Premier League predictions for this weekend’s football fixtures

Arsenal v Sunderland

Arsenal likely line-up: Szczesny, Djourou, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Ramsey, Song
Walcott, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud

Sunderland likely line-up: Mignolet, O’Shea, Bramble, Cuellar, Richardson, Larsson, Cattermole, Colback, McClean, Sessegnon, Saha

Team news

Arsenal move on from the sale of Van Persie with a new-look forward line, comprising of English, Spanish, French and German internationals. Mikel Arteta is doubtful with an injury, while Bacary Sagna and Jack Wiltshire will not figure until late September. Good news for Laurent Koscielny and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who should recover in time for the weekend, in midfield Wenger will decide on a fully fit Aaron Ramsey or recovering Tomas Rosicky. Expect triangular passes of old leading to plenty of goal opportunities for the Gunners.

Sunderland have their own injury problems to contend with on Saturday, both Wes Brown and Phil Bardsley are out for a few weeks. Midfielder David Vaughan is also sidelined, while Stephane Sessegnon should feature at some stage during the match. Fans will be disappointed that negotiations for Stephen Fletcher have broken down, as he would have secured a starting place in a weakened Sunderland attack.

Sports Bulletin match prediction

Arsenal 3 – 0 Sunderland

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West Brom v Liverpool

West Brom likely line-up: Foster, Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Mulumbu, Jacub, Odemwingie, Dorrans, Brunt, Lukaku

Liverpool likely line-up: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique, Gerrard, Lucas, Allen, Suarez, Borini, Downing

Team news

West Brom welcome new permantn addition Ben Foster to the team, along side summer signings Lukaku and Yassine El Ghanassy, whom are set to start together up front. Claudio Jacub or Youssouf Mulumbu will form the spine of the midfield, leaving James Morrison and Graham Dorrans to jostle for a starting berth in attack. Manager Steve Clark will put faith in Peter Odemwingie and Chris Brunt on the flanks, leaving Shane Long and Marc-Antoine Fortune to trouble Liverpool’s defence.

Big changes for Liverpool who say goodbye to Bellamy, Aquilani and Maxi and usher in Fabio Borini playing off a core midfield three comprising of fellow newcomer Joe Allen and old guard Gerrard and Lucas. The quartet will sit ahead of a defensive made up of Johnson, Skrtel, Agger and Enrique. Elsewhere, Shelvey, Cole and Henderson look to miss out on a starting place with Rodgers favouring Suarez and Downing protruding from the wide areas. Big name singing Andy Carroll has not been considered Rodgers long-term plans and may have to get used to life on the bench.

Sports Bulletin match prediction

West Brom 1 – 2 Liverpool

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Newcastle v Tottenham

Newcastle likely line-up: Krul, Simpson, S. Taylor, Coloccini, Santon, Cabaye, Anita, Gutierrez, Marveaux, Cisse, Ba

Tottenham likely line-up: Friedel, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto, Sandro, Huddlestone, Sigurdsson, Van der Vaart, Bale, Defoe

Team news

Alan Pardew goes into the first match of the season with several key players out through injury, both midfield stars Cheikh Tiote and Yohan Cabaye are still not fit from previous games and Hatem Ben Arfa has been confirmed as an absentee due to a knee complaint. This spells good news for new signing Vurnon Anita who is to be included in the centre of the park. The formidable strike strike Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse lead the attack, goals are expected from the Senegalese pair.

Tottenham sweat on the fitness of Gareth Bale, who is 50/50 for the opener. Manager Andre Villas-Boas will have to further reshuffle his midfield as midfield dynamo Scott Parker is still out with an Achilles problem. AVB will give the nod to new signings Jan Vertonghen and Gylfi Sigurdsson in the heart of the defence, accompanied by the long-awaited return of Kyle Walker. Expect assists from wide areas with Defoe looking to poach from in close.

Sports Bulletin match prediction

Newcastle 1 – 2 Tottenham
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Wigan v Chelsea

Wigan likely line-up: Al-Habsi, Ramis, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Miyaichi, Di Santo, Maloney

Chelsea likely line-up: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Ramires, Mata, Hazard, Torres

Team news

After speculation linking Roberto Martinez to Liverpool and Tottenham during the summer, Wigan will be glad to keep hold of their tactical guru. Martinez will waste no time in parading new arrivals winger Arsenal loan singing Ryo Miyaichi and Arouna Kone from Levante. Victor Moses could be left out altogether due to ongoing negotiations between the two clubs, a fee has not been agreed. Expect Wigan to pull no punches and look to put Chelsea on the back foot early on.

Chelsea go into this fixture with no fresh injury concerns, while Branislav Ivanovic will join an English dominated back line, hoping to build on last week’s disappointment in the Community Shield. Manager Di Matteo will have to assess the fitness of forward Daniel Sturridge, who falls victim to a toe, while new signing Oscar is still some way away from full fitness. New boy Hazard and Mata will attempt to pull apart the Wigan defence and serve the inform Fernando Torres, who is tipped as top scorer this season.

Sports Bulletin match prediction

Wigan 1 – 3 Chelsea
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Man City v Southampton

Wigan likely line-up: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Yaya Toure, De Jong
Silva, Tevez, Nasri, Aguero

Southampton likely line-up: K Davis, Clyne, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox, Guly, Schneiderlin, S Davis, Lallana, Rodriguez, Lambert

Team news

Champions Manchester City look to make a statement in their opening game by matching the emphatic start of last season, which is led by a front three of Nasri, Tevez and Aguero. Injury robs goalkeeper Joe Hart and striker Mario Balotelli from featuring against the Saints.
Gareth Barry and Micah Richards will also be absent due to respective hernia and foot injuries but City will be confident in their depth of squad. Expect marching runs from Yaya Toure with great link-up play with the forward line.

It’s been five years since Southampton played Premiership football, boss Nigel Atkins will rely on the new generation of stars to carry the legacy forward. Jack Cork is a major doubt because of an ankle injury, while several players will be expecting a debut: Nathaniel Clyne, Steven Davis and Jay Rodriguez, who arrived from Crystal Palace, Rangers and Burnley respectively.

Sports Bulletin match prediction

Man City 4 – 0 Southampton
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Everton v Man Utd

Everton likely line-up: Howard, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jagielka, Baines, Neville, Fellaini, Naismith, Osman, Pienaar, Jelavic

Man Utd likely line-up: De Gea, Valencia, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Scholes, Carrick, Nani, Rooney, Kagawa, Van Persie

Team news

David Moyes will look to break tradition and secure a positive start to the season by putting forward virtually full-strength squad. His only concern is the fitness of former United player Darron Gibson however they have a like-for-like replacement in Marouane Fellaini. Moyes will hand a starting berth to wide men Steven Pienaar and Steven Naismith, who will look to thread neat balls through to last year’s scoring sensation Jelavic.

Sir Alex Ferguson will not hesitate to use his new weapon Robin Van Persie to spearhead an attack minded side at Goodison. He welocmes back Nemanja Vidic who starts alongside Rio Ferdinand. United are missing a trio of defenders Chris Smalling (groin), Jonny Evans (ankle) and Phil Jones (back) along with Darren Fletcher, who made his long-awaited comeback last week. Expect a constant rush of attack from Rooney and co. to hand Van Persie chances on a plate.

Sports Bulletin match prediction

Everton 0 – 2 Man Utd
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