What the Fans Are Saying – Gameweek 13

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

Predicting the result against Manchester City varies from small loss to heavy loss, among Burnley fans. Instead of coming up with accurate predictions  are instead making jokes. This is not a game they had earmarked for points so are writing it off. Their dire away form is more of a worry.

Manchester City fans don’t believe Yaya Toure is the new messiah, he’s just a reformed naughty boy. Despite his brace they think their away day clash with Crystal Palace last weekend was an off day for the team as a whole and they want to see an improvement when they travel to Turf Moor. They are happy enough with Toure’s performance but think he should rightly be rotated. He could even cost them points away from home, they think, as although he doesn’t slow down their attacks he can’t slow the opposition’s attacks. They say Pep Guardiola still doesn’t know his best team so it sounds like more squad rotation is on the way. Concerning the game, some fans take the more mature route of saying how good Burnley are at home and how difficult it will be. Others go for 3-0. Yaya could be good for this game because Burnley don’t like playing against physical sides. 

A six pointer awaits Swansea fans when they welcome Crystal Palace to Wales. Both sides are dreadful so the Swans faithful are unwilling to guess a result, although many are predicting a loss. They are lamenting the mess boss Bob Bradley has been left with and is arguably contributing to, but they know how big this game is in terms of Premier League survival. The hope is that Gylfi Sigurdsson continues in a central role and they don’t want to see him anywhere near the flanks due to his lack of pace. Bradley continues to get criticism. To put it bluntly, Swans fans don’t like him.  

Crystal Palace fans say if they lose to Swansea Alan Pardew could be sacked. They know they have the worst record in the whole English football league this year, including no Premier Leagueclean sheets.  Andros Townsend is in poor form and they’d like him benched with Connor Wickham partnering Christian Benteke up front in a 4-4-2. They don’t dislike Pardew they just know they should be doing better. They are hopeful of a result here.

Middlesbrough are not being underestimated by Leicester fans. They think ‘Boro will offer a far sterner test than Club Brugges, who the Foxes beat  in the Champions League this week. A win is tentatively predicted by some but they are worried how their midfield will perform without Danny Drinkwater, who is suspended. A defeat could be on the cards, especially as the team didn’t perform well in spite of their recent victory in Europe.

Middlesbrough fans would be happy with a point away to Leicester. A boring game is predicted, with ‘Boro  sitting back within their hard to break down 4-3-3 formation and hoping they can nick a goal on the counter.

No changes are predicted for Liverpool by their fans for this weekend’s home clash with Sunderland. They predict their midfield will be too strong for the Black Cats, although last weekend’s 0-0 away draw at Southampton offered a reminder that easy wins may be hard to come by throughout the season. Daniel Sturridge is expected to be once again benched as he will probably play midweek in the League Cup. They love Joel Matip and the calmness he brings to the defence. The most conservative predictions are a 2-0 win, but many others are predicting a comfortable victory with even more goals.

Sunderland fans mainly think it will be a high scoring loss, though some fans give themselves a chance of an upset. No cleansheets are predicted. They hope to keep their attacking options for this game and not go full defence mode as they can’t halt The Reds barrage of attacking football for 90 minutes. At least with Victor Anicebe and Wahbi Khazri they have the chance of getting a result and keeping more of the ball. The left side of Sunderland is far too open and could be exploited by better teams. This potentially bodes well for Sadio Mane owners.

Fans of Hull fans are predicting victory over West Brom, but more that on paper it is a rare winnable game rather than their current poor form.  They aren’t happy with the performances on the pitch and the boardroom also concerns them. Much of the chat centres around criticism of the side’s owners. In addition, they think their side is simply not up to the task of Premier League survival but are keen to see last season’s start striker Abel Hernandez get on the pitch to offer them a slender chance.

West Brom fans would take a point at Hull. It looks a good fixture on paper and the way they’re playing they should be able to get a win. But alas the will probably sit back and invite Hull to attack. They guess a 0-0 draw and think that a loss would be tragic.

Confidence is sky high among Chelsea fans. Saturday’s home tie with Spurs is perfect timing for them, just like the Manchester United game where they won 4-0. Their London rivals have a lot of players out, most notably Toby Alderweireld  and the Blues faithful think Harry Kane still looks rusty. It should be a demolition job, especially as Spurs never win at Stamford Bridge. However, some have spotted a new resilience to Spurs under Mauricio Pochettino, who favours a pressing game. While Chelsea fans predict a win they think it is more likely to be in the region of 2-0 or 2-1.

Tottenham fans are scared of this game but are seeking some crumbs of solace in Chelsea’s loss to West Ham in the League Cup, which proved their 3-4-3 formation is not invincible. They have a terrible record at Stamford Bridge and last season’s disappointing 2-2 draw, which cost them the title, will be fresh in the players minds. They agree they won’t win and that they can’t keep a cleansheet but perhaps they can scrape a 1-1 draw. However, others predict a heavy loss. They have too many players out and low morale but if they get a result it might give them the lift they need.

Joe Allen’s suspension for Stoke has delighted Watford fans as they prepare to welcome the Potters to Vicarage Road. They are predicting another home 2-1 win. However, Stoke can be hard to predict.

Stoke fans were livid with their side’s performance against Bournemouth last weekend, where they lost 1-0. They missed Joe Allen buzzing around up front and believe he will surely go back to his number 10 position after his suspension. That’s no good for this match though and they are expecting Bojan to once again deputise in this role, even though they think he is terrible.

The Champions League draw with Paris Saint Germain midweek is still annoying Arsenal fans, leaving little time for them to chat about the upcoming home tie with Bournemouth. Whether Olivier Giroud or Alexis Sanchez starts up top they still want to see Theo Walcott in the side to run into space.  They give Alex Iwobi a hard time after his blunder in the Champions League, where he scored an own goal, and prefer other choices from now on. Aaaron Ramsey is also getting stick. Arsenal need to start playing well and overall they think there side has lost some zip, especially with the absence of their midfield maestro Santi Cazorla due to injury. They’d like an attacking lineup against the Cherries, after playing against defensive teams recently. Hopefully they can turn a corner.

Bournemouth fans give themselves a small chance against Arsenal. Some think they can get a score draw but other predict a 2-0 loss. It depends on the day. Arsenal can have good days but on their bad days teams can hit them on the counter.

Last night’s victory over Feyenoord has left Manchester United fans enthused. That match saw a good balance to the side and they are particularly happy about Michael Carrick getting starts. There are no predictions about the West Ham game given the focus on last night’s Europa action.

West Ham fans are undecided. Some talk about how badly they going to get beaten by Manchester United, while others mention that they tend to play better against big sides.

Fans of Southampton think their system has changed a little from the original diamond midfield to more of a 4-3-3. They don’t like this as in recent matches they don’t seem to pass as quickly. In addition, they feel that other teams know how to take the polish off their diamond formation. Instead of Sunday’s home clash with Everton the main focus of the forums has been the side’s terrible performance against Sparta Prague last night in the Europa league. They lost and aren’t happy.

 Everton fans said their team simply didn’t turn up against Swansea last weekend. The players have owned up and apologised, but the fans are still pessimistic about getting a result on the south coast.  This is the first game where the consensus is that their team will lose. All the players are back though from injury and sometimes when the fans are really down a good game could be on the cards. Personally, I think we could see an upturn in fortunes for the Toffees this weekend.

Conclusion

A huge gameweek for all, with most big hitter midfielders firing. During these weeks a good defence can be key to make a big move.

Who to captain? Philippe Coutinho looks the best. It could be a host of players this week but I’m going for the player who should get something and could score well. Other big names that should fire are Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Roberto Firmino, Theo Walcott and Sadio Mane. Whoever misses out will be down to bad luck.

I would rate Sergio Aguero as having a chance of modest returns only. He may not even start given the news today from the City camp that he is nursing a foot injury. Not a week to captain a striker I think.