#3 Chelsea can maintain 100% record against high-flying Burnley
Antonio Conte started life as Chelsea manager with two consecutive wins from his first two games as he saw his side fight back to snatch the winner in the closing stages of both the matches. Chelsea started their season with a tough home fixture against West Ham United where Diego Costa helped his side secure all the three points after a thrilling last minute winner to make the score 2-1 in the hosts’ favour.
The Blues made the trip to Watford for their second game of the season in what could have been a disappointing result as Watford took the lead through Etienne Capoue as the Hornets dominated their visitors throughout the first hour. But Conte brought on his new striker Michy Batshuayi who first scored a terrific solo goal and then set-up partner Diego Costa to score an 87th-minute winner for the visitors who maintained their 100% record with two nail-biting finishes.
But Conte’s players had to feature in the League cup second round fixture in midweek against Bristol Rovers where they also managed a not-so-assured victory by a scoreline of 3-2. What this could mean is that the manager will have to play his players with just four days of rest in between. The Italian manager focusses more on pressing and it will be interesting to see how the Chelsea players cope up with a mid-week game so early on in the season.
However, with the likes of Hazard and Costa firing on all cylinders, Chelsea will be the favourites to finish the week with a 100% record.
Chelsea will host Burnley in a 7:30 PM IST kick-off on Saturday (August 27, 2016).
#4 Both Manchester clubs will look to get the job done
Both the Manchester clubs have started their season with a bang as they won their first two games convincingly which has given belief to their supporters. Both the clubs had recruited new managers for the season and fans were waiting to see what brand of football their team will play under the two managers. Pep Guardiola’s style of play is very simple and everybody knows what he will bring to City but the interesting sight has been that of seeing the new-look United play.
Jose Mourinho was known for parking the bus at Chelsea but that has not been the case at Manchester United as they have played expansive football with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba showing what money can actually buy. Mourinho’s side have won their first two games with a scoreline of 3-1 and 2-0 against Bournemouth and Southampton respectively.
Whereas, it has been a free-scoring first two games for Pep at City where he has seen his side score 7 goals in two games. City also claimed qualification for the Champions League group stages with a 6-0 aggregate win over Steaua Bucuresti in midweek but too much football at such an early stage of the season might aggravate any injuries.
Manchester United will travel to Hull City who have also won their first two games whereas City will have an uphill task in front of them as they host West Ham United. Andre Ayew and Andy Carroll are already out with injury for the visitors and hence we could see both the Manchester clubs getting the job done in style and keeping their 100% start to the season.
Hull City host Manchester United in a 10 PM IST kick-off on Saturday (August 27, 2016).
Manchester City will be hosting West Ham United in a 8:30 PM IST kick-off on Sunday (August 28, 2016).
