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MICHAEL OWEN vs THE £10,000,000 COLOSSUS

Michael Owen vs The £10,000,000 Colossus

 

I wouldn’t have thought it possible that, after only five games, my title fancies Chelsea would be available at 16-1 to win the Premier League.

It was little over a month ago that I thought that they were a good price at 15-8!

If they don’t beat Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the early kick-off this Saturday, then I am afraid it probably will be curtains for their title chances, if indeed they still have any given they are already 11 points adrift of a dominant Man City side who are five from five and yet to concede a goal in the league.

That is some going from City, though they were brought down to earth by Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Neither Chelsea or Man City’s games appear in this week’s Colossus, but the opening fixture in the £10 million pool contains one of the surprise packages in the Premier League so far, as Stoke play host to highflying Leicester.

It looks like I called the Foxes wrong too, as I had them down as relegation material at the start of the season – hands up, I predicted they would finish 19th – but fair play to them and manager Claudio Ranieri as they are second in the table and unbeaten in their first five games.

It’s very early days though and it hasn’t all been plain sailing, as they looked destined for their first defeat of the season when trailing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa last Sunday, only to score three times in the last 20 minutes to nick a 3-2 win.

If you take a detached view of their results, and previous 1-1 draws at home to Tottenham and away to Bournemouth, their form is not that impressive and I think Stoke can gain their initial win of the campaign while inflicting Leicester’s first defeat.

Stoke have only got two points from their opening five games but that probably does them a disservice. They have only lost their two home games 1-0, and draws at Tottenham and Norwich, and a 2-0 defeat at the Emirates, weren’t too bad.

I take Stoke to win this 2-1, but you obviously can’t rule out a draw. So given Leicester have scored in all their games this season I am adding in 1-1 and AOD (Any Other Draw).

It was slightly surprising to see Swansea put in their place in a 1-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday, but the Hornets are clearly a hard side to break down at home.

And, prior to that, Swansea had played some great football, notably when slightly unfortunate not to win at Stamford Bridge and beating Man Utd 2-1 at the Liberty.

And, with Everton buoyant after their 3-1 defeat of Chelsea last weekend, I find this a very tricky game to call. So tricky in fact, that I am perming all match outcomes with 1-1, 2-1 and 1-2!

I’m also very happy to sit on the exact same fence as Tottenham host Crystal Palace.

Spurs desperately needed that late goal to win 1-0 at Sunderland and kick-start their season, but they won’t find it easy against one of the more impressive sides we have seen so far in the shape of Crystal Palace. And they were in Europa League action on Thursday, too.

If anything, Palace’s league position of fifth doesn’t fully reflect how well they have been playing, as a draw wouldn’t have flattered them in narrow home losses to Arsenal and Man City, and of course their 2-1 win at Chelsea is the result of the season so far.

No outcome would surprise me, so 1-1 is my fancy backed up 2-1 score lines either way. Palace are not a side to be under-estimated.

I said at the start of the season that Brendan Rodgers was probably the manager under the most pressure but, come what may, he should be given time to knock the side into shape.

So while their 3-1 loss at Man Utd was desperately disappointing on many levels – especially on the back of that 3-0 home loss to West Ham – don’t forget that we are only five games in and it is far too early for people to be calling for his head.

They did win their opening two games remember, however fortunately, and drew 0-0 at the Emirates, so it isn’t all doom and gloom.

But they need to deliver against a Norwich side who haven’t started their campaign badly, and I take them to do so 2-0 or 1-0, even if they had the distraction of a Europa League game in France on Thursday night.

MOCOL

Southampton have failed to score in three of their league games so far, and I am yet to be convinced by Man Utd going forward, so I am going for a 0-0 or 1-1 in their match-up at St Mary’s.

Utd were as good as Liverpool were poor in the second half at Old Trafford last week – you couldn’t see four goals coming after a goalless first half – but I can see these teams cancelling each other out, especially if Rooney remains on the sidelines. And Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League loss at PSV wasn’t ideal for Man Utd, either.

In truth, I don’t have much of an opinion on the Napoli-Lazio game – and both teams were in action in the Europa League on Thursday night – so I will play the percentages and go for a 2-1 and 1-0 home win.

Napoli have only got two points from their opening three games, while Lazio have won twice either side of a 4-0 loss at Chievo.

But Napoli only lost three times at home last season, and are clear favourites to win the game with the bookmakers. That’ll do for me.

Similar comments apply in the Championship match between Derby, surprise 1-0 winners at Reading on Tuesday night, and Burnley if I am being honest.

Burnley have started the season better but Derby have home advantage – and they won 12 of their 23 games in front of their own fans last season, even if they lost this fixture 3-0! – and I’ll take them to win 2-1.

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