Jack's Round 3 Premier League Predictions

Premier League action resumes later today and I'm excited to see some very intriguing matchups and quite a few new faces.

The summer transfer window is closed and what a ridiculous deadline day it was. AS Monaco were of course the headline makers as they managed to leave Chelsea, Everton and themselves very frustrated by their handling of the final hour.

To me, that case is almost typical of the window generally though. In the Premier League especially, we see such crazy amounts of money being spent, but how many teams have actually finished the summer feeling happy?

Arsenal didn't get a forward, Chelsea didn't get a midfielder, Liverpool look light, Everton might be calling in ringers soon, and Tottenham's apparent inability to scout outside of England means they've finished their (admittedly quite strong) window by signing Mudryk and Tosin.

Anyway, it all adds to the drama, and it's time to focus on Premier League fixtures.

Last round

6/10 correct picks and 11.5 points have meant back-to-back 👏 rounds on the Superbru Football app for me to start the season. Fairly pleased with that. Everton's late equaliser was particularly satisfying.

Round 3

There'll surely be goals in this evening's opener? If it finishes 2-2 I'm going to be very annoyed to have missed out on an obvious Exact for Liverpool, but a trip to Ipswich really needs to result in 3 points for Andoni Iraola.

For the matches I'm less sure about, I've sided with head-to-head history a bit this week, namely in the cases of Bournemouth and Crystal Palace who I think can get results because of their positive records at St James' Park and Craven Cottage respectively.

Fulham vs. Palace is a really tough pick. It somehow feels like a six-pointer already for the new managers!



Elsewhere, Brighton to win 1-0 is a bit of a gamble since they've been full of goals, but I think that might be more down to the teams that they've faced. Leeds are solid and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they get something but their record at the Amex is poor.

I've more faith in Oliver Glasner and Nottingham Forest to get a first win on the board than I do Tottenham, while perhaps my most disrespectful prediction of the weekend is that Hull City may not only fail to keep a clean sheet, but lose.

For Sunday, I very nearly picked Manchester United, but I just can't see them keeping a clean sheet at the moment and it's usually not easy to score twice against Everton.

Then Chelsea should throw some punches at the Emirates and make that an interesting derby, but Arsenal should overpower them considering their elite midfield is likely to be up against a Chelsea midfield two that includes either Valentin Barco or a full back (some may even argue Barco is still more of a full back).

Storylines to watch in Round 3

For those that, like me, love a bit of a narrative:

🦅 Palace to continue their remarkable record at Craven Cottage?
It's been more than 20 years since Fulham beat Palace at home. Alvaro Arbeloa desperately needs to end this fixture's run as a bogey game for Fulham.

🔙 Frank Lampard back at the Etihad as a huge underdog
We've seen Frank Lampard hurt a former club at the Etihad Stadium before. Is there any chance at all of his Coventry side upsetting City and their flash new signings?

🔵⚪️ Old friends meet in the headline London derby
Much is made about how many of the world's current top managers are from the Basque country, but Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso literally grew up together in San Sebastian. Alonso has the chance to spark a genuine title challenge with a win this weekend.

Enjoy your weekend, brus! Feel free to leave your own thoughts on this weekend's Premier League round in the comments.