West Ham vs Manchester United
For the first time in a while, we can genuinely consider West Ham favorites here. Within the last two weeks, West Ham beat Everton away 1-3, held Chelsea to a 0-0 draw, and decimated Macclesfield Town 8-0 in the Carabao Cup. This week, again at home, West Ham plays troubled Manchester United, who after losing 0-3 to Tottenham and failing to beat Wolves, find themselves in a far worse position than Chelsea, and may have to suffer defeat at the hands of the Irons.
There will be some good news for United fans though, as Marcus Rashford and Nemanja Matic are both set to return after serving suspensions. Ander Hererra and Phil Jones both seemed fit against Derby County in the League Cup encounter. However, the bad news coming from the Manchester United camp has nothing to do with suspensions or injuries, but rather unfortunate drama coming between manager Jose Mourinho and now ex-captain Paul Pogba in a struggle for leadership of the team.
West Ham should be able to play all their attacking options which have impressed so far, and with the confidence from their last three fixtures, plus the home crowd advantage, West Ham should be confident in teaching Manchester United a lesson.
Prediction: West Ham 2-1 Manchester United
Chelsea vs Liverpool
Most eyes will naturally be on this fixture between league leaders Chelsea and Liverpool. We aren’t completely in the dark on this match-up, as on Wednesday the two played each other in the League Cup with Hazard’s 85th-minute strike sending Liverpool out of the tournament. This time around, Liverpool will be looking to continue their 100% league record and take their revenge on the Blues, but Chelsea will fancy their chances at home and will want to jump above Liverpool to the top of the table.
Along with winger Pedro, Chelsea will have multiple defensive injuries to worry about, which may pave the way for Liverpool to win. Antonio Rüdiger, Andreas Christensen, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all capable of missing this mixture, which will leave many concerns as to how a B-grade defense could stand up to the pace of Mohammad Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mané. On the bright side, midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas should have no injury concerns and could possibly play against Liverpool on Saturday.
With that being said, Chelsea could look to outscore Liverpool, as Liverpool’s already weak defense will be hit by three more injuries. Adam Lallana, Virgil Van Dijk, and Divock Origi are set to miss out on this fixture.
Prediction: Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool
Arsenal vs Watford
Watford will look to conquer another North London team after beating Tottenham 1-2 a few weeks back, but this next task might be a bit harder. Arsenal, who moved up from ninth place to sixth following their 2-0 victory over Everton, will look to continue their excellent form up front, especially with the like of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette netting four goals so far this season.
Watford is actually ahead in the table by two spots, but at the rate Arsenal are improving, it will seem very difficult for Watford to defeat Arsenal at the Emirates. Watford will definitely threaten Arsenal’s weak goalkeeping with Troy Deeney up front, who has two goals in the Premier League so far. However, Arsenal has played far too good at home as of late, and it will seem very difficult for Watford’s defense to read Arsenal’s attack.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Watford
Other English Premier League Predictions:
Huddersfield 0-3 Tottenham
Wolves 2-0 Southampton
Newcastle 1-1 Leicester
Manchester City 4-0 Brighton and Hove Albion
Everton 2-0 Fulham
Cardiff City 0-3 Burnley
Bournemouth 0-2 Crystal Palace
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