Hull vs Coventry
Expecting a very tight game with few goals. Both teams are solid defensively and have dangerous attacking players who can individually win games.
Hull are in great form with three wins out of four, most recently an impressive win away at previously undefeated Leicester. Although star man Tufan looks unlikely to return, Hull have more than enough quality in Delap, Twine and Connelly to impact the game.
Hull player to watch: Liam Delap
Coventry ever hard to beat, are struggling to put teams away with three draws in a row. Palmer has looked great in all four games so it’s only a matter of time before he gets a return. Godden is also in good form with three goals in five games.
Coventry player to watch: Kasey Palmer
Prediction: Hull 2-1 Coventry
Southampton vs Leicester
Game of the weekend! Both recently relegated teams looking to bounce back after rare defeats, more concerningly Southampton who were thumped by Sunderland. Both possession-based teams stacked with talent, so there will be goals. Southampton’s defence is where this game is won and lost.
Southampton need a reaction following the embarrassing defeat at Sunderland as they were hit for 5. They will be looking for a better defensive display, boasting the league’s highest goals conceded with 12.
Player to watch: Adam Armstrong
Pace in behind will be important for Leicester. Mavididi needs to start and will be a serious problem for that sluggish Southampton defence.
Player to watch: Stephy Mavididi
Prediction: Southampton 3-2 Leicester
Blackburn vs Middlesborough
Very few would have predicted Boro’s terrible start and I don’t fancy that changing this week. Blackburn have been inconsistent so far, but they should have enough attacking prowess to exploit Boro’s weak defence.
Blackburn are looking for a big performance following a big 3-0 defeat away at Plymouth, but the result didn’t tell the whole story and they were unlucky not to score. Blackburn are creating a lot of chances and will be looking to cash in the high XG this week.
Blackburn player to watch: Ryan Hedges
Bottom of the table Boro have been a total mess. Shipping in goals left right and centre. Attacking wise, they have been shocking as well with the record-low for goals scored in the division with a measly 3. Something needs to change fast. Lath has looked a handful and I’m predicting him to score.
Boro player to watch: Emmanuel Latte Lath
Score prediction Blackburn 3-1 Middlesborough
Bristol City vs West Brom
Another tight game incoming. Bristol City have been decent so far and are coming into form. West Brom have been OK, but have struggled away from home. This game screams draw!
There are not a lot of goals in Bristol City game with just 5 goals scored and conceded, so they are a solid little team. Mark Sykes has been the standout player so far with a goal and assist in the last game.
Bristol City player to watch: Mark Sykes
Complete opposite to Bristol City, West Brom have been involved in multiple high-scoring affairs and look vulnerable at the back. John Swift has been showing his class with 3 goals in the last 4 matches.
West Brom player to watch: John Swift
Score prediction: Bristol City 1-1 West Brom
Huddersfield vs Rotherham
Won’t be a pretty affair, that is for sure. Two hard working teams; both picked up huge wins last week, but they’re still lurking towards the bottom of the table. Neil Warnock is up against one of his many former clubs, who he served as a player and a manager.
Huddersfield picked up an impressive smash and grab win at West Brom to pick up their first result of the season, so they will be looking to build on that.
Huddersfield player to watch: Delano Burgzorg
Rotherham also picked up a surprise win vs former league-leaders Norwich, much down to the heroics of goalkeeper Johansson. Rotherham’s midfield recruitment has gone seriously under the radar. Both Tiehi and Cafu are top signings.
Rotherham player to watch: Cafu
Score prediction: Huddersfield 0-0 Rotherham
Norwich vs Stoke
Norwich are seriously missing Josh Sargent at the moment. Adam Idah tries, but he is a monster downgrade. Both teams’ injury lists are quickly piling up. Stoke have been poor recently and are missing Vidigal. They are struggling badly for goals. As much as I hate to say it, I’ve got Norwich to win this.
Credit where credit is due, I was not expecting Norwich to start this well. They are scoring goals for fun and Gabriel Sara is an absolute baller. They will be looking to get back to winning ways following a surprise loss to Rotherham, which I enjoyed a lot!
Norwich player to watch: Gabriel Sara
Despite dominating possession and having the higher XG in both games, Stoke have suffered defeat both games in a row and are lacking that clinical edge.
Stoke player to watch: Ben Wilmot
Score prediction Norwich 2-0 Stoke
Preston vs Plymouth
Shock table-toppers Preston are in incredible form with four straight wins and have conceded just 3 goals so far. However they haven’t been dominating games and it is only a matter of time before they slip up. Plymouth have, to no surprise, started the season well and have handled the transition to a 4-3-3 and the step up to the championship with ease. Lowe vs Schumacher is the big talking point. Get the popcorn ready!
Preston’s recruitment so far has paid off big time. Frokjar-Jensen , Holmes and Whatmough are all shrewd additions. Preston’s best pick up was Will Keane for just 100K, who is guaranteed goals at this level.
Preston player to watch: Will Keane
Plymouth have played better than they place in the table. They have lacked the clinical edge to put teams away, but they are creating lots of chances so the signs are there. Ryan Hardie has surprised me a lot – 4 goals in 5 games is some tally.
Plymouth player to watch: Ryan Hardie
Score Prediction: Preston 1-2 Plymouth
QPR vs Sunderland
Following from the Watford humbling, QPR have been great so far and Ainsworth is proving his doubters wrong with a couple of huge away wins. Sunderland will be full of confidence after destroying Southampton 5-0, which kick-started their season.
Despite on paper not recruiting well, the majority of QPR’s signings have had a great impact so far. The experienced Begovic, Cook and Fox have fixed a leaky defence and Smyth has come back a different player. QPR are a tough team to beat.
Player to watch: Asmir Begovic
Sunderland have dominated the majority of their games so far and now they have a striker in Mason Bairstow to put away the chances – they should be some force. They will have too much for QPR, just.
Player to watch: Pierre Ekwah
Score prediction: QPR 0-1 Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday vs Ipswich
This won’t be as easy a game for Ipswich as some are making out. We have drawn all three games vs Wednesday under Kieran Mckenna. The last two games, Ipswich haven’t been close to the usual high standards defensively, so a clean sheet would be wonderful. Wednesday are yet to win but it is important to acknowledge that they got a great point away at Leeds with a robust performance.
I look a Wednesday’s team and wonder where are the goals coming from? Just 4 so far and few signs of this tally improving. It will be interesting to see if they line up in a back four or a back five.
Wednesday player to watch: George Byers
As for Ipswich, goals shouldn’t be a problem – it’s the defensive side that could cause a problem. If we defend well, we should win this game comfortably. I expect to see some rotation from us to freshen up the side, which has looked a bit leggy in the last couple of games but should be fresh after the international break.
Score prediction: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Ipswich
Watford vs Birmingham
Watford’s general play has been excellent so far until they get close to the goal. They are creating enough chances to comfortably beat teams, but failing to put them away. Birmingham are still unbeaten and have looked excellent defensively so far, but will the Eustace to Rangers links upset the camp?
Watford’s new striker Rajovic put in a true poacher’s performance on his debut showing nice movement on both goals. Now Watford have a striker to convert the chances, they will quickly propel themselves up the table.
Watford player to watch: Mileta Rajovic
Birmingham have been faultless so far. New signings have settled in well and fast – Bielik especially has been controlling games in that DM role.
Birmingham player to watch: Krystian Bielik
Score prediction: Watford 2-1 Birmingham
Cardiff vs Swansea
First South Wales derby of the season and it has come at the perfect time for Cardiff who have a torrid record in this fixture recently. Swansea look a mess at the moment and once Cardiff figure out how to close out games, they will be some force.
Both teams are in need of a win – Cardiff have bottled 2-0 leads twice so far this season and have been clicinal when attacking. Aaron Ramsey has shown his class with 2 goals in the last three matches.
Cardiff player to watch: Aaron Ramsey
Swansea are in desperate need of a win and this is the perfect fixture to get their season up and running, and win over the fans. Michael Duff is already under pressure and a loss in this game could be the final straw; he is struggling massively with the step up. I feel he doesn’t have the wing backs he needs for his system to operate properly.
Swansea player to watch: Charlie Patino
Score Prediction: Cardiff 2-1 Swansea
Millwall vs Leeds
Old-school English rivalry. Both teams have had fairly average and underwhelming starts. I expect Millwall’s robust and solid defensive system to frustrate Leeds attackers.
Millwall have been solid defensively so far, but are unable to get anything going in attack. A couple of useful results in a row has got them back up the table.
Millwall player to watch: Zian Flemming
Leeds have dominated the majority of games but defensive woes, lack of clinical edge and mess off the pitch with players refusing to play has led to a bad start. They need to get back to winning ways on Sunday.
Leeds player to watch: Ethan Ampadu
Score prediction: Millwall 1-2 Leeds
