Liverpool have put the only unbeaten record in the English Premiership on the line on Sunday, and the match is surely going to be the most watched global sports event of the weekend, writes GARY LEMKE.
Heading to Anfield to try and inflict a first League defeat in 17 matches on Liverpool is Manchester United – although a United side in name and very little else.
Liverpool are top of the table because Chelsea brought Manchester City down to earth last weekend, and Jurgen Klopp’s impressive team are 16 points ahead of United after as many matches. Liverpool have won 13 of their 16 games, scored 34 goals and conceded only six, while United have won seven, scored 28 goals and leaked 26.
Take out the history and the United ‘aura’, and on this season’s form it’s impossible not to think Liverpool won’t win on Sunday. United have been lethargic at times, conservative, seemingly afraid to commit players to go forward, and Paul Pogba’s lack of form has contributed to a midfield that’s misfiring. Liverpool, on the other hand, are exciting.
Mo Salah has again found the form that saw him light up last season, but he has help from every other shirt in red, and the pace with which Liverpool break is similar to that of Man City – which is why both teams are where they are, and are likely to remain as we near the halfway stage.
Elsewhere, I’ve gone for wins for Man City (vs Everton), Crystal Palace (vs Leicester), Tottenham (vs Burnley), Watford (vs Cardiff), Chelsea (vs Brighton) and Arsenal (vs Southampton).
The bookies, meanwhile, have got the following teams at odds-on to win, which makes them very confident they’ll do the business: Man City, Wolves (vs Bournemouth), Tottenham, Watford, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Perhaps the trickiest matches are: Wolves vs Bournemouth, Crystal Palace vs Leicester, Huddersfield vs Newcastle, Fulham vs West Ham, but I’m also going to throw in Brighton vs Chelsea as a potential banana skin.
Brighton are a tough side to beat at home – as Man United – and Chelsea’s problem all season has been the poor form of their two strikers Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud. Surely they’re going to do some business in the transfer window to try and find a short-term solution to their troubles in front of goal. I’ve gone 2-1 to Chelsea, but that’s because I support them, and if I had been neutral I’d have gone for an ‘upset’ draw.
The most common scorelines so far this season are:
29 times: 2-1
24 times: 2-0
20 times: 1-0
17 times: 3-1
14 times: 1-1
11 times: 0-0
10 times: 3-0
9 times: 2-2
7 times: 3-2
6 times: 4-0
5 times: 4-2
3 times: 4-1
2 times: 5-0, 6-1
1 time: 5-1
Here are the SportsClub team’s predictions for this week’s round of fixtures. There is consensus on the panel in four matches: Manchester City to beat Everton by at least two clear goals, Tottenham to beat Burnley by at least two clear goals, Arsenal to beat Southampton and Chelsea to beat Brighton.
Man City vs Everton
Dylan Appolis (91/160): 3-1
Gary Lemke (91/160): 2-0
Juandre Joubert (88/160): 3-1
Wade Pretorius (87/160): 2-0
Dean Workman (84/160):
Marshall Gouts (79/160): 4-1
Wolves vs Bournemouth
Dylan Appolis: 1-2
Gary Lemke: 1-1
Juandre Joubert: 2-1
Wade Pretorius: 2-1
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 1-1
Watford vs Cardiff
Dylan Appolis: 1-1
Gary Lemke: 2-1
Juandre Joubert: 1-0
Wade Pretorius: 2-1
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 2-1
Crystal Palace vs Leicester
Dylan Appolis: 1-2
Gary Lemke: 2-1
Juandre Joubert: 1-1
Wade Pretorius: 1-1
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 1-1
Tottenham vs Burnley
Dylan Appolis: 2-0
Gary Lemke: 2-0
Juandre Joubert: 2-0
Wade Pretorius: 3-0
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 2-0
Huddersfield vs Newcastle
Dylan Appolis: 0-1
Gary Lemke: 1-1
Juandre Joubert: 1-0
Wade Pretorius: 1-0
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 1-2
Fulham vs West Ham
Dylan Appolis: 1-2
Gary Lemke: 1-1
Juandre Joubert: 1-2
Wade Pretorius: 1-2
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 1-2
Southampton vs Arsenal
Dylan Appolis: 0-2
Gary Lemke: 1-2
Juandre Joubert: 1-2
Wade Pretorius: 1-2
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 1-3
Brighton vs Chelsea
Dylan Appolis: 0-2
Gary Lemke: 1-2
Juandre Joubert: 1-2
Wade Pretorius: 1-2
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 1-2
Liverpool vs Man United
Dylan Appolis: 2-1
Gary Lemke: 2-1
Juandre Joubert: 2-1
Wade Pretorius: 3-1
Dean Workman:
Marshall Gouts: 1-1
Lemke is the 2017/18 EPL Superbru Global champion
