Michael Owen’s Premier League Preview: Gameweek Seven

I didn’t see that defeat to Villa coming for Man United. That was a disappointing performance, and I reckon one thing is for certain, Cristiano Ronaldo will be taking the penalties from now on! United are still in a strong position though and are only one point behind leaders Liverpool. That thrilling win against Villarreal should give the squad a morale boost.

After a couple of bad results to Villa and then to QPR in the cup, Everton bounced back with a win at home to Norwich. Norwich were the ideal opponents to get some confidence back and frankly, it’s hard to read too much into the win.

Everton haven’t won at Old Trafford since 2013 and I don’t think they’ll be winning this one. I’m predicting a 3-1 Man United win.

Chelsea were disappointing against Man City. Thomas Tuchel prides himself on having his team organised and hard to beat but I felt they were a little too defensive against Man City and didn’t really lay a glove on them.

Southampton would have been eyeing the win against Wolves last week, so to lose it must be a body blow. They are still winless in the league, and just don’t create enough chances. They’ve only scored four in the league and desperately need to address that.

The Saints have had some good results against the big teams this season, with draws against City and United, but I don’t think they’ll get anything here. I reckon Chelsea will be too strong and will win this comfortably.

I’ve been writing all season that Wolves have been playing well, creating chance after chance, but haven’t been taking them. Last week’s win at Southampton was the opposite, they didn’t create much but took the chance that came their way. It was brilliant to see Raul Jimenez back on the scoresheet after so long on the side lines.

Newcastle played well in spells away at Watford last week and should have added to their one goal lead when they had it. Watford came back to draw the game and could even have won it late on with Josh King’s disallowed goal. Newcastle are still winless and are conceding too many chances.

That was a big win for Wolves last week and I fancy them to build on it here. I don’t see there being much between these two, but I fancy Wolves to narrowly edge it.

That was a valuable point for Burnley away to Leicester and they could even have come away with three points. New-signing Maxwel Cornet opened his account and looked dangerous throughout before coming off with an injury. Sean Dyche will be desperate to get him back for this one.

I say the same things about Norwich every week. They don’t create enough chances and they concede too many at the other end, that’s not going to work in this league. Ultimately, they are an easy side to play against right now and they desperately need some optimism.

This feels like a huge game, even this early into the season. Burnley look like they are on the verge of getting a win and I think that will come here, 2-0 Burnley.

Leeds will have been gutted to lose to West Ham last week in the last minute. It was the same old story for Leeds, chance after chance squandered. Pressure is beginning to mount on Bielsa and his side could do with getting their first win of the season here.

Watford showed a lot of character against Newcastle and could have turned the game completely around and won. They always look a threat with the likes of Sarr, Dennis and King and will cause problems to most sides.

This will be an entertaining game that’s for sure. These two were involved in two thrillers last week and this could be no different. I think Leeds will narrowly edge it 2-1.

Brighton didn’t go top of the league, but it was a good point nonetheless away at Palace on Monday night. Maupay’s last minute equaliser was a lovely finish. I’m so impressed with the job Graham Potter is doing down there and think they can stay in the top eight.

How quickly can things change in football? This time last month Arsenal were in a crisis and here we are a week after they dismantled Spurs in the North London Derby. Don’t get me wrong, I think Spurs were shocking in that first half, but Arsenal’s play was excellent. In particular, the youngsters in Smith Rowe and Saka were full of energy and quality.

Brighton have history of being a bit of a bogey team for Arsenal. The Gunners’ have won just two of their last seven against them and the Seagulls are flying right now. I think Brighton can narrowly win this.

That was a disastrous performance for Spurs against Arsenal. The first half was catastrophic, and it was so easy for Arsenal to create chances against them. After a good start, Nuno is now under massive pressure. He’ll need his talisman Harry Kane to start producing in the league soon and it’s clear that the transfer saga that surrounded him all summer is affecting him and the team as a whole.

What a couple of weeks it’s been for Dean Smith and Aston Villa. That was a brilliant win at Old Trafford and they look like a side that will compete for Europe this season.

I don’t see much between these two. In fact, come the end of the season I don’t think many points will separate them. I’m going for a 1-1 draw.

There are not many managers in England doing a better job than David Moyes at the minute. They responded well to that dramatic defeat to Man United by winning a thriller at Elland Road. Antonio came back from suspension to score the winner and there’s not many strikers in England I’d rather have than him right now.

That was an outstanding performance from Brentford against Liverpool. The energy levels and quality of their passing was excellent, and they deserved their point. To have only lost one of their first six games is a brilliant return for Thomas Frank’s side.

I think Brentford will lose this though. West Ham are going from strength to strength and the atmosphere around the club must be fantastic. This will be an even game but I’m saying 2-1 to the Hammers.

Patrick Vieira must have been gutted to have conceded such a late equaliser to Brentford. It would have been a valuable three points and would have made Vieira a hero, but Palace are improving under him and should continue to pick up points.

Leicester are in a poor run of form but at least Jamie Vardy has found his best form again. He’s now the League’s joint top scorer but he has five of their seven goals this season, so they are clearly too reliant on him.

If Leicester have European qualification hopes this season, they need to start winning again. I think they’ll do so here with a 2-1 win.

That was a strange performance from Liverpool against Brentford. They scored three and could have scored more, but to concede three was alarming. I didn’t see that coming and Jurgen Klopp will have been furious at his side. The response in Porto was emphatic though, to go there and score five is an outstanding performance.

City showed just why they are Champions with that win against Chelsea last week. It’s a rare occasion when City enter a game as underdogs, so to beat a Chelsea side who were looking formidable is a huge statement of intent. They also played well in the defeat to PSG on Tuesday but need to be more clinical.

Liverpool have an outstanding record at Anfield against City. City’s win at Anfield last season was their first win at Anfield since 2003 and there’s been some famous wins for the Reds in that time. I always fancy Liverpool in these big games so it’s no surprise I’m predicting a 2-1 Liverpool win here!