Well I didn’t pick any of the Milk Capital Littlewoods Rumbelows Cup games this week because I was recovering from the terrible picks that were made last week by yours truly (and to be fair, by most people betting as well).
As for excuses? I have none, but I would like to point out that I had picked against the Villains and predicted them to be bottom three… and after not playing to form (i.e. winning) I finally went out on a limb and took them against a non-dominating Arsenal. What were the odds of Ozil showing up? DW finding the net? And an Own goal in three minutes?
Low.
Yes, low, about the same as Liverpool being crushed by the Hammers and the Spuds not showing up.
But while you might think that this is me preparing to make picks….
It’s very easy to be critical from your point if you don’t step up and make picks yourself.
But enough of last week, here’s to a new better week featuring the awesome derby that everyone waits for every year as it’s never a dull game and always has that element of unpredictability. It will be a close game and I’d say that both Arsenal and Spurs will fancy their chances of winning, if that was the game I was talking about. This week is the Anfield Merseyside derby…. probably the one first-half of the season can’t miss game that I will certainly be tuning into if I can wake up early enough.
It’ll be a corker whether you feel that Everton spend the game hacking Liverpool
Or you think Liverpool spend the game hacking Everton.
But here go the picks…..
| 27-Sep 2014 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 1-1 | Everton |
| Southampton | 3-1 | Queens Park Rangers |
| Sunderland | 1-1 | Swansea City |
| Manchester United | 3-1 | West Ham United |
| Chelsea | 1-1 | Aston Villa |
| Hull City | 0-1 | Manchester City |
| Crystal Palace | 2-1 | Leicester |
| Arsenal | 2-0 | Tottenham Hotspur |
Liverpool haven’t been performing up to par but neither have the Toffee men so this appears to be destined to be a hard working graft of a draw. Liverpool will try to play a decent game but will never get started as this is the Merseyside Derby which is played in Fast Forward for 90 mins. I still remember Duncan Ferguson scoring back in the day so I’m going to support the theory that a large tank of a forward will get in there, ride a few challenges and put the ball away early. Liverpool will initially panic because they don’t have the Captain Fantastic of old but the old Captain Wastastic (TM).. but they will drag themselves forward for most of the game and finally get a Kop end penalty that will be heavily debated for the next week from the top to the bottom of the Wirral.
So who sold all their star players after firing their manager and yet are still 2nd? Clue: It’s not QPR and they don’t play in blue and white. Swansea will see off a below average QPR handily.
Sunderland have not started as well as they finished last year, unsurprisingly, and they need to turn it around before the praises of Gus Poyet become a distance memory as they fade into the chorus of boos that the fervent Northeastern fans will start rain down on the field. Swansea are an organized outfit with lots of attacking prowess so it will become a clash of cultures that will end in a score draw.
Manchester United spend 150 million squids to get three goals against Leicester. Money well spent, you’d think! This week their attacking potential will rise again; however, their defense will continue to be worse than average but West Ham are worse than worse than average despite proving they could easily contain a Liverpool team. I want to pick with my heart and say West Ham will steal a draw but my head says that Manchester United can’t be this bad. And some days I do want my brother to be happy even if it means the Old Toilet hosts a win for the evil team from Trafford.
I will continue to overrate Hull and think Manchester City are favorite for the title by predicting a tight and close 1-0 victory for Yaya who finally tries to prove he’s worth a birthday cake.
Chelsea against the Villains is the game that I dread picking most of all this week because I hate Chelsea and would love nothing more than their bus to get a puncture; however, they’re playing my nemesis of picking, Villa. My head says go strong for Chelsea because they’re the better team but my heart says that if I did that Villa would screw me. So with that, a draw, a totally one-sided should be 5-0 draw. Don’t take that to the bookies.
Leicester and Crystal Palace were both favored for the bottom of the table but the Foxes are trying to their hardest to prove everyone wrong by turning in some strong performances, as well as a once in a lifetime effort to come back from 2 down twice against a team that is probably playing Falcao more than their entire squad (on his season long wait to move to Juve). It’s still important for both of these clubs because things change quickly and we can still expect the two of them to be fighting for their lives next year. Leicester will regret not moving into the top 5 and consolidating a good victory from last week. That’s real commentator speak right there – you consolidate wins in that world.
I wouldn’t say that Arsenal are struggling, exactly (did they care about the Milk Cup?), but I would say that the Spuds are exactly that, struggling. I don’t see anything changing in this game as a weakened Arsenal team deal with a stubborn Spurs who try and push everything through Lamela. On the bright side, Spurs will not give up a late game winning goal… on the down side it will be an early game winning goal that will see them falling further back of the leaders.
| 28-Sep 2014 | ||
|---|---|---|
| West Bromwich Albion | 2-2 | Burnley |
West Brom will feature in yet another 2-2 draw for like the umpteenth week in a row except they will not let Burnley score more than half their total…so the Baggies let the fans leave the Hawthornes pleased with a 2-1 win. That doesn’t seem significant but it will end up playing a huge role late in the year when people look at the bottom of the table and wonder if their 35 points will be enough to survive another year fighting for survival. Another TV pundit cliche included for you. You’re welcome.
| 29-Sep 2014 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stoke City | 2-1 | Newcastle United |
Another week passes, another week Alan Pardew wonders if he will be axed. Not sure what the Newcastle fans want – other than to be the bigger team they actually seem to believe they are (but aren’t, if it’s not obvious). The Magpie fans still talk about Malcolm McDonald, Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle, and Faustino Asprilla? like that means anything. Since Shearer hung up his boots to creosote his fence not a lot has happened here to make this team worth more than 4 sentences.. so I’m out.
This weeks can’t lose bet: the Spurs are not going to go to Europe, get odds off better than even and put all you can afford to lose on it.
See you next week.
Well, well, well…..FINALLY some decent predictions, JE. Based on my tally, you predicted 7 out of 10 results correctly for this round. Against your natural instinct, you still decided to give the Villans a chance and they once again proved they are the same Villa from last season. I fully understand your situation though, as even though you know Chelski would win, your hate for them (which far outweighs your hate for the Villans) just could not allow you to pick them. To come out with a higher percentage of correct predictions, I would suggest that you pick Chelsea every week to win, or maybe go for a draw here and there. Congratulations on the picks this round!
I hate Villa.