Introduction

The opening Premier League weekend is over and it certainly lived up to expectations with some shock results, great goals and fantastic individual performances. The goal of the week came from Lee Cattermole who is better known for receiving red cards than scoring, however he scored the opening goal of the Premier League season after just five minutes at the Hawthorns and what a goal it was. 26 goals were scored over the course of the weekend with six of those coming late on in games, it looks like we are in for another brilliant Premier League season.

 

Manchester United v Swansea City

The shock of the week came at Old Trafford where Manchester United lost their opening game of the season against Swansea City 2-1. After six consecutive wins during pre-season reality kicked in once again that the Manchester United squad is simply not good enough. Champions League football would be a success for Louis Van Gaal’s side this season in my opinion and if they are to make the top four they will have to strengthen their squad this summer, I think United fans are in for another long season. This match was not all about Manchester United though their opponents Swansea were brilliant, the signing of Sigurdsson will lead to another successful season of Premier League football.

 

Not to finish in the top 4: Manchester United – BetVictor @ 2.25

 

Leicester v Everton

One of the better games of the weekend featured the newly promoted Leicester City and Everton who have spent big money this summer. Everton took the lead on two occasions but were unable to see off a resilient Leicester City who scored an 85th minute equaliser. I was very impressed with Leicester defensively despite conceding two goals, the Foxes managed to keep Lukaku quiet all match and club captain Wes Morgan was particularly impressive. Leicester’s record breaking signing Leonardo Ulloa opened his goalscoring account and I think there are many more goals to come from the Argentine who scored 23 goals during his short time at Brighton.

 

Top Leicester Goalscorer: Leandro Ulloa – Betway @ 2.75

 

Arsenal v Crystal Palace

Managerless Crystal palace put up a good fight against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday evening but all their good work was undone in the 91st minute when Aaron Ramsey slotted home to win the game for Arsene Wenger’s side. It wasn't a good performance from Arsenal but they scraped through in the end and thats what all good teams do. If Wenger can sign a top striker before the end of the transfer window I expect them to be title challengers this year. It does appear that Malky Mackay will be the next Palace manager which is a good appointment in my opinion and should see Palace survive another year in Premier League.

 

Burnley v Chelsea

The performance of the week came from Chelsea who were brilliant. Cesc Fabregas won the man of the match award which was advised at odds of 7/1, the Spaniard’s vision and passing was outstanding, he assisted two of the team's three goals. We also correctly predicted the score to be 3-1 to make it a very tasty evening of winning bets for a Monday. I do expect Cesc to play a big part in Chelsea’s season. It was not all bad for Burnley who played some good stuff at times and looked threatening on the counter attack throughout the game. They will inevitably be in a relegation battle come the end of the season but they do have every chance of survival if Danny Ings and Jutkiewicz can form a good partnership.

 

PFA Player of the year: Cesc Fabregas – William Hill @ 12/1

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