Super Sunday Preview

Sunday 4th October has the potential to be the best day of football so far this year with great rivalries and top 2 face-offs across multiple countries. I share my predictions on who will be victorious in the main games on what will no doubt be a SUPER Sunday.

Charlton Athletic vs Fulham - Kick Off : 12:00

17th place Charlton host 14th place Fulham in Sunday's early kick off. The hosts come into this game looking to end a run of three straight defeats and they will be hoping they can pick up their first league win since August 22nd. The visitors enter this game hoping to prove that their 3-0 defeat to Wolves yesterday was just a fluke. Charlton Athletic will be happy to welcome defender Alou Diarra back from suspension in contrast to Fulham who will miss midfielder Tom Cairney as he starts a 3 match suspension following a straight red at home to Wolves. 18 year old Karlan Ahearne-Grant could force his way into the Charlton starting XI having scored his first league goal after coming off the bench against Cardiff. In the last nine games with Fulham at the Valley, Charlton fans will be happy to see the stats as they've won 4, drawn 4 and lost 1 where they've scored 13 and conceded 8. Fulham have faced more shots on target than any other team in the Championship this season with 50 already been fired at them so Charlton may be able to take advantage of the sloppy defending by Fulham. The dangerman for Fulham is Ross McCormack. The striker has six goals in his last seven games and will be looking to extend his fantastic record on Sunday. Charlton need striker Igor Vetokele to start finding the net and the speed of the powerful forward could threaten Fulham and I think Berg Gudmunsson's creativity from midfield will be crucial if the hosts are going to get a result.

Woody Predicts : Charlton Athletic 2-1 Fulham

Hamilton Academical vs Celtic - Kick Off : 12:30

New Douglas Park plays host to a thrilling tie where 4th place Hamilton face a difficult yet achievable task when they host 2nd place Celtic. The reigning champions find themselves in an unfamiliar 2nd due to the form of Aberdeen and they will be hoping to not drop anymore points this year as they aim for another title. Hamilton will be delighted with their start under their new manager following the departure of Alex Neil towards the end of last season. Hamilton come into this game with confidence having picked up two successive wins and with Celtic's current inconsistency they could make it three on the bounce. Accies midfielder Darian MacKinnon is pushing for a return to the starting XI after missing the Kilmarnock win whereas Danny Redmond and Micheal Devlin remain sidelined. Celtic defender Efe Ambrose misses the game with suspension and they also are likely to be without another defender in Joso Simunovic due to a twisted ankle and experienced midfielder Charlie Mulgrew remains on the sidelines. With Ronny Deila clearly working on his defence following the departures of Virgil Van Dijk and Jason Denayer and with another two defenders currently out, Hamilton have a chance to cause them real problems in this department of the game. Ali Crawford is the player to watch and he will be hoping to add to his 3 goals this season and he will have confidence due to the defensive woes at Celtic. Celtic need their bigger player to find some consistency and up their performances if they are going to get a result. The Hamilton defence will have a tough ask as they have to keep clinical finisher Leigh Griffiths, who has 11 goals already this season, out the game.

Woody Predicts : Hamilton Academical 1-1 Celtic

Everton vs Liverpool - Kick Off : 13:30


Goodison Park hosts the 225th Merseyside Derby and the first post-Steven Gerrard one. Everton come into this game in a solid 5th position whereas Liverpool find themselves down in 9th with manager Brendan Rodgers under increasing pressure. The home team come into this game unbeaten in their last four and having picked up a superb 3-2 win away at West Brom having been 2-0 down. The visitors come into this game having drawn 1-1 against FC Sion in the Europa League and are unbeaten in three in all competitions. Everton could have both John Stones and Seamus Coleman back from their respective knee and hamstring injuries in what will be a massive boost for the home side however, Roberto Martinez is unlikely to have Muhamed Besic available and winger Kevin Mirallas is suspended. For Liverpool, Christian Benteke could return if he passes the late fitness assessment having missed the last three games with a hamstring injury but Rodgers will not have Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson and Dejan Lovren as all remain sidelined. Everton have failed to win in the last nine attempts against Liverpool and will be hoping to end that winless run tomorrow and have only won 1 of the last 17 league meetings between these sides which came at Goodison Park in October 2010. There hasn't been a red card in this fixture in December 2011 so maybe that run will end as this fixture has seen more red cards than any other. Despite being unbeaten in four, Martinez's side have failed to record back to back wins since April. Liverpool have only won one of their last 8 games where they've drawn three and lost four. The dangermen for Liverpool are Phillipe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge. Sturridge has six goals in his last eight games against their rivals. Coutinho has arguably been Liverpool's best player this season and the number 10 will be a constant danger if he gets into the pockets between the two defensive midfielders and the back four. I'd expect to see Martinez tell McCarthy to man mark Coutinho and keep him out the game. For Everton, they will look to Lukaku and Barkley to lead them to victory. It seems like it's Barkley's breakout year this season as he has looked in fine form so far this season and could score from range at any time whereas the powerful and pacey Lukaku will be a constant threat to the Liverpool defence and will be key to the success of the Everton side this season and I think he'll grab a goal or two.

Woody Predicts : Everton 2-1 Liverpool

Ajax vs PSV Eindhoven - Kick Off : 13:30

The Amsterdam Arena hosts what should be a thrilling game in the Dutch Eredivise. Ajax are currently top and are unbeaten in the first seven games of the season having picked up 19 points. Their visitors are the reigning champions who find themselves 4th after 7 games, 5 points behind the leaders already. Ajax have looked sensational at home in particular this season where they've scored 9 and conceded 0. In contrast, PSV have looked sloppy away from home with 1 win 2 draws and 1 conceded. They can take the positive that they have found the net 10 times on their travels but have conceded 5 which has been their downfall. Six players have found the net so far for Ajax this season which shows the talent in this side. The main dangerman for Ajax is 20 year old striker Anwar El-Ghazi who has picked up 7 of Ajax's 18 goals so far and PSV's defenders with have a hard job in defending him. PSV looked outstanding when playing against Manchester United in the Champions League and they will need to put in a repeat performance if they're to get a result in this game. PSV have had 7 goalscorers this season which shows the quality of their team similar to their hosts. 25 year old striker Luuk De Jong has 7 goals in 7 games this season for PSV and he will definitely be the man that the Ajax defenders will have to mark closely.

Woody Predicts : Ajax 2-1 PSV Eindhoven

Swansea City vs Tottenham Hotspur - Kick Off : 16:00

The Liberty Stadium hosts what should be a cracking tie. The Swans find themselves in 11th place having been without a win in three games so they'll be hoping to correct this form against an inspired Tottenham side who are unbeaten in six in the league and have picked up three successive league wins and find themselves in 7th place following Crystal Palace's win. Their 4-1 win against Manchester City last weekend will no doubt give them confidence to get a result away at Swansea. The visitors will be without Son Heung-min after he picked up a foot injury against Man City and Danny Rose is also unlikely to feature after picking up a nasty injury to his hand against Monaco on Thursday. The Tottenham boss will be happy to have midfield trio, Dembele, Mason and Bentaleb available for selection yet again. Swansea boss Garry Monk will be facing the decision of whether to give veteran midfielder Leon Britton a start however, he has no injury worries. Swansea have failed to beat Spurs in any of their eight meetings since they were promoted to the Premier League and other than a draw between these two sides in their first meeting in December 2011 but since then, Tottenham have won the last seven. The last time Tottenham won four in a row was in January 2014 where their last victory was a 3-1 win at the Liberty Stadium so will history repeat itself or will Swansea beat Tottenham for the first time. Swansea's dangermen are Montero, Gomis and Ayew who have all looked quality this season and Tottenham will have to defend as well as they did against Man City if they are going to stop them from leading the Swans to victory. For Tottenham, they will be hoping Harry Kane won't look back having got his first league goal vs Man City and will find his form from last season and grab a few in this game. Swansea will also have to watch out for the much improved Erik Lamela who has played a part in all of Tottenham's last 3 league goals (scoring 1 and assisting 2). Finally, it'll be interesting to see what impact youngster Dele Alli will have on this game after making such a strong start to his Premier League career.

Woody Predicts : Swansea City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Arsenal vs Manchester United - Kick Off : 16:00



The Emirates Stadium hosts potentially the game of the day depending on who you support. Van Gaal's United side come to the Emirates having won 3 on the bounce which sees them top of the league whereas the hosts came back from the 2-0 defeat away at Chelsea by picking up an impressive 5-2 win away at Leicester. However in midweek, these sides had mixed fortunes in the Champions League with Arsenal losing yet again as Olympiakos picked up a 3-2 win at the Emirates to shock Arsenal whereas United defeated Wolfsburg 2-1 in an average performance. Arsenal are without Laurent Koscielny and Mathieu Flamini due to a hamstring injury and Mikel Arteta will miss the fixture due to a dead leg. The visitors have Michael Carrick back whereas fellow midfielder Ander Herrera is a doubt for the game. Manchester United are unbeaten in their last four visits to Arsenal (Won 2, Drawn 2). United have never gone five games unbeaten at Arsenal in the Premier League era so that could be a boost for Arsenal however, the Gunners worst Premier League win percentage is against Manchester United at 24%. United have kept four clean sheets so far this season and have looked good at the back this year and Arsenal need a home win as they've only had two in their last last seven games and one this season. Manchester United's dangermen are Anthony Martial and Juan Mata. Mata played one of the best passes I've ever seen when he set up the winning goal for Chris Smalling against Wolfsburg and Anthony Martial has made a huge impact scoring 4 goals in 5 games and Jamie Redknapp recently said that he is 'the best 19 year old since Lionel Messi'. I'm not sure if he'll ever be as good as Messi but with his pace, power and clinical finishing as well as his understanding of the game shows that he will go far and it would of been nice to see him come to Arsenal rather than Man United. Chris Smalling has played well recently and looks to be becoming a great leader for Manchester United which is probably why they have kept so many clean sheets this year. Wayne Rooney goal last weekend may have helped him grow in confidence and he could grab a goal at the Emirates. Arsenal's dangermen are Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott. Sanchez got a hat trick last weekend and scored in mid week against Olympiakos and he looks like the player he was last season and he is the most likely player to score for the Gunners. Walcott has scored 12 goals in his last 13 league starts however I wouldn't be surprised if Giroud started in order to emulate what Gomis and Ayew did by bullying Daley Blind but I'm sure Walcott would also be able to do the same. Santi Cazorla has more Premier League assists then anyone else since his debut in August 2013 with 32 and I expect Man United's midfielder to try to close down the little Spaniard to stop him playing key passes.

Woody Predicts : Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United

Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund - Kick Off : 16:30

The Allianz Arena hosts the biggest game in Germany as 1st place Bayern hosts 2nd place Dortmund. It's the match between the two unbeaten sides in this country where the home side have won all seven scoring 23 where they've only conceded 3 whereas Dortmund have found the net 21 times and conceded 6 in their 5 wins and 2 draws. Bayern look like they mean business this season and so did Dortmund for the first five games however, in the last two they have looked a bit rusty and have failed to get 3 points away at Hoffenheim and at home to Darmstadt, two sides that they should beat. Their fans will be hoping that their side can get back to winning ways and their is no better game than this to find their form. The main dangermen for the hosts are Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller who have 21 goals between them already this season with Lewandowski picking up 13 of these. The Doortmund defence will have to keep him at bay throughout all of the 90 minutes otherwise they might meet the same fate that Wolfsburg did when the powerful Polish forward netted 5 times in 9 minutes. Even if they contain him, Thomas Muller will be a constant threat and he's shown before that he can find the back of the net from anywhere. They will also have to be mindful of Gotze, Robben and Ribery and even then other players could score so that just shows the quality you have to deal with when you play Guardiola's side. For Dortmund, four players have scored 5 or more goals this season, these are : Shinji Kagawa (5), Marco Reus (6), Henrik Mkhitaryan (8) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (12). The strong Bayern defence will have a hard job to keep the front four of Dortmund at bay and will be relying on their midfielders to help them out. The pace of Reus and Aubameyang will surely be used at every opportunity in order to outdo the Bayern defenders and I'm sure this game will have lots of goals in it.

Woody Predicts : Bayern Munich 3-3 Borussia Dortmund

Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid - Kick Off : 19:30

After being treated to plenty of thrilling games during the day, you can sit down and relax at night and watch the Madrid derby. The unbeaten Real will be hoping for their first Madrid derby win in two seasons and will be looking to get revenge for the 4-0 thrashing they received here in February. The hosts enter this game having fallen to two successive defeats against Villareal and Benfica however their coach Diego Simeone has said it does not concern him because 'We have a lot of young players in the team and the first 10 games were going to be very difficult'. It'll be interesting to see if his younger players can rise to the occasion in a very tough fixture both physically and mentally for them. The injured Koke will be a big miss for the hosts whereas Real will have both Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale available for selection yet again however Benitez will be without the world-class number 10, James Rodriguez but I believe the return of Bale will soften the blow. The main talking point around this game is whether Ronaldo can get the goal which will make him Real's all time top goalscorer as he will overtake Raul's 323 goals. The main dangermen for Real are Benzema and Ronaldo as they have 18 goals combined this year with Ronaldo already on 11 goals. The full-backs will have a hard job keeping Ronaldo and Bale out the game and Benzema will be a nightmare for the centre-backs to defend. Atletico Madrid will be hoping for flamboyant winger Antoine Griezmann to create plenty and cause Real's full-backs all kind of problems whereas striker Fernando Torres looks to be growing in confidence again and this could be the game that he shows how good he is.

Woody Predicts : Atletico Madrid 1-3 Real Madrid

AC Milan vs Napoli - Kick Off : 19:45

The San Siro hosts an exciting looking match between two of the most well supported teams in Italy. Five years ago, these two teams were fighting for the Serie A title but in recent years they have struggled and at this point of the season, this is a mid-table match-up with the hosts currently occupying 11th and the visitors find themselves 10th after they've both played six games. Milan have worryingly only managed to find the net on 8 occasions whereas Napoli have scored 12 and are currently on 5 game unbeaten streak after being defeated on the opening day. Milan will be hoping to prove that they are on the rise again as they look to bounce back after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to 14th place Genoa last weekend. The dangermen from the home side are strikers Carlos Bacca who has 3 of AC Milan's 8 goals and Mario Balotelli who has just 1 goal but on his day is unplayable which is what he showed sometimes when playing for Manchester City and he is aiming to reignite his career at the Italian club. The dangermen for the visitors are Gonzalo Higuain, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon who have 12 goals combined this year. Higuain is a natural goalscorer and they did very well to keep hold of him and the former Real Madrid man can beat any defender in the air. He'll be relying on the pace of Insigne and Callejon, who have 3 goals each, to make runs past him and put balls into the box for him to volley home or head into the back of the net.

Woody Predicts : AC Milan 1-2 Napoli

Paris Saint-Germain vs Marseille - Kick Off : 20:00

The latest kick off that I will be predicting has the potential to be one of the most one sided games of the day but it is still a match-up between two of the most popular teams in France. The unbeaten PSG go into the game as clear favourites as they host the struggling Marseille who are currently 16th and without a win in 3. There should be plenty of goals in this game as PSG are the second highest scorers with 17 and despite the lack of points, Marseille find themselves as the 3rd top goalscorers with 13 goals. The dangermen for the hosts are surely the strikers in the form of Edison Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The deadly duo have 13 goals between them already with 8 and 5 goals respectively. The Marseille defence will have a difficult task in keeping these two out of the the game but they both possess the ability to score from any distance and I'd expect to see at least one of them to get on the scoresheet. I'd also expect to see Di Maria have a big impact on the game as he looks like the player he was at Real Madrid and Blaise Matuidi is also a threat with his strength and power. For Marseille they will need striker Michy Batshuayi to be on top of his game if they're going to get anything from this game. He already has 5 goals this season and will need a few to help his side get at least a point. The main thing for Marseille to accomplish is to not get another red card, they've already picked up 3 in the first 8 games and that has been the deciding factor in the outcome of some of their games this year.

Woody Predicts : Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Marseille