Sunday, September 2, 2007

No predictions for this weekend games

Sorry there's no predictions for this weekend's Premiership games.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

The Managers. A Parody.


YouTube Link

What happens when Mourinho, Jol, Wenger, Keane join other managers back in the classroom? Funny stuff! I like Mourinho the best!

Prediction of matches to be played on 25/26 Aug

Sunderland vs Liverpool: I fear Sunderland will get another lesson in Premiership football tonight. Liverpool were unlucky to get a draw against Chelsea. They played brilliantly. It was definitely not a penalty that provided Chelsea with the equaliser. Torres looks comfortable playing in the Premiership. His goal for Liverpool was very well executed. But I'm not too sure if he is the 20 goals a season man Liverpool has been craving for. Sunderland were awful in their defeat last weekend. Roy Keane wasn't too happy with some of his players and it will be interesting to see how his team react tonight.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 0-2
The Football Pundit says: 0-2

Arsenal vs Manchester City: Man City are flying high right now thanks to their miracle win against rivals Man United. I thought they were lucky to get away with 3 points. United controlled 90% of the game and they had chances to really win it. But well you have to hand it Man City. Under Sven, it is now a different team from the ones that struggle all too easily in the past. Arsenal had a bruising encounter with Blackburn last weekend. They got a 1-1 draw and had defender Gallas injured. Jens Lehmann surely must be dropped. His costly error, his second already this season, gifted Blackburn's equaliser. He will not be playing tonight because of an achilles injury.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-0
The Football Pundit says: 2-1

Aston Villa vs Fulham: I thought Fulham should have at least a point against Middlesbrough. Keeper Warner who had a brilliant start to the season so far, will probably want to forget his performance during that match. He gifted Fulham's Mido with a goal. The injury to striker McBride will affect Fulham upfront. Villa looked pretty good away to Newcastle. I think if they can work on their strikers, they will do well this season.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-1
The Football Pundit says: 1-0

Bolton vs Reading: Bolton, favourite for the relegation? It could be still early in the season but results so far have not been too good for them. They were ripped apart easily by Portsmouth over the weekend. I think Sammy Lee has to reorganise his team starting from his back four. They need to be tighter especially playing away. They will be playing home tonight so they expect and need this win. Another lost and I'm sure they will have a major problem. Reading have looked good so far. They do have a 100% Premier League record against Bolton and I think they might just stretch that record to 3 games.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-1
The Football Pundit says: 1-2

Chelsea vs Portsmouth: Lucky draw for Chelsea at Anfield. New signing Juliano Belletti should make his debut for this game. Essien will then move from right back to his best position in the centre of midfield. Portsmouth had it easy with Bolton but will find Chelsea a much much harder team to score against. Remember, Chelsea is almost impossible to beat at home. I think Kanu will start for Portsmouth. Nugent doesn't look like he is of Premiership quality yet.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-0
The Football Pundit says: 2-1

Derby vs Birmingham: Two potential relegation contenders fighting it out. Derby was awful against Spurs. To concede 3 goals before half time is not a good sign. Birmingham must be gutted to lose their last game to a penalty. They have a poor record : without a win in 13 away Premier League games!

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-1
The Football Pundit says: 1-1

West Ham vs Wigan: It hasn't click yet for West Ham but the win over the weekend is a welcome boost for them. West Ham should have too much firepower for Wigan who had quite a surprisingly easy win against Sunderland. 6 points for Wigan has got to be a good start for them and if they win, they may just top the Premiership!

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-0
The Football Pundit says: 2-1

Everton vs Blackburn: It will be tough game for both teams this one. Definitely not for the faint hearted. Both teams are very physical. Everton should have the edge because it is playing at home. They lost their previous game so I'm sure they want to win this one. Blackburn will be withouth defender Ryan Nelsen, who is serves a one-match ban, so Andre Ooijer will deputise. I'm not really too sure about Ooijer. He does look shaky at times last season.


BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-1
The Football Pundit says: 1-0

Middlesbrough vs Newcastle: A derby game! Boro got a much needed (lucky) win last weekend. They will look to new striker Mido to continue firing in the goals for them. I think Mido does look overweight and he needs to lose some kilos if he is to be really effective for Boro. He scored on his debut but it was a fluke goal. Newcastle has all their forwards fit for this game. It will be interesting to see who Big Sam picks up front. He has Viduka, Martins, Ameobi, Owen to choose from. Newcastle should be disappointed not to get the home win last weekend. I think they look good so far and they will not be beaten too many times this season.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-2
The Football Pundit says: 1-1

Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur: What an interesting game! There's so much happening at Spurs now - news of a new manager replacing Jol, their keeper Robinson fumbling during the England game, striker Berbatov joining Man U. Spurs got a great result at home last weekend but I am not too sure if it was because they were really that good or because Derby was so poor. Jol has a tough time because he knows he will be dismissed if he doesn't get Spurs to the Champions League. I think he will be sacked, just a matter of time, because Spurs will definitely not get that coveted 4th place this season. Man Utd, haven't won any game this season, will want to win this one. Ferguson looks untouchable at United, even without a win so far this season! I don't think they are in crisis. They played so well in all their matches so far. They were unlucky at City. I don't think their bad luck will continue on Sunday. Saha looks set to start on the bench and his return will be good news for Man Utd who desperately needs an out an out striker to play with Tevez. Gareth Bale should make his debut for Spurs and I think he will play on the left flank infront of YP Lee.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-0
The Football Pundit says: 1-0

Read Mark Lawrenson's column here.

Last weekend's results

Birmingham 0-1 West Ham
Blackburn 1-1 Arsenal
Fulham 1-2 Middlesbrough
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
Man City 1-0 Man Utd
Newcastle 0-0 Aston Villa
Portsmouth 3-1 Bolton
Reading 1-0 Everton
Tottenham 4-0 Derby
Wigan 3-0 Sunderland

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson got 5 results right, including 1 perfect score.

The Football Pundit got 4 results right, including 1 perfect score.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Prediction of Weekend Matches

Portsmouth vs Bolton: Both teams are searching for their first win of the season. Portsmouth had a good result against Man Utd at midweek. They will go into this game full of confidence knowing that Bolton has been out of sorts so far. Bolton need a good result somewhere to boost their morale but I don't think they will get it at Portsmouth.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-0
The Football Pundit says: 1-0

Birmingham vs West Ham: I thought Birmingham should have grabbed all 3 points against Sunderland on the weekend. On paper, West Ham should have no problems winning this game. They have an abundance of attacking talent. New boy Kieran Dyer will be hoping for his debut. It will be interesting to see how West Ham integrates their well known trouble makers Dyer, Bowyer and Bellamy into the team.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-1
The Football Pundit says: 0-1

Fulham vs Middlesbrough: Boro is having a tough time so far. They have problems in defence and upfront they seem to have difficulties finding the net. New signing Mido from Spurs should give them a good presence upfront if he does lose some weight. Fulham is on high coming to this game after winning their last.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-1
The Football Pundit says: 1-0

Reading vs Everton: I thought both these clubs have looked pretty good so far. Ok Reading have yet to win their games so far but remember they had to play Chelsea and Man Utd in their first two games. They had a great draw against Man Utd and even in the defeat at Chelsea, they looked pretty good. Everton won their first two games against two woeful teams in Spurs and West Ham. They will face a harder game this time at Reading.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-1
The Football Pundit says: 0-0

Tottenham vs Derby: Crisis time at Spurs? You bet. I think their performances so far have been atrocious. Martin Jol doesn't seem to get it yet - that you can't expect to win games with no width and playing players out of position. No Berbatov tonight so expect Robbie Keane to partner Bent upfront. Spurs have a big problem at the back with most of their first teamers out with injury. Derby has a poor record at Spurs so they must be hoping that Spurs continue their poor form tonight.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-0
The Football Pundit says: 3-0

Wigan vs Sunderland: Wigan will be hoping to make it two wins in a row but facing them is a tough and never say die team of Sunderland. Sunderland's ability to score at the dying minutes of their last two games is remarkable but I doubt they can do that again and again. Michael Chopra has been a revelation so far for them and I'm sure Wigan will do their best to man mark him tonight.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-1
The Football Pundit says: 0-0

Newcastle vs Aston Villa: I like the way Newcastle is playing under new boss Big Sam. I think they will surprise many this season. They got a lot of firepower now with Owen and Amoebi back. Martins looks like he is going to be the main man for them this season. He had a cracker of a game at Bolton. Villa will be without John Carew upfront. They will be hoping that pacy forwards, Young, Moore and Agbonlahor provide some problems for the much improved Newcastle backline.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-2
The Football Pundit says: 2-0

Man City vs Man Utd: No Rooney so Tevez will continue his lone striking role upfront. Ronaldo is suspended and that is a big blow for Man Utd. Expect to see Scholes push further to support Tevez with Giggs back in his left wing slot. I've been impressed by the Man City. They are looking rather good in all areas of the pitch. Even their young keeper, Kasper Schmeichel has looked unbeatable -just like his dad Peter when he was playing for Man Utd. Utd need to win this after drawing their first two games.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-2
The Football Pundit says: 1-1

Blackburn vs Arsenal: Blackburn is a hard team to beat at home. I think Bentley will play an amazing game tonight to prove to his former team Arsenal that they made a mistake in selling him and also to prove to England that they were wrong not to include him in the senior squad. Arsenal did a double over Blackburn last season.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-2
The Football Pundit says: 1-1

Liverpool vs Chelsea: Chelsea will lose defender Carvalho tonight so it will be interesting to see if they bring John Terry back for this game. I think that's their only "problem" tonight. Liverpool will be at their full strength. Gerrard will play despite fracturing his toe. I have not been convinced by Chelsea so far. I think they will concede goals this season and teams playing them do not see them as invincible as they were two seasons ago.

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-1
The Football Pundit says: 2-1

Read Mark Lawrenson's predictions for the BBC here.

Midweek Results

Tottenham 1-3 Everton
Birmingham 2-2 Sunderland
Fulham 2-1 Bolton
Man City 1-0 Derby
Portsmouth 1-1 Man Utd
Reading 1-2 Chelsea
Wigan 1-0 Middlesbrough

The Football Pundit's Predictions:
Tottenham 2-1 Everton
Birmingham 0-0 Sunderland
Fulham 1-0 Bolton
Man City 3-0 Derby
Portsmouth 0-2 Man Utd
Reading 0-1 Chelsea
Wigan 1-2 Middlesbrough

BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson's Predictions:
Tottenham 1-1 Everton
Birmingham 2-1 Sunderland
Fulham 1-0 Bolton
Man City 2-0 Derby
Portsmouth 1-1 Man Utd
Reading 0-2 Chelsea
Wigan 2-1 Middlesbrough

The Football Pundit got four results right and no perfect score. Mark Lawrenson got five results right and one perfect score. Mark wins!

Prediction Table:
BBC Pundit Mark Lawrenson 2
The Football Pundit 0

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Midweek Premier League matches predictions

Tottenham vs Everton: Spurs are under massive pressure to win this one. They lost their opening game against Sunderland - that was a shocker! I think Martin Jol will make a couple of changes to his side. Maybe bringing on Taarabt and Bent in place of Tainio and Keane. Everton had a comfortable game against Wigan on the weekend but I think Spurs will be all out to win this game.

BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-1
The Football Pundit says : 2-1

Birmingham vs Sunderland: The battle of the two promoted teams! I thought Birmingham played well at Chelsea. The only problem is that their defence was too high up the pitch and was all over at times. Sunderland did a shocker by beating Spurs so they will be in full confidence for this game but they did not look strong upfront. I think this has the makings of a draw.

BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-1
The Football Pundit says : 0-0

Fulham vs Bolton: Bolton was horrible over the weekend. I did not expect them to concede 3 goals so easily in the first half! I think there's a lot of work that need to be done in Bolton now that Big Sam has left. Fulham was unlucky in my opinion, not to get a draw against Arsenal. They had their chances to even win the game. I thought Zat Knight played a good game for them but he looks a little slow at times. If Tony Warner can play like he did against Arsenal then I think the Fulham keeper can keep a clean sheet against Bolton.

BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-0
The Football Pundit says : 1-0

Manchester City vs Derby: Is Man City going to be the surprise team of this season? They did surprise me during their first game, beating West Ham away. Everyone was expecting that the Man City team is going to take a long time to gel but they showed that they could play very well as a team in their first game! Derby did well to get a draw with Portsmouth. I still think that they will struggle and playing away at Man City will be a tough proposition for them.

BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-0
The Football Pundit says : 3-0

Portsmouth vs Manchester United: Man Utd needs to win this one after surprisingly drawing their first game with Reading. They are without Wayne Rooney which is a big blow but Teves looks like he will get his debut. I am still not convinced of Man Utd's system of playing Teves or Rooney upfront alone but they will have too much quality for Porstmouth who looked very shaky in their opening game.

BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 1-1
The Football Pundit says : 0-2

Reading vs Chelsea: Reading's performance was of heroic status against Man Utd over the weekend. It's an amazing feat to shut out Man Utd's fearsome attacking prowess. Chelsea weren't too convincing for me during their first game. They should have Drogba playing again and we all know he is a handful for defenders.

BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 0-2
The Football Pundit says : 0-1

Wigan vs Middlesbrough: Both Wigan and Boro were poor in their opening games. Downing and Yakubu will be the key men for Boro if they are to get all three points in this game. Their problem will be in defence though - no Luke Young and Woodgate. For Wigan, if Henry Camara is fit to play, then I think they have a chance of scoring a goal.

BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson's prediction: 2-1
The Football Pundit says : 1-2

Read Mark Lawrenson's predictions here.