Premier League Pick 3: Round 3.
Season record: 4-1-1
Three for three I went in last week's picks. Probably didn't stick my neck out too far picking Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool to win. Hey; I could have picked Manchester United.
Let's see if I can continue my torrid pace with this weekend's three picks.
Cardiff City, (0-1-1) (1 pt.)@ Huddersfield, (0-2-0)(0 pts.)
John Smith's Stadium
Saturday
This match features two challenged sides in the art of goal scoring. Huddersfield was made a turnstile by Manchester City, giving up six goals with one of them being an own goal. Nine goals in total have been conceded by Huddersfield, while their lone goal so far has been by Jon Gorenc Stankovic.
Manager, David Wagner must not let these first two games beat them in this third one. They should be able to attack this Cardiff City squad with in a positive way. Wagner may want to take a look at goalkeeper, Jonas Lossl as Ben Hamer has been put in a spin cycle.
Cardiff City comes off a physical scoreless draw with Newcastle. They have done one worse than Huddersfield by not scoring any goals as of yet. Goalkeeper, Neil Etheridge saved the point for Cardiff City by saving a penalty kick in extra time. Manager, Neil Warnock claims that Cardiff City's budget is less than half of Huddersfield's.
One goal between them and two total shots on target so far may be a sign of both teams filling the net, Saturday. Huddersfield leads the series 29-24, with 20 draws. I'm going for a 1-1 draw.
Chelsea, (2-0-0)(6 pts. @ Newcastle, (0-1-1)(1 pt.)
St. James Park
Sunday
Newcastle comes off a physical match with Cardiff City to earn a point, while Chelsea has taken all six points with wins over Huddersfield and Arsenal. Can the Blues keep it rolling, or does Newcastle boss, Rafa Benitez get one over on a club he previously managed; to everyone's dismay in West London?
The Magpies will be without Kenedy due to the loan deal with Chelsea. Kenedy may want the week off after avoiding a potential red card and his penalty kick miss in the closing seconds of the Cardiff City match. They will also be without Isaac Hayden, as he serves the first game of a three game suspension. De'Andre Yedlin should be available after a knee tweak on the opening weekend.
It's so far, so good in Chelsea boss, Maurizio Sarri's tenure. Eden Hazard appears to be ready for a start after being involved with two goals in limited time over the past two games. It's unlikely Cesc Fabregas will be available.
Chelsea holds a 71-53 lead over Newcastle with 39 draws, but Newcastle has been a bit of a bogey team for Chelsea. The series is even in the last 11 Premier League matches.
Chelsea, 2-1
Tottenham, (2-0-0)(6 pts.) @ Manchester United, (1-0-1)(3 pts.)
Old Trafford
Monday
Manchester United is coming off a humiliating defeat to Brighton that has them 'mad' according to Paul Pogba. They played maddening with sloppy ball handling and a confused defense. Manager, Jose Mourinho may go back to a 3-5-2 formation and place Chris Smalling with struggling Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly. Antonio Valencia and Nemanja Matic should be available, along with Alexei Sanchez.
Everything is going fine for Tottenham other than that pesky petition that's going around claiming they should be docked points for the delayed opening of their new stadium. While all of the Arsenal fans are signing petitions, Tottenham will be going for nine points out of nine at Old Trafford, who have been in better moods.
Manchester United, 3-2
