Premier League: Five things to look out for

JOE looks ahead to week two in the Premier League and considers what matches to watch and avoid, who might surprise and who probably won’t.

By Conor Hogan

Last weekend was a record-breaking one in the Premier League; with more goals scored than in any match weekend in top flight history. Three of the matches finished 6-0. It was enough to make us at JOE think the apocalypse was coming. Man United, meanwhile, showed they were vulnerable by conceding a last minute goal at their bogey ground Craven Cottage.

JOE has kindly taken a look at this weekend’s fixtures and picked out what we think you should look out for.

Surprise package: Blackburn.

Last week, I picked Blackpool as a possible surprise package, following their incredible result against Wigan the previous weekend. I didn’t think they’d beat Arsenal, and said that they would likely get trashed. But I had a sneaking suspicion that they could keep the game close, or even do a Hull from two years ago. They didn’t. Ian Holloway’s Tangerines had a man sent off; Arsenal were fantastic. Theo Walcott in particular stood out in their 6-0 victory.

Arsenal won’t have it as easy this week, though. First of all, they’ll be away from home. Secondly, they’ll be playing a Blackburn Rovers team who lost only three times at home in 2009/2010 and who defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the corresponding fixture last season.

Blackburn are managed by Sam Allardyce, a man who made a habit of defeating Arsenal during his reign as Bolton manager. Blackburn already defeated a much fancied Everton side on the opening day of the season and were the better side during their unlucky 2-1 loss to Birmingham.

Whipping boys: Wigan Athletic.

I’ve picked the same team as whipping boys this week as last – Wigan Athletic. If it is any consolation to them, I don’t think they’ll lose by as heavy a scoreline as they did against Chelsea. Spurs had a Champions League qualifier midweek. Admittedly, it wasn’t a very difficult match – they defeated Young Boys 4-0 – but it must have been some sort of distraction.

And Wigan surely will be determined not to make a holy show of themselves the way they have done the last two match-days. They certainly won’t concede nine against Spurs like they did at White Hart Lane in 2009/2010. Wigan will lose, of that there is no doubt, but this time it will probably only be by about three, maybe four if they are unlucky.

That will be probably be seen as tremendous progress by www.wiganlatics.co.uk’s delusional match reporter Paul Chialton, who was absolutely delighted with the Latics 6-0 loss to Chelsea (for more, see this week’s heroes and villains). If Wigan do suffer a four goal reverse, however, they will have endured the worst start to a season of any team in the 122-year history of the English League.

Game not to miss: Aston Villa v Everton.

Everton ended 2009/2010 like a juggernaut, with wins against Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City. As such, they were tipped by many as dark horses for the Top Four pre-season, including Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. Just like last year, however, they have started the season badly, with a loss to Blackburn and a draw at home to an unfancied Wolves side.

Aston Villa, a team that have finished sixth in the last three seasons, had a better result in the opening game (they beat West Ham 3-0), before being absolutely destroyed by newly promoted Newcastle 6-0 at St James Park@Sportsdirect.com. With teams like Newcastle, Fulham and even Bolton looking decent so far, both teams will be concerned that further mishaps could see them cut off from the pack and facing mid-table anonymity.

With a lot at stake, and both defences looking flawed, this should be exciting game. Recent clashes have been close and chock full of excitement; the last three matches have ended in draws, while 17 goals have been scored in the last four clashes between the sides.

Game to miss:

B for boring and, appropriately enough, Bolton v Birmingham, which shouldn’t be anything special. That it has been chosen as the early live television game on Sunday is probably because of the Premier League quota that insists that every team must appear live on television at least once.

What about the rest?

Two surprise form teams, Newcastle and Wolves, face each other at Molineux. It remains to be seen whether Newcastle’s 6-0 victory over Aston Villa was an aberration, or if Chris Hughton’s men are capable of having a go at the European places. The match against Wolves could be a good indicator.

Chelsea will try and continue their astonishing start with a victory over Stoke City – a team the Blues defeated 7-0 in the corresponding fixture in 2009/2010. A similar scoreline is surely not out of the question this time. Blackpool will try and pick themselves up against Mark Hughes’ Fulham in the first ever Premier League match to take place at Bloomfield Road. The Manchester teams face what looks like fairly straightforward opposition this week – West Ham and Sunderland, two teams who have had poor starts to the season.

Fixtures:

Saturday

12.45   Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal

15.00   Chelsea v Stoke City

15.00   Wolverhampton Wanderers v Newcastle United

15.00   Blackpool v Fulham

15.00   Tottenham Hotspur v Wigan Athletic

17.30   Manchester United v West Ham United

Sunday

13.30   Bolton Wanderers v Birmingham City

15.00   Liverpool v West Brom

15.00   Sunderland v Manchester City

16.00   Aston Villa v Everton