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The teams in the Premier League are slowly starting to find out how tough it is to navigate the competition, albeit for varying reasons. For some of them it's injuries to key players, for others it's lack of consistency, and for a select few - it is just the gulf in class between them and most others in the division.
Making assumptions on what could happen in the Premier League is not always the best idea. More often than not, there are plenty of surprises in terms of results and performances in every season. But we still got to do it, that's our job.
I won't keep you waiting for long. Without further delay, let's dive straight into my predictions for Premier League GW6:
Newcastle United vs Manchester City
This is a massive game for Newcastle at home, especially since they had a bad result last time around at Fulham. Before that trip to Craven Cottage, you'd have looked at the table and thought they're decent with 10 points from four games. But it truly seems like an oversight now; I predicted them to lose against Fulham and that's exactly what happened.
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Honestly, if we analyse Newcastle game-by-game, they'd have no points because they haven't been good enough. They were well beaten by Fulham in the end, it was just a matter of time.
If they play like that against Manchester City, they are going to get destroyed. Now if that happens, suddenly, they have a problem. Newcastle's next three fixtures are away at Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion at home and Chelsea away - that's not an easy run. That could end up looking like a really bad run, if they continue to play like this.
Manchester City will miss Rodri. He's the player who knits everyone together. I don't see his absence becoming an immediate problem for City in the next few fixtures. But certainly, over the course of 50 games this season, it will take a toll.
Pep Guardiola and company should be fairly comfortable here, though. I predict an easy win with a clean sheet.
Prediction: Newcastle 0-3 Manchester City
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
I've always said this from the word go, Chelsea are a pundit's nightmare because you simply don't know what you're going to get from them. They got the big win at Wolverhampton Wanderers, drew at home to Crystal Palace, needed a late penalty to get past Bournemouth and then, they go out and rip West Ham United apart last weekend!
Chelsea are so up and down, but I expected these inconsistencies from them if I'm being honest. It's a new team, new manager, so they will need time. I don't expect Chelsea to challenge for the title. But I do think they can go from sixth last season to maybe fourth this time around.
This could be a big test for them against Brighton. If they win this one, this result could serve as the benchmark for the season. I still expect the Seagulls to make it difficult for Chelsea because they are a team that plays good football.
No disrespect to Christopher Nkunku, but his hat-trick in midweek came against Barrow and it's expected of him to put these teams to the sword. I still prefer Nicolas Jackson, he's not a bad player. Last year, he was young and he had to play every week since they had no one else. His finishing was good against West Ham, I back to him get even better with time.
Chelsea have a lot of wingers who can play either side of Jackson. But the problem is that none of them will get enough time to make a lasting impression since they have too many options. It's unfair if you go out of the team due to one bad or average game, that's not good on anyone. But that happened to Pedro Neto and I just think it'll still be Jadon Sancho ahead of him in the line-up.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Brentford vs West Ham United
I tell you what, West Ham are in big trouble! I always say be careful of what you wish for. They got rid of David Moyes after he won them a European trophy and now the new manager is struggling.
They're up against Brentford next and I'd be shocked if they don't lose this game. I don't see a lot between these teams on paper, but the way they're playing at the moment, there's certainly a huge gap.
Julen Lopetegui has to get a positive result in the next few games. West Ham fans won't be happy with what they've seen so far this season. In terms of the talent they have in that team, it's one of their best sides ever. But they are not gelling together on the pitch and the manager still hasn't figured out his best XI.
Everyone will expect West Ham to turn up and win, so this is a really difficult game for them due to the added pressure and worrying form.
Prediction: Brentford 1-0 West Ham
Everton vs Crystal Palace
This is a hard game to pick. I don't think there's a million things wrong with Everton. They were 2-0 up against Bournemouth before losing it 3-2, scored twice against Aston Villa, who are the main contenders for a fourth-placed finish, missed a chance to make it 3-1 in that game and should have made it 3-3 instead of losing 3-2 in the end. They have played well in patches, obviously very unlucky as well.
Everton should be winning this game at home to Crystal Palace. These are the fixtures that will define their season. If you look away from the results and look at performances, I think Everton deserve slightly better and I'm backing them to win here.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has to stay fit to boost their chances this season. He missed a couple of good chances against Villa, but at least he got into them right positions. If he's fit, Everton won't get relegated.
Crystal Palace will score in this game due to their potent attack led by Eberechi Eze, but I think their wait for a Premier League win this season will continue.
Prediction: Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace
Arsenal vs Leicester City
I'm backing Arsenal to get a comfortable win here against Leicester. Some Leicester fans wanted to come to the top flight and be in the top half of the table, that just makes me laugh. They're in big trouble and so is Steve Cooper.
From now until the end of the season, Arsenal should not let in more than one goal in any football match, that should be their aim. They're always going to score goals, that's not an issue. If they keep it tight at the back, they have a chance of winning something.
I still don't believe Arsenal are favorites for the title now after the injury to Rodri. You look at the substitutes that Manchester City have, and look at the size of that squad compared to Arsenal, who were bringing on Gabriel Jesus, who City actually let go, there is certainly a difference.
If Arsenal had to take one player out of the City team to help them win the title, that would be Rodri - no doubt! So he's definitely a big miss, but City may still have enough in them to go all the way.
There was a scuffle between Erling Haaland and Gabriel Magalhaes, it's just something that comes out of frustration in these games. That was some old school football though, we'd all be happy if we saw that every week. That game had everything in my opinion!
In the aftermath of it all, what stands out for me is that Arsenal went 1-0 down and they went 2-1 up before half-time. That wouldn't have happened a few years ago, they may have gone 3-0 or 4-0 down after conceding first. How many teams can do that to City at home? Not too many.
Leandro Trossard deserved a red card in my opinion. We want to see football, don't we? We're not here to watch people kicking the ball away. I've played the game for a long time and that's not how you pass a ball. Trossard wasn't passing it to his teammate, he was just booting the ball away. But the problem I have here is with the consistency. Jeremy Doku did the same thing and he didn't get punished. That's not fair.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Leicester City
Nottingham Forest vs Fulham
This is a good game. Forest are flying, aren't they? With every game, you'd think this would be the one they lose, but they just keep getting results. I don't expect Fulham to get beaten though, I actually fancy them as a side.
Emile Smith Rowe is showing his class since joining Fulham. Just like him, even Reiss Nelson, who scored last weekend, could not get into the Arsenal team. It feels like they're on a path to revive their careers.
Fulham are one of those teams in the league who can upset the big boys in my opinion. But I still think they'd only get a draw here. This would mean that Forest will continue to remain unbeaten, but they must be careful of not picking up too many draws. If you're on an unbeaten streak with five draws, it's no good. You'd be in trouble the moment you suffer that first defeat.
For me, this is game Forest should really be looking to win since they're playing at home. But they will still be happy with a point, not a bad start for them.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Fulham
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool
Wolves are a funny team. I thought they played well against Newcastle, scored a worldie and ended up losing in the end. They must get a win quickly, but I can't see anything apart from a Liverpool win here.
I was quite critical of Liverpool after their loss to Nottingham Forest, but in hindsight, I have to cut them some slack because it was after the international break and a lot of their key players came back from all the travel. They've bounced back in style by destroying AC Milan and then winning against Bournemouth last weekend.
It's a big open pitch at Wolves, so I expect Liverpool to get goals. And Gary O'Neill will also set his team up to have a go, so it's an open game.
Liverpool have no problems with their front-three, everyone is firing. What they would want to avoid is injuries to midfielders or someone like Virgil van Dijk getting injured, that's where the problems could lie for Liverpool.
But in terms of forwards, they are blessed in that department. Not only will they score a lot of goals, but they will spread it out among themselves over the course of the season. This can also be a headache for Arne Slot and sometimes it's not a good thing because he has to keep all of them happy with playing time.
I'd personally go with Cody Gakpo alongside Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah for this game. I think Gakpo is playing with a lot of confidence and he just gives you something more than the other options.
Prediction: Wolves 1-3 Liverpool
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
Aston Villa are flying at the moment. They play Bayern Munich in the Champions League at Villa Park after this game, who would've thought that 10 years ago?
They can't get distracted by that game because they have to sort this out first. You don't want to be the first team to be beaten by Ipswich. I actually feel Ipswich can cause problems to Villa early on in the game. But if the visitors can ride that early pressure and keep their attitude right, they will get over the line easily by the end of the game.
I'm backing Villa to have the edge over the other teams to finish inside the top four this season. However, it also depends on how much they get involved in the Champions League, that's a lot of games to deal with. Like I said, they must not let their European adventures become a distraction, that's the challenge for Villa.
Prediction: Ipswich 0-2 Aston Villa
Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur
This is a huge game for both teams. Tottenham play a dangerous high line and Manchester United are not great at the back, so it's a very open football match. I expect there will be loads of goals in this one too.
It's hard to point out what's exactly going wrong at Manchester United at the moment. But I can tell you, something's definitely not right. They have to get back into the top four, that should be like bread and butter for a club of this stature.
It was the perfect game against Twente for them to get a win and take some pressure off themselves. But look at how it went, they failed to win despite taking the lead! If they lose to Tottenham on Sunday, it's a massive problem for United. Ten Hag has to win this game for sure, nothing else would do for them.
We're potentially looking at Villa and Chelsea winning this week, so if Tottenham also get a win over them, that's a huge blow in the race for top four. Let's not forget they failed to win last weekend as well, so it's massive pressure.
If Rasmus Hojlund is fit, I think he should always play and that's the same with Marcus Rashford. They should figure out a way to play both Alejandro Garnacho and Rashford together, that'll give them an edge in attack. But the funny thing is, I would be surprised if all of them play together. We saw the other day how Rashford was on the bench even when he was in form.
Spurs have been alright this season. Against Arsenal, the quality of set-pieces were the only difference between them. But they should've beaten both Newcastle and Leicester, if they don't win these type of games, it starts to look a bit Spursy! As things stand, there's not a lot of problems with them. But if they lose this game, they are the team with the fourth-best chance of finishing fourth.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Bournemouth vs Southampton
Southampton just keep shooting themselves in the foot every week. I have a feeling it's another week of none of the promoted teams getting a point, so I'm backing Bournemouth to win here.
Saints don't have a plan B at the moment. I think Bournemouth will destroy them in this game. I watch Southampton and I know how they are going to play. They aren't going to surprise their opponents this weekend. I dread to think how many times Bournemouth will nick the ball off them and put them under pressure.
Prediction: Southampton 0-3 Bournemouth
