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Super Sunday in the EPL sees Newcastle face Manchester United, Tottenham against Aston Villa, Liverpool meet Stoke and Fulham travel to Southampton. Several exciting matches are scheduled today and football lovers will surely be interested in a sneak preview of the matches which kick-off today evening.
1. Newcastle United v Manchester United at Sports Direct Arena – 16:00 BST/ 20:30 IST
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 26: Anderson of Manchester United holds off a challenge from Fabricio Coloccini of Newcastle United during the Capital One Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford on September 26, 2012 in Manchester, England.
One of the classic rivalries from the Premier League era will be renewed when Newcastle face Manchester United at the Sports Direct Arena. Newcastle will be in confident mood as they have not lost against United in their last three league matches. The Magpies were fortunate at Reading last weekend when they drew 2-2 in the dying seconds of the match, but they performed very well in midweek, winning 3-0 at home against Bordeaux. Alan Pardew will look to repeat last season’s reverse fixture where they beat the Red Devils 3-0, but their form has been inconsistent: they have won only two matches out of six but lost only one game.
Manchester United, meanwhile, will still be stinging from their historic 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, although they did bounce back midweek at Cluj, winning 2-1 in Romania. United have lost two games from the opening six matches and will know that they cannot afford anymore slip-ups, as the points gap between themselves and leaders Chelsea is quite significant. Sir Alex Ferguson has demanded an immediate response from his side to remain in the Top Four of the table by getting three points, with a performance similar to last month’s Capital One Cup victory at Old Trafford, where they won 2-1.
Newcastle is a difficult place to go and get a result as they are good at home and it’s therefore a tricky one to predict as both sides will want to win and anyone can get a result but draw looks to be the best result. It will be a tight and close match, but I predict a narrow win at Newcastle with the experience in the team and ability to bounce back from defeat.
Players to watch out from Newcastle – Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse, Yohan Cabaye and Danny SimpsonPlayers to watch out from Man United – Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand
Prediction – Newcastle 1-2 Man Utd
2. Southampton v Fulham at St. Mary’s Stadium – 13:30 BST/ 18:00 IST
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 5: Claus Lundekvam of Southampton tangles with Andy Cole of Fulham during the Barclays Premiership match between Southampton and Fulham on January 5, 2004 at the St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, England
Southampton face Fulham at St Mary’s this weekend, with both sides looking to improve on their recent defeats in the league. Fulham are poor travellers, they must remain careful as the Saints is an improving side at home. beating Aston Villa 4-1 in their last home match. In their previous outing, Fulham lost 2-1 to Man City at Craven Cottage in the last minutes of the match. Martin Jol will look to bounce back from the defeat and hope to get a win against Saints but they will have attempt to do without main man Dimitar Berbatov, as he is still injured.
In their previous outing, Southampton were thrashed 3-1 by Everton at Goodison Park. Nigel Adkins will look to solve Southampton’s defensive problems as they have conceded the maximum number of goals in the Premier League season, conceding two goals apiece in five out of their six matches.The Saints will hope to a win, given their home advantage.
Southampton and Fulham are two of three teams yet to draw a game this season. Both teams are inconsistent and it’s therefore a tricky contest as both sides will want a result as. Anybody can win it, but both sides are likely to cancel out each other in a draw.
Players to watch out from Southampton – Rickie Lambert, Gaston Ramirez and Nathaniel ClynePlayers to watch out from Fulham – Hugo Rodallega, Damien Duff and Brede Hangeland
Prediction – Southampton 2-2 Fulham
3. Liverpool v Stoke City at Anfield – 15:00 BST/ 19:30 IST
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Stewart Downing of Liverpool goes past Andy Wilkinson of Stoke City during the FA Cup with Budweiser Sixth Round match between Liverpool and Stoke City at Anfield on March 18, 2012 in Liverpool, England.
Liverpool face a physical Stoke side at Anfield. Liverpool have five points from six games – their worst ever start to the season. Last weekend, they hammered Norwich 5-2 away from home but lost 3-2 to Udinese in midweek at Anfield. Brendan Rodgers’ side will look to build on their first win against Norwich in the league, and will try to utilise their home support to pick up three points. Liverpool have a poor home record, having won only two matches out of 12 in 2012. Stoke will therefore feel positive due to Liverpool’s poor home form.
Stoke defeated Swansea 2-0 at Brittania Stadium, and Tony Pulis will look to win back-to-back matches, but Stoke have never won at Anfield, and it will be a very difficult task. Liverpool are a more talented side than Stoke City, while the Reds are an inconsistent side, making for an entertaining contest between the two sides ending in a draw.
Players to watch out from Liverpool – Luiz Suarez, Steven Gerrard and Martin SkrtelPlayers to watch out from Stoke – Peter Crouch, Charlie Adam and Asmir Begovic
Prediction – Liverpool 1-1 Stoke City
4. Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa at White Hart Lane – 15:00 BST/ 19:30 IST
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – MAY 06: Emmanuel Adebayor of Tottenham Hotspur is challenged by Chris Herd of Aston Villa during the Barclays Premier League between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park on May 6, 2012 in Birmingham, England.
Tottenham Hotspur are riding high on confidence after their superb win against Man United, while Aston Villa are off to their worst start to the season as they have picked up just five points from their opening six matches. Spurs are on an eight-game unbeaten run, winning three consecutive league games and are looking to make it consecutive victory number four against the struggling Villans. Tottenham surprised everyone by winning 3-2 against Man United at Old Trafford and Andres Villas-Boas’ men are in a rich vein of form and will look to continue winning as AVB is getting his tactics right for Spurs.
In their last outing, Aston Villa drew at home with local rivals West Brom, finishing 1-1. Aston Villa are in a transition period, as their performance is not up to the desired mark. It will therefore be a difficult task for Paul Lambert’s side to get a result at White Hart Lane, while their away form is also poor. With home advantage, an easy Spurs win is on the cards against lowly Aston Villa.
Players to watch out from Tottenham – Jermaine Defoe, Gareth Bale and Kyle WalkerPlayers to watch out from Aston Villa – Darrent Bent, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ron Vlaar
Prediction – Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Aston Villa
