Utd
West Ham 2 v 0 Wolves
Liverpool 2 v 2 Tottenham
Man City 3 v 1 Blackburn

The aim this round was to do better than my predictions on the weekend and it’s safe to say, like Tottenham against a sloppy Man City, I kicked them out of the park while predicting 5 out of 8 results.

Gameweek score:
5 out of 8

Weekend conclusions:

• Liverpool finally scraped a win but is it too little too late?
• Arsenal will struggle without play maker Fabregas CTR‘ing things in the middle of the park
• With every passing week Villa are looking more and more like a team obsessed with a top four finish and a place in Europe next season
• and lastly, I gave far too much credit to Manchester City who I thought would put up a bigger fight against a superb Tottenham… clearly I was wrong!

Oh, and I still stick to my theory [here] about Mark Hughes only lasting till Christmas this year! After this performance, his day’s appear to be numbered.

Results:
Sunderland 0 v 2 Aston Villa
Birmingham 2 v 1 Blackburn
Bolton 3 v 1 West Ham
Man Utd 3 v 0 Wolves
Burnley 1 v 1 Arsenal
Chelsea 2 v 1 Portsmouth
Liverpool 2 v 1 Wigan
Tottenham 3 v 0 Man City

Mid-week action in pictures:

Match highlights – Tottenham v Manchester City:

Ok, I’m going for a perfect record this round… lord knows I need it to make up for the weekend’s shambles. I’m also predicting a Liverpool bite back in retaliation (look out Wigan!) and with 4th place up for grabs at White Hart Lane, a 6 goal thriller… look out, my nuts just landed on the chopping block!

I predict:
Sunderland 1 v 2 Aston Villa
Birmingham 1 v 1 Blackburn
Bolton 2 v 0 West Ham
Man Utd 3 v 0 Wolves
Burnley 1 v 3 Arsenal
Chelsea 4 v 1 Portsmouth
Liverpool 1 v 0 Wigan
Tottenham 2 v 4 Man City

If saving penalties is your thang, there’s a chance you may have been as ecstatic as Tim Howard after saving Jermain Defoe’s poorly struck kick in Everton’s epic come from behind draw at Goodison Park last night. Add to that 3 other penalty saves over the course of the weekend and I’m pretty sure some sort of league record was set… there’s also a slight chance that you may like beating the shit out of inanimate objects too, but hey I’m not one to judge you big bully. Pick on something your own size!

Gameweek score:
5 out of 10

Results:
Portsmouth 2 v 0 Burnley
Arsenal 2 v 0 Stoke City
Aston Villa 3 v 0 Hull City
Blackburn 0 v 0 Liverpool
West Ham 0 v 4 Man Utd
Wigan 2 v 3 Birmingham
Wolves 2 v 1 Bolton
Man City 2 v 1 Chelsea
Fulham 1 v 0 Sunderland
Everton 2 v 2 Tottenham

All the penalty stops and keeper kissing action of the weekend:

Match highlights – Everton 2 v 2 Tottenham:

Darren Gibson’s classy two goals, helped an experimental Red Devils triumph over a near full strength Tottenham in their Carling Cup quarter final match at Old Trafford last night… and Sir Ferg. was happy as Larry. Goal.com

And Darron Gibson is the one player in our club who can score great goals from outside the box. He has such tremendous power in his shot…
That second goal was excellent,” said the Scot.
“There was so much movement involved, on and off the ball, and the finish itself was absolutely terrific.
“We have to look upon this as a really good win for us.”

Pfft, whatever dude! The inside of my wrapper just told me I won a free Mars Bar, so technically, I’m the big winner today!

Match highlights:

When Jermain Defoe wakes up tomorrow morning he won’t have to wonder why the sun is winking at him or why bluebirds are pulling back his sheets and why hot blondes are fondling his man junk. No, all he’ll have to do is watch the replay of last night’s match and all will be revealed… seriously though, why did Wigan even bother showing up for this match? At worst they would have lost 3-0 had they decided sitting in the pub was a better option!

Match highlights:

Match of the weekend is no doubt the London derby, Arsenal v Tottenham. In the past these two teams have delivered some cracking matches so it’ll be interesting to see if one team can steal the show or if there are any horror shows to be had [Halloween pun intended]. Whatever the case, we have another jam packed weekend of football ahead and here’s how I picked the rest of ‘em:

I predict:
Arsenal 3 v 2 Tottenham
Bolton 1 v 3 Chelsea
Burnley 1 v 0 Hull City
Everton 2 v 1 Aston Villa
Fulham 2 v 2 Liverpool
Portsmouth 0 v 3 Wigan
Stoke City 1 v 1 Wolves
Sunderland 2 v 1 West Ham
Man Utd 3 v 0 Blackburn
Birmingham 2 v 2 Man City
West Ham 1 v 1 Aston Villa

Coming off two defeats, Tottenham really needed to get some confidence back with a win… and what better way than to smash home 5 against a Burnley side who have so far enjoyed a great start to the season. No matter how you put it though, this was simply an all out frustration battering, like when you’ve been c*ck blocked twice and just need to let off some steam… oh yeah, Tottenham have once again got their groove on!

Match highlights:

Older Tottenham news:
Predictions – 19th / 20th September
Spurs Silenced By 10-man United – Tottenham 1 v 3 Manchester United
Predictions – 12th / 13th September
Results that caught everyone by surprise… even Defoe!

We’re faced with a full round of fixtures this weekend, so there’ll be plenty of action, no doubt. Couple of matches to look out for, but the one of note is the fierce London rivalry taking place at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham were brought back to earth last weekend by Manchester United and some serious questions were asked of their defense… which I think Ancelloti and Chelsea will exploit again this week. Here’s how I’ve picked the rest of them.

I predict:
Burnley 0 v 2 Sunderland
Arsenal 2 v 1 Wigan
Aston Villa 3 v 0 Portsmouth
Bolton 2 v 2 Stoke City
Hull City 1 v 0 Birmingham
West Ham 1 v 2 Liverpool
Wolves 0 v 1 Fulham
Everton 3 v 1 Blackburn
Chelsea 2 v 1 Tottenham

Scoring an early goal against Manchester United can be quite a daunting thing as was proven overnight. It’s like taking the last sausage off the grill at a fat chicks convention then sneakily trying to walk it out the front door without anyone noticing. Scary thing is, you actually think you have a chance of getting away with it cause you got it early, but then the paranoia kicks in and you’re constantly looking over your shoulder wondering why the room feels like it’s slowly closing in on you everyone is staring in your general vicinity. Chances are you may get close to walking out of there with it, but there’s an even better chance you may lose an appendage or your pride in the process… my advice, just surrender it dude, seriously, it’s better for you in the long run!

Match highlights:
Great goal by Defoe.

Older Wayne Rooney news:
Payback, 5 Times As Nice! England 5 v 1 Croatia
Red Devils Bouce Back – Wigan Athletic 0 v 5 Manchester United
Advantage Porto! Manchester United 2 v 2 FC Porto
United see red – Fulham 2 v 0 Manchester United

Some cracking matches this weekend and amongst the more exciting ones is the Red devils trip to White Heart Lane to face an inform Tottenham Hotspur. Last year United were one of Tottenham’s bogey teams causing them much grief… this year however United have been a little slow off the blocks so it’s as good a time as any for the Lillywhites to step up and ‘Arry and co may actually enjoy some success. Anyway this is how I picked’em this weekend.

I predict:
Blackburn 1 v 1 Wolves
Liverpool 2 v 0 Burnley
Portsmouth 0 v 1 Bolton
Stoke City 0 v 2 Chelsea
Sunderland 1 v 1 Hull City
Wigan 0 v 1 West Ham
Tottenham 1 v 1 Man Utd
Birmingham 1 v 2 Aston Villa
Fulham 1 v 0 Everton

It’s hard to read into results so early into the season… I mean, Chelsea went down to an early goal (again) and then rallied to pull three back, United lost surprisingly to new boys Burnley, Liverpool got their first points of the season, but most impressively Tottenham (mainly Defoe) taught Hull a goal scoring lesson and now sit on top of the Premier League ladder ready to take on anyone who dare challenge them! Great start for ‘Arry and the boys.

Gameweek score:
3 out of 6

Results:
Sunderland 1 v 3 Chelsea
Wigan 0 v 1 Wolves
Birmingham 1 v 0 Portsmouth
Burnley 1 v 0 Man Utd
Hull City 1 v 5 Tottenham
Liverpool 4 v 0 Stoke City

Match highlights – Hull City 1 v 5 Tottenham Hotspur:

Match highlights:

Older Tottenham news:
Are the wheels falling off? Aston Villa 1 v 2 Tottenham
Results – Barclays Premier League – 3rd / 4th March
Two down three to go – Carling Cup Final – Manchester United 0 v 0 Tottenham Hotspur
Review – Tottenham 0 v 0 Arsenal

Match highlights:

Older Aston Villa in trouble news:
Uh oh! Manchester City 2 v 0 Aston Villa
Hate to say I told you so – Aston Villa 0 v 1 Chelsea
Review – UEFA CUP – Aston Villa 1 v 1 CSKA Moskow

Gameweek score:
6 out of 10

Results:
Portsmouth 0 v 1 Chelsea
West Brom 1 v 3 Arsenal
Liverpool 2 v 0 Sunderland
Man City 2 v 0 Aston Villa
Newcastle 1 v 2 Man Utd
Stoke City 2 v 0 Bolton
Wigan 0 v 1 West Ham
Blackburn 0 v 0 Everton
Fulham 0 v 1 Hull City
Tottenham 4 v 0 Middlesbrough

Match highlights – Tottenham 4 v 0 Middlesbrough

Older Tottenham Hotspurs news:
Carling Cup Final – Manchester United 0(4) v 0(1) Tottenham Hotspur
Barclays Premier League – 21st / 23rd February
Tottenham 0 v 0 Arsenal
Keano, A Yid Once Again…