English Premier League - Match Week Four Preview and Prediction - Day One

  • In Charles Meshell
  • Fri, Aug 31st, 2018 10:38:53 am
  • By Charles Meshell - ROI Capper


Preview and analysis for EPL Match Week four with predictions for West Ham vs.Wolverhampton, Chelsea vs. Bournemouth and Leicester City vs. Liverpool.

England Premier League - Match Week Four Preview 

The EPL returns this weekend with another slate of must watch fixtures, with Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Watford all setting the pace thus far, the pressure to stay within striking range is already at a all time high. 

Saturday will feature three of England's "Big Six" clubs, while the remaining three take too the pitch on Sunday. Each will understand they need to handle their own business, in order too keep up with one another. 

The league also still has six teams without a victory, most notably West Ham, who shelled out the cash this Summer to bolster their club, but so far have been a major flop to start the new campaign, and should be one of the more desperate sides to finally grab all three points. 


10307 West Ham vs 10308 Wolverhampton

 9-1-2018 - 10:00 am ET 

West Ham get back to work on Saturday, as the Hammers are attempting to lift themselves out of the bottom of the EPL table. The Londoners come into match week four having yet to pick up one point, and with the natives becoming restless at Olympic Park, the pressure to grab a positive result is fully apparent. 

Manuel Pelligrini finds himself under immense pressure after only three weeks into the season, with so much hype over the new Summer signings, the Chilean has been unable to get the best out of his squad, most concerning on the defensive side of the pitch. West Ham's struggles on the back end led to Slaven Bilić being released early into last season, and the London sides lack of attention on the back-end seems to have resurfaced, with a -7 goal differential after just 270 minutes worth of time into the new campaign, there must be a concentrated effort to make life difficult for opposing teams moving forward in attack. 

The West Ham front-line is certainly the strength of the club, aligned within Pellegrini's 4-2-3-1 formation, the plethora of attacking threats have only mustered up two goals, and one came from a penalty kick. The Hammers dedicated number nine Marko Arnautovic has been a major disappointment too date, continuing to miss quality opportunities in front of goal, his status at the top of the line has to be in question, as the weeks continue to progress. 

The home side should be in every competition based solely on their midfield talent, with Felipe Anderson, Lucas Perez, Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko all creating mismatches in the center of the pitch, unfortunately their overall class has yet to truly shine for a full 90 minutes. Pelligrini should place an added emphasis on this quartet to help carry this side to positive results, and help justify their big money moves over the Summer.

Captain Mark Noble is expected to return to the starting eleven, his leadership on the pitch cannot be overlooked, and should help provide some much needed stability to the hosts back-line, who will continue to draw major concerns, until they start to answer all the questions that are being asked of them. 

Wolverhampton head to London off a terrific result this past weekend, Wolves took points from defending champs Manchester City, and showed their true qualities that earned them the title in England's Championship league. 

The visitors will now get their first shot at collecting all three points, after a 0-2-1 start to their return too the Premier League, there has to be a high level of confidence they can keep this struggling West Ham side, from collecting their first victory as well. 

Portuguese head-man "Nuno" Espirito Santo has been praised for his elegant style of football, he has incorporated while at the storied club. His squad proved they can cause trouble for one of the more talented teams in the world, which shows that the whole team buys into his overall tactics each week.  

Wolves are scheduled to have a fully fit starting eleven, with newly signed Adama Traore set to make his first EPL start with the club, and should bring some much needed pace down the wings, were he can cause real troubles to a less than impressive West Ham back-end. 

Mexican International Raúl Jiménez continues to get the call as the dedicated number nine, within Nuno's attacking 3-4-3 formation. The primary tally's man continues to find opportunities in the box to succeed, as Jiménez is deadly accurate in aerial situations, while also posing a threat during counter attacking situations, where Wolves have shown they can be a true threat as well.

Wanderers keeper Rui Patrício stepped up, and showed his true class against the Citizens last weekend. The highly accomplished net-minder was a high-profile signing for the newly promoted side, and showed his incredible shot blocking abilities, and world class reflexes which earned him even more praise between the sticks. 

This match-up should be another case of a high octane output, with West Ham desperate to grab any form of positive points, they will look to stay on the front foot in an attempt to score goals, while Wolves should use that aggression against them, looking to get out and run, punishing the Hammers shaky defense.

Predicted Score:

West Ham  2  -  Wolverhampton  2


10301 Leicester City vs 10302 Liverpool

9-1-2018 - 7:30 am ET 

The match day kicks off a with league leaders making the trip to Leicester City, where the Foxes will be extra motivated to give the Reds their first negative result, while also breaking Liverpool's run of clean sheets to start the new season. 

Leicester City have been impressive in their own right out of the EPL gate, grabbing a early record of 2-0-1, the Foxes have shown real signs of competing for European considerations.

French tactician Claude Puel has had great success while apart of the Premier League, after several high level years with Lyon in his home country, the veteran manager made the move to England, and has had a winning record at bought clubs he has been in charge of.

Puel will send out a starting eleven minus his top goal scoring threat, as Jamie Vardy is still serving a three match suspension, leaving a major hole at the top of the line. Former Man City youngster Kelechi Iheanacho should get the nod atop the Foxes 4-2-3-1 alignment, looking to use his pace in the open field, and incredible dribbling abilities to break down Liverpool's organized back-end, while also providing a real danger from long range out, where all he needs is a small window to get on the score-line. 

The 2015-2016 champions made a impressive signing too their midfield, bringing in fleet footed James Maddison to help fill the creative role left by Rihad Mayrez, who left for Manchester City over the Summer. Maddison has shown he was worth the billing, and not overwhelmed by the level of competition he will face on a weekly basis, with Saturday being his biggest test as a member of the Foxes. 

Kasper Schmeichel may be the busiest man on Leicester's squad come Saturday, the Danish keeper has had plenty of battles with Liverpool during his time with the Foxes, but this season's version of is even more dangerous than last season's Champions League runner-up version, and should give Schmeichel all he can handle to start the match-day in the EPL.

Liverpool have had the start to the season they always expected, after opening their wallets to bring in an influx of world class talent, the Reds have been unstoppable to open their quest of their first league title since 1990. 

Jürgen Klopp has turned this club back into perennial title contenders on multiple fronts, after taking Liverpool to the Champions League championship match, the German head man now has his side primed to collect trophies this season. 

Klopp has been very impressed with the early dividends shown by newcomer Naby Keita, the influential midfielder has provided the Reds with some much needed play-making abilities from his midfield role, aligned perfectly within Liverpool's dynamic 4-3-3 formation, the former RB Leipzig man will allow Firmino, Mane and Salah too take their games to a even higher level.

The visitors have found themselves having too much talent, with big money signing Fabhino unable to crack the starting eleven, the Brazilian was expected to get more time on the pitch with the regular rotation, but after a perfect start too the season, Klopp has been hesitant on changing his winning formula.

The early season MVP has been GK - Alisson, with so much attacking firepower on this star-studded club, the defensive side of the ball has been Liverpool's true strength. The Brazilian keeper was brought in to help sure up Liverpool's deficiencies in goal, and after three matches he has failed to allow a ball hit the back of the net, now with his confidence continuing too grow, teams will be even more challenged to get on the score-board against this new-look side.

Liverpool should come out early, looking to establish their hold on the match, as I would expect the visitors to take a 0-1 type of lead into half time, while eventually stretching their lead as the second half progresses. 

Predicted Score:
Leicester City  0  -  Liverpool  2


10310 Chelsea vs 10311 Bournemouth 

9-1-2018 - 10:00 am ET

Chelsea get back to work on Saturday, after reeling off a perfect 3-0-0 record to start their new campaign. The Blues are coming off a season of dysfunction, and now seem happy to be playing as a team once again.

Maurizio Sarri has been satisfied with his regular starting eleven, pushing out a powerful 4-3-3 formation, the Italian task-master has re-introduced an attacking flare to West London, after several years of a defensive philosophy, and a slow build up in play.

Sarri has the privilege of introducing Hazard, Pedro, and Morata to his front-line, with the likes of Willian prime to come in, and provide additional support at any moment in the match. The Blues attacking trio have adapted to their new head-mans style of play too perfection, and although they are not as deep through-out their full squad, this side must still be considered EPL title contenders. 

The importance of Jorghino and N'Golo Kanté cannot be stressed enough, the Londoner's are also placing their midfielder's in the best positions to succeed on both ends of the pitch, often over the past few seasons, they were primarily only responsible for one side of the ball, Sarri is now pushing them forward in more attacking positions, and giving his opponents even more headaches too deal with leading up too their encounters. 

Kepa Arrizabalaga has had mixed reviews so far in goal, only keeping one clean thus far, the young Spaniard has shown flashes of brilliance, although he must start to be more consistent in between the sticks. Kepa will start to see even better competition, as he he will be called upon to make massive saves, in order to help the Blues grab valuable points, in this gauntlet of a Premier League season. 

Bournemouth travel to Stamford Bridge in prime form, the Cherries now get their stiffest test so far in their early season, making for a great measuring stick on where they stand going forward. 

Eddie Howe continues too draw praise, the young English manager has really gotten the best out his squad to start the new campaign, and with the opportunity to shock the Blues on their own pitch, he will not hold back from making this a highly competitive affair.

Howe will send out a more traditional 4-4-2 alignment, with his danger tandem of Callum Wilson and Joshua King in charge of finding the back of the net. The Cherries combo have provided a real threat in front of goal, causing defenders to pay extra attention too their crafty runs in the attacking half of the pitch, while also finding loose balls in the box, where they are excellent poachers. 

The South Coast side will surely have their hands full with this confident Blues bunch, but I would still expect to see them on the final score-line by the end of this match week four fixture, as Chelsea have shown they will loose focus on the defensive side of the pitch.  

Predicted Score:
Chelsea  3  -  Bournemouth  2


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