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What The Fans Are Saying – Gameweek 9

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.

Bournemouth fans haven’t marked their home clash with Tottenham down as a game to get points from, despite improving over the last month. They think they’ll score because Spurs seem to concede once in most away games. But ultimately most think they will lose 1-2 or even 1-3 in what could be a tight game with few chances.

In contrast, Tottenham fans are confident of a win. Their defence shouldn’t miss the injured Toby Alderweireld too much and they believe they could win by as much as 3-0. They are also confident that they will prosper over the next five games, despite some tricky ties, including the North London Derby. They  were right last week that the West Brom encounter would be tough, so maybe they’re right this week about a good win.

Burnley fans expect a narrow win for either side. They aren’t sure that they can score and are worried about Romelu Lukaku. If they can control him they should get something from the game. It will be hard fought and hopefully they can get a draw.

Meanwhile, Everton fans all believe the will emerge victorious. They are going for a low scoring win but believe Lukaku could get a couple of goals. Steven Defour is out for Burnley, which is a big bonus as he is the main creator for them. A low-scoring comfortable win could be on the cards.

West Ham fans think their former striker Jermain Defoe will definitely score against them. They have problems with their fullback positions so they may have to go 3-4-3 against Sunderland. Hammers fans are suggesting they’ll win and will score two or more goals and believe Simone Zaza might get one of the goals. West Ham has too much quality to lose this, they feel.

Pessimism is rife among Sunderland fans and agree with their Hammers counterparts that they will lose.  Key predictions are in the region of 2-0 or 3-1. Sunderland simply can’t defend, they say.

Some Hull fans give themselves a chance against Stoke, whereas a lot of others have predicted a 2-0 loss. They’ve already started turning on manager Mike Phelan and are critical of some of his recent tactical decisions, in particular fielding the attack minded Ryan Mason in central midfield. More defensive cover is needed urgently, they say. In recent games they have also lost the ball in key areas too often.  The Hull players under Phelan are being asked to do too much, which is creating huge holes in midfield for opponents to exploit. They even think their team didn’t have enough quality last year and fluked a promotion. These are dark days on Humberside.

Stoke fans still say they are getting stronger every week and now they are against a team getting weaker, but they think Hull will put up a fight, after their humiliating 6-1 defeat away to Bournemouth last weekend. Stoke need to get on top quick and be aggressive if they are to prosper. Most Stoke fans predict a high scoring away win, with a few thinking it may end 1-1. A loss seems out of the question for the Potters, say their fans.

Swansea needs to pick up points now and especially in this game against Watford. New boss Bob Bradley doesn’t tend to favour youth, so this is likely to be an experienced team. They want Baston Borja to play up front to deal with the physically imposing Watford back three and are hoping for a win, with a goal from Gylfi Sigurdsson. Elsewhere, they are happy that they are getting support from America following former USA national team coach Bradley’s appointment. 

Watford fans think Swansea will be eager to impress early on and create some early pressure, which they’ll eat up and hopefully use to hit them on the break. They don’t think they will be much between the sides though. It will probably be a boring draw, they say.

Leicester fans just want a better performance from their team against Crystal Palace. They don’t want to play hoofball anymore. They are worried about setpieces especially with the threat of Christian Benteke.  Palace’s physicality worries them. Though, Leicester’s home record is very good but they wouln’t be surprised if Palace got a result.

Crystal Palace fans are talking about the leftback position more than anything else. So that suggesst their team is ok. They’ve started to call Andros Townsend average and don’t think their focus on aerial threat will be do well against Leicester’s imposing centre backs Robert Huth and Wes Morgan. A low scoring game is predicted.

Arsenal fans are happy with their team but they are worried that complacency could creep in – it’s the Arsenal way. As a result while a home tie  against Middlesborough looks easy on paper the most pessimistic Gunners fear their good form is on the verge of collapse. They like Alexis Sanchez up front but they find it strange that he’s doing so much of the creating of late. On the plus side this is helping Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott to increase their goal threat. Arsenal fans just want a strong run until Christmas. If  they are still doing well by then they may finally start to believe they could go on and win the title.

Middlesborough fans don’t see any potential for a positive result, but football still springs some surprises they hope. They fully expect a thrashing and have written the whole the whole game off. They expect it to be 3-0 or 4-0.

Liverpool fans expect a tough, tight game against a Tony Pulis led West Brom. They are more scared of this than the Man United game. West Brom will make it very difficult for them. They should win though and West Brom do have a goal threat but Liverpool are a strong side. The Man United game may have taught Liverpool patience which they’ll need in this game.

West Brom fans know they’ll be setting up to get another point here. They think it will be low-scoring. Some think they’ll draw, some think it will be a smallish loss. The hopeful think they’ll win with a set-piece goal.

Manchester City fans think it’s time for a big win. They are due to take it out someone and it could be this weekend. Some, however, are expecting a tougher game against Southampton but it does show Man City are still a force to be reckoned with. They don’t think Southampton can counterattack as well as Everton did last week and hopefully being in Milan on Thursday will make them tired. Most predict a 3-0 win.

Southampton fans think they’ll lose quite heavily. In fact, they are worried that Manchester City will be a wounded animal, ready to lash out. They also think that the high pressing game of City will work very well against them. Southampton played worse in the second half against Inter Milan when Inter pressed the fullbacks and forced them back. They fear that City’s forwards will be similarly all over their backline. The Saints were also too slow up front, say the fans.

Chelsea supporters will see the best of Eden Hazard in this game they believe. He will give it all against Jose Mourinho’s Man United. In addition, Diego Costa will be up for it as well and they believe he wanted to be taken off by Antonio Conte in their last league game just in case he got booked and missed this tie. They expect a tough game especially because Mourinho is good in the big games but hope for a win.

Man United fans also expect a low scoring, but hard fought game. It could be a formation that tries to control Chelsea rather than the way they played against Liverpool where they sat deep. It’s going to be a battle with a few changes such as Jesse Lingard playing.

Conclusion

Every season is different; so far it’s been the season without any cleansheets. This gameweek could provide the turning point: there could be quite a lot.

Who to captain? There is no stand out option this week so I’m going with my gut instinct and captaining Marko Arnautovic, because with Bojan likely to miss out on a first XI place the Austrian is likely to be on penalties. Other good choices would be Dimitri Payet and Alexis Sanchez. Christian Eriksen is also another good punt.

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

    cheers. Thanks for this. Looking good for Arsenal and West Ham returns....Defoe owners too!

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

    Great article, thank you. Just out of interest, what are the man city fans saying about the Pep Aguero situation?

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

      they say it's brought out the worst in British journalism. They are making a mountain out of a molehill. City just wanted an extra midfielder against barca

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

        Spot on, really!

  3. vickyz r3d d3vil$ !!!
    • 11 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Thanks for the article..nice to hear west ham fans mentioning about zaza..hope he gets something..all the best for arnie(c)..i captained him last week..looked dangerous..even got an offside goal..but incase they get a penalty, i have a feeling he might pass on the ball to bony just to break his duck..

  4. Sjaugen
    • 8 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Arnie C? The balls on you! Just happy to have drafted him personally

  5. Sadio
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    I'm tempted to shift Sanchez on to KDB.

    Sounds mad but the stats don't really suggest that Sanchez will do well.

  6. Hasselbaink Forever - Defoe…
    • 10 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Thanks for the write up. Surprised Arsenal fans are being so pessimistic.

  7. nailedonness
    • 7 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Thanks for this!
    "They like Alexis Sanchez up front but they find it strange that he’s doing so much of the creating of late. On the plus side this is helping Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott to increase their goal threat."
    Starting to worry about my San(c)hez...

  8. djpete
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Thanks Bolivian, excellent stuff!

  9. tm370
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Why on earth would anyone be contemplating shifting Sanchez?! or worrying about him as an option?

    in his last 8 starts in all comps for Arsenal he has 6 goals and 5 assists. He should be the first player in all squads atm.

    1. Sadio
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      7 years, 5 months ago

      Stats aren't very good and Boro are good at limiting chances conceded to strikers.

      Midfielders tend to score against them, however.

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

    Thanks for this!

  11. shalji
    • 8 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    What are your predictions for Burnley vs Everton?

    Because I am going for Lukaku for my Captain.

    Or should I go with Sanchez?

  12. varon2425
    • 10 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Who to Captain. Sanchez or Walcott ?

  13. FPL price manipulators are …
    • 10 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Great stuff as always

  14. Ruth_NZ
    • 9 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    These are good articles BS. Thanks. 🙂

  15. Frank Koscielny
    • 7 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Which GK would you choose?

    Mandanda (LEI away)

    Pickford (WHU away)

  16. Partick Bateman
    • 7 Years
    7 years, 5 months ago

    Thanks BS, I do enjoy this article.
    I take it that the Palace fans are saying that Kelly should be dropped for Fryers?

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

    Enjoyable read,as ever. Thanks.

  18. Pochecinno
    • 8 Years
    7 years, 4 months ago

    I think this article may have tipped the balance in favour of Aguero