Premier League picks and previews 2011-12 (Page 2 of 6)

Crazy stats, regarding the West Brom vs West Brom game:

Average age of Man Utd starting XI v Blackpool 2010/11 = 28.45.
Average age of Man Utd starting XI v West Brom 2011/12 = 23.9

Premier League 27 and 28 August

- Saturday -

Aston Villa - Wolves
Villa Park
Kick-off: 13:05
Last season: Villa 0-1 Wolves, Wolves 1-2 Villa.
Injuries:
Villa: None
Wolves: Ebanks-Blake
Possible starting XIs:
Villa: Given, Young, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, N'Zogbia, Petrov, Delph, Agbonlahor, Heskey, Bent
Wolves: Hennessey, Stearman, Johnson, Berra, Ward, Jarvis, Henry, O'Hara, Hunt, Doyle, Fletcher
Pick:
I expect this early-season derby to end close, probably with a draw. Both have looked in good shape so far this season.
Draw.

Wigan - QPR
The DW Stadium
Kick-off: 13:30
Last season: Not played.
Injuries:
Wigan: Gohouri, Alcaraz
QPR: Dyer, Mackie
Possible starting XIs:
Wigan: Al Habsi, Stam, Caldwell, Boyce, Figueroa, Diame, Watson, Gomez, McCarthy, Moses, Rodallega.
QPR: Kenny, Connolly, Hall, Orr, Gabbidon, Derry, Faurlin, Buzsaky, Taarabt, Smith, Bothroyd.
Pick:
Queens Park Rangers managed to bounce back from a poor start to the season with a great result at Everton and I believe they could even get something from this one.
More than 2.5 goals.

Blackburn - Everton
Ewood Park
Kick-off: 16:00
Last season: Everton 2-0 Blackburn, Blackburn 1-0 Everton.
Injuries:
Blackburn: None
Everton: Coleman, Gueye
Possible starting XIs:
Blackburn: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Givet, Olsson, Pedersen, N'Zonzi, Dunn, Hoilett, Goodwillie, Roberts.
Everton: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Rodwell, Heitinga, Arteta, Cahill, Fellaini, Beckford.
Pick:
Everton will be desperate to bounce back from their defeat to Queens Park Rangers and they face a Blackburn side who have struggled at the start of the season.
Less than 2.5 goals.

Chelsea - Norwich
Stamford Bridge
Kick-off: 16:00
Last season: Not played.
Injuries:
Chelsea: Cech, Luiz, Essien
Norwich: Ayala, Ward, Vaughan
Possible starting XI's:
Chelsea: Hilario, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Lampard, Malouda, Anelka, Torres.
Norwich: Ruddy, Naughton, Barnett, De Laet, Tierney, Bennett, Crofts, Johnson, Pilkington, Holt, C. Martin.
Pick:
Chelsea should have no problems at all winning this game against newly-promoted Norwich. Juan Mata could feature at some point in this game and I even believe he could make instant impact if he features.
Chelsea to win with 0-1 handicap and Mata to score.

Swansea - Sunderland
Liberty Stadium
Kick-off: 16:00
Last season: Not played.
Injuries:
Swansea: Monk
Sunderland: Gordon, Meyler, Campbell.
Possible starting XIs:
Swansea: Vorm, Williams, Taylor, Caulker, Rangel, Sinclair, Agustien, Britton, Dobbie, Graham, Dyer.
Sunderland: Mignolet, Ferdinand, O'Shea, Brown, Richardson, Larsson, Cattermole, Sessegnon, Elmohamady, Colback, Gyan.
Pick:
Sunderland struggled in the derby against Newcastle, but I believe they will bounce back from that defeat and the crash out of the Carling Cup to Brighton in midweek with at least a draw against Swansea.
Draw.

Liverpool - Bolton
Anfield
Kick-off: 18:30
Last season: Liverpool 2-1 Bolton, Bolton 0-1 Liverpool.
Injuries:
Liverpool: Gerrard, Johnson, Meireles.
Bolton: Mears, Lee Gardner, Holden, Alonso, Ricketts
Possible starting XI:
Liverpool: Reina, Enrique, Carragher, Agger, Kelly, Lucas, Adam, Downing, Kuyt, Suarez, Carroll.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Robinson, Knight, Cahill, Steinsson, Reo-Coker, Muamba, Petrov, Eagles, Klasnic, K Davies.
Pick:
Liverpool won both meetings with Bolton last season and have a much stronger squad this season. The Reds should win this one, by at least two goals.
Liverpool to win with 0-1 handicap.

- Sunday -

Newcastle Utd - Fulham
St. James' Park
Kick-off: 14:00
Last season: Fulham 1-0 Newcastle, Newcastle 0-0 Fulham.
Injuries:
Newcastle:Ben Arfa.
Fulham: Davies, B Riise, J Riise.
Possible starting XIs:
Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, S Taylor, Coloccini, R Taylor, Tiote, Cabaye, Barton, Obertan, Gutierrez, Ameobi.
Fulham: Schwarzer, Hughes, Hangeland, Senderos, Briggs, Murphy, Dempsey, Etuhu, Duff, Zamora, Johnson.
Pick:
Newcastle impressed against rivals Sunderland last week, but Joey Barton could be missing, if he decides to join Queens Park Rangers. Could be close, but I expect a narrow home win.
Newcastle to win.

Tottenham - Manchester City
White Hart Lane
Kick-off: 14:30
Last season: Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham, Tottenham 0-0 Manchester City.
Possible starting XIs:
Tottenham: Friedel, Dawson, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Corluka, Huddlestone, Kranjcar, Bale, Lennon, Van der Vaart, Defoe.
Manchester City: Hart, Lescott, Kompany, Kolarov, Richards, Milner, Barry, Yaya Toure, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko.
Pick:
It was close between these two last season. Spurs' on-loan City striker Emmanuel Adebayor will not be able to feature in this one and I believe City will win.
Manchester City to win.

West Brom - Stoke
The Hawthorns
Kick-off: 16:00
Last season: Stoke 1-1 West Brom, West Brom 0-3 Stoke.
Injuries:
West Brom: Gera.
Stoke: Delap, Fuller, Higginbotham.
Possible starting XIs:
West Brom: Foster, Reid, Olsson, Tamas, Shorey, Mulumbu, Scharner, Tchoyi, Morrison, Brunt, Long.
Stoke: Begovic, Shawcross, Huth, Woodgate, Wilson, Pennant, Whelan, Whitehead, Etherington, Jones, Walters.
Pick:
West Brom have lost both their opening games of the season and they struggled at home against Stoke last season. Should be a close one.
Draw.

Manchester United - Arsenal
Old Trafford
Kick-off: 17:00
Last season: Arsenal 1-0 Manchester United, Manchester United 2-0 Arsenal.
Injuries:
Man Utd: Rafael, Vidic
Arsenal: Diaby, Wilshere
Possible starting XIs:
Manchester United: De Gea, Smalling, Ferdinand, Jones, Evra, Nani, Cleverley, Anderson, Young, Rooney, Welbeck.
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Ramsey, Djourou, Rosicky, Walcott, Arshavin, Van Persie.
Pick:
Arsenal midfield star Jack Wilshire will be missing in this one and I expect a strong and impressive Manchester United team will be able to win this game by at least two goals.
Manchester United to win with 0-1 handicap.

Here is the The Sun's Jim Munro's predictions for the Premier League fixtures this weekend:

Premier League 27 and 28 August

- Saturday -

Aston Villa - Wolves
Prediction: 2-2

Wigan - QPR
Prediction: 1-0

Blackburn - Everton
Prediction: 1-2

Chelsea - Norwich
Prediction: 3-1

Swansea - Sunderland
Prediction: 0-2

Liverpool - Bolton
Prediction: 1-0

- Sunday -

Newcastle - Fulham
Prediction: 1-2

Tottenham - Manchester City
Prediction: 1-2

West Brom - Stoke
Prediction: 1-1

Manchester United - Arsenal
Prediction: 1-1

Simply copy and paste the following into the comment box below with your predictions to play:

Aston Villa - Wolves:
Wigan - QPR:
Blackburn - Everton:
Chelsea - Norwich:
Swansea - Sunderland:
Liverpool - Bolton:
Newcastle - Fulham:
Tottenham - Manchester City:
West Brom - Stoke:
Manchester United - Arsenal: