EPL Matchday 3 Review and Matchday 4 Preview – 31st August & 1st September

What an extraordinary weekend it was in the Premier League last time out. Both Manchester United and Tottenham suffered shock home defeats with the former being beaten by Crystal Palace, while the latter went down to Newcastle United. The only home team to register a win was Liverpool, who maintained their 100% start with a 3-1 win over Arsenal, while Manchester City moved into second on the back of a solid 3-1 win over Bournemouth.

All this means that the league table has a somewhat familiar look to is as we head into the fourth game of the season, the final game before the first International break of the new campaign. Certainly, all the Premier League teams will want to head off into the break on the back of a good win and three points in the bag.

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Let’s now take a look at last weekend’s results and how that affected the Premier League table.

Premier League Matchday 3 results

• Aston Villa 2-0 Everton
• Norwich City 2-3 Chelsea
• Brighton 0-2 Southampton
• Man Utd 1-2 Crystal Palace
• Watford 1-3 West Ham
• Sheffield Utd 1-2 Leicester City
• Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal
• Bournemouth 1-3 Man City
• Tottenham 0-1 Newcastle Utd
• Wolves 1-1 Burnley

EPL League Table

Saturday 31^st August (Kick off 3pm unless stated)

Southampton v Manchester United (12.30pm) – Draw (5/2)

After starting the season slowly, Southampton were much more on the ball against Liverpool and then Brighton last weekend, the latter game resulting in their first win of the season. United are struggling a little at the moment and confidence isn’t great and this is a tough place to go and get back to winning ways. United could do that, but something tells me that the Saints will thwart United again here and perhaps steal a point.

Chelsea v Sheffield United – Chelsea Win (1/3)

After picking up his first Premier League 3 points last week away to Norwich, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will be keen to repeat that at home to another newly promoted side in Sheffield United this week. The Blades have started the season brightly and have done better than I was originally expecting them to. However, I feel Stamford Bridge is a very big ask for them to get anything from and I am expecting a comfortable home win for the home fans to enjoy.

Crystal Palace v Aston Villa – Crystal Palace Win (11/10)

These two teams landed two unexpected wins last weekend with Palace shocking Man Utd at Old Trafford and Aston Villa earning a fine 2-0 win over Everton at Villa Park. I do not doubt the quality of Palace at times but their inconsistency is a real worry for me and I never feel they are about to go on a run of games to move up the table. Maybe this season will be different for Roy Hodgson’s team as I am backing them to win this narrowly, perhaps by a single goal.

Leicester City v Bournemouth – Leicester Win (4/6)

I think both managers of these teams will be more than happy with how they have started the season. Bournemouth do tend to be strong starters and Eddie Howe will be happy with the four points collected so far. Leicester though have been unbeaten in three tough games and should have more than the five points they already have and as such, I am backing them to pick up another three points at home this afternoon.

Manchester City v Brighton – Manchester City Win (1/12)

I don’t think there will be too many football fans backing Brighton to win this game at 25/1 with bet365 Sport given that City are already looking in outstanding form this season. The Citizens clinched last season’s Premier League title with a 4-1 win in Brighton in the final game of last season and I would be hugely surprised if they don’t equal or even better that margin of victory on home soil on Saturday.

Newcastle Utd v Watford – Draw (11/5)

The pressure is mounting on Javi Gracia at Watford after he lost his first three games of the season as well as the last five of last. Watford sit bottom of the table and already three points adrift of the teams above them. However, they are not a truly bad side and I think they can recover and I back them to start that here by earning a point against a Newcastle side that doesn’t always produce its best form on home soil.

West Ham v Norwich City – Draw (13/5)

I’ve been impressed with Norwich so far this season and I like how Daniel Farke’s team play the game. West Ham have won their last two games in all competitions and that will have boosted Pellegrini’s team but they are inconsistent and I do feel Norwich have enough going forward to cause the Hammers some real problems. I can’t see an away win here, but I do feel Norwich will do enough to snatch a point.

Burnley v Liverpool (5.30pm) – Away Win (1/3)

In contrast to last season Burnley have started the current campaign very brightly and were unlucky not to win at Wolves last weekend. Liverpool have also started well and their performance against Arsenal last time out was the best of the season so far. The Reds do find it tough at Turf Moor but I feel they are in form and have more than enough quality to get the job done here, provided their goalkeeper doesn’t let in another howler of a goal.

Sunday 1^st September

Everton v Wolves (2pm) – Draw (23/10)

I think these two teams share a lot of similarities, they have some outstanding talent and individual players who can win games, but they also struggle a little for consistency. I feel Wolves tend to do better against the bigger teams while Everton are more consistent against the lesser lights in the Premier League. I can’t really make a convincing case for either team to win this one here and as such, I feel a draw is the most likely outcome.

Arsenal v Tottenham (4.30pm) – Home Win (13/10)

Tottenham’s away form is a real worry and the fact that they also lost last weekend at home to Newcastle must be a huge concern for Mauricio Pochettino. Arsenal played well at times in a 3-1 loss at Anfield to Liverpool which will give them heart for this game. This is a big game for both teams and a defeat here could leave them way off the pace after just four games and I feel that this could be the situation that Spurs find themselves in on Sunday night as I am backing Arsenal for the win here.