What The Fans Are Saying – Gameweek 10

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

Sunderland fans are jealous of Newcastle’s season and they certainly aren’t looking forward to facing Arsenal. They haven’t been dreading a home game like this for years, they say. They don’t want Jack Rodwell to play either, as they’ve never won in the 32 games he’s started.  In relation to the game, they say they always start off slowly in these early games. David Moyes hasn’t got anything right since he joined but it isn’t his fault because they have injuries and have sold a few good players. They say their team looks awful at the moment.

Arsenal fans are expecting Sunderland to park the bus, which personally I don’t think they can. They are really hoping that Santi Cazorla plays, if not then they’ll have to change tactics. Even though they don’t like him, they think Olivier Giroud would be a good fit for this game. They will need pace and direct play to beat Sunderland and they hope to not play two defensive central midfielders. They all think they’ll win but are subdued because Sunderland will put up a fight even though they are horrendous.

West Brom fans aren’t happy that Cladio Yacob is suspended.  They also say they always lose against Man City. They aren’t just a bogey team they are gods against the Baggies. They recognize City are on a very bad run but they pass the ball too quickly and the tricky players will be too much for them. 

Manchester City fans want no messing about and a full strength team. They say it will be hard as West Brom will park the bus and are physical. They also fear Baggies striker Salomon Rondon, who may cause City’s fragile defence too many problems. If fit they’d like to see the experienced Vincent Kompany play, but after failing to complete the League Cup encounter midweek due to fatigue, that may be unlikely.  They want a team similar to the one that started the season, with Aguero as the main striker and midfielders bombing forward with pace.  It’s a game they can’t really predict, as it all depends on which City turn up.

Watford fans are happy that Robert Snodgrass is ruled out for Hull as he would’ve caused them problems. They have their doubts over beating Hull though, but that is more down to a nagging sense of pessimism, rather than hard evidence. On paper Hull’s status as whipping boys looks like continuing.

Hull fans don’t give themselves much chance against Watford. They say their season is getting a bit embarrassing. The most optimistic are predicting 1-1, but most fans think Watford will pile on more misery for the Tigers. A heavy loss looks on the cards in their eyes. Hull say a major factor in their demise is a lack of pace, and in the absence of Snodgrass, a creative edge.

Some Tottenham fans want revenge over Leicester, after the Midlands side took the Premier League title last season. Most though aren’t that bitter. Tottenham’s recent form hasn’t been great, but the fans put that down to having played mostly on the road.  With the Foxes dire away form Spurs fans believe they should win this home clash, with 2-0 the most common prediction. If they can’t beat Leicester on their own turf then some very real doubts could set in regarding Spurs’ form.

Leicester fans want to show Spurs their new banner – ‘Who came third in a two horse race, Tottenham Hotspur.’ Regarding the game, the fans want some fight. The away fans have seen their team play awfully and it’s about time they do something about it. They have to defend better at set-pieces though. They do think they’ll lose, which is even more likely if Leicester rest key players for their midweek game in the Champions League.

Middlesborough fans think they’ll go back to 4-2-3-1 after their good result against Arsenal. It’s refreshing that they have more players in the box if they use 4-3-3 though – the formation they had at Arsenal. If they struggle in this match ‘Boro may end up playing 4-3-3 for the rest of the season. They predict either a 1-1 draw or a loss because Bournemouth have a lot of pace.

Bournemouth fans predictions are very similar to Middlesborough’s. They are more annoyed about Spurs saying they parked the bus against them. Bournemouth are not a defensive team and they should pick up a result against ‘Boro. This is a common theme among Cherries fans, who almost every week predict goals from their side.

Manchester United fans all think they’ll beat Burnley. They don’t want Marouane Fellaini to play and they’d like Juan Mata to claim a first XI place due to his good form. Paul Pogba is wasted as a number 10 so they’d like him to drop a bit deeper. They are wary it will be similar to the 1-1 draw with Stoke but most predictions are 3-0 or 2-0. The attacking play is still too clumsy and slow and they’d love Henrikh Mkhitaryan to get a start here. Reading the forums does make me feel like Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be due a rest.

Burnley fans say they have a chance if they have a go at them. If they are too defensive they’ll lose 3-0. So some are expectant that they could change a little and perhaps get a draw. A minority are putting money on a Burnley win, but most Clarets fans have ridiculed that notion.

Crystal Palace fans are looking at defeat against Liverpool. They will have to score a lot to win the game and their talk is more centred around how they achieve that. Liverpool’s fluid attack will rip them apart they say. Palace fans think Christian Benteke will probably score one goal against his former team so they will need more from Scott Dann  to have any hope of victory. They won’t win and the only hope they have is to flood the midfield, counter attack and hope Benteke and Dann has their shooting heads on. Even this won’t work though, they fear.

Liverpool fans are cautious and believe the road to Selhurst Park could be strewn with   banana skins. Most believe they will prevail, but also that Palace will score, with final result guesses of  3-1 and 2-1 the norm. An early goal against any team helps Liverpool a lot because it disrupts the opposition’s plans, and hopefully they can strike early. They know how Palace will play and its up to them to have the answers, realistically though they shouldn’t have too much problem. 

Everton fans are not hopeful against West Ham. There is a wide array of predictions with many worried about their recent form. Some say it could be a bore draw, while the most pessimistic see West Ham winning. What is keeping optimism in some quarters high is Romelu Lukaku’s excellent record against the Hammers: the Belgian has scored in each of his six previous encounters with them.  There have been a few high scoring matches between these sides over the years, and that’s not out of the question again.

West Ham fans are in the same mindset about the result. They foresee goals and like Everton fans suggest Lukaku will get on the scoresheet. They also see their midfield gem Dimitri Payet scoring. The only dampener is that West Ham may be tired after beating Chelsea midweek in the League Cup. Hammers fans in the main though think this should be an exciting encounter.

Southampton fans say record signing Sofiane Boufal won’t start as he played midweek and has just come into the side. They feel quite invincible at home at the moment and though it will be difficult versus Chelsea there is still hope of a win. Chelsea will play with a back three, which can leave gaps down the wing. Diego Costa is the man they fear most but many Saints fans believe this could be a draw.

Chelsea fans haven’t said much about the game against Southampton but they said their 3-4-3 formation showed it’s limitations against West Ham midweek. The midfield would move up too far leaving the back three exposed, which helped West Ham’s fluid attack. N’golo Kante even got their man of the match so it looks like a big problem. Perhaps this may happen again against a similarly well organised team like Southampton.

It’s quite rare for Stoke fans to predict scoring three goals in a game but against Swansea they have. They aren’t sure if they’ll concede though. They expect a tighter match than against Hull and they say Swansea are a lot better than the table suggests. They think Stoke are better too and could have scored four against Hull last weekend.  This game will be centred around the first goal, they say. Another feature will be how well Stoke can hit Swansea on the break.

Swansea fans say Mo Barrow is more important than Gylfi Siggurdsson to the team. Barrow should take more shots and Sigurdsson should work the keeper more. They really need their left wing to start causing problems for defences and until then they will struggle for goals. Sigurdsson looks like he’s suffering from cramp in games and looks out of form, say Swans fans. They hope to beat Stoke, they’ve got close before, and some believe it could very well be a 2-1 win to the away side.

Conclusion

With cleansheets back on the menu and a lot of chances for big hitters this will be a big Gameweek. Get the right team and you will be moving up a lot.

Who to captain?  Romelu Lukaku should score against West Ham and could be a great shout. Theo Walcott would have been my top choice, but concerns around his hamstrings have put paid to that. Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks a good bet to score. But could he surprisingly get rested?