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

• Spurs and Gunners fans are licking their wounds before one of the biggest north London derbies the Premier League has seen, with both teams harbouring title aspirations. However, Spurs followers point out that they’ve been on a magnificent run and the West Ham game was a blip. They are happy that Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny are out injured; the latter always has good games against them. They are surprisingly worried by Arsenal’s lack of form and vulnerability, because Arsenal could be a wounded dog. In all, they are confident of a win.
• Arsenal fans say it’s a must-win game, mainly for pride. The two replacements at the back are poor; Gabriel is playing woefully and David Ospina had a clanger in the last north London derby where the pressure got to him, say Gunners fans. So the outlook is very bad. Most want Danny Welbeck to start up front; it’s the only hope they believe. Arsenal must try to contain Spurs and maybe grab something at the other end, say the fans, although most fear a loss.
• Chelsea fans want to see a lot of rotation for the Stoke game because of their Champions League game midweek. They think Stoke are a difficult opponent, but a second-string team can still beat them. A few of them hope to get into the top four but it will be difficult. They all want Bertrand Traore to play instead of Diego Costa.
• Stoke fans think Chelsea are back to their best and can’t imagine winning this game. Stoke have injuries at the back which should make this game even harder. There are some talks of even using a false 9 to help with movement when attacking and shoring up the midfield. But most see a draw as the best result they can realistically achieve.
• Everton fans are going for both teams to score in their game against the Hammers. But some fear West Ham will park the bus, which they are good at doing and has proved to be kryptonite to Everton’s attackers in previous games. Toffees fans fear Dmitri Payet in particularly and are calling on their side to close him down swiftly. Overall, many Everton fans believe a counter-attacking game may be needed to win, with the likes of Aaron Lennon and Romelu Lukaku needing to get their running shoes on for this encounter.
• West Ham fans really want to win this one. They are fired up but West Ham have some injuries at the back and are worried by Lukaku, especially if youngster Reece Oxford has to play against him. West Ham may even have to play Cheikh Kouyate in defence. This game could have a scoreline close to 1-1 written all over it, but West Ham are now playing for a Champions League place and could be more attacking. The consensus is that given the attacking talent on display this could be a goal fest.
• Man City fans are optimistic and think it should be a cricket score, but others are more cautious. They beat Villa 4-0 in the cup with lesser players, which bodes well, and Man City may up their game. More importantly to us is that the City fans want mainly a 4-2-2-2 formation with possibly Kelechi Iheanacho up front alongside Sergio Aguero. A lot want to rest David Silva, so be warned. They all want Aleksander Kolarov to play left-back.
• Aston Villa fans haven’t sold their allocated away tickets, which is rare for them. I don’t think they want to go to this game. They think they will get hammered; huge losses are their predictions. Only a few cautious Man City fans are expecting City to score fewer than three. Villa fans wouldn’t be surprised by conceding six.
• Newcastle fans think Bournemouth might go for a draw and put an extra man in midfield. But other than that, they are undecided about what the result will be and are quite pessimistic. There is talk that Steve McClaren could even get sacked if the Cherries prevail. A Newcastle win, though, and all could be forgiven regarding their Wally with the brolly.
• Bournemouth fans are hoping that the Cherries can provide another scalp to their minnow season. Most are predicting an away win. They point out McClaren has a good record against them though.
• Southampton fans are cautious against Sunderland who look quite good going forward but have been let down by poor finishing. Sunderland will be up for this game and they fear the Saints won’t be. Most of the fans want 4-4-2, and think three at the back has run its course, surprisingly. The Saints do better against teams that park the bus and hope Big Sam will do that, even though the evidence of recent games suggests he won’t. The predictions for the final score are about 2-1 or 1-1, which does not bode well for those expecting a clean sheet from their Saints defenders.
• Sunderland fans are boisterous, despite their lowly league position, after seeing a significant lift in form in recent weeks, Most think this will be a narrow loss, but it could be anything in this unpredictable season. But there is one thing that is predictable, Sunderland haven’t kept a clean sheet for 15 games.
• Swansea have a bad home record, but Norwich have an even worse away record. Most Swansea fans think it will be a big win. A win coupled with good fixtures will almost make them safe so they just want any win.
• Norwich fans bemoan Swansea’s luck in their win at Arsenal. They also say you create your own luck, which Norwich aren’t good enough to do as they see relegation looming. Norwich are set to play with a back four for this match, probably with two up front, which gives them more threat but also leaves them vulnerable. This could be a good match for owners of Gylfi Sigurdsson or even Andre Ayew.
• Watford fans want to lose to Leicester. They want the Foxes to win the title, but would like their own team to play well. Odion Ighalo is totally out of form and so they want him rested. They think Watford will struggle to score in this game.
• Leicester fans do not want their title rivals Spurs to win the north London derby. This is preoccupying them leaving little chat about the Watford game.
• Crystal Palace fans would love a draw against Liverpool. If they lose, they’ll be back in a relegation scrap so they hope to attack from the off. They think Liverpool are a good side and the result will either be a heavy win for Liverpool or for them.
• Liverpool fans point out Palace have a good record against them. They fear Scott Dann at set pieces and Palace’s quick and physical team. But if they play their natural game and don’t lose the ball they should win. They also think the match is unpredictable.
• West Brom fans are having the same problem. They believe they could either lose heavily or win heavily against a Manchester United side that has been forced to rely on inexperienced youth players.
• Man Utd fans hate playing against Tony Pulis sides. They think this game is a banana skin and could undo all the good work over the last few. At worst they fear a loss, at best a boring game that they can sneak a win from.

Conclusion

The word ‘unpredictable’ describes almost all the games according to the fans. The two exceptions are that Man City are widely expected to hammer Villa and there should be lots of goals in the Everton and West Ham match due to both sides’ strong attacking form.

Who to captain? Aguero looks the obvious choice. But I’d thought I’d choose a second one for those looking for something different. Lukaku fits that bill nicely given Everton and West Ham fans’ belief in a goal fest. Based on the Manchester City fans’ team sheet talk I’d definitely be wary of getting David Silva.