This article discusses ‘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
West Ham fans are hoping their old manager Sam Allardyce gets a good reception when he brings Sunderland to the Boleyn Ground; hopefully at 3-0 they can start the banter. The Hammers fans say their form is always unpredictable, which makes them a little tentative for this match, but most are going for a big win. Their home form is a lot better now and Sunderland have kept one clean sheet away from home all season. The doubters are being coaxed by the older fans who believe this is currently one of West Ham’s best ever squads.
Sunderland fans are quietly confident, surprisingly, but some fans are warning against underestimating West Ham. Most of the Black Cats’ fans are hoping to get an early goal and to frustrate the home fans. So this game could go down either of one or two routes and the first goal will be very important.
Leicester fans mainly think they will hammer Norwich, but some are worried that the Canaries will park the bus as Bournemouth did against them to squeeze out a 0-0 draw. They recognize they are a better team than the Canaries and on their day they should win handsomely, but the more reserved fans are hoping for a narrow victory. Both teams have had two weeks of preparation, which is a point many are noting.
Norwich fans want a defensive set up against a rampant Leicester. They have been able to hold teams at bay for 70 minutes or so this season and they think it could happen again. Frustrate the opposition and fans is the key. They’d like to start with five at the back and try to nick a goal, but are worried Jamie Vardy could have a good game and they admit their defence is shambolic when in a back four. There is optimism that if their bus survives they could come away with a point, but Vardy won a penalty in their last meeting and Norwich fans think he could do so again. Canaries boss Alex Neil has said they will ‘go back to basics’, which sounds ominous for those hoping for a goal fest from the Foxes.
Stoke fans think their game against Aston Villa is a game that will improve their goal difference. It should be a big win and even though Stoke don’t score many they think they will this time. They can struggle against these types of teams but they have some players coming back from injury that could help in the final third.
Aston Villa fans are getting a lot of sympathy from their opponents’ fans. There is a lot of respect for Villa who have been well supported and haven’t had much to shout about over the years. Almost all teams have a thread about the Villa’s first team loss to their U21 side. This has led to Remi Garde saying “I will find 11 players with the right commitment,” which means he won’t be playing his best players. So invariably the Villa away fans are just going to make a day out of their game. Stoke are a bogey team in any season and they are calling for an U21 player called Jerell Sellars to play.
Southampton fans recognize Chelsea are unbeaten in ten games now and have started scoring so it will be a tough game. A low-scoring draw is the most popular prediction. They hope Sadio Mane will play because Chelsea hate playing against him but they are also worried by the London side’s counter attacks.
Chelsea fans are looking forward to their game against Southampton because both teams are playing well at the moment so it should be a good game. They also think it has low-scoring draw written all over it.
Watford fans have predicted a win in their droves. They want revenge for losing the Championship title to them last season. If Watford can sit back they stand a better chance of nullifying Bournemouth’s pace and hopefully Watford’s forwards will able to create a couple of goals.
Bournemouth fans think there will be a little bit of extra spice to this game too. Both teams know it’s not a rivalry but they don’t particularly like each other. Personally, I like both sets of fans – they are honest and have few bad eggs. They can’t make up their mind about the result, with a bore draw or a high-scoring win for either team being bandied around.
West Brom fans are disappointed. They hate playing against pace especially down the wings and Crystal Palace have this in abundance, especially if fit-again Yannick Bolasie can make the starting XI. They say it will be painful viewing and any player who is not a center-half is wasting their career under Tony Pulis. The fans are really bored of him and don’t seem to even care what the result is, with predictions in short supply.
Crystal Palace fans have started talking again. Bolasie should be back, but many are predicting an early substitution as he looks to regain his fitness. They don’t think much of West Brom’s attack and think they’ll get some sort of result at the Hawthorns. They aren’t impressed by the coin throwing incident, in which Baggies player Chris Brunt was struck last weekend, and can’t agree if it will galvanize West Brom or make them worse. They think their old manager Pulis will set up to bully and bore them. Most think Palace are good enough to get a draw though.
Man Utd fans are not confident of a victory against Arsenal but at least have some optimism back following last night’s thrashing of FC Midtjylland in the Europa League. But their defence is in tatters and their momentum could be short lived. Attacking options are still not good as well, say the fans. All they want is at least a good performance, though they’d love to dent Arsenal’s title challenge.
Arsenal fans are pretending to be pessimistic; they are happy that Man Utd had a game on Thursday in Europe. Arsenal played better against Barcelona despite losing and believe they could be back to their attacking best soon. They assume they’ll win and are calling for ex-Red Devil Danny Welbeck to replace Olivier Giroud up front.
Spurs fans have a lot to talk about with so many games coming thick and fast. They mainly have their eye on the north London derby coming up soon so they haven’t said much about the Swansea game, except they hope for a comfortable win. They all assume Harry Kane will play, with a protective mask to protect his broken nose.
Swansea fans would be very happy with a draw. Some think they will lose heavily, but others think Spurs are beatable. They hope Kane will play so he can score another own goal, as he did in their last Premier League encounter. Jokes aside, the stats look very bad for Swansea and this game could be the first bad match for their new manager.
Conclusion
According to the fans the main games should go the way we expect them to, except perhaps Norwich may be able to sneak a draw against Leicester. They will need their biggest and best bus to achieve it though.
If you’re playing a weekly game there are some exceptional punts out there like Stoke’s Bojan, Watford’s Troy Deeney, Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, West Ham striker Emmanuel Emenike and Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck if he starts.
Who to captain? There are two outstanding choices – Jamie Vardy and Dmitri Payet. Don’t rule out that both could score well. Vardy seems like the obvious pick, but personally I’m going for Payet just because Norwich are likely to set up defensively and Sunderland will set up a little more offensively and could underestimate West Ham.
To read more about what the fans think you can use the quick links to the forums from this article.
