It's Matchweek 10 in the Premier League, and it's time for some free match predictions.
Last week we hit 6 out of 10, not great, but not bad either. With a £1 flat bet on all 10 of last week's matches, you would have got approximately £12.50 back for your tenner. A return on investment of 25%. Let's hope for better this weekend!
Latest Premier League Winner Betting Odds
A quick look at the odds for Premier League winner betting shows Liverpool have come into second favourites on the back of last weekend's win.
Jurgen Klopp's team have come in from 7/2 (4.50) to 13/5 (3.60), with Chelsea being eased out from 21/10 (3.10) to 11/4 (3.75), and that after winning 7-0.
Man City are still the favourites, and I'm not even going to mention their neighbours. The title is now officially a three horse race!
Odds courtesy of Betfair.
What can we say about last weekend? Maybe, Paul Scholes was correct? You bet he was.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did the exact same thing against Liverpool as he did against Atalanta. Except this time, he was punished in spectacular style.
Paul Scholes predicted it, punters across the country predicted it, even I seen it coming.
Ole may well have survived, but I feel it's now simply a stay of execution. 90 minutes of football last Sunday basically summed up Solskjaer's shortcomings.
Right, enough Man United bashing, let's look at this weekend's Premier League action.
Premier League Predictions Matchweek 10
Leicester vs Arsenal Match Prediction
Brendon Rodgers' Leicester side have turned the corner, haven't they?
Back-to-back wins over Man Utd in Week 8, and away at Brentford on Week 9 has seen them move up to 9th in Premier League table.
As for Arsenal, they are a bit of an enigma. They had a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace on Matchweek 8, before playing Aston Villa off the park to beat them 3-1 on Matchweek 9.
I do suspect a lot of that was down to Villa's pathetic 1st half showing though.
The bookmakers have this down as a tight match, and I can see why.
It's a really tough call to get the Matchweek started, and I'm going for the draw in this match.
- Verdict - Draw
Burnley v Brentford Match Prediction
Well, a couple of weeks ago it would have been Brentford on current form most would have predicted to win this one.
But the Bees have now lost two matches in succession. Admittedly, one of those was at home to Chelsea, where Thomas Frank's side was the better team, but the fact is that they still lost.
As for Burnley, they continue to do what Burnley does.
They got a 2-2 draw away to Southampton last weekend thanks to a brace from Maxwel Cornet..... how often am I going to get the chance to write Burnley and brace in the same sentence this season!
All joking aside, Sean Dyche will be hoping his Ivorian star can keep scoring. He has three goals in his last four matches now.
Anyway, I think Burnley can finally get their first win of the season this Saturday.
- Verdict - Burnley Win
Liverpool v Brighton Match Prediction
It was a tough week for Brighton at home to Manchester City last Saturday, and let's be honest about it, it's not getting any easier this week.
There is a slight chance that Klopp may rotate the odd player with a Champions League match coming up. But the Reds are in a strong position in Group B, so he may even choose to rotate on Wednesday against Atletico.
Brighton still sits in 5th place in the Premier League and has had a great season so far. But I'm afraid it's going to be back-to-back defeats for Graham Potter's side.
- Verdict - Liverpool Win
Man City v Crystal Palace Match Prediction
Unlike Liverpool, Pep's Manchester City team can be rotated without really weakening it in any way.
City can't afford any mistakes in Europe, so I suspect one eye might be on Club Brugge on Wednesday, but whatever team Pep puts out, they will be expected to beat Crystal Palace.
The Eagles have impressed me this season, and they will be wondering how they didn't beat Newcastle last Saturday. But I don't give them any chance at the Etihad.
- Verdict - Man City Win
Newcastle v Chelsea Match Prediction
The win is coming for Newcastle soon enough, isn't it?
Well, if Southampton gets something away at Watford, and Leeds win at Norwich on Sunday, Newcastle will find themselves getting cut adrift in the bottom 3 should they lose to Chelsea as expected.
If Newcastle is to beat Chelsea will they get a better chance? There is probably no Lukaku or Werner, so the chances are Kai Havertz will have to lead the line again.
Even with all of their injury problems in the striking department, I expect the Blues will be too strong for Newcastle.
- Verdict - Chelsea Win
Watford v Southampton Match Prediction
Well, the Hornets might not have got their new manager bounce from Ranieri in the match against Liverpool, but they certainly got it in their second match at Everton.
I tipped Everton to just beat Watford last week, and how wrong did I get that as the Hornets ran out 5-2 winners.
One footnote from the win though. Last week's star of the show, Emmanuel Dennis (1 goal and 2 assists) is suspended for this match.
As for the Saints, they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Burnley last Saturday.
Armando Broja (one of my fantasy football picks) scored his second in two matches, but he is a doubt for this match.
It's a bit hard to predict an outcome on ifs, buts, and maybes, so I'm backing the Saints to get another point.
- Verdict - Draw
Spurs v Man Utd Match Prediction
Well, the match we're all waiting to see.
How will Manchester United bounce back from last Sunday's mauling? And more to the point, what team will Ole put out?
United can't be that bad again, can they? You bet they can!
The problem - as I alluded to last week - with United, is we never know which bloody one is going to turn up.
The one that plays, or the one that strolled around OT last Sunday?
In all seriousness, Bruno Fernandes looks out of form, and the defence has looked poor all season.
Add to that, the fact Ronaldo is sulking and must be wondering by now why he didn't join City, and you have big problems.
Luckily for United and Ole, Spurs are not great shining light either. The Lilywhites are nearly as unpredictable as United are.
I really have no idea where this one will go, but it will tell us if the players are behind Solskjaer once and for all.
If they perform like last Sunday, they obviously aren't!
I think they may show up this Saturday, and I'm going to go for United to nick a match where both sides sit behind the ball and bore the arse off us all.
- Verdict - Man Utd Win
Norwich v Leeds Match Prediction
The Canaries are still without a win this season, while Leeds United only has one to their name.
Norwich boss Daniel Farke must be wondering where his team's first win of the season is coming from, or even if they may have one at all.
Farke was quick to point out after last Saturday's 7-0 defeat to Chelsea, that results against the top sides wouldn't define their season.
I completely agree with him, although 7-0 defeats aren't good for morale and team spirit.
Results against Leeds are season-defining though, so let's see what happens on Sunday.
As for Leeds, they have one win from nine Premier League matches this season. Or to look at it on more recent form, they have 4 points out of their last 9, which sounds better.
We keep being told what a great coach Marcelo Bielsa is, so Leeds should be okay this season. I wouldn't want to be losing this match if I were a Leeds fan though!
And to be fair, I don't think they will. I believe this will be a first win on the road for The Whites.
- Verdict Leeds Win
Aston Villa v West Ham Match Prediction
Quite clearly West Ham United is the form side out of these two.
Aston Villa was going along quite nicely after 79 minutes of Matchweek 8. They were 2-0 up against Wolves at home and about to pick up 3 points.
From there on, Villa has fallen off a cliff. They managed to contrive to not just throw away the 2-0 lead against Wolves but to actually lose the match 3-2.
They then had a 1st half to forget at the Emirates last Friday against Arsenal, where they didn't lay a glove on the hosts.
Villa has now lost their last three matches, whereas West Ham has won three of their last four, and is now up to 4th in the table.
At home though, Villa has won two, drawn one, and lost one. Of their four away defeats, three were at Chelsea, Spurs, and Arsenal.
Things aren't actually as bad as they seem for the Villains.
They are up against a West Ham side flying high though, and it's hard to see the Hammers losing.
- Verdict - Draw
Wolves V Everton Match Prediction
I'm not going to be fighting with my Missus for the remote control on Monday night to watch this one.
Neither of these two teams is the most inspiring, it has to be said.
Wolves are in good form, they're four unbeaten. Everton has one win in five, including last weekend's 5-2 home thrashing to Watford.
I'm not sure how to call this one, I think Everton will show some fight and try and bounce back, but can I say with any confidence the Toffees might win? No!
I think I'm going to sit on the fence for yet another draw.
- Verdict - Draw
A 10-fold bet on all ten of my match predictions pays a whopping 2924/1 with Betfair, so it’s worth a quid on anybody’s money.
Remember, these predictions are just a bit of fun. If you want to find out what I’m betting on, you need to become a full subscriber to my football weekly newsletter.