All articles by: Elliott Jackson

West Ham United vs Huddersfield Town – Match Preview

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West Ham United vs Huddersfield Town – Match Preview – West Ham host Premier League new boys Huddersfield Town at the Olympic Stadium in a crucial game for the Hammers’.

Having played their opening three fixtures away from home, West Ham will be looking for some home comforts to kick start their campaign. The Hammers find themselves without a point yet this season, having lost all their games so far this season. The pressure is already growing on Slaven Bilic, and despite being only three matches in, this now looks like a must win game for him.

Hernandez will hope to help the Hammers to their first win of the season Photo Credit: skysports.com

The team are struggling. After an abject 4-0 away defeat to Manchester United, they followed it with a more encouraging 3-2 away defeat at Southampton. Having had ten men for the majority of the game, and battling back from 2-0 down, there was at least some positives to take from that match. New summer signing Javier Hernandez opened his account for the season and but not for a last minute penalty, they would have taken home a point.

Then came the most worrying defeat, 3-0 away from home against Newcastle. With Newcastle also losing their opening two fixtures, it was a game where West Ham should have been looking to pick up at least a point. They never got going however, and were comprehensively beaten by Rafa Bentiez’s men.

Aaron Mooy has been pivotal for Huddersfield in the opening three games of the season Photo Credit: skysports.com

Up North, Huddersfield’s start to Premier League life has been near perfect. After collecting seven points from their opening three games, the Terriers are looking a real threat. Steve Mounie’s debut brace got him off to the perfect start at his new club against Crystal Palace, whilst Aaron Mooy’s winner against Newcastle secured them their first ever home win.

Against Southampton last time out, they held the Saints to a 0-0 draw. Having not conceded a goal this season, David Wagner’s side are showing not only their ability to score goals, but that they are resolute and organised defensively. After such an impressive start, these really are two clubs with the most contrasting mindsets in the Premier League.

The last league meeting between these two sides was back in 1972! This underlines the contrasting fortunes of the two clubs, and how far Huddersfield have come in recent years. Interestingly, the Hammers have only beaten the Terriers twice in their last seven meetings, with three of those being cup matches.

I can see this one being a draw. Given Huddersfield’s confidence I think they can go there and take a point. If West Ham don’t start well the home crowd will soon be on their backs, but I think they’ll manage to secure their first point of the season.

Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Huddersfield

 

SKYBET: CORRECT SCORE 1-1- 11/2

SKYBET: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AND OVER 2.5 GOALS- 6/4

SKYBET: MOUNIE TO SCORE FIRST AND HUDDERSFIELD TO WIN 1-0- 45/1

SKYBET: HERNANDEZ AND INCE BOTH TO SCORE- 7/1

SKYBET: WEST HAM TO WIN FROM BEHIND- 11/1

SKYBET: GOAL IN BOTH HALVES(YES)- 5/6

SKYBET PRICE BOOST : STEVE MOUNIE TO SCORE A HEADER- 8/1

SKYBET FEATURED REQUESTABET : HERNANDEZ TO SCORE A HEADER AND HUDDERSFIELD TO SCORE A PENALTY- 300/1

SKYBET REQUESTABET 80/1 AND ABOVE : HERNANDEZ AND MOUNIE TO SCORE A HEADER- 200/1

SKYBET REQUESTABET UP TO 10/1 – BTTS, 4+ CORNERS EACH TEAM AND 20+ BOOKING POINTS EACH TEAM – 7/1

Stoke City vs Manchester United – Match Preview

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Stoke City vs Manchester United – Match Preview – Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United take their 100% win record to the Bet 365 Stadium to take on Mark Hughes’ Stoke.

Three wins, three clean sheets and ten goals; a perfect start for Manchester United, who now face their hardest match so far. Romelu Lukaku has hit the ground running, with three goals in his opening three matches. Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have also started the season in fine form, whilst Paul Pogba looks to be finally living up to his £89 million-pound price tag. The football is fast, fluid and attacking, with the Red Devils looking much more like their former selves.

In defence, they are also excelling. The partnership of Phil Jones and Eric Bailly has been solid, not to mention the influence Nemanja Matic has had, protecting the back four. The depth of options available to Jose Mourinho is staggering, with the likes of Ander Herrera, Antony Martial and Victor Lindelof having to settle for places on the bench. Many, including myself, have tipped Mourinho’s men to win the league, and this game will be a true reflection of their title credentials.

Nemanja Matic has hit the ground running for Manchester United Photo Credit: skysports.com

Stoke by comparison, have made a steady start to their Premier League campaign. A narrow 1-0 defeat to Everton was followed by a fantastic 1-0 win against Arsenal. Last time out, Peter Crouch grabbed a late equaliser at West Brom to leave them with a respectable four points from their opening three matches. Over the years, Stoke have heavily impressed on their home turf, with the Bet 365 Stadium a place many teams fear to visit.

Jese Rodriguez could cause the Utd defence some problems as he did against Arsenal Photo Credit: skysports.com

Stoke have also made some fantastic additions this summer. Despite the departure of Marko Arnautovic, the club managed to sign former Real Madrid winger Jese on a season-long loan from PSG. The Spanish attacker netted his first goal for the club on his home debut, in the 1-0 victory over Arsenal. The club also strengthened their defensive options, with the permanent signings of Bruno Martins Indi and Kevin Wimmer, whilst Kurt Zouma joined on loan from Chelsea.

Manchester United have only won two of their last seven meetings with Stoke. The Red Devils have often found things difficult against The Potters’ and haven’t won at the Bet 365 stadium in the league, since 2013. Despite that record, I still think Mourinho’s men will have just about enough to see past Stoke, in what will be their biggest test to date.

Prediction: Stoke 0-1 Manchester United

 

SKYBET: MANCHESTER UNITED TO WIN TO NIL- 11/8

SKYBET: LUKAKU TO SCORE FIRST AND UNITED TO WIN 2-1- 15/1

SKYBET: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AND DRAW- 9/2

SKYBET: JESE TO SCORE AND STOKE TO WIN- 9/1

SKYBET: RASHFORD AND BERAHINO BOTH TO SCORE- 10/1

Derby County vs Hull City – Match Preview

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Derby County vs Hull City – Match Preview – Derby County take on Hull City at Pride Park, with both sides looking to build on their starts to the new season.

Derby come in to this game sat in 12th position, with seven points from the opening five matches. Two wins, two draws and one defeat has left the Rams’ looking for consistency. Last time out, they came unstuck, losing 3-1 away at newly promoted Sheffield United. A goalkeeping error from Scott Carson and an own goal from Johnny Russell compounded them to a second league defeat.

Sam Winnall joined Derby on loan from Sheffield Wednesday Photo Credit: derbytelegraph.co.uk

Gary Rowett bolstered his attacking options on deadline day, with the addition of Sheffield Wednesday striker Sam Winnall on a season-long loan. Winnall hit 14 goals last season for Barnsley and Wednesday, but has found his chances limited, with the wealth of attacking options available to Owls’ manager Carlos Carvalhal. Deadline day also saw the arrival of Birmingham City midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld. This arrival triggered the departure of Craig Bryson and Jacob Butterfield, who joined Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday on season-long loans.

Like Derby, Hull have mustered seven points from their opening five games. The Tigers do however sit in eighth on goal difference. Despite a brand-new squad and manager, Hull have shown they have the capabilities of being a force in this division. After taking four points from their opening two matches, three defeats in the League and Cup saw them stutter. A thumping 4-0 win against Bolton secured their second league win and left them with optimism, heading in to the International break.

Jackson Irvine signed from Burton Albion Photo Credit: hulldailymail.co.uk

After losing Sam Clucas to Swansea City for £16 million, Leonid Slutsky has made key additions to his squad. Midfield duo Jon Toral and Jackson Irvine have joined from Arsenal and Burton Albion, whilst Stephen Kingsley and Nouha Dicko helped bolster Hull’s defensive and attacking options. Irvine in particular looks an inspired addition. The Australian picked up ten goals and ten assists, and was instrumental to Burton Albion avoiding relegation last season.

The last time these two met was in the 2015/16 Championship play offs, which eventually saw Hull promoted. Hull have won six of their last ten games against Derby, but only one of their last four. Derby meanwhile have only beaten Hull once at home in the last eight league games between the pair, with 21 goals coming in that time.

With both teams making indifferent starts to the season, I’m going to go with a draw. A safe bet would be both teams to score, with a combined 17 goals being scored by the two teams already this season.

Prediction: Derby 1-1 Hull

 

SKYBET: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AND DRAW- 7/2

SKYBET: DERBY TO WIN 1-0, 2-0 OR 2-1- 15/8

SKYBET: WINNALL AND BOWEN TO BOTH SCORE- 13/2

SKYBET: DICKO TO SCORE FIRST AND HULL TO WIN 1-0- 40/1

SKYBET: DERBY TO WIN BOTH HALVES- 9/2