Preview: Gameweek 5 Saturday action

Another exciting week of  Premier League is back and the world is waiting to watch great matches taking place this week. The historic English rivalry is on show – Liverpool v Man Utd, with another big game Man City v Arsenal and many mid table teams playing against each other.

 (1.) Swansea City v Everton at Liberty Stadium – 12:45 BST / 17:15 IST

The lunch time kick-off match is between two entertaining teams. Both are looking for a win as last week Swansea suffered defeat at Aston Villa and Everton drew against Newcastle. Swansea have a very poor record against the Toffees as they have never won a single match against them. Michael Laundrup’s men will look to overturn their record at home as they have made a great start to the season. Everton will try to attack and get a win but there main striker Jelavic was injured on Monday against the Toons. David Moyes will back his team to get at least a point as they have fallen back recently, getting only 1 point from last 2 games after winning the first two. The match is likely to be an open and entertaining encounter as both teams are hard to split, so I am going for a draw.

Players to watchout for Swansea – Michu, Dyer and Routledge
Players to watchout for Everton – Fellani, Baines and Pienaar

Prediction – Swansea City 2-2 Everton

(2.) Chelsea v Stoke City at Stamford Bridge – 15:00 BST / 19:30 IST

The match is between the current leaders and the “draw specialists”. Chelsea are top of the table at present thanks to a great start to the season but drew their last match against QPR. They will look to get back to winning ways as in the midweek, they had to settle for a draw against Juventus after having a lead of 2 goals scored by Oscar, who had a dream full debut as one of the goals scored was a classic. Roberto Di Matteo will look to get 3 points on home soil and keep 1st position for some more time. Stoke have drawn all 4 matches they have played so far. Stoke are very good at home but it’s Stamford Bridge where they have a poor record, having not scored a goal in their last 4 visits to Chelsea. Tony Pulis’ men will like to improve their form and try to sneak a point and get a draw.

Players to watchout for Chelsea – Hazard, Torres, Oscar and Ivanovic
Players to watchout for Stoke – Crouch, Adam and Huth

Prediction – Chelsea 2-0 Stoke City 

(3.) Southampton v Aston Villa at St Mary’s Stadium – 15:00 BST / 19:30 IST

Southampton have lost all 4 matches after being promoted to the top-tier. Southampton have had a poor start to the season but their play has been scintillating at times, especially against both Manchester clubs. Nigel Adkins will try to motivate his players and get the first points on the table with a win on home turf. Aston Villa will be relieved to have gotten a win against Swansea last week so they will try to make it 2 in 2 against struggling Southampton. The match is a tricky one and I will go for a home win as Southampton have been unlucky and should get 3 points to get going in Premier league.

Players to watchout for Southampton – Lambert, Lallana and Ramirez
Players to watchout for Aston Villa – Bent, Ireland and Vlaar

Prediction – Southampton 2-1 Aston Villa 

(4.) West Bromwich Albion v Reading at The Hawthrons – 15:00 BST / 19:30 IST

West Brom will look to get back to winning ways against winless Reading, who are yet to win a single match after losing the last 2 and drawing the first win. West Brom, too, lost their last match at Fulham although they looked solid in defence and very good upfront, picking up wins against Liverpool and Everton. Reading on the other hand will look for their 1st win in EPL but it will be hard to get 3 points at the Hawthorns but they will try to get at-least a point. I will go for an easy home victory and Reading will have to wait more for a win.

Players to watchout for West Brom – Long, Brunt and McAuley
Players to watchout for Reading – Pogrebnyak, Guthrie and Harte

Prediction – West Brom 3-0 Reading 

(5.) West Ham United v Sunderland at Upton Park – 15:00 BST / 19:30 IST

A contest between two mid-table teams which can go either way. Similar to Stoke, Sunderland are also draw specialists this season as they have drawn all 3 matches till now. Martin O’Neil will be looking for the 1st win of the season but it will be a difficult task for them as Hammers are very good at Upton Park. Sam Allardyce’s men will want to continue the good work at home as they have won both matches on home soil without conceding, but they are facing problem as Carroll and Cole both are injured. I am going for a home win as West Ham are superior at home.

Players to watchout for West Ham – Nolan, Noble and Jaaskelainen
Players to watchout for Sunderland – Fletcher, Sessegnon and Larsson

Prediction – West Ham 2-1 Sunderland

(6.) Wigan Athletic v Fulham at DW Stadium – 15:00 BST / 19:30 IST

Wigan are short on confidence after their 4-0 drubbing by Man Utd last week and they also have a poor record against Fulham as the Latics have not won in the last 11 games between the two. Fulham will be looking to continue their good work of last week when they easily beat West Brom by 3-0 at home. Roberto Martinez’s side will be looking to get their 1st win on home turf and make it a fortress. But Martin Jol must have other ideas as his side is getting in good shape after Berbatov joined them. I am going for an away win for Fulham as they have Berbatov and a good record against Wigan Athletic.

Players to watchout for Wigan – Di Santo, Maloney and Al-Habsi
Players to watchout for Fulham – Berbatov, Rodallega and Hangeland

Prediction – Wigan Athletic 1-2 Fulham