English Premier League Round 3 (30/08 - 31/08)

Middlesbrough v Stoke City
Bolton v WBA
Everton v Portsmouth
Hull City v Wigan Athletic
West Ham United v Blackburn
Arsenal v Newcastle United
Chelsea v Tottenham
Sunderland v Manchester City
Aston Villa v Liverpool


After a hectic final week in the transfer market, there may just be a number of debutants taking to the big stage in Week 3 of the English Premier League. Last week, we witnessed Manchester United squeak past the Pompey 1-0, Chelsea likewise against a battling Wigan, Gerrard performing heroics once again for Liverpool (2-1 win against Middesbrough), Arsenal misfiring in a 1-0 loss away to Fulham, and Man City dispatching West Ham 3-0 in fine fashion.
Picks and previews to appear shortly. Please note that due to time constraints, picks and full analysis will be provided on games that we think are predictable.

Saturday, Aug 30
15:00

Middlesbrough v Stoke City
Middlesbrough
In: David Wheater, Andrew Taylor.
Out: Brad Jones, Julio Arca.
Stoke City
In:
Out: Andy Griffin (doubtful).

Summary: After defeating Aston Villa 3-2 last week, newly promoted Stoke will be on a high as they travel to Middlesbrough. It must be said that Aston Villa had a really bad day in the office but still managed to score two goals, which must be somewhat worrying for Stoke fans. Middelsbrough defeated Spurs 3-1 to open their season but let a 1-0 lead slip in the final 5 minutes at Anfield, eventually losing 2-1 to Liverpool.

Previous encounters:
Not relevant - last encounter more than 10 years ago.

Footy Analysis predicts a reality check for Stoke City. Middlesbrough will be furious in leaving Liverpool without a point last week. With attacking depth in the likes of Mido, Alves, Aliadiere, Tuncay, and Downing, we expect the home team to make the most of Stoke's defensive frailties.

Pick Middlesbrough to WIN
Middlesbrough 2 - 1 Stoke City

Bolton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion
Bolton
In:
Out: Gary Cahill, Johan Elmander, Matt Taylor.
WBA
In:
Out: Filipe Teixeira, Neil Clement

Summary:

Previous encounters:
Apr 17, 2006 Premiership West Brom 0 - 0 Bolton
Oct 23, 2005 Premiership Bolton 2 - 0 West Brom
Jan 1, 2005 Premiership Bolton 1 - 1 West Brom
Oct 2, 2004 Premiership West Brom 2 - 1 Bolton
Feb 8, 2003 Premiership West Brom 1 - 1 Bolton
Nov 9, 2002 Premiership Bolton 1 - 1 West Brom
May 16, 2001 Championship Bolton 3 - 0 West Brom

Footy Analysis predicts

Pick

Everton v Portsmouth
Everton
In: Lars Jacobsen.
Out: Tony Hibbert, Tim Cahill, Steven Pienaar.
Portsmouth
In: Herman Hreidarsson,
Out: Linvoy Primus, Niko Kranjcar, Glen Little, Kanu, David Nugent, Jerome Thomas (doubtful), Jermaine Defoe (doubtful).

Summary:

Previous encounters:
Mar 2, 2008 Premiership Everton 3 - 1 Portsmouth
Dec 1, 2007 Premiership Portsmouth 0 - 0 Everton
May 5, 2007 Premiership Everton 3 - 0 Portsmouth
Dec 9, 2006 Premiership Portsmouth 2 - 0 Everton
Jan 14,2006 Premiership Portsmouth 0 - 1 Everton
Sep 10,2005 Premiership Everton 0 - 1 Portsmouth
Jan 4, 2005 Premiership Everton 2 - 1 Portsmouth

Footy Analysis predicts

Pick

Hull City v Wigan Athletic
Hull City
In:
Out: George Boateng (doubtful), Marlon King.
Wigan
In: Chris Kirkland.
Out: Paul Scharner (doubtful), Jason Koumas (doubtful), Erik Edman.

Summary:

Previous encounters:
Aug 28, 2007 League Cup Wigan Athletic FC 0 - 1 Hull City AFC

Footy Analysis predicts

Pick

West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers
West Ham
In: George McCartney.
Out: Kieron Dyer, Jonathan Spector, Danny Gabbidon, James Tompkins,James Collins, Craig Bellamy (doubtful).
Blackburn
In: Stephen Warnock.
Out: David Dunn.

Summary:

Previous encounters:

Mar 15, 2008 Premiership West Ham 2 - 1 Blackburn
Dec 9, 2007 Premiership Blackburn 0 - 1 West Ham
Mar 17, 2007 Premiership Blackburn 1 - 2 West Ham
Oct 29, 2006 Premiership West Ham 2 - 1 Blackburn
Jan 28, 2006 FA Cup West Ham 4 - 2 Blackburn
Dec 10, 2005 Premiership Blackburn 3 - 2 West Ham
Aug 13, 2005 Premiership West Ham 3 - 1 Blackburn

Footy Analysis predicts

Pick

17:30

Arsenal v Newcastle United
Arsenal
In: Cesc Fabregas.
Out: Mikel Silvestre, Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky, Eduardo.
Newcastle
In: Joey Barton.
Out: Geremi, Obafemi Martins, Mark Viduka, Damien Duff, Claudio Cacapa, Andy Carroll.

Summary:

Previous encounters:
Jan 29, 2008 Premiership Arsenal 3 - 0 Newcastle
Jan 26, 2008 FA Cup Arsenal 3 - 0 Newcastle
Dec 5, 2007 Premiership Newcastle 1 - 1 Arsenal
Sep 25, 2007 League Cup Arsenal 2 - 0 Newcastle
Apr 9, 2007 Premiership Newcastle 0 - 0 Arsenal
Nov 18, 2006 Premiership Arsenal 1 - 1 Newcastle
Dec 10, 2005 Premiership Newcastle 1 - 0 Arsenal

Footy Analysis predicts

Pick

Sunday, Aug 24
13:30

Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea
In:
Out:
Tottenham
In:
Out:

Summary:

Previous encounters:

Footy Analysis predicts

Pick

15:00
Sunderland v Manchester City
Sunderland
In:
Out:
Manchester City
In:
Out:

Summary:

Previous encounters:

Footy Analysis predicts

Pick

16:00
Aston Villa v Liverpool
Aston Villa
In:
Out:
Liverpool
In: Javier Mascherano, Lucas.
Out: Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyppia.

Summary: