Sports Blog 14/08/2015: Match Preview – Premier League, Friday 14th to Sunday 16th August 2015

It’s already time for the second weekend of the 2015/16 Premier League, with the first (and last) Friday game of the year alongside the first big beast of the season on Sunday.

The Friday game is a bit of anomaly this season, as Aston Villa host Manchester United at 7.45pm on Sky Sports 1. It will be the only Friday game of 2015/16 before they become a regular occurrence in 2016/17, and was brought about due to a combination of a police-sapping EDL march in Walsall on Saturday and the proximity of United’s Champions League qualifier on Tuesday ruling out a Sunday fixture. Anyway, Villa got off to a good start last weekend, with a late(ish) goal from debutante Rudy Gestede giving them the win over Premier League newbies Bournemouth, and provided Tim Sherwood with a great start to his first ‘full’ season in charge.



However, an opening day match against a side that has never been in the top flight, and a second game against Manchester United couldn’t be more different. Not that United were convincing in their curtain raising game against Tottenham; an early own goal from Kyle Walker gave the Manchester side the victory, despite not managing a shot on target until the 65th minute. There were a couple of positives; Morgan Schneiderlin looked impressive, and worked well with Carrick, whilst Bastian Schweinsteiger was a lively substitute. However, Memphis Depay never looked settled; he will be hoping for a better second game, and goes into the match at a Super Mega PGM spread of 25-30. Friday’s game will be the first real test of the season for Sherwood, and Villa are expected to struggle, leading Spreadex to offer a Man United/Aston Villa (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.75-0.95 with a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.

The only televised game on Saturday then sees Southampton take on Everton at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1. It wasn’t the best start to the season for Southampton; after riding so high in 2014/15, and seeing an emphatic Europa League win in the middle of the week, the Saints travelled to St James’ Park to face the newly Steve McClaren-helmed Newcastle. After a Graziano Pelle opener gave Southampton the lead, goals from Papiss Cisse and Toon-new boy Georginio Wijnaldum either side of half time gave Newcastle the edge, before a late Shane Long equaliser drew things level. Sadio Mane, who could have won the game for the Saints, will be hoping to make up for his two late misses this weekend, and is at a Super Mega PGM spread of 19-23.



Everton suffered a similarly frustrating start to the season. They hosted Watford in what should have been an easy win for Rorberto Martinez’s men; however, the Toffees were 1-0 down after 13 minutes thanks to Miguel Layun. Ross Barkley equalised late into the second half before Odion Ighalo gave Watford the lead once again, meaning only an 86th goal from Arouna Kone could save Everton’s blushes. With the Saints arguably a better side then Everton already (and much better than Watford) the Toffees may have to wait for their first win of the season, with Spreadex offering a Southampton/Everton Goal Supremacy spread of 0.45-0.65 with a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

Sunday sees Arsenal already with a need to redeem themselves as they visit Crystal Palace at 1.30pm on Sky Sports 1. Confidence was high heading into their opening fixture at home against West Ham, with the arrival of Petr Cech in goal supposedly giving the Gunners some much needed extra stability at the back. Oh how wrong this was to all be…Cech was at fault for both of the Hammers’ goals, causing Arsenal to slump to a 2-0 defeat as they were effectively shut down in most areas of the pitch. Wenger will be hoping that the full return of Alexis Sanchez can spark a positive response from his side, with the Chilean at 5/1 to score first.



Crystal Palace, on the other hand, got off to a great start, with Alan Pardew leading his team to an impressive 3-1 win over the newly promoted Norwich. Wilfried Zaha gave Palace the lead just before the half time, before Damien Delaney made it two the other side of the break. Nathan Redmond managed to pull one back for the Canaries near the 70 minute mark, but Yohan Cabaye, sealed the game for Palace in the 90th minute. The Frenchman, at 12/1 to score first on Sunday, played under Pardew at Newcastle, and is a superb signing for Palace, who broke the club record to sign him from PSG. However, our Spreadex traders still expect the Gunners to bounce back, offering an Arsenal/ Crystal Palace (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.7-0.9 with a Total Goals spread of 2.65-2.85.

Finally the biggest game of the weekend comes on Sunday afternoon, as Chelsea visit Manchester City at 4pm on Sky Sports 1. Chelsea’s week has been mired in controversy over Mourinho’s treatment of his club medics, especially Dr Eva Carniero. Carniero was demoted after she treated Eden Hazard without Mourinho’s permission against Swansea last weekend, and Mourinho’s tetchy responses to the issue came in a week when the Portuguese maestro could have really done without any distractions. That game against Swansea ended 2-2 as Chelsea blew the lead twice, first with Oscar’s opener cancelled out by Andre Ayew, before a Fernandez own goal was matched by a Gomis penalty after Courtois was sent off.

In contrast, Manchester City’s Monday game against West Brom couldn’t have gone any better, with a masterful performance from Yaya Toure leading his team to a 3-0 victory. David Silva appears to have been credited with the opener after he mildly deflected Toure’s shot, before the Ivorian left no question to who scored the second goal. A Kompany header on the hour mark sealed the deal for City, and gave them a well-earned win over the Baggies. This meant City leap-frogged Chelsea on both the Season Points Index, at 80.5-82 to the latter’s 79.5-81 AND the Premier League Index, at 36-39 to 35-38. The lighter of the two Blues is also expected to grab a home win, at a Man City/Chelsea Goal Supremacy spread of 0.35-0.55 with a Total Goals spread of 2.55-2.75.