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 With two weeks gone in the 2014-2015 English Premier League season, just four clubs remain with a 100% winning record. Tottenham currently leads the way, courtesy of a superior goal difference, which was bolstered last week by an emphatic 4-0 victory over QPR. Chelsea and Manchester City sit in a tie for second place right now, while Swansea also has a perfect six points out of six. At the other end of the standings, there aren't many surprises, with promoted clubs QPR and Burnley propping up the table after two successive defeats and Crystal Palace is also still waiting to get off the mark. There are a couple of standout fixtures in week 3, with Everton hosting Chelsea and Liverpool visiting early pacesetters Tottenham. At the wrong end of the table, QPR hope to open their account against Sunderland, Crystal Palace make the trip to Newcastle and the week commences with Burnley entertaining Manchester United. Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. Week 3's schedule starts on Saturday at 7:45 AM ET, followed by five 10 AM ET games. Saturday's final match is at 12:30 PM ET. There are three Sunday fixtures, two at 8:30 AM ET and then one at 11 AM ET. Note that the Yahoo! Fantasy Premier League game's deadline is on Saturday at 6:45 AM ET. Here we preview the ten games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League. The title of each game section is a link to pick the result of that game. Manchester United (13th) at Burnley (19th) (Sat, 7:45 AM ET) Most at Manchester United thought things could only improve after last season's disappointment. However, Louis van Gaal warned he always experiences slow starts, so patience could be of the essence. After losing to Swansea in week 1, United tied 1-1 at Sunderland. That was followed by a shock 4-0 defeat to League 1's MK Dons in the League Cup. Burnley didn't fare better in the League Cup, losing 1-0 at home against Championship side Sheffield Wednesday. It means the Clarets go into this week 3 matchup still searching for their first win of the campaign. Burnley lost 3-1 to Chelsea in their opening fixture despite taking going ahead and then last time out they were beaten 1-0 by Swansea. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Last met in 2010 Last 6 (all competitions): Manchester United lead 5-1-0 (includes 3 League Cup games). Last 3 at Burnley (all competitions): Manchester United lead 2-1-0 (includes 2 League Cup games). All-time (all competitions): Manchester United lead 57-44-19. Team News Manchester United (from): Amos, De Gea, Johnstone, Lindegaard, Evans, Jones, M. Keane, Rafael, Smalling, Varela, Vermijl, Anderson, Cleverley, Di Maria, Fellaini, Fletcher, Herrera, Januzaj, Kagawa, Lawrence, Mata, Nani, Powell, Valencia, Young, Hernandez, W. Keane, Lingard, Rooney, Van Persie, Welbeck, Wilson. Doubts: Smalling (groin), Fellaini (ankle), Lingard (knee). Out (reason, expected return date): Shaw (hamstring, Sep 14), Carrick (ankle, Oct 5), Herrara (knock, Sep 14). Burnley (from): Cisak, Gilks, Heaton; Duff, Lafferty, Long, Mee, Shackell, Trippier, Ward; Arfield, Howieson, Jones, Kightly, Marney, Reid, Taylor, Wallace; Barnes, Ings, Jutkiewicz, Sordell. Out (reason, expected return date): Vokes (ACL, no date). Stoke City (=14th) at Manchester City (=2nd) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Stoke suffered a difficult start to their last league campaign and this one has begun in a similar manner. The Potters travel to the champions looking for their first league win of the term after two cagey encounters. In their first game they lost to Aston Villa, but they fought back to tie 1-1 with Hull. They beat Portsmouth in the League Cup, though. Manchester City will be delighted with how the defence of their crown has gone to date having picked up maximum points from their opening two games. They eased to a 2-0 victory over Newcastle in week 1 and then weathered the storm to beat Liverpool 3-1 last time out. City has lost just three league games at home during the last three terms. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Stoke 0-1 Manchester City Manchester City 0-0 Stoke (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Manchester City lead 3-0-3 (includes 1 FA Cup game). Last 3 at Manchester City (all competitions): Manchester City lead 3-0-0. All-time (all competitions): Manchester City lead 46-35-24. Team News Stoke (from): Begovic, Butland, Eve, Sorensen, Bardsley, Huth, Muniesa, Pieters, Shawcross, Teixeira, Wilkinson, Wilson, Adam, Ireland, N’Zonzi, Palacios, Sidwell, Shea, Ward, Wheeler, Whelan, Arnautovic, Biram Diouf, Bojan, Crouch, Jerome, Odemwingie, Walters. Doubts: Krkic (rib), Bardsley (knee). Out (reason, expected return date): Cameron (groin, Sep 13). Manchester City (from): Caballero, Hart, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Demichelis, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Nastasic, Richards, Sagna, Zabaleta, Fernandinho, Fernando, Lampard, Milner, Nasri, Navas, Silva, Sinclair, Toure, Aguero, Dzeko, Guidetti, Jovetic. Out (reason, expected return date): Negredo (foot, Sep 21). Crystal Palace (18th) at Newcastle United (17th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Crystal Palace has finally ended their search for a new manager by appointing veteran coach Neil Warnock. He was previously at the club from 2007 to 2010, but his last stint in the Premier League was with QPR until he was fired in 2012. He takes over at a club that lost their first two games but they beat League 1's Walsall 3-0 in the League Cup. Newcastle was also successful in the League Cup against League 1 opposition, defeating Gillingham 1-0. However, the winner was an own goal, meaning none of the Magpies have scored a goal yet three games into he season. After losing 2-0 to Manchester City on the opening weekend, Newcastle played out a goalless tie with Aston Villa in week 2. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Crystal Palace 0-1 Newcastle Newcastle 3-0 Crystal Palace (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Newcastle lead 5-0-1. Last 3 at Newcastle (all competitions): Newcastle lead 2-0-1. All-time (all competitions): Newcastle lead 22-8-4. Team News Crystal Palace (from): Hennessey, Kettings, Price, Speroni, Binnom-Williams, Dann, Delaney, Hangeland, Kelly, Mariappa, McCarthy, Ramage, Ward, Bannan, Boateng, Bolasie, De Silva, Garvan, Guedioura, Jedinak, Kebe, Ledley, O’Keefe, Puncheon, Thomas, Williams, Campbell, Chamakh, Gayle, Murray, Zaha. Doubts: Ledley (groin), Dann (thigh). Newcastle (from): Alnwick, Elliot, Krul, Coloccini, Dummett, Ferguson, Haidara, Janmaat, Satka, Streete, Steven Taylor, Williamson, Yanga-Mbiwa, Aarons, Abeid, Anita, Ben Arfa, Bigirimana, Cabella, Colback, De Jong, Gutierrez, Obertan, Sissoko, Vuckic, Ameobi, Armstrong, Ferreyra, Gouffran, Perez, Riviere. Out (reason, expected return date): Cissé (knee, Sep 19), Tioté (hamstring, Sep 13), R. Taylor (ACL, no date), Santon (knee, no date), Good (groin, no date). Sunderland (11th) at Queens Park Rangers (20th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Despite falling behind in their first two fixtures of the season, Sunderland has managed to pick something up from both matches, meaning they already have more points than after eight games last term. The Black Cats tied 2-2 with West Brom and then shared the spoils with Manchester United. However, they beat Birmingham in the League Cup. August has yet to conclude and already Queens Park Rangers' manager Harry Redknapp is under pressure to produce results. The promoted club prop the table up after two games having failed to deliver a point or even score a goal. In week 1 they lost to Hull and then Spurs thrashed them. League 2's Burton then humiliated them in the League Cup. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Last met in 2013 Last 6 (all competitions): Sunderland lead 4-1-1. Last 3 at QPR (all competitions): Sunderland lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Sunderland lead 13-11-7. Team News Sunderland (from): Mannone, Pantilimon, Brown, Jones, O’Shea, Roberge, Van Aanholt, Vergini, Bridcutt, Buckley, Cattermole, Giaccherini, Gomez, Johnson, Larsson, Mavrias, Rodwell, Watmore, Altidore, Fletcher, Graham, Wickham. QPR (from): Green, Murphy, Caulker, Donaldson, Dunne, Ehmer, Ferdinand, Harriman, Hill, Onouha, Traore, Simpson, Yun, Barton, Fer, Henry, Hoilett, Isla, Mutch, Petrasso, Phillips, Taarabt, Sutherland, Wright-Phillips, Austin, Remy, Vargas, Zamora. Doubts: Austin (hamstring). Out (reason, expected return date): Faurlin (ACL, no date). West Bromwich Albion (12th) at Swansea City (4th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) A trademark of West Brom's 2013-2014 season was the number of ties they racked up and they've begun this term in much the same way. The Baggies' season began with Sunderland holding them to a 2-2 tie and then West Brom tied 0-0 with Southampton. They defeated League 2's Oxford United on penalties after it ended 1-1 after extra time. Swansea faced Championship side Rotherham United in the League Cup and a much changed lineup eventually saw off the opposition 1-0. It was a continuation of a successful start to the campaign, with the Swans opening their league account with two wins. After defeating Manchester United 2-1 in week 1, Swansea beat Burnley 1-0 last week. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: West Brom 2-1 Swansea Swansea 2-0 West Brom (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Swansea lead 4-2-0. Last 3 at Swansea (all competitions): Swansea lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Swansea lead 14-12-7. Team News West Brom (from): Daniels, Foster, Myhill, Baird, Davidson, Dawson, Gamboa, Garmston, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Pocognoli, Wisdom, Brunt, Dorrans, Gardner, Morrison, Mulumbu, O’Neil, O’Sullivan, Sessegnon, Roofe, Yacob, Anichebe, Berahino, Ideye, Nabi. Doubts: Pocognoli (thigh). Out (reason, expected return date): Lescott (knee, Sep 13). Swansea (from): Cornell, Fabianski, Tremmel, Amat, Bartley, Fernandez, Kingsley, Rangel, Tate, Taylor, Tiendalli, Williams, Canas, Carroll, Dyer , Fulton, Ki, Montero, Richards, Routledge, Sigurdsson, Sheehan, Shelvey, Bony, Donnelly, Gomis. Out (reason, expected return date): Britton (knee, no date), Emnes (knee cartilage, no date). Southampton (=14th) at West Ham United (8th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) It was always expected Southampton would initially struggle having had a change of management and numerous key players moving on, but they'll hope the 2-0 win away to Championship side Millwall in the League Cup will help kick start their league campaign. The Saints lost 2-1 to Liverpool on the opening day and they tied 0-0 with West Brom. League Cup progression was difficult for West Ham but they belatedly progressed by defeating League 1's Sheffield United on penalties. It helps keep the momentum going, backing up the Hammers' 3-1 victory last weekend away to Crystal Palace. It was West Ham' first points on the board as they lost 1-0 to Spurs on the opening day of the season. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Southampton 1-3 West Ham West Ham 0-0 Southampton (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): West Ham lead 2-1-3. Last 3 at West Ham (all competitions): West Ham lead 2-0-1. All-time (all competitions): West Ham lead 38-32-29. Team News Southampton (from): Boruc, K. Davis, Forster, Gazzaniga, Bertrand, Clyne, Fonte, Gardos, Hooiveld, Stephens, Targett, Yoshida, Cork, S. Davis, McQueen, Taider, Ramirez, Reed, Schneiderlin, Tadic, Wanyama, Ward-Prowse, Long, Pelle. Out (reason, expected return date): Rodriguez (ACL, no date), Isgrove (knee, no date), Gallagher (knee, no date). West Ham (from): Adrian, Jaaskelainen, Cresswell, Demel, Kouyate, O’Brien, Potts, Reid, Tomkins, Diame, Downing, Morrison, Noble, Poyet, Cole, Vaz Te, Valencia, Zarate. Doubts: Sakho (back). Out (reason, expected return date): Carroll (ankle, Oct 25), Nolan (shoulder, Oct 15), Jenkinson (hamstring, Sep 15), Collins (hamstring, Sep 15), Jarvis (thigh, Sep 15). Chelsea (=2nd) at Everton (10th) (Sat, 12:30 PM ET) This week 3 encounter could be seen as Chelsea's first major test of the season as they've begun their campaign against two of the clubs that were promoted from the Championship. Despite going behind at Burnley, things have been reasonably comfortable for the Blues, notching a maximum six points from their two league fixtures to date. Everton also faced a promoted club in their opening game of the season but things didn't go as smoothly as despite going ahead twice they had to settle for a 2-2 tie away to Leicester. The Toffeemen then took on Arsenal in their week 2 contest and went two goals up. However, Arsenal pegged them back with two late goals to finish all square. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Chelsea 0-1 Everton Everton 0-1 Chelsea (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Chelsea lead 4-2-0 (includes 1 League Cup game). Last 3 at Everton (all competitions): Everton lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Chelsea lead 66-52-52. Team News Chelsea (from): Cech, Courtois, Schwarzer, Ake, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Christensen, Ivanovic, Luis, Terry, Zouma, Fabregas, Hazard, Matic, Mikel, Oscar, Ramires, Salah, Van Ginkel, Willian, Costa, Drogba, Schurrle, Torres. Doubts: Costa (hamstring, late fitness test). Everton (from): Howard, Robles, Stanek, Alcaraz, Baines, Browning, Coleman, Distin, Duffy, Galloway, Garbutt, Hibbert, Jagielka, Stones, Pennington, Barry, Besic, Grant, Gibson, McCarthy, McGeady, Osman, Byrne, Eto’o, Hope, Long, Lukaku, McAleny, Mirallas, Naismith. Out (reason, expected return date): Pienaar (groin, Sep 13), Barkley (MCL, no date), Oviedo (broken leg, no date), Koné (knee, no date). Unavailable: Atsu (loanee; can't face parent club). Hull City (6th) at Aston Villa (7th) (Sun, 8:30 AM ET) Hull can concentrate on the league now as their European adventure ended on Thursday. The Tigers beat Sporting Lokeren 2-1 on the night but they failed to reach the Europa League group stages due to the away goals rule. On the domestic front, Hull is still undefeated after their first two matches having beaten QPR 1-0 and tied 1-1 with Stoke. Every match Aston Villa has played so far this season has been a close, cagey affair, even including their League Cup encounter. The Villans got things going this term with a 1-0 victory over Stoke and that was followed by a goalless matchup at home against Newcastle. Villa then suffered a 1-0 loss to League 1 side Leyton Orient in the League Cup. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Hull 1-3 Aston Villa Aston Villa 0-0 Hull (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Aston Villa lead 5-0-1. Last 3 at Aston Villa (all competitions): Aston Villa lead 3-0-0. All-time (all competitions): Aston Villa lead 17-5-7. Team News Hull (from): McGregor, Harper, Davies, Bruce, Dawson, Rosenior, Robertson, McShane, Boyd, Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Ince, Brady, Jelavic, Aluko, Sagbo, Quinn, Meyler. Out (reason, expected return date): Snodgrass (knee, no date). Suspended: Chester (one-match ban). Aston Villa (from): Guzan, Given, Hutton, Vlaar, Baker, Clark, Herd, Bacuna, Lowton, Cissokho, Westwood, Delph, Sanchez, Richardson, Cole, Grealish, El Ahmadi, N'Zogbia, Weimann, Agbonlahor, Bent. Out (reason, expected return date): Kozák (broken leg, Oct 18), Benteke (Achilles, Oct 4), Okore (knee, no date). Liverpool (9th) at Tottenham Hotspur (1st) (Sun, 8:30 AM ET) Liverpool's offseason was dominated by the departure of Luis Suárez and whether or not the club could replace his match-winning goals. They've tried to address this by purchasing former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli. He wasn't needed in the week 1 win over Southampton, but Liverpool lost 3-1 to City last week despite early pressure. Tottenham will spend another season juggling Premier League duties and the Europa League after they qualified for the group stages after comfortably beating AEL Limassol over two legs. Spurs' domestic league campaign has got off to a perfect start thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory over West Ham and a comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of QPR last week. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Liverpool 5-0 Tottenham Tottenham 0-4 Liverpool (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Liverpool lead 3-2-1. Last 3 at Tottenham (all competitions): Tottenham lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Liverpool lead 75-47-39. Team News Liverpool (from): Mignolet, Johnson, Lovren, Skrtel, Enrique, Gerrard, Henderson, Allen, Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge, Balotelli, Jones, Manquillo, Toure, Sakho, Lucas, Can, Lambert, Ibe, Markovic, Lallana. Doubts: Lallana (fitness), Skrtel (knock), Moreno (ankle), Johnson (thigh). Out (reason, expected return date): Flanagan (knee, Sep 13), Assaidi (knee cartilage, no date), Agger (knee, no date). Tottenham (from): Lloris, Friedel, McGee, Naughton, Dier, Kaboul, Fazio, Chiriches, Vertonghen, Davies, Rose, Veljkovic, Capoue, Bentaleb, Sandro, Paulinho, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela, Lennon, Chadli, Townsend, Holtby, Adebayor, Kane, Soldado. Doubts: Soldado (back). Out (reason, expected return date): Walker (pelvis, no date), Vorm (no date). |
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