Michael Owen’s Premier League Preview: Gameweek Nine

This looks a very even game. Arsenal didn’t play well on Monday against Palace and were a little fortunate to walk away with a point. They’ve shown some signs of life after a difficult start to the season but have still only scored seven goals in the league so far. Liverpool for context, have 22. If the Gunners are to seriously challenge for the top four, they need to find the net more.

As for Villa, Dean Smith must have been furious to blow a two-goal lead last week. It’s been a strange start to the season for them and they need to start showing some more consistency.

With just a point between them, I can’t see much in this. I’m going for a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea rode their luck at times against Brentford and Edouard Mendy was exceptional in goal. No team can play at their best in every game, so for Chelsea to still claim the win really shows their quality this season.

Norwich have still only scored two goals in the league, which is clearly nowhere near good enough. I thought before the season that they would score a lot of goals but concede a lot but right now they aren’t even scoring.

I can only see a comfortable Chelsea win here. I’ll say 3-0.

Palace have now conceded last minute equalisers to Brighton and Arsenal in their last three. Vieira must have been gutted as his side, even without Zaha, went to the Emirates and were probably the better side. Still, it’s got to be a positive that without him they can still threaten some of the top sides. For years they’ve been so reliant on him so it’s a good sign moving forward.

It’s certainly not been quiet on Tyneside in the last two weeks. For all the optimism off the pitch, Newcastle need to improve on it. Particularly, the defence continues to leak goals. They have the league’s worst defence and that will need addressed.

Palace have five draws so far and they are due another win. I think that win will come here and I’m tipping a 2-1 Palace win.

I would never have believed that Leeds will be one of the league’s lowest scorers before the season but here we are. It’s been a quiet start for Bielsa’s side, and the team just needs a lift or a big win to get some spark back.

As for Wolves, that’s now three wins in a row and they can start looking up the table. That was a thrilling win against Villa and they possess a lot of quality in forward areas.

Interestingly, Wolves are yet to draw a game this season, but I think it will come here. I’m going for 1-1.

Everton have made a good start under Benitez, so I was surprised to see them lose to West Ham last week. That was their first dropped points at home this season though, and I don’t see them adding to that here.

I felt sorry for Ranieri last week. I’m surprised he accepted the Watford job and that rout from Liverpool can’t have done much for the squad’s confidence. He’s got a tough run of fixtures ahead and they need points soon.

I don’t think Watford’s form will change here though. Everton are strong at home and will win this comfortably.

That was a huge win for Southampton last week against Leeds. They don’t score many goals that’s for sure, but they are hard to beat and have the best defence of any of the teams in the bottom eight. If they can keep that up, maybe they can climb the table.

Burnley as you would expect, compete well in every game they play but they aren’t getting the results to match their performances at the minute. They have so much experience at this level though, so I don’t think Sean Dyche will be panicking just yet.

This won’t be high-scoring, it probably won’t be entertaining! This is a huge game for both though. I have so much trust in Burnley in these sorts of games and fancy them to narrowly win it.

Brighton have had two 0-0 draws in a row now and will probably feel that they should have left Carrow Road with all three points last week. Their defensive statistics are outstanding, and with just five goals conceded, only Chelsea and City have conceded less.

After a routine home win against Burnley, City looked in sublime form against Brugge on Tuesday. Foden was exceptional and City could have scored more than the five they got.

This won’t be an easy game for Pep’s men, but I think they will get the win. I don’t think Brighton will have enough threat to hurt City, so I’m predicting a 2-0 win.

That was a very impressive win for West Ham last week. I thought the whole side played well but I’ve got to talk about Declan Rice. I thought he was exceptional last week and inspired his side with a captain’s performance.  He’s kicked on after a great showing for England over the summer and is one of the league’s best midfielders.

It couldn’t have been easy for Spurs to have played in such a raucous atmosphere at St James’ Park last week, especially going behind so early! They recovered well though and they looked a real threat.

West Ham look such a well-organised, well-coached side at the minute. The team are clearly going out expecting to win games and I think they can narrowly edge this London Derby. I’ll say 2-1.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank probably couldn’t believe his side got beat last week. They created plenty of chances against Chelsea last week and if Edouard Mendy wasn’t in such good form, they would have got at least one point if not more. Still, this Brentford side remain such a threat.

I know it’s early in the season but that win over Man United feels like a season-altering win for the Foxes. They haven’t quite been at their best so to win, and win deservedly, will do them the world of good. Jamie Vardy continues to score and took his goal brilliantly!

I don’t think there’s much between these two on current form, but I’m leaning towards Leicester here. I’m going for 2-1 Leicester.

I can’t wait for this one. Man United were disappointing away at Leicester last week. They created some chances but defensively it was far too easy for Leicester to create chances and to play through the United press. They looked too open for me, so Solskjaer will need to adjust the balance of this side.

There’s only place to start when it comes to Liverpool, Mo Salah. He’s surely the best player in the world right now and that goal last week was sublime. He’s been virtually unplayable this season, so this is a huge ask for the United defence to keep him quiet.

United will no doubt play better than they did last week, but I still think the Reds can get the win. I’ll say 2-1, will Mo Salah be one of the scorers?