The Premier League | Second Round Preview

The Premiership – preview of the 2nd round

Manchester United vs. Southampton

The first match of the second round in The Premier League will be between Manchester United and Southampton at Old Trafford on Friday. The Red Devils showed really impressive performance on the opening day against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, winning the match 3-1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first Premier League goal after a great shot from long distance. Just on the opposite, The Saints weren’t that impressive against Watford and finished with a 1-1 draw at the St. Mary’s Stadium, missing several great goal-scoring chances. However, Claude Puel’s players showed they really have the needed potential and they can surprise United at Old Trafford.

The last time Manchester United won against Southampton at home was 3 years ago. Since then, there have been 2 victories for The Saints and a draw. But, Southampton have only recorded 5 victories of 39 visits to Manchester, so it will be extremely difficult for them to repeat this!

Stoke City vs. Manchester City

Pep Guardiola had a difficult start as a manager of Manchester City, but his team won 2-1 against Sunderland on the opening day. Obviously, the Spaniard will rely on the Argentinian goalkeeper, Caballero in the starting eleven. In addition, the new signing John Stones made a good debut for his new team.

To continue with, the visit to Stoke City will be the first serious test for the Citizens this season. Moreover, the game is just 4 days after the visit to Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League playoffs. The Potters managed to take 1 point from their visit to Middlesbrough in the first round of The Premier League. Furthermore, Stoke City are very successful when playing against The Citizens at home. They have won 22 of 44 matches at the Britannia Stadium against Manchester City. In addition, Stoke City only lost 2 of the last 10 home games against the team of Manchester.

Swansea City vs. Hull City

Despite the ridiculous situation with Hull City, The Tigers managed to win their first 3 points in The Premier League against the champions Leicester City. They showed a great team spirit and recorded a magnificent 2-1 victory at home. As Steve Bruce resigned from the position of manager, now Mike Phelan is responsible for The Tigers’ management. Moreover, the team has a serious lack of players. Shaun Maloney is still not ready to play 90 minutes, while Mohamed Diame, who scored the winning goal in the playoffs against Sheffield Wednesday, was sold to Newcastle United, because of his clause in the contract. Sone Aluko also left the club. Will Mike Phelan cope with the situation in the club – we will see in the next few rounds.

In my opinion, Swansea City didn’t act very accurately in their transfer policy. The Swans sold their captain Ashley Williams, who was the soul of the team. The key strikers Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis also left the team, while the goal-scorer in the Euro 2016 final Eder was sold to Lille for only £3.4 m. But, Swansea City signed several new players, who must now adjust to the English playing style. However, The Swans started very well with a 1-0 victory away from home against Burnley and the moment is really good for them to record another 3 points against Hull City!

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Crystal Palace

Spurs had a difficult start of the season. They were lucky to win a point against Everton at Goodison Park, as The Toffees missed a lot of goal-scoring chances. However, Mauricio Pochettino knows best what he needs to change, in order to improve the performance of his team. He may now include Vincent Janssen in the starting eleven.

The Eagles lost to West Bromwich Albion 0-1 at home in the first round, but now will be even more motivated to take at least a point from White Hart Lane. Moreover, Crystal Palace have only lost 7 of 17 visits to Tottenham Hotspur. The Eagles won their last away match against Spurs 1-0 in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Watford vs. Chelsea

A great start for Antonio Conte at Chelsea, as The Blues beat West Ham United 2-1. Eden Hazard and Diego Costa scored the goals for The Londoners. Chelsea looked like a completely different team from last year’s, even though there weren’t so many changes and new players. The Blues looked very motivated to win the three points! It’s very likely they to continue with the good performance against Watford at Vicarage Road.

On the other hand, Watford showed strong performance in defence against Southampton at The St. Mary’s Stadium and clinical finishing, scoring one of their few chances. Walter Mazzarri’s players have recorded 2 consecutive draws against Chelsea, which goes to show that the game won’t be easy for Antonio Conte’s footballers.

West Bromwich Albion vs. Everton

The Toffees must regret they didn’t take all the 3 points against Tottenham on the opening day of The Premier League. Everton missed tons of goal-scoring chances and only found the net once. But, The Toffees showed a good performance and their manager Ronal Koeman can be glad with his players.

On the other hand, West Bromwich Albion had a solid game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park and left with all the points. Salomon Rondon proved again, he is a great striker and scored one of his few chances in front of Hennessey’s goal. Moreover, The Baggies have only lost 13 of 62 matches against Everton at The Hawthorns, which is a great prerequisite for another Baggies’ success.

Burnley vs. Liverpool

An incredible start of the season for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, as The Merseysiders won against Arsenal 4-3 at the Emirates Stadium. It looks like The Reds will be one of the main contenders for the Top 4 places. Philippe Coutinho was the best player on the pitch, scoring twice against The Gunners. Sadio Mane also made a good impression, bagging the 4th goal for The Reds after a brilliant individual raid.

Now, Liverpool will visit the team of Burnley, which will try to avoid relegation this season. The Clarets lost 0-1 to Swansea City in their first Premier League game this campaign, and now they will try to improve against Liverpool. The Reds have won the last 4 matches between these two teams, but they have won 11 of 35 visits to Turf Moor, which goes to show that the match won’t be a walk in the park!

Leicester City vs. Arsenal

Claudio Ranieri knew that the matches during this season are going to be more difficult than those in the previous. The champions lost their first league match this campaign to Hull City 1-2, without being able to show what are they really capable of. But, Arsenal are one of the toughest opponents for The Foxes. Ranieri’s players lost both matches against The Gunners last season.

Moreover, Arsenal lost 3-4 to Liverpool and now The Gunners will be looking for their first three points this season. Arsene Wenger’s footballers must improve dramatically their performance in defence, because if they keep playing the same way, they can concede lots of goals at The King Power Stadium. With Per Mertesacker’s injury, Rob Holding had to be included among the starting eleven, but he didn’t seem to be ready for the Premier League matches. So, Wenger, should think about new signing in defence.

Sunderland vs. Middlesbrough

The Black Cats were unlucky to lose to Manchester City 1-2 in the first Premier League round, after late McNair’s own goal. That was the first Premiership match for the manager David Moyes since he has left Manchester United in 2014. Now, the task won’t be easier against the newly promoted Middlesbrough. The Boro have very good players in their squad and managed to win a point from their first game (1-1 vs. Stoke City).

Sunderland have recorded 29 victories in 53 matches at The Stadium of Light against Middlesbrough. The Boro have won on 11 occasions, while there have been 13 draws. The last time both teams met in an official match, Middlesbrough won 1-0 in The Capital One Cup (2012).

West Ham United vs. Bournemouth

The Cherries had an awful start of the season, but nobody expected that they can earn something against one of the favourites – Manchester United. But, Bournemouth’s performance wasn’t that bad, as they showed some good things on the pitch. Adam Smith scored a magnificent goal, showing great individual skills. But, the visit to the Olympic Stadium will be even more difficult for The Cherries.

Slaven BIlic has a great squad. All the West Ham United players are classy and The Hammers will again be able to compete for The Top 6 places. West Ham lost to Chelsea on Monday, but with the performance they showed, The Hammers proved they are a really good team. However, Dimitri Payet is now expected to start, as the French star only played 23 minutes against Chelsea.

Bournemouth recorded an incredible victory against The Hammers last season (4-3). Then, in the second game of the season between these two teams, West Ham took the three points at The Vitality Stadium, after turning things around from 0-1 to 3-1. So, these two teams are showing great spectacles when playing each other.