A new overall leader has emerged in our predictions race after Matchday 5’s results! Nahel has now usurped Bernie by 1 point, although it isn’t certain if this lead will last. Elsewhere, Rishay finally registered his first perfect scoreline and was the pundit who gained the most points this week with 7. Mohaned continued his consistency with 4 more points, solidifying his second place in the pundit standings. Alexander surprisingly only picked up 1 point this week, and has dropped to fourth. Among the contributors, Nahel, Zee, and Daniyal are within striking distance of each other and have pulled away from Osman.

 From the previous weekend, unsurprisingly, the Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea match was the most common correct prediction. There were several shocks though, with Leicester City 5-3 Manchester United, West Ham 3-1 Liverpool, and Tottenham 0-1 West Brom.  None of our pundits got these right, once again highlighting the element of surprise that is always present in the Premier League. Arsenal bounced back with a 3-0 away win at Aston Villa, with Ozil and Welbeck making their marks respectively. Outside of the Premiership, Juventus registered yet another victory away at AC Milan, while Toronto FC broke their poor run of form with a 3-0 victory against Chivas USA. PSG and Lyon drew 1-1, which also foxed most of our predictors.

After the various midweek Capital One Cup games in England and various league and cup games in Europe, all of the teams will be looking forward to the upcoming weekend as a chance to gain added momentum to their league form. The Merseyside Derby is at Anfield this weekend, and after last season’s combined 10 goals from two league fixtures, you can expect fireworks this time round as well. Liverpool will be looking to bounce back, and so will Everton, after both teams picked up surprising losses in the previous matchday, but also won their respective fixtures midweek in the cup. Arsenal play host to Tottenham for this season’s first edition of the North London derby as well. Both teams have had fluctuating results, with Arsenal winning over the previous weekend before being knocked out in the cup at home, while Tottenham lost at home in the league and won in the cup. Manchester United host West Ham, and who knows what will happen this week in the Theatre of Dreams? Chelsea are home to Aston Villa, and are heavy favourites after Villa’s defense was finally breached at the hands of Arsenal. Villa’s current run of fixtures has been away to Liverpool, home to Arsenal, and now away to Chelsea. A nightmare run of games that will include hosting Manchester City next, followed by a trip to Everton. However, don’t be fooled. Villa currently sit third in the table after a good start to the season. Manchester City travel to Hull to round up this week’s predictions, and are coming off a 7-0 cup win. Will Frank Lampard keep his place after knocking in a brace against Sheffield Wednesday?

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Summary of Matchday 5:

Predictions from our Pundits:

 Predictions from our Contributors: 

Our contributors have been extremely impressive so far. As it stands, Nahel, Zee, and Daniyal have picked up the most points. Nahel has now overtaken Bernie in the overall standings while Osman has slipped.

 Matchday 6 Predictions:

Games of the Week:

Bernie: Liverpool v Everton: It’s been an interesting start to the season for two clubs who enjoyed great seasons last time out. Everton have shown slick passing but slack defending. Liverpool are pulling a Tottenham and struggling after shipping their best and the league’s best player off to Spain for an incredible sum. Last year’s 3-3 draw was the game of the season but this time out I expect a cagey, tense affair. 1-0 Liverpool.

Alexander: Manchester United v West Ham: West Ham will go into this with some confidence after a convincing win against Liverpool last weekend. Manchester United on the other hand, will want to tighten  up at the back after their Leicester City debacle. I’m not sure they’ll be able to do it, and I see West Ham’s dynamic new forward line enjoying some success. Going forward United are likely to also be too strong for West Ham, and I think they’ll just manage to nick it with a late winner. 3-2 Manchester United.

Mohaned: Arsenal v Tottenham: Arsenal are coming off a loss in midweek at the hands of Southampton in the Capital One Cup. Spurs are heading into the next round after beating Nottingham Forest 3-1. This North London derby will be as exciting as ever. Both sets of supporters look forward to this one more than any other fixture on the calendar. Arsenal should have home advantage and better league form heading into the game but Spurs fans will hope their team steps up and does one over the Gunners at the Emirates. The North London derby usually promises goals and I’m going with a 2-1 Arsenal win.

Rishay: Schalke 04 – Borussia Dortmund: The Ruhr Derby seldom gets much coverage but is often noted as one of the fiercest atmospheres in all of Europe. Both teams have made slow starts to the season, respectively conceding 9 goals and scoring 8 in the process over the 5 games played so far. It is possible that a victor in this fixture will push on and find some form but it is more likely that both teams will be looking to shore up their defenses. I expect a tight fixture that won’t allow much room for attack. They will look to kick into form once their defensive errors have been nullified. 1-1 draw.

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