lawro predicts

[Blue Si O.B]

Lawro's predictions



By Mark Lawrenson
BBC Sport football expert

The new Premier League season starts on Saturday, with Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea hoping to defend their title after finishing one point ahead of Manchester United in May.
The opening weekend sees a mouth-watering clash between Liverpool and Arsenal, while the contest between Tottenham and Manchester City also brings together two teams with top-four aspirations.
Blackpool play their first top-flight game, while Newcastle and West Brom hope to mark their Premier League return with three points.
Over the next nine months I'll be giving my predictions to every single Premier League fixture.
Make your own predictions to see how the Premier League will look after the first weekend.
PREDICTIONS
All kick-offs 1500 BST unless stated
Tottenham v Manchester City (1245 BST)

Tottenham find themselves heading into a season different from any other after their victory at Manchester City in the penultimate game of the last campaign helped them to secure fourth spot and a place in the Champions League.
I think they will edge a close game at White Hart Lane and get their season off to a winning start.
City have spent big again this summer but it will take some time before boss Roberto Mancini has worked out his best team.
There is also the potential for problems in the dressing room because he has so many players who will expect to play regular first-team football.
A few years ago you could start slowly but still go on to win the league. I don't think that is the case any longer. You have to start with a bang and that could be a potential problem for City.
Prediction: 2-1
Aston Villa v Blackburn

I think that with Avram Grant in charge of West Ham they will be well-organised and thoroughly prepared for every game.
The Hammers won once away from home in the Premier League last season but I think they will improve on that record under Grant.
Having said that, I think Villa will try to put the resignation of manager Martin O'Neill behind them with an opening-day win.
It is difficult to know how O'Neill's decision has impacted on his players mentally but I know temporary boss Kevin MacDonald from our time together at Liverpool and he will will ensure they are up for Saturday's match.
Prediction: 2-0
Blackburn v Everton

I think Everton look in good shape as they approach the new season. They have good players, a good manager and are extremely well drilled.
Mikel Arteta has signed a new contract, their crucial players are fit and they have competition for places.
Blackburn were outstanding at home last season under Sam Allardyce, suffering just three Premier League defeats.
I expect a competitive match at Ewood Park; a feisty game of football that actually involves some tackling.
Prediction: 1-1
Bolton v Fulham

I reckon Bolton will have a steady campaign but Fulham will struggle to emulate their exploits of last season, when they reached the Europa League final.
Trotters boss Owen Coyle has signed one or two players over the summer which should help the team to pick up a few more points this season.
Fulham are now managed by Mark Hughes but he has not been in charge very long and it is still very much the side that did so well under Roy Hodgson last season.
I just wonder whether there might be one or two players in the Cottagers squad who have had their heads turned and are looking for a move away from the club.
Prediction: 2-1
Sunderland v Birmingham

Sunderland are slowly improving under manager Steve Bruce.
The Black Cats boss has obviously concluded that striker Kenwyne Jones does not produce often enough and sold him to Stoke, while bringing in Danny Welbeck on loan from Manchester United.
Birmingham had a terrific run of form last season, going 12 Premier League games without defeat as Alex McLeish's side finished ninth in the table.
But when I look at the current Blues squad, I wonder where the goals are going to come from that might allow them to improve again this campaign.
Prediction: 1-0
Wigan v Blackpool

I worry about both of these terms in terms of their Premier League survival.
Blackpool had an absolutely fantastic season in winning promotion to the top flight but their problem is going to be attracting the sort of players who can keep them in their new division.
In saying that, I do not think they will play with any fear this season. They might take a few hammerings but I think they will go for it.
Wigan look a little too individualistic to me, with several players who know that a run of good form might result in a move away from the club.
I think it will be a tough season for Roberto Martinez's team but I'm tipping them to get off to a winning start.
Prediction: 2-1
Wolves v Stoke

Mick McCarthy has shown by bringing in the likes of Stephen Hunt and Steven Fletcher that he is hopeful Wolves can improve upon last season's 15th-placed finish.
Stoke are now into their third season as a Premier League club. I can see recent arrival Kenwyne Jones and Ricardo Fuller winning games for Tony Pulis's team.
However, because of the proximity of the clubs I expect a tight match between two teams feeling their way into the new season. I don't expect a classic encounter.
Prediction: 1-1
Chelsea v West Brom

I think Chelsea have too much quality to end this game with anything other than three points.
Carlo Ancelotti's team lost 3-1 against rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield last weekend but that result is irrelevant.
That game is now just a pre-season friendly and does not have the same intensity of a decade or so ago.
Prediction: 3-0
SUNDAY
Liverpool v Arsenal (1600 BST)

After a disappointing period at Liverpool from January through to May, culminating in the departure of Rafael Benitez and the subsequent search for a new manager, it now feels as though the club has started to pick up.
Roy Hodgson has persuaded Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stay and brought Joe Cole to the club.
He has got rid of a few players who made the team look somewhat mediocre and with the money that the expected sale of Javier Mascherano will generate, he will be able to bring in a few more new faces.
But Hodgson's team face a tough opener against Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.
I reckon Wenger still thinks he is a couple of players light but I think they will have a very good season and I fancy them quite strongly, especially if they are able to sign goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and a central defender.
I expect an entertaining football match that will give both sets of fans positives to take from the encounter.
I am not sure that Torres will start but if he is fit then I think he should because the more games he plays, the quicker he will regain his match sharpness.
Prediction: 1-1
MONDAY
Manchester United v Newcastle (2000 BST)

Manchester United always respond strongly after failing to win the league and they will be determined to win the Premier League title back.
They look like they have a nice mix in their squad and when you consider that they lost the league by one point last season despite missing a large chunk of their defence for a lengthy period, then I think Sir Alex Ferguson's side are the team to beat this campaign.
I expect a tough season for Newcastle following their promotion from the Championship.
It will be interesting to see how many points they pick up away from home and, indeed, how much of the ball they have at Old Trafford on Monday.
Prediction: 2-0
Lawro was talking to BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher.
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[zeven]

Im tired of the lies! mancini have made it clear ROTATION and those who cant deal with it, are off loaded.

I pray to god we play spurs off the pitch so the moaners shuts up

 

[Adebayors lovechild]

Fuck Lawro and anyone else who has nothing better to do than to doubt us, just because we spend big and buy players, this automatically means they wont fit or that were stupid for buying "too many players", how the fuck can you have to many players in a squad when you have four different compititions in a season?

 

[Astuteboy]

Lawro predicts City loss shocker.

 

[alera]

What a surprise. We lost 3 - 0 last season. They beat us at home as well in the biggest game of the season. Pretty much we always loose against spurs.

So a draw away to them would be progress. I would take a draw now given our pre season build up and the upheaval at the club.

 

[Bluerisk]

From the Times today - Tony Cascarino:

Mancini is brewing a recipe for disaster at City

Look at the amount of money they've spent in the past year or so and Manchester City ought to be firm favourites to finish in the top four. I think they could do worse than last season's fifth place. I don't fancy them at all.

Craig Bellamy said this week that he had a row with Roberto Mancini in February and has not spoken to him since - and even claimed, "there are a number of players, like Carlos Tevez and me, who he doesn't speak to and keeps us away".

I believe Bellamy - he's such a daft character he's probably telling the truth. The manager not talking to his two best players from last season? How mad is that? Even if Mancini doesn't like Tevez or Bellamy, he should be shaking their hands and saying "thank you" because he wouldn't still be in a job without their massive contributions.

It's the equivalent of Roy Hodgson cold-shouldering Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, or Carlo Ancelotti blanking Frank Lampard and John Terry. It's ridiculous.

Bellamy seems set to be shipped off to Celtic but there will still be too many big-name players jostling for too few places in the starting line-up. It's a recipe for low morale. I'm not convinced by some of the summer signings. Overpriced and overrated. Yaya Toure - will he fit in well alongside Nigel De Jong? Will David Silva be as good as Bellamy?

Then there's the goalkeeping problem brewing. In Shay Given and Joe Hart, Mancini has two number ones. If he picks Hart for the first game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow, Given will be fuming - and rightly so. Hart is talented but hasn't proved that he deserves to be selected ahead of the excellent Given, who at 34 needs to be playing regularly.

City have a huge amount of attacking talent but is Mancini really the man to harness it? Under him, City were too defensive away from home last season. I fear they will try and play on the counter-attack and strangle games on their travels. That won't get them enough points to challenge for the title.

You can be sure that if City go a few games without a win, Mancini will be under huge pressure. Maybe the owners will fire him - which will just create instability and more team changes. With Tottenham and Liverpool the first two opponents, City could easily find themselves with one or no points to begin the campaign.

Overall under Mancini, City looked only slightly better than they were when Mark Hughes was manager. My abiding memory of them last season was the tame manner of their defeat away to Everton when they were completely outbattled. I think Everton - despite their lack of money, in contrast to the billionaires at Eastlands - will finish above City. David Moyes's team have more heart and more harmony.

 

[bluechaos]

Thank goid Lawro has predicted a city loss


His accuracy in these things is truley awful, you wouldnt believe its what he does for a living. They might aswell hire a chimp and poke him with a stick til he picks a winner!! he would have a far better chance of predicting correctly


....oh and a better haircut<br /><br />-- Fri Aug 13, 2010 10:20 am --<br /><br />Oh and Cascarino, a player so shit he had to invent irish grandparents just to get a game at internatiuonal level years before it was the done thing!!

another pundit having a go at city....yawn

 

[muffwah00]

Well let us be fair, predicting a win for City would buck the trend