Saturday 3rd November

Back Chelsea (5/6, Coral) to beat Swansea

Chelsea lost their unbeaten league record last Sunday when losing at home to Manchester United.  They clawed their way back into that game, getting back to 2:2 after finding themselves 2:0 down, had it not been for the sending offs for Ivanovic and Torres they may not of lost.  Apart from that lose Chelsea have looked emphatic this season. Gone are the Mourinho days of winning 1-0 with strong, athletic, powerful players, the strict shape of the team is now not so rigid with players now interchanging positions with a passing game.  After a summer of high profile departures and big money acquisitions Chelsea have reduced the current age of their squad, bringing in bucket loads of young potential and losing the old guard and dead wood.  The current Chelsea side now play the flowing attacking football Abramovic has craved for years and the Stamford Bridge faithful are loving the change in tack-ticks and the new entertaining philosophy.  The likes of Hazard and Oscar have settled well and added a new dimension to the Chelsea game working well with the talented Mata.  Chelsea have too much movement and quality on the ball against a Swansea side that play a very open game which will suit a Chelsea side who create countless opportunities to score goals.

Swansea led the league after the first 3 rounds of matches, winning all 3, conceding no goals and scoring an impressive 9, not a bad start to the season for new boss Michael Laudrup.  Since those early lofty days Swansea have trickled down the league having only won 1 game in their last 7 premiership matches, that coming at home in a 2.1 win against an up and down Wigan side.  Swansea aren’t in great form at present but still maintain a decent home record having only lost once at home this season, that coming against an inform Everton side. Apart from Everton, Swansea have yet to face a big side or a side in good form, they have failed to keep a cleansheet since their opening 3 matches and have conceded 13 goals in the 7 scoring only 6.  

Expect Chelsea to have too much flair and creativity against Swansea tomorrow and get back to winning ways.

Back Manchester City (3/4, Stanjames) to beat West Ham

One would think I have a vendetta against the Hammers, I have opposed them on more than one occasion this season.  To all my West Ham fans that follow me I can assure you I don’t, I do find them an easy side to predict though and they have done us proud so far in all 3 selections they were involved in, scoring more than 2.5 goals in both matches where goals were the selection and losing at home to Arsenal.  If you are a West Ham fan stop reading now as once again I am backing the opposition to put the mighty Hammers to the sword.  I don’t think there is much more I can write about the Hammers that I haven’t already in previous posts, West Ham are a very solid side with some top players, when on song they are a match for any side in the league but on an off day they are a poor side who struggle to score goals.  Against superior opposition in need of a win and a performance I see them struggling.

Manchester City look a shadow of the side we saw tear teams apart at this stage last season.  Last season City were keeping clean sheets and scoring goals for fun, that no longer seems the case, they say winning the title isn’t the hard part, retaining it is.  Every football team and fan looked at the fixture list to see when they would be playing City, when you become the Champions everyone wants to knock you off your perch and take your scalp.  The pressure wasn’t on City last season but this season it is and they need to show the league they can handle the added pressure and thrive on it just like their local rivals have done for so many years.

City have more quality in their side and need to get back to winning ways. They are winning games by not playing well at the moment but it’s only a matter of time before they start clicking again and I expect that to start tomorrow.

Lay Liverpool (1.62, Betfair) to beat Newcastle

Liverpool odds to beat Newcastle are far too short, currently trading on average at 1.62 with Betfair, that’s a poor price for a team mid table against a Newcastle side who finished 5^th last season.  Brendan Rodgers has found out rebuilding this Liverpool team will take time, they now play the passing game Rodgers brings to his sides but his players are still getting used to the new style of play.  Liverpool don’t have the team or squad to compete for the Premiership title with Champions league qualification being a big ask for a side who rely heavily on Gerrard and Saurez.  Liverpool have won 2 drawn 4 and lost 3 matches this season scoring 12 goals and conceding 14, winning only won 1 game at home beating Reading 1.0, Newcastle will be tougher opposition.

Newcastle have had a slightly better start to the season sitting 2 places and 3 points above their opponents in 10^th position, winning 3 games, drawing 4 and losing 2.  Alan Pardew has brought stability to Newcastle, they are a massive club who have been on a rollercoaster ride for years but now seem to have found their way with a competitive side on the pitch a settled boardroom and more importantly happy supporters.  Newcastle have been hard to beat this season only losing to Chelsea and Manchester United, the defence is a solid unit, Cabaye and Ben Arfa are both in good form and upfront they have the league top goalscorer, Demba Ba.  Newcastle are unbeaten in their last 2 matches and will cause Liverpool Problems on Sunday.

This game has always been a tight affair in the past, some of the best games in the history of the premiership have come in this fixture, the 4:3 classics spring to mind.  Liverpool are too up and down with too few many average players, a Liverpool win is too short a price and needs to be laid against Newcastle.