Premier League Match-day 1 Preview

After an amazing summer of sport where Spain showed they are the true Masters of Football and London staged a tremendously engaging Olympic Games, it may be that you haven’t missed the Premier League so much as other summers! Well it’s back and with memories afresh of Manchester City’s -too dramatic for words Title push, as well as a transfer window that cranked up a notch with the news of Robin Van Persie’s move to Old Trafford, it’s time for the big show to kick on again. First games are on Saturday and here is your fantasy football preview!

We start with Arsenal v Sunderland at The Emirates. The Gunners have lost their best player and captain in August…again! They knew it was a probable outcome for some weeks now and truth be told, for some years now as they can no longer challenge for titles despite the consistency of their third and fourth place finishes. That is not enough for the likes of RVP, Cesc Fabregas or Samir Nasri who want the opportunity to win the biggest titles. For Arsenal’s sake it’s a pity that they have made a rival that is already stronger , stronger still. This will not affect Saturday’s game for which Arsenal should still be well prepared for. It’s also better that the move has been confirmed before the big kick off rather than having to endure the humiliations of last August when that 8-2 defeat to United was sustained.

This time round Arsenal are better prepared in terms of their squad strengthening after getting Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski . I think Cazorla could be a real find for Wenger but they need to hold onto the vastly improved Alex Song, or replace him with a strong presence. Arsenal have fire power and ammunition with the pacy Oxlade Chamberlain and they should take care of a limited Sunderland side that looks mediocre. A home win and Szczesny has prospects of a clean sheet. Bendtner unlikely to get hat-trick which will come as a shock to him. He may not be selected against the team with which he spent last season . New signings Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) and Louis Saha (Sunderland) may make their full debuts up front for the 2 teams. For Arsenal Bacary Sagna and Mikel Arteta are out while Wes Brown and Phil Bardsley miss out for Sunderland.

Early season accumulators are notoriously tricky as you need the odd crazy set of results to adjust to, but the Gunners to win could be combined with Fulham whose chances I like at home to Norwich City on opening day. Fulham are a Jekyll and Hyde outfit certainly but Dr Jekyll resides at Craven Cottage where the vast majority of points are earned. Clint Dempsey was one of last seasons best players in England. Norwich look to have shown that either their resources are poor or their ambition is stilted by allowing Paul Lambert to depart. I expect The Canaries to have a hard season while Fulham should be ok with their home form.

The match of the day is on Tyneside where the teams that came fourth and fifth last season will do battle. Newcastle entertain Spurs in a match that should have plenty of quality about it. Both teams have top players in abundance and both Pardew and the quickly returning Andre Villas Boas will have genuine aspirations of improving on last year’s high finishing position. Fourth wasn’t enough for Harry’s Hotspurs but surely the Managers of either club, never mind Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal would happily settle for that from this upcoming campaign? This is a game where it’s a bit harder to pick a winner as well as any fantasy player selections so I will avoid it. However I would not put anyone off selecting either of the Senegalese strikers for The Magpies- Demba Ba or Papiss Cisse or the Frenchman Yohan Cabaye behind them. Spurs had better plan without Luka Modric this season but Gareth Bale was a phenomenal points grabber last year and Ledley King is always a top player- when he plays which is about 60% of the time. A score draw is a plausible outcome to this one.

West Brom v Liverpool will attract a lot of attention because of the way the clubs’ management teams have been intertwined in recent seasons. When Roy Hodgson was ousted from Anfield he immediately found his feet again at The Hawthorns where WBA had a fine season while now we see that his successor Steve Clarke- Dalglish’ number 2, has also come from Anfield. More eyes still will be on the other dugout as Liverpool’s masses of fans wait to see how their Premier League era under Brendan Rodgers, will begin.

You get the sense that Rodgers has a clear plan and he is already showing signs of making his vision of a Liverpool team come to reality. Joe Allen was a logical purchase from their time at Swansea while the attempted signing of Nuri Sahin speaks of ambition. The Real Madrid midfielder could be a fantastic signing. Add to that the arrival of Fabio Borini for £10.5 million who looks considerable better value as a striker than Andy Carroll. Time will tell. Most recently Rodgers has snapped up the Moroccan winger Assaidi. Liverpool may need a bit of time to hit top gear and their midfield will be quite different to last year ( Gerrard, Lucas and Allen perhaps?) and even the returning Joe Cole could be in contention.If they show enough intent at The Hawthorns, then The Reds can bag 3 points.

Reading return to the top flight after a 4 year absence and their first assignment is a home game with Stoke City. Brian McDermott’s side will need to avail of all opportunities for wins and with Stoke’s indifferent form away from home, it may well be that this is a good opener for the new boys. They were busy in the summer transfer market and now comes the first real test. We shall give them a tentative vote for 3 points at around 7/5 or 2.40. West Ham also make a quick return with a relatively experienced side by promoted teams’ standards and they have Aston Villa who need a huge improvement on a woeful 2011-2012 showing. With one of the best young Managers around in Paul Lambert, this may be entirely possible for the Villans but for now this is a game to swerve.

QPR v Swansea will not set many pulses racing but is an interesting game with perhaps a betting opportunity. Swansea will take time to find their feet under Michael Laudrup though he is well versed in getting the most out of modestly talented squads such as Getafe and Real Mallorca. By contrast there is pressure on QPR and Mark Hughes to deliver a much stronger second season and they will have benefitted from the ultimately successful scrap against relegation and the extra summer for players to adjust to life at Premier League pace. I expect QPR and Swansea to reverse placings this year although I feel Laudrup will keep the team from South Wales safe. QPR can win this opener.

On Sunday we have Wigan v Chelsea - the classic David and Goliath affair. By now Wigan have earned the respect of all in the top flight but that doesn’t change the fact that Chelsea will be strong favourites for this one. Of Chelsea’s big recent signings ( Marin, Oscar, Hazard) only Eden Hazard is expected to start the game. He may just prove to be among the top additions to the squad in quite a few years as he is a massive talent. We can see him linking up well with Juan Mata and between them, they may even re-ignite Fernando Torres’ flagging career. The Spanish striker will start. Victor Moses may be the subject of a pending transfer between the 2 clubs and may not line out for Wigan. We forecast a Chelsea win.

When Everton nicked an unlikely point in the 4-4 draw at Old Trafford late last season it was the key moment of Manchester United relinquishing momentum in the title race and losing the crown to City. United’s record against the Toffees is exceptional over the years and that was a rare blemish. The big news of the arrival of £24 million man Robin Van Persie may already change the complexion of the title race before a ball is kicked. He may be beyond resale value when the 4 year contrcat ends but if RVP is healthy and in form for 80% of that time, United won’t care. His partnership with former Evertonian Wayne Rooney is set to be the best in the PL. Even City’s plethora of striking talent cannot claim to top this pair. RVP and the other big new signing Shinji Kagawa are both expected to make their debut for United who are light in defensive cover with Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Rafael all out. Tim Howard, Darron Gibson and Phil Neville could all make it for Everton. All are ex United. Everton have only won 3 of 20 home PL games against United, who at 1.90 for victory, are the bet.

Finally to the new Champions, Manchester City who host new boys Southampton. City have done most of their spending in the 3 preceding years so probably needed less transfer activity than anyone else, though they have signed Jack Rodwell from Everton and were understood to be interested in Van Persie. Their squad is amazing and was key to their victory last year. Their strikers are best described as a volatile but highly talented bunch with Balotelli and Tevez both match- winners with serious disciplinary issues. The midfield was the area where they excelled last year with YaYa Toure and David Silva the leading lights and there are no real areas that are identifiable as weaknesses.

Southampton may or may not survive their return to the PL but they are most unlikely to get anything from their first game. It’s 5 years since the teams played a league game and though the history of the fixture features many away wins, you can get 16/1 about that happening on Sunday. City may be missing some big stars such as Joe Hart, Gareth Barry, Mario Balotelli and Micah Richards. Southampton are rumoured to be targeting a large transfer coup for Bologna striker Gaston Ramirez who if he arrived would cost double the Saints’ existing transfer record of £6 million.

August 17, 2012 at 9:17 am | Premier League