Gameweek 3 - FPL

Burnley 1 v 0 West Brom
Alli

Burnley nick all 3 points by virtue of a superb defensively display to keep the visitors at bay. The home side boast one of the strongest defensive units in the league with Kante and De Rossi also offering great protection to the back 4. They do however lack a little going forward with improvements definitely required out wide as they may ultimately struggle to score goals with a seeming overreliance on Alli and Aubameyang at present. West Brom for me boast one of the strongest spines in the league and will consider themselves unfortunate not to find a breakthrough. Costa had little joy against the Burnley cb pairing whilst Coman and Carrasco were also kept in check by their respective counterparts. The visitors may however look to acquire more of a goal scoring threat from midfield with Strootman offering little in comparison in what is otherwise a very strong midfield. In a game of few chances it was that man Dele Alli who popped up with the winner.

Crystal Palace 2 v 2 Bournemouth
Messi, Thiago : Ronaldo, G.Jesus

Palace have done well to recognise their weakness going forward and quickly sought to rectify this by bringing in one of the most lethal goal scorers in the world, although has come at a price with the home side now looking a little vulnerable at the back. Bournemouth have also done well to build a stronger overall side with the addition of Firmino taking some of the weight off Messi’s shoulders, the left hand side of the team would be a potential area of improvement however, particularly in comparison to the world class stars they boast on the right. A fun affair to watch with plenty of goalmouth action in a game which neither side deserved to lose and the added spice of seeing the two best players in the world do battle.

Hull City 1 v 1 Watford
Pogba - Sane

A game with a strong Italian flavour as two Serie A inspired teams battled it out. Hull remain defensively solid in a side which will not concede many this season, even less so when their first choice keeper returns back from his spell on the sidelines. The visitors dominated the midfield battle but could not turn their dominance of possession into goal scoring chances by virtue of the resilience put up by the home side. The right hand side of the Watford team seems an obvious area of improvement with Iwobi not up to the standard of his counterparts and Roberto being given a tough afternoon by the unpredictable Sane. Defoe would be the first player of improvement for the home side as he was not quite on the same level as the always dangerous Dybala. Pogba fired the visitors into the lead midway through the second half with a thunderous strike from distance before Sane levelled things up and earned his side a share of the spoils, finishing neatly after a jinking run from out wide.

Stoke City 1 v 2 Sunderland
Mane – Ibrahimovic (2)

Attack versus defence at the Brittania in a game which the overall strength of the visitors saw them leave with all 3 points. The stats will show that it was the home side who created the greater number of chances however the solid defence and overall strength in the middle of the park ultimately proved the difference. Stoke boast an array of attacking talent however their defence leaves a little to be desired. The opposite must be said of Sunderland who boast a solid backline and midfield trio but are in desperate need of a greater attacking threat with a seeming overreliance on the big man up top at present. The home side came racing out of the blocks and took the lead through Mane who got the better of Bernat before firing home. As the game wore on it was the visitors who began to exert their strength and were able to turn the game around as an Ibrahimovic double saw them walk away with all 3 points.

Burnley 1 - 1 West Brom
Auba (Alli) ; Costa (Iniesta)

Attack against defence here. The home team were stronger at the back, but the away side were stronger in attack. With a better winger than Shaqiri I might have given this win to the home side. For the away side I'd say improvements could be made in defence.

Hull City 1 - 1 Watford
Dybala ; Belotti

The home side I think have the more solid team with their duo in front of the defence. In the away side I'm not a fan of Pogba in that deep role, and Kessie is strong defensively but I don't see him having the discipline to play the dm role to a high level yet, seems more like Pogba anytime I've seen him. The home side not having an am couldn't take advantage though. The away side had the more quality overall but I prefered the balance in the home side so have to go with a draw.

Boro 2 - 1 Swansea
Suarez, Aguero ; Meyer

The home side look good value as having the best players in the league at the moment. The away side had better cover for their defence though, as I don't see the Boro's cm partnership cutting it as cover for all their attacking talent, two similar hard working players who both like to attack. The difference in attacks was what won this for Boro. Just had to much class for the away side. Getting a star player to replace Hazard would make a good difference to Swansea for me.

Stoke 1 - 1 Sunderland
Hazard ; Ibra

The home side are defeinitely top heavy, with a quality attack full of class, and I didn't think Sunderland had enough about them to take advantage of Stoke's quite weak defence. The away side are a stronger side overall with a great defence but lack a creative edge in the final third for me, the midfield trio all tend to operate in deeper areas and they could upgrade their wingers. With no clear winner I had to go for the draw.

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Burnley vs WBA

A tight game this, Burnley have the better of the back 5 which gives them a solid platform to build on, I think Costa and PEA are pretty close in quality, although different players - Costa in Burnleys team would be awesome. Not struck on Burnleys wingers and that's where I'd look to improve - Albion need a better LB I think but have the makings of a very good team

Burnley 2-1

PEA x2
Costa

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Palace vs B'mouth

In a game that would be all about CR7 and Messi, it comes down to the periphery of the other players, I like Firmino up top a very tidy player with goals in him, not sure on Rabiot myself and haven't seen enough of Davies...I like the Ndidi Santi combo and think that could do well....I guess ultimately it really does come down to CR7 and Messi

Palace 2-1 B'mouth
Ronaldo, Jesus
Messi

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Boro vs Swansea

Swansea are slowly slowly getting there BUT this is a monumental task for them, for me there's too many individual battles that go against them
Radja & Arturo would steamroll Gueye and Alonso
Robben and Reus are too hot to handle for Gaspar and Cresswell
Aguero and Suarez are just too damn good
Sorry Lubes you are improving but Boro are too strong for you right now

Boro 4-1 Swansea
Aguero x2 Suarez x2
Kane

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Stoke vs Sunderland

I really like this Sunderland team and for me the North-east has 2 massive contenders for the title. Defence is solid midfield is solid but not massively creative but the front 3 will cause anyone problems. Stoke have a really good front 5 - the midfield 2 can certainly get a foothold in the game especially as I don't see much forward movement from Sunderlands midfield, The 3 Am's could trade blows with anyone and Sanchez through the middle has shown for Chile and Arsenal that it's a nice prospect....both sides went for it but neither could really land a knock out blow so a narrow points win for Sunderland

Stoke 1-2 Sunderland
Sanchez
Ibra,Ribery

CP vs BOU

2 teams with strong sides in different areas but with the away side coming out on top in the end. With both teams having the big name player available to them in their starting teams, both have very strong attacks with them both involved alone. Although Thiago Silva and Benatia have enough to stop Ronaldo doing enough to help the home side and even with some excellent youth players in wide areas for the home side, their defence unfortunately lets them down against a strong attacking side.

Score: 1-2

HULL vs WAT

Both sides have strong sides once again in different areas. Hull certainly have a strong defence and midfield which did enough to cope with the Watford attack but just didn't have enough going forward to steal all 3 points. But entertaining nonetheless really.

Score: 0-0

MID vs SWA

The home side for me are the stronger side unquestionably. Better in every aspect of this game and it's unfortunate for Swansea who have a strong side themselves but it's powerless to stop the onslaught that Middlesbrough had in this game and a comfortable home win in the end.

Score: 3-0

STO vs SUN

Just like most of the other games, 2 strong teams but in different areas. Stoke with a fantastic front 4 capable of damaging any defence, but defensive vulnerabilities leave them exposed, but with good promise in their defence for years to come. Sunderland have a well balanced side, slightly aging in some areas, particularly going forward but some good young potential to look forward to as well. 2 good sides cancelled each other out in another entertaining score draw.

Score: 2-2

Burnley vs West Brom

Tight game, as you would expect. Dele Alli struggled to make much of an impact on the play, with Casemiro dealing with him well. Coman had some joy against Alonso, who struggled when caught on the back foot. Costa struggled against Ramos, but did well against Bonucci. The left side of the Burnley defence could be improved. West Brom could do with a FB upgrade, even if Burnley didn't capitalise on it.

Burnley 0 - 2 West Brom
Costa (Carrasco), Coman (Carrasco)


Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth

Both teams balanced each other out perfectly here, with each player often being matched against someone of similar quality. Guedes struggled to influence the game much, struggling against a deep lying midfield, whilst Ndidi was a weak point for the other team, but one that was never really exploited.

Crystal Palace 1 - 1 Bournemouth
Jesus (Rose)
Firmino (Davies)


Hull City vs Watford

De Bruyne found a lot of joy in this game, targetting Mascherano, who lacks the legs to work as a midfield two, and should be playing further back. Hull also struggled to contain the opposition team's wingers, but this was a struggle that Watford experienced, with the Hull wingers being the main threat. Defoe looked out of his depth in the Hull attack.

Hull 0 - 2 Watford
De Bruyne (Bernadeschi), Bellotti (Bernadeschi)


Stoke vs Sunderland

Rashford is inexperienced and unproven, and should be playing on the left of the attacking trio, not the right. Ribery struggled to have much of an impact, given his age. Busquets dealt with Coutinho well enough, and Ibrahimovic dominated the opposition defenders, but he lacked the service to have much of an effect. The Stoke attack, meanwhile, is one filled with quality.

Stoke 3 - 1 Sunderland
Sanchez (Hazard), Sanchez (Hazard), Hazard (Sanchez)
Ibrahimovic (Dembele)

BURNLEY 1-0 WEST BROM
Aubameyang

Burnley cons - not a massive fan of alonso in a back 4, but thats just personal taste, my next target to replace would be shaqiri

West Brom cons - not too much wrong, just thought burnley had the edge overall, personally not a fan of your right side



CRYSTAL PALACE 0-1 BOURNEMOUTH
-------------------------------------Firmino

Palace cons - not sold on ndidi, also think your 3 behind ronaldo us missing a little something, maybe a calmer, more experienced head in that area of the pitch

Bournemouth cons - would be saving my cashola for a better keeper, would also play havertz instead of davies, but can see why you didnt.



HULL CITY 0-0 WATFORD

hull cons - only really iwobi of main concern

Watford cons - if thats the formation you are sticking with, id go for a guy batter at keeping hold of the ball than defoe



MIDDLESBROUGH 0-0 SWANSEA CITY

result might look tough on boro but i do like that swansea side

boro cons - get a playmaker in for one of those strikers, but you already knew that, if i were saving my cashola for one signing, id go for a top quality keeper

swansea cons - get a replacement for thorgan, personally i just dont see him being of the required quality for a 12 team league

Crystal Palace 2 Bournemouth 1
Ronaldo, Cazorla - Messi
Close match but palace edge it. I like Bournemouths defence but not a fan of their formation, which I feel turned the tide towards Palace.

Hull 1 Watford 2
Sane - De Bruyne, Belotti
Hull's front 2 partnership let them down as they struggled against the physical Watford defence. Hull need a big man to partner Dybala.

Middlesbrough 3 Swansea 1
Reusx2, Aguero - Gueye
Swansea battled admirably but the superior attacking force of Boro was too much for them. Swansea have a solid defence but the midfield is not on par with the rest of the league.

Stoke 1 Sunderland 1

I couldn't separate these 2 tbh. Stokes front 4 is not to be messed with while Sunnyland have a very solid defence. Rashford is not a right winger and if he was partnered up front with ibra, it would be an awesome combo.

*Coutinho - Ibra

Burnley v West Brom

A good match with two strong defences, frankly I don't think anybody can top Burnley's CB pairing and Costa would have a frustrating afternoon IMO. Home advantage edges it as the raucous Burnley crowd get behind their boys and a game that was heading for a draw is stolen by an opportunistic Aubameyang.

Burnley 2-1 West Brom
Alli, Aubameyang; Carrasco

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Hull City v Watford

I really like both sides, I feel Hull need to plug that gap as neither Defoe or Dybala are workhorses which I feel you need when playing 2 up top and only 2 in midfield. I think it gives Pogba and or De Bruyne too much space (Mascherano can't stop both) and it's the difference as Watford take an entertaining game late on.

Hull City 2-3 Watford
Dybala, Sane; De Bruyne, Pogba, Bernardeschi

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Middlesbrough v Swansea

On paper it's an easy home win but Swansea have a strong team with almost everyone in their best position and a formation that suits their players. Boro seem intent on playing big players out of position and although they're in control I feel Swansea had enough to frustrate and earn a point.

Middlesbrough 1-1 Swansea
Suarez; Kane

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Stoke City v Sunderland

Two sides with great players but Stoke the only ones with the right balance throughout. I feel Sunderland only get joy in attack due to Stoke's less than strong defence, but Sunderland are so strong with Busquets patrolling that Stoke are nullified. One of those games where the attacking players cancel each other out and it's somehow a goalless game.

Stoke City 0-0 Sunderland