Hull City v Burnley

Two very strong attacks, I love the Hull front three, equally Burnley have the best defensive pair in the league in Ramos and Bonucci. The other way Burnley's front four is awesome yet so is the Hull defence! I can't separate the two sides so I'll call it an entertaining score draw.

Hull City 2-2 Burnley
Bernardeschi, Dybala; Rashford, Jesus

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Middlesbrough v Bournemouth

Both sides injury hit, Bournemouth cope a lot better, not sure Middlesbrough have the right players to play their 3-4-1-2 system, Garcia and Mathieu in particular look vulnerable. Middlesbrough have the firepower but this system is the equivalent of having two of the best guns in the world and no bullets. Bournemouth have Messi and they have a very good supply to him, Suarez and Aguero only really have Sane and I can't see him getting much joy out of Wanyama and Carrick.

Middlesbrough 1-2 Bournemouth
Suarez; Messi x2

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Stoke City v Watford

A tough game to call, Watford have possibly the best midfield pairing in the league, with guaranteed goals. Stoke have guaranteed goals but not really sure at all their defence can do much to stop Aubameyang. Watford's defence will struggle with Hazard and Sanchez so its a high scoring game (like all of Stoke's games in this league) but I can see Watford pinching it. Coutinho v Kante plays a big part.

Stoke City 2-3 Watford
Sanchez, Hazard; Mbappe, Aubameyang x2

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Sunderland v Swansea

Two good sides, Swansea have improved their defence, Sunderland have made a lot of changes and I'm not certain they're for the better, Swansea have made subtle changes and they look better. Kramer and Kimmich do their bit for their respective sides and it's one of those games where both sides feel they could have won, but have to settle for a point.

Sunderland 1-1 Swansea
Robben; O.Dembele

Crystal Palace 1-1 West Brom
Ronaldo ------------ Costa

This game had a draw written all over it. Both midfields are efficient but cancelled each other out. Going forward, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic are always dangerous despite West Brom's strong defence. Costa and Carrasco also had some joy today against Palace's comparatively weaker defence. Denayer is a good prospect, but not convinced he is up to standard in this Palace team.

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Hull City 1-1 Burnley
Bernardeschi - Jesus

This was another close game. Hull are undeniably strong at the back, but Burnley's front 4 are very exciting. I'd consider swapping Rashford and Jesus around though. Hull are a solid team all over, but Locatelli and Digne need to be improved. Their midfield just had enough about it though to prevent de Bruyne, Castro and Casemiro dominating the play.

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Middlesbrough 2-2 Bournemouth
Suarez --------------- Messi
Aguero --------------- Firmino

Not convinced by Middlesbrough's formation as injuries have hit them hard. The full backs remain a weakness which Firmino exploited. Messi ran Vermaelen ragged. In midfield, they missed Nainggolan and Bournemouth's midfield had the edge. However, as always with Middlesbrough, going forward they are lethal and Suarez and Aguero had the better of Bournemouth's centre-backs. A draw a fair result.

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Stoke City 1-2 Watford
Hazard --------- Pogba
-------------------- Alli

Stoke are good going forward but are still weak defensively. Watford are looking stronger by the week, and Alli and Aubameyang really dominated the midfield and defence of Stoke. Pogba and Kante had the making of their counterparts all day and dictated the entire game. This gave the visitors a complete foothold in the match and though Hazard had joy against de Sciglio, it wasn't enough today.

Crystal Palace vs West Brom

Two outfits with attacks likely to cause weak defences problems came up against opposition with defences that, in my humble opinion, could be improved. Carrasco caused problems for Palace as Valencia struggled against him, and Denayer was a frequently exploited weak point. Howedes and Rose were let down by a weaker right half. West Brom had the same issue, with Ghoulam and Boateng doing their job well, but Sule and Roberto couldn't deal with Ibra and Ronaldo effectively. Always going to be goals in this one, but nothing to split the two teams.

Crystal Palace 2 - 2 West Brom
Ronaldo (Ibra), Ibra (Ronaldo)
Carrasco (Ghoulam), Ghoulam (Boateng)


Hull City vs Burnley

Hull have improved their front three for today, but came up against a top defence. Dybala didn't get a sniff against Ramos, and when he did Buffon was there to stop him. Casemiro and Castro are good players for setting up the play, whilst Rashford, Jesus and De Bruyne proved too much for the opposition defence.

Hull 0 - 1 Burnley
Jesus (De Bruyne)


Middlesbrough vs Bournemouth

A strange game, this one. Boro had a lot of the ball, but struggled to make much use of it. Firmino struggled to get past Alders, and Messi came up against a brick wall of a defence. Verm was the weak point, but not really exploited by Pulisic. Aguero and Suarez is a good strike partnership for Bournemouth, and had the better chances, but there was a lack of width for them, with Sane having to do too much on his own.

Boro 0 - 0 Bournemouth


Stoke City vs Watford

A game that came down to tactical decisions. Watford have a very strong spine to their team, with Alli, Aubameyang and Kante standing out, but for me lacked incision out wide where they were found lacking, bar Azpilicueta. Stoke, on the other hand have a very dangerous front four, and that decided this game for me.

Stoke 1 - 0 Watford
Sanchez (Hazard)

Crystal Palace 1 v 1 West Brom
Ronaldo : Costa

Palace have the star assets in Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo however when you look beyond that the quality begins to thin, Guedes looked slightly out of place along such stellar names in attack and Denayer looked out of his depth at the back. West Brom have the better quality overall and dominated the midfield battle with the legs of Kessie and Strootman proving too much for the less mobile Toure and Cazorla. The visitors do however lack a goal threat from the middle of the park and may also look to bring in an improvement out wide to alleviate the goal scoring burden from Costa and Carrasco. West Brom took the lead with Costa powering past Denayer to fire in the opener however they could not find a second to kill the game off. The home side are always going to be dangerous and Ronaldo gave Roberto a torrid afternoon as he netted leveller to earn his side a share of the spoils.

Hull 1 v 0 Burnley
Dybala

A stellar defensive display saw Hull take all 3 points in this encounter. They are always going to be tough to beat on home soil and looked very dangerous on the break with their front 3, Locatelli the only real weakness in a side that is really beginning to find its feet. The visitors have a much changed side following injuries to key players however I’m not convinced that they have quite found the right balance. Jesus looks a promising talent but was given a lesson in Italian defending as he wasn’t given a sniff all afternoon whilst De Bruyne looked wasted on the right and failed to really get in the game. They do however remain strong at the back which led to a game of few chances. The home movement of the Hull front 3 proved the difference as some great work from Bernadeschi released Dybala who fired home the only goal of the game.

Stoke 2 v 2 Watford
Mane, Hazard : Aubameyang, Pogba

Great game this one with plenty of quality on show. Stoke remain the league entertainers with goals guaranteed due to the quality of their attack. Cech was a very smart acquisition and showed his quality in goal, however he is going to need support from the players in front of him as Watford were able to absolutely dominate the midfield battle. This wasn’t necessarily a reflection of the Stoke midfield, it was more a case of the quality that the visitors possess in the middle of the park, undoubtedly one of the strongest in the league. The flanks seem an obvious area of improvement for the visitors and if they’re able to bring in a couple of top wide players they will be the team to beat. An entertaining game with a draw a fair result.

Sunderland 1 v 1 Swansea
Robben: O.Dembele

A much changed Sunderland side however they have done very well to overcome their injuries. A strong defence and midfield, however let down slightly by the lack of a prolific goal threat up front. Belotti didn’t get a sniff against the dominant Swansea centre half pairing whilst Pedro was kept in check by Gaspar. The one area of success they did have however was on the RW as Robben gave Evra a torrid afternoon with the Dutchman a constant threat throughout. The visitors have also done a good job to combat injuries although the slight drop in class of Kramer and Evra was noticeable. Sigurdsson however didn’t look out of place and staked his claim for a regular starting spot with a solid performance. Kane didn’t get much joy against the Sunderland cb’s and possibly wasn’t the type of striker to take advantage of their lack of pace. One man who was however was Dembele, another stellar performance from the young Frenchman capped off with a fine individual finish to earn his side a share of the spoils.

Palace vs Wet Bum

I think both of these sides have solid spines and are pretty comparable so that leads me to the wider areas looking for the difference makes, Obviously Ronaldo is a stand out, and I just think he ad Ibra could make the difference, They don;t get it all their own way as Iniesta and Costa will always keep Albion in the game

Palace 2-1 Albion
Ibra,Ronaldo
Costa

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Boro vs B'mouth

I like the 3-5-2 have always being a disciple of that school and in this team mostly it works, There's something about the back 3 I don't like and I can't put my finger on it BUT I think thats a solid block even Messi would struggle against, up-front the SAS trio would be frightening but perhaps a little too samey?
B'mouth have a really proven and battle hardened side I like the defence a lot even if there's not a single Italian in there Midfield 3 I like,Power,passing,creativity and flair and the front 3 well I do like it, Pulisic I'm unsure on but that could be my own ignorance...all in all a narrow home win

Boro 2-1 B'mouth
Suarez, Aguero
Firmino

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Stoke vs Watford

intriguing match up this with the front 6's of both sides cancelling each other out for long periods, Kante Pogba I can see working well enough to cut off the supply to Stokes front 4. for me the pace of PEA just about swings a tight game

Stoke 0-1 Watford
PEA

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Sunderland vs Swansea

I like Sunderland's back 4 a lot, all title winning teams HAVE to be strong there and this is the one that gives me defence envy, Lubo has taken onboard feedback and I think Evra will do a solid short term job I'd rather have played Tielemans in there over Kramer..I don;t think Kramer and Alonso together bring enough to the table, going forwards the swans are still missing something and I think one way to remedy a lack of goals is to play with 2 front men? Sunderland have Italy's best striker in their ranks and he makes the difference in a hard fought victory

Sunderland 2-1 Swans
Belotti, Pedro
Kane

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CP 1 - 1 Burnley
Ronaldo (Ibra); Costa (Iniesta)

CP had the stronger attack, they'll give any defence nightmares with Ibra and Ronaldo. I think Denayer and Yaya can be improved upon, not sure how injuries hit them but if they improved on them then I think CP would be in a great place. In comparison I felt Burnley had a stronger cm trio and a stronger cb pairing that was enough to keep them level, Costa would give most cbs problems. I'm personally not convinced by Roberto at rb yet, he can play there for Barca the way they play but even then he's not convinced me. The wingers both have great ability but with both not in great form just now I could see a star player here making a difference to take them to the next level.

Hull City 1 - 2 Burnley
Berardi (Marchisio) ; KdB (Draxler), Jesus (KdB)

The away side just had enough to sneak a win for me here. Overall I thought Burnley had a stronger defence, and in KDB they have a world class game changer. Hull have a strong side all over, and I see Dybala as a game changer, but I'm not convinced by him leading the line in that trio. Locatelli as well isn't at the level of the other players in the side yet, likewise for Burnley, Rashford and Henrichs both have great potential but I think if Burnley can improve these two positions they'll be one of the favourites for the league.


Stoke 1 - 1 Watford
Hazard (Gagliardini) ; Auba (Pogba)

The best attack in the league against an all round good side for me. I think Kante is a brilliant addition to the Watford cm in front of a great defence but I'm not a fan of Pogba in the deeper role so much with Ali ahead I think the mix wouldn't work that well. I think with Watford being weaker on the wings in comparison to the rest of their side they weren't able to take advantage of the home side's weakness at fb. All in all not enough in it for me to see either team as favourite.

Sunderland 2 - 1 Swansea
Belotti (Silva), Robben ; Kane (Dembele)

The home side just had too much class for Swansea here. No real weaknesses in the home side, and in Robben they have a world class game changer. A better goalkeeper, or another top class addition in attack would help push them up the league. For the away side their weaknesses stood out more. Sigurdsson on the right wing just didn't work and seemed a strange decision. And in comparison to Silva, Thorgan wasn't at the same level. Overall I thought Sunderland deserved the win.

Crystal Palace 1-1 West Brom
Ibra; Costa

Palace - top class keeper and cb and youre sorted for me
West Brom - Get a better keeper, think your injured one could also be improved upon, was also gonna buy ghoulam today so annoyed you have him


Hull City 1-1 Burnley
dybala; de bruyne

Hull - not a lot to pick fault with, never been a fan of digne tbh so he would be the guy id be looking to replace

Burnley - get a rw in, draxler a bit wasted on the right so switch him and replace rashford


Middlesbrough 0-1 Bournemouth
Thiago

Boro - without looking, this boro team looks a lot weaker than previous incarnations, the keeper and left side of defence is just not up to scratch

Bournemouth - id replace the keeper as first priority, also not sure if carrick has enough in him to be effective in that more advanced role


Sunderland 1-1 Swansea City
belotti; dembele

sunderland - get a new keeper, also a minor niggle, pedro has been a revelation on the right for chelsea. and just dont think hed be as effective on the left

Swansea - id be focusing on getting a game changer of a lw, move gylfi to am

HULL vs BUR

A close game for me. Two tight teams. Burnley have an excellent CB pairing, Hull have a very solid defence on a whole. Both struggled to create chances, but both had the capability to score past the other. Width maybe let Burnley down in comparison to the rest of their side whereas Hull still lack a bit of firepower up top yet.

Score: 1-1

MID vs BOU

High scoring, the only aspect bailing the home side out is their attacking quality and they just, JUST had enough at the back to stop defeat, more because of the numbers in the formation rather than the players themselves. Bournemouth have a strong side, maybe just an improvement at full back when Lahm goes.

Score: 2-2

STO vs WAT

Another tight but high scoring game. Stoke really need to look at their defence, inexperienced and lacks quality in comparison to other sides. Watford maybe need just that extra quality in wide areas to really damage sides, but are strong at the back and down the middle.

Score: 2-3

SUN vs SWA

Both good sides down the middle. Swansea need an improvement at full back if they can and they didn't have enough width to really damage Sunderland. The home side the superior of the 2 here. Sunderland could use another LB and maybe a world class midfielder to become a real force in this league.

Score: 2-1

Crystal palace vs West Bromwich Albion

I like the 4-3-3/4-4-2 diamond. The side is good, but Denayer and Rudy would be the two i'd look to improve. West Bromwich also look good, personally am not a fan of Roberto and Coman isnt at the level people thought he would become. I will say a fair draw despite my temptation to give a 'Ronaldo x2 win'

Crystal Palace 1-1 WBA
Ronaldo 16; Costa 70


Middlesbrough vs Bournemouth
The home side are clearly a bit mix and match. Matheiu is not good enough standard for the league, and even if he was he isn't a wing back, I'd have even played vermaelen there if anything. A great front two, but their side is against a Bournemouth team which is decent all over. Only thing I'm not a fan of is Firmino out wide. The attackers lead to a high scoring game but Bournemouth are clearly the better team for me.

Middlesbrough 2-4 Bournemouth
Aguero 55, Suarez 69; Messi 16, 80, Thiago Silva 30, Pulisic 86

Stoke vs Watford
I really like the feel of the Stoke attack, Hazard and Sanchez the obvious sparks but behind that there needs a top player or two. It's a decent with players I like (especially Grimaldo and Semedo) but needs a top class CB or CM. The Watford midfield is monstrous and Aubemayang I love. Defensively I'm not sold on De Sciglio or Pepe anymore. A tricky game to call, so I'll let others decide.

Stoke 1-1 Watford
Mane 77; Pogba 66


Sunderland vs Swansea
The Sunderland attack needs a top class attacker, the front four are all decent but Silva isn't what he once was and the other three are all good. I like Kimmich and Dembele as individuals but don't think they'd work as a pair, but at the back they have Godin who is the best CB in world football. As for Swansea, personally I'd start Gueye and Cedric. Evra needs an upgrade too. It's a tough game to call but I'll give Sunderland the narrowest of victories.

Sunderland 1-0 Swansea
Totti 90+6

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Comment deleted by Site Moderator

It's winning 4 games you get the added goal.

... which you did. Sorry. Amended now.

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