Gameweek 1 - FPL

This is Tino calling with his eurovision predictions

B'mouth vs Sandwell Town

interesting game this, both sides lined up in the same system, making 1v1 comparisons straight forwards, I preferred Sandwell's wingers and thought they'd cause B'mouth's full-backs a fair few problems, Bournemouth for me have the better of it in the middle of the park and with Messi in the side they'll always create chances, ultimately I think both sides cancelled each other out

B'mouth 2-2 WBA
Messi x2 (Thiago,Pulisic)
Costa x2 (Iniesta,Carrasco)

MOTM - Costa

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Burnley vs Watford

The one thing that strikes me initially is the strength of both sides through the middle - that midfield would be a real battle, I like the Serie A feel of the Watford side and thing their defence has a bit of everything, Burnley's midfield would shut up shop though and in Kun Aguero they're always gonna carry a threat

Burnley 1-0 Watford
Aguero (Pogba)

MOTM - Pogba

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Palace vs Swansea

another game where both sides match each other man for man - really like Palace's front four and I imagine them to carry the game, They should play Henno in goal though
Swansea for me have a few players that could develop nicely but too many unknowns for me where as Palace have more proven quality

Palace 2-0 Swans
Ighalo (Rashford)
KDB - no assist

MOTM - KDB

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Hull vs Sunderland

N/A my game

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M'boro vs Stoke

This would be the first game on MOTD...2 sides packed with big game players in their starting line ups, Boro's front 4 is properly decent and would cause Stoke all kinds of problems, That said a midfield of DDR and Motta gives no forward movement and has no pace so I imagine Stoke winning the midfield battle and nullifying Boro's forwards for long spells - ultimately it came down to who could be the match winner and I couldn't call it between Suarez and Ibra or Couts and Sanchez so a nice even 3-3 draw

Boro 3-3 Stoke
Suarez (Ibra) Ibra (robben) Robben (Suarez)

Sanchez x2 (Couts,Mane) Couts (Sanchez)

MOTM - Suarez

Bournemouth 1 v 1 West Brom

Messi (Thiago) - Carrasco (Costa)

MOTM: Thiago

Cracking game at Dean Court with two well balanced sides squaring off. Bournemouth took the upper hand with the slick passing play between the middle trio of Lahm, Wilshere and Thiago proving difficult for West Brom to handle. It was indeed the home side who took the lead when a lovely give and go between Thiago and Wilshere left Yacob for dead, with the Spaniard subliming picking apart a through ball to Messi who made no mistake. The home side weren’t to have all their own way however as West Brom began to grow into the game. Youngster R.Fraser missed a glorious chance to put Bournemouth 2 up after being played in by the influential Thiago and they were ultimately made to pay. Diego Costa who had surprisingly quiet afternoon after being well marshalled by T.Silva, however the Spaniard was to have a late impact on the game, his superb hold up play saw him shrug off the attention of the Bournemouth centre halves before playing the ball out wide to Carrasco, from then on it was all about the Belgium who turned full back A.Smith inside out before firing the ball into the top corner past the helpless Guzan.


Burnley 1 v 0 Watford
Pogba

MOTM: Pogba

In a game of few chances it was the experience of the home side that was to prove the difference. Whilst the exciting youngsters in the Watford team caused difficulties to home side a lack of cutting edge ultimately saw them unable to truly test Reina in the Burnley goal. Equally the strong organised defence of Watford gave very little away in what was ultimately a game of few chances. In a match seemingly heading towards a draw a moment of magic from Pogba saw the Frenchman riffling home from 30 yards in a strike which even the great gigi Buffon could not prevent from nestling in the bottom corner.


Crystal Palace 1 v 2 Swansea
Tompkins (De Bruyne) – Kane (Dembele), Dembele (Kane)

MOTM: Dembele

A real lively encounter with some great young attacking talent on show from both sides. It was Palace who started on the front foot and took an early lead in only the 7th minute of the game. With the away side understandably concerned of the aerial presence of Godin, Tompkins was able to ghost in at the back post and nod home a fine Kevin De Bruyne corner. From then on it was the away side that really grew into the game with the exciting away trio in midfield really starting to ask questions. They found a deserved equalizer just after the break with Dembele getting the better of ward before squaring for Kane to slot home. It was a role reversal for what proved to be the winner with Kane flicking on a long ball from Van Dijk which enabled Dembele to get in behind the Palace defend and cooling slotting home.

Hull City 2 v 2 Sunderland
Dybala (Marchisio), Snodgrass – Aubameyang (Vidal) Ake (van Aanholt)

MOTM: van Aanholt

A somewhat surprising scoreline in most predicted to be a tight affair with few chances. It was Hull who started the stronger with their tight unit at the back not giving the visitors a sniff. Dybala opened the scoring after a fine ball from Marchisio with home side doubling their lead shortly after, Robert Snodgress sending a message to his manager by curling a free kick from the edge of the box past the helpless Mika. Deeney struggled to make an impact out wide and was subsequently brought off at half time and it was the introduction of van Aanholt which proved a key turning point in the game. The natural width and pace offered on the flank changed the dynamic of the game as the visitors began to grow into the game. The game to play such an inexperienced youngster in goal seemed to be paying off but it was ultimately to prove an unwise decision, a speculative through ball from Vidal saw young Zidane come flying off his line only to be left stranded in no man’s land as the pacey Aubameyang raced on to the ball before rounding the keeper and nonchantly slotting home. With the game edging towards stoppage time an attempted van Aanholt cross was blocked for a corner. From the resulting set piece the Hull keeper was left flapping as Ake rose highest to power home a late equalizer.

Bournemouth 2-1 West Brom
Messi --------------- Costa
Pulisic

Injuries hit WBA quite hard here and allowed Burnley to dominate the midfield. The pivot of Lahm and Wilshere worked quite well as Yacob looked out of his depth. West Brom have some exciting players and deserved their goal, but Burnley had too much quality.

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Burnley 1-1 Watford
Aguero ----- Alli

I like the look of both of these sides but both are not without their weaknesses. Burnley edged the midfield battle as Cazorla was given some space with Kessie preoccupied with Pogba. Verratti did not offer much protection, and neither did Alli, but the latter's freedom resulted in a goal. Aguero is always a threat but Burnley lack potency out wide, while Watford have the opposite problem with a lack of a proven goalscorer.

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Crystal Palace 1-1 Swansea City
Rashford ----------- Kane

Strange match-up this. Palace have sprinklings of real quality all over, but missed Busquets as Alonso controlled the game. Swansea have an exciting but wasteful front three, but Kane is a poacher and put them ahead as Tomkins left him unmarked. Palace going forward look relatively strong, though Ighalo was wasteful. de Bruyne absolutely dominated Gueye, and it was his through ball that allowed Rashford to finish cooly.

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Middlesbrough 2-2 Stoke City
Suarez ------------- Mane
Robben ------------ Sanchez

What a game. Both of these sides are much stronger going forwards than defensively, which made for a high-scoring encounter. Middlesbrough's front four is great even in the absence of Ronaldo, and they toyed with the weak Stoke defence all day. However, Stoke's mobile midfield quickly exploited Motta and de Rossi, and Stoke's front three is class. The three interchanged regularly and Middlesbrough's defence could not keep up.

Comment Deleted by Site Moderator

Bournemouth vs West Brom

When looking at the two sides the first thing that stuck out to me was a vulnerability at full back, specifically right back for both teams. Nyom and Smith just aren't as good as the defenders around them. Unfortunately for Bournemouth, I feel that the WBA wide men would exploit this more. WBA also have a more dominating midfield, which meant Wilshere struggled to get in the game and caused Lahm to be doing most of the leg work. Bournemouth would have been better off with him at RB imo. Messi would obviously pose a threat for Bournemouth, but Boateng and Sule is a strong defensive partnership, whilst Costa and Iniesta had a good day against their opposition.

Bournemouth 1 - 3 WBA
Fraser (Messi)
Costa (Inisesta), Costa (Iniesta), Carrasco (Strootman)
MOTM - Costa

Burnley vs Watford

Both teams are filled with class players, and this was always going to be tight. Burnley relied heavily on Aguero and Pogba, whilst Ramos dealt well with the lone Watford attacker. There were plenty of opportunities down the left hand side against Janmaat, but Gray was wasteful in possession.

Watford have a strong spine to their side, with two top CBs, and a strong midfield, but Alli was dealt with well by Nainggolan, and Jesus was marked out of the game by Rose. The difference came in Bernadeschi up against Heinrichs.

Burnley 0 - 1 Watford
Bernadeschi (Belotti)
MOTM - Nainggolan

Hull City vs Sunderland

Another tight game. The Hull City formation caused problems for Sunderland in defence and midfield, with Hysaj and Robertson supplementing the attack and helping get the better of Bellerin, who had a torrid time, and Clichy, who looked too slow to cope. The midfield battle went Hull's way, with Marchisio running the show. He had several strong encounters with Yaya, but won most of them. Kante was a shining light for Sunderland, and helped keep the score down with a number of good tackles.

Sunderland's attack has promise, but struggled to get past the three defenders they were up against. Aubameyang proved a constant threat, and Vidal pushed forward. Sunderland's wide players weren't good enough, and let their manager down.

Hull City 2 - 1 Sunderland
Snodgrass (Hysaj), Dybala (Robertson)
Aubameyang (Vidal)
MOTM - Kante

Middlesbrough vs Stoke City

This game was a hard slog for a Stoke side that struggled to get on the ball and deal with the attacking threats that the home team possessed. Ibrahimovic's strength proved too much for Indi and Badstuber, whilst the Stoke midfield was dominated by Motta and De Rossi. Mane and Coutinho came up against two top class full backs, and struggled to get much space.

It was Sanchez that was the shining light for Stoke, however, and the winger come striker caused the Boro defence all kinds of problems, wheeling away twice from the watch of Bartra.

Boro 2 - 3 Stoke
Ibrahimovic (Robben), Ibrahimovic (Robben)
Sanchez (Coutinho), Sanchez (Coutinho), Sanchez (Butland)
MOTM - Sanchez

Bournemouth 1 West Brom 1
Thiago -------- Carrasco

A close encounter which both teams being solid defensively with the 4231 formation. Bournemouth are lacking a physical presence in DM with neither Lahm or Wilshere strong enough. Brom likewise need to upgrade Yacob.

Crystal Palace 2 Swansea 1
Zaha, Rashford ---------- Kane

I like Palaces defence think it will be very hard to penetrate if the manager can find a decent partner for Godin. The pace on the wings would be too much for the Swans, who themselves have some excellent wingers in Dembele, with Alonso doing a good job dictating the play in the middle.

Hull 2 Sunderland 2
Marchisio, Berardi --------- Aubameyang, Yaya

Both teams need an improvement in goal, injuries regardless Hull need to buy a better second choice keeper. I like Hulls formation but Dybala needs a partner to play alongside to get the best out of him. Sunderland have a great centre midfield. The wingers on the other hand is shocking. I would have personally played Van Aanholt over Deeney as at least he has some pace to him.

Middlesbrough 2 Stoke 1
Robben, Ibra ---------- Coutinho

Boro edge this but barely. Think Robben would get the better of his Dutch compatriot Pieters, while Badstuber needs to me improved upon. Biro need a more younger, athletic DM to partner with De Rossi as Motta ain't all that these days.

BOU vs WBA - N/A

BUR vs WAT

Real strength in midfield and going forward from Burnley makes this game a classic for me. Slight inexperience in the home sides defence and an erratic Ramos left them exposed for Watford when they came forward but ultimately 2 very well matched teams in the end.

Score: 2-2

CP vs SWA

Another good encounter being played out at Selhurst Park but with Swansea just coming out on top eventually. I'd assume injuries hit the Crystal Palace team hard but the defence and especially the defensive midfield pairing struggled to deal with the stronger attacking force of Swansea, but it was a hard fought win.

Score: 1-2

HULL vs SUN

2 very strong sides clashed with both teams being very well matched in the midfield particularly. Some inexperience in the Sunderland defence line made it a little bit more tricky on themselves but some very good attackers and a solid formation did also allow them to break Hull down as well. Very good sides played out a tense stalemate.

Score: 1-1

MID vs STO

2 teams both very strong in their best areas, Middlesbrough's being at the back and Stoke's good going forward. Quite an aging midfield took it's toll on the Middlesbrough team and Stoke's lack of quality in defence also didn't help their cause either. Both teams shared the spoils come the end of it all.

Score: 1-1

Burnley 1-1 Watford

I'm a big fan of Burnley's cm trio, and think they would have came out on the top in the midfield battle. Overall though I thought Watford's had more quality throughout, and with a very strong defence that the home side would've struggled to get through without greater cutting edge to open the game up. At home I might have given the win to Watford but there's very little in it for me.

Palace 1 - 2 Swansea

Palace had the star men in certain positions, but Swansea have an all round good team and better options on the bench too. For the away side I think Cedric and Jannson will have to be improved upon.

Hull 1 - 1 Sunderland

The home side look solid and stronger defensively, but could've done with more in attack here to trouble an all round solid Sunderland. Not sure Masch is needed with 3 cbs. The away side fell down in the wings, probs the area that probably would've been key to get at the home side. I would've swapped Yaya and Vidal as well.

Boro 2 - 1 Stoke

I think the away cm trio would've been on top, as I'm not a big fan of Suarez in an am role, or would've been too big a gap between him and dms for me if second striker. But going forward the home team just had too much class for the Stoke defence. Not sure Badstuber will cut it given his lack of playing.

Bournemouth v West Brom

I can see both teams creating plenty of chances, but I think the experience of Lahm and the ability of Messi nicks this for Bournemouth. I don't think Rof can rely on Messi though, against tougher opposition Messi won't be enough. West Brom having a right hand side of Nyom, Yacob and Phillips doesn't help at all.

Bournemouth 2-1 West Brom
Pulisic, Messi; Costa

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Burnley v Watford

Two very good sides who cancel each other out a little here, I can see Aguero being isolated upfront with the wingers not up to scratch, I'd like to think Pogba and Cazorla get forward a lot but then I think Dele Alli gets a lot of joy off of Nainggolan. A hard fought draw in my opinion.

Burnley 2-2 Watford
Pogba, Cazorla; Alli, Belotti

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Hull v Sunderland

Both sides strong in the middle, less so out wide. It turns into a tight game despite the talent on show, and both sides settle for a point apiece. Not a classic.

Hull 1-1 Sunderland
Dybala; Aubameyang

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Middlesbrough v Stoke

Two superb attacks, defences less so. Leads to a high scoring game with Suarez and Sanchez running things for their side. Apologies for the fence sitting but neither side was able to get a winner in a frantic game.

Middlesbrough 3-3 Stoke
Suarez x2, Ibrahimovic; Suarez x2, Coutinho

Bournemouth 1-0 West Brom
Messi

With both teams focusing mostly on improving centrally, it made for a congested game with very few chances, ultimately felt bournmouths defence would deal better with costa than west broms would messi



Burnley 1-0 Watford
Aguero

Watfords dogged defence nearly held out for an unlikely draw, until a touch of class from pogba finally got aguero behind the defence and he did his job. Watford just didnt have enough up top to trouble Burnley.




Palace 0-0 Swansea

De Bruyne ran the show today, and you sense if the front 3s of the teams were swapped, it would have been a massacre, but the swansea defence had a relatively comfortable day in the trenches, swansea had a few goes at attacking, but palace snuffed those out.




Hull 0-1 Sunderland
Vidal

the defence of hull guarded young luca today fantastically, with sunderland playing some fantastic stuff but unable to get past that wall, just when all hope seemed to be lost, an absolute thundercunt from vidal left luca stranded, there were some glimmers for tino, but he will be mightily disappointed with how his wide men played today