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What The Fans Are Saying – Gameweek 8

This article tries to answer the question ‘What the fans are saying’ for the Gameweek ahead by delving into their forums and unearthing their predictions of how the games will be played.

Fans Predictions

Chelsea fans are sure they’ll get a win against Leicester albeit only a small one, 1-0 mainly. They expect a similar 3-4-3 formation as they had against Hull except for some minor personnel changes. John Terry is likely to return from injury and Willian will be missing on compassionate leave after the death of his mother.

The fans think the system works but fears it lacks creativity, which means they could struggle against better sides.

They love the form Diego Costa is in, but worry he may be taken off early to protect him from a booking, should the Blues look to be winning comfortably.

Leicester fans are certain of a loss especially if they play 4-4-2. They’d like either 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 with more numbers in midfield. They should lose about 3-0 to Chelsea but Chelsea may not be that good they think.

They’d like Demarai Gray to play on the left but mostly they want a solid team that is hard to break down. Both teams know Leicester have their eye on their midweek Champions League game, which won’t make this game any easier. Daniel Amartey looks likely to start if three central midfielders are used.

Manchester City boss  Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne could be back for the game against Everton, but most fans think the Belgian will probably only make the bench in what is being tipped as a comfortable 3-1 win. Pep Guardiola has said they had to lose to get better so Man City fans are hoping for a good performance, after being beaten by Spurs in Gameweek 7.

They say Nolito being back should give them better balance and they all expect Sergio Aguero to score, which should please the many Fantasy managers that are set to hand him the captaincy.

Everton fans aren’t particularly optimistic about this game, but the fact that City’ play in the Champions League against Barcelona next week should help them.

The Toffees are definitely capable of getting something from the game, say their fans, but the tactics will need to be spot on. They have to be extremely physical and pressing like Spurs were but the fans fear they may not have the personnel for that.

Stoke fans all think they’ll beat Sunderland and were particularly impressed that their heads didn’t drop after they went a goal down against Man United last time out.  The fans sense improvement and looking at the fixture list believe their side are set to notch up a few victories.

They all getting behind Mark Hughes now, though he has a poor record against David Moyes. They are also happy that Black Cats player Jan Kirchhoff has been ruled out, which should help the Potters goal scoring prospects.

Sunderland fans are quite optimistic and have a very good record against Stoke. They recognise both teams have horrible form though and it could be down to whoever scores the first goal.

West Brom fans think that Tony Pulis does well against the big teams because his team is always a good underdog. They have a good record from last year against the top teams. They are looking forward to the game because there is nothing to lose and they know they can compete. They could get a draw here because their home form has been good.

Tottenham fans think this will be tough and it could be a draw or they might just nick a win. They know West Brom have a good record against them, mainly draws, and quite a lot just don’t see a win. Spurs have a big midweek game that could mean a few players are rested here against West Brom. If anyone was to score they think it could be Dele Alli.

Arsenal fans are not keen on striker Olivier Giroud and are having fun watching their side with Alexis Sanchez fielded as a striker. The current team fills them with confidence both offensively and defensively.

However, Swansea are something of a bogey team, with three wins and a draw in their last five visits to the Emirates. Despite these concerns the fans feel that Swansea are at their lowest ebb for years and most can’t see past an Arsenal victory.

Swansea fans aren’t happy with the appointment of Bob Bradley as boss though they are hoping the team will bounce back under his regime.  All Swansea fans want is effort in what they call one of their hardest seasons for a while. They’d like Bradley to add some shape and they are more looking at the games after the Arsenal one. The result matters less to them this weekend, they just want to watch the game and find signs of improvement to give them hope over the coming months.

All Bournemouth fans think they’ll beat Hull and score at least two goals. They still say it will be a hard game because Hull work hard.

Mike Phelan’s appointment as permanent Tigers’ boss could be to the Cherries advantage. Hull have performed better when in chaos behind the scenes this season and there is a cheeky theory among Bournemouth fans that greater stability could lead to a loss of form for Hull. Most are predicting a 3-1 or 2-0 easy victory over the newly stable Tigers.

Hull fans think they can get a result against Bournemouth. They are anooyed they are the underdogs even in this game. It’s a match that could go either way but  they don’t expect many goals.

Crystal Palace fans have a whole thread on the need to stop Hammers’ set piece specialist Dimitri Payet. They have come to the conclusion that they can’t so are just hoping he doesn’t have his shooting boots on. They need to stop fouling in dangerous areas too to ensure the Frenchman can’t unleash one of his deadly free kicks. They hope to sneak a win but fear that West Ham are due an upturn in form and it could be as soon as this weekend.

West Ham fans are very split. Some are pessimistic that their form won’t improve, but others feel the Palace game could be the start of their season proper.  If it goes well they could win 2-0. Other predictions are high scoring draws mainly. The players really need to put a shift in to get a result here, but most aare optimistic. 

Middlesborough fans really want to beat Watford to kickstart their lacklustre season. They hope the bad Watford that lacks guile and creativity  turn up and Boro can get a result. If the Watford side that humiliated West Ham at home earlier this season turns up then Boro are done for. They say they are due a win so hopefully this will be it with Alvaro Negredo a predicted scorer. They all go for a 2-1 win, but this is more based on hope than rationale.

Watford fans want Isaac Success to start if he’s not injured. They think they can win this game and don’t like being patronized by Boro, who say they just hit it up to Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo plays off him. Watford are still proud that they play good football this season. 

Southampton have one eye on the Europa game against Inter Milan midweek. They can rest players after that game. Southampton are set to have lots of the ball at home to a Burnley side with no goals on the road so far this season.

Burnley fans think they can win against Southampton but it’ll be tough. On the whole though they don’t seem overly optimistic.

Liverpool fans realize this is one of the biggest games against Man United in ages. Jose Mourinho can set up in different ways; will he take Liverpool on or will he scrap a draw? Because of this uncertainty they don’t know what the score will be.

Most Liverpool fans though are predicting few goals, with a narrow victory a possibility for the home side. Reasons for cautious optimism stem from Liverpool’s far better recent form, but there are concerns that Manchester United’s biggest strength, aerial threat, is also their side’s biggest weakness.

Manchester United fans don’t want Marouane Fellaini or Wayne Rooney anywhere near this game. They want pace and for players to chase lost causes, contest every challenge and to never stop running.

About half of a 300 vote poll of Manchester United fans believe Liverpool will win, 35 per cent say their side will prevail, with the rest opting for a draw. One thing they are unanimous on is that the Red Devils will concede.

Conclusion

There doesn’t look to be too many upsets this week, according to the fans, but  most games will be hard fought encounters. There could be a lot of close wins.

Who to captain? Sanchez looks the best. It’s so close between him and Theo Walcott, but Sanchez edges it because of stronger goal scoring and assist potential. If Walcott scores it is likely to come via a Sanchez assist. Another to consider is Payet, who the Palace fans believe looks impossible to stop on his current form.

21 Comments Post a Comment
  1. J0E
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Thanks for this. Great read. Looking good for Payet owners.

  2. Bun Rab
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Love this stuff, thanks for your work.

    1. Bolivian Seaman
      • 13 Years
      7 years, 5 months ago

      Cheers

  3. applebonkers
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    the picture gets me everytime, not the main guy (chris brunt's dad?) but the cheeky young lad to his right partaking in one of football's most bizarre rituals

    (i do like these articles, before you worry i just focus on the picture)

    1. SAY SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT
      • 8 Years
      7 years, 5 months ago

      I like the pic. It's got the vibe of one of those busy pieces of art; a lot happening with almost all involved acting separately from one other.

    2. Bolivian Seaman
      • 13 Years
      7 years, 5 months ago

      I look at it too, that guy's cola looks completely flat

  4. SAY SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT
    • 8 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Great as always. The article I look out for most!

  5. Nanoelektronicar
    • 9 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    I'm between Walcott and Costa now. Sad that I can get Sanchez only for a hit.

  6. Dr Van Nostrand
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Team is a mess and keen to avoid price drops is it worth doing a -8?
    Evans>Vertonghen
    Ibra>Austin
    Lallana>Firmino

    Heaster
    Collins/Evans/Valencia
    Sanchez/Capoue/Antonio/Lallana
    Aguero/Lukaku/Ibra

    Amat/Soares/de Roon
    No cash

    1. Alnair
      • 7 Years
      7 years, 5 months ago

      How do you have no cash? 😐

      1. Dr Van Nostrand
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        7 years, 5 months ago

        After the hits will leave 2.8m to upgrade Capoue next

      2. Tired and weary
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        7 years, 5 months ago

        Front line + Sanchez I would guess?

  7. Twisted Saltergater
    • 14 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Good read, thanks! Always saves me time trawling the fans' forum websites.

  8. Clifford☯
    • 7 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Great Read as always !

  9. Alnair
    • 7 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Liverpool 3 - 1 Manchester United 😀

  10. Pompel
    • 10 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Great read as always, Seaman! - might be swayed towards Theo(c)

  11. Dokdok666
    • 9 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Essential article!

  12. FPL Virgin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Such a helpful article. Thank you for making the effort to trawl all the forums of the clubs.

  13. Clump
    • 9 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Always enjoy this.
    Thanks again.

  14. cruzex
    • 11 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Ighalo will start?