Thursday, October 2, 2008

Porter's Picks



Last week, for the first time, my buddy Sean and I were discussing the upcoming weekend games of the Premier League and told each other our predictions for the upcoming games.  Not only was it a ton of fun, but we also got to vent about teams, players and outcomes of the past weekends games.  So I thought to myself, "Why not do this every week?"  So I'm doing it.  For those of you that appreciate the game for what it is... The Best and Most Popular Sport in the World, this is for you.  And for those of you that don't care, deal with it.

Barclays Premier League News
  1. Roy "The Skipper" Keane's coaching contract is up soon.  Will Sunderland put on offer on the table?  I think so.  He's worked wonders for the team and has helped the Black Cats stay in top shape.
  2. Can Chelsea continue to win with so many players on the roster at injured status?  Joe Cole, Deco, Carvalho are out for a while.  Drogba's health is questionable.  And Kalou, who was injured, is finally returning to play.  Who's next? Anelka?  If so many injuries continue, Chelsea could find themselves sliding down the table quickly. Good thing they have a solid bench.
  3.  Mark Hughes' move from Blackburn to Manchester City was a positive thing.  Even though they lost to Wigan last week, with a young squad and Robinho in the front they have already started shaking things up in the top half of the table.
  4. Hull City, after moving up to the big leagues, has shown other teams that they can hang with the big boys.  After a huge win over Arsenal last week, they look to be making a name for themselves.  Question is, how long can they keep this up?
  5. Champions League Round Up - Man U defeated Aalborg 3-1, Arsenal rocked Porto 4-0, Liverpool beat PSV Eindhoven 3-1, and Chelsea was held to a draw against CFR Cluj 0-0>
Weekly Predictions for Week 6:

Saturday, October 4th, 2008
  • Sunderland vs Arsenal: Arsenal should win this one.  But if they have tired legs from playing in the Champions league this week, Sunderland may be able to pull off a win.
  • WBA vs Fulham: WBA to win. Fulham haven't been looking that impressive lately.
  • Wigan vs Middlesbrough: With Zaki keeping up his hot streak of scoring five goals in the past five games, I predict Wigan to squeak out a win. 
  • Blackburn vs Man U: This is the must-see game of the day.  Although Manchester will be dealing with Paul Scholes being out injured (10 weeks for a knee injury), they should be able to win.  Berbatov looked great and scored two in the Champions league game, so look to him to put the ball in the back of the net.
Sunday, October 5th, 2008
  • Westham vs Bolton: Westham to win.  They have been playing top notch ball lately.
  • Chelsea Vs Aston Villa:  This is one of two exciting games to watch on Sunday.  Villa can pull this one off for the win.  With so many injuries, Chelsea's bench is going to be stretched.  I predict Villa to win by one.
  • Man City vs Liverpool: This one's gonna be great.  This is the other game to watch.  Liverpool has shown that they can be beat.  Needless to say, this ones going to be close. Although they lost last week to Wigan, I think Man City will come back this week with a fire and win.
  • Portsmouth vs Stoke City: Stoke City hasn't looked that great yet.  Portsmouth will definitely take this one.
  • Tottenham vs Hull City: Can anyone stop Hull City?  That's what everyone wants to know.  I don't see Tottenham winning this one.  Hull City will continue their hot streak.
  • Everton vs Newcastle: With so many issues in the coaching department, it's no wonder that Newcastle looks terrible.  Everton will bring home the W for this one.  
Have any thoughts or disagreements?  Feel free to comment and sound off about your predictions for week 6.

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