Saturday Burnley 2-4 Man Utd 1.45pm Just how tough is Turf Moor? Can the blimey Manchester United finally pick up the pieces and roar? Luis van Gaal had the best opening fixtures only rivaled by Chelsea, but while Jose Mourinho laboured to six points against Burnley and Leicester, Man United could only pick a point at Sunderland. Things got to embarrassing level midweek when League One side MK Dons made a meal of United with a 4-0 win in Capital One Cup. Hours before the humiliation, Argentine winger Angel Di Maria had penned a club record transfer from Real Madrid and will possibly make his debut newly-promoted Burnley. New England skipper Wayne Rooney is eager to make his mark felt, but United could be undone by the unfamiliar 3-5-2 system Van Gaal prefers. Worse is that new signings Luke Shaw, Rojo and Herrera, as well as midfielders Fellaini and Carrick are all out. The Red Devils badly need a confidence boost after the MK Dons debacle. This is a must-win Saturday Man City 3-0 Stoke City 4pm Stevan Jovetic is relishing the season. Two goals against Liverpool on Monday make the Serbian striker a deadly missile. Manuel Pellegrini had said before the season began that his side will defend the title in bristling fashion. The thumping of their last season competitor Liverpool should tell a lesson to any opponent that City mean business. The skyblue side welcome back their lead striker Sergio Aguero, who has been used as a later substitute in the opening two fixtures but scored each time. Edin Dzeko is a doubt and Alvaro Negredo is out, but Pellegrini will not care. Instead, he will face a selection headache in midfield. Stoke City will need more than the physical game they play to avoid a heavy defeat. City win. Saturday Newcastle 2-1 Palace 4pm Allan Pardew was under a lot of pressure last season and survived the sack for some strange reasons yet to be revealed. However, St James Park is still gloomy and the fans want him out. Newcastle will be without Santon, Ryan Taylor, Tiote, Cisse and Campbell in a fixture they must win if Pardew will not want the fans to resume their protests. But coming up against a Palace side that is looking more and more uncertain after patting company with Tony Pulis, Newcastle should pick up their first win today. Palace have reappointed Neil Warnock and acquired Zaha from Man United on loan. But after losing to Arsenal at the death and then falling tamely to West Ham, Palace will fall again. Saturday West Ham 1-2 Southampton 4pm Sam Allardyce is another man with the life of a cat. He barely survived the axe last season when the board seemed undecided on the compensation to pay the gum-chomping manager. However, the near-sack has sent a chilly warning and when Saints take to the Boleyn Ground today, he will want to boost his standing with another convincing win. But Southampton will not be easy to crack considering that Ronald Koeman is looking for his first Premier League victory. This is third time lucky for Saints. Saturday QPR 1-3 Sunderland 4pm Bottom side Queens Park Rangers have given manager Harry Rednapp a contract extension despite a bleep in their campaign. An opening-day 1-0 reverse to Hull City was followed by a total rundown at White Hart Lane where Rednapp was returning to the place he is embittered about. But Sunderland are coming into the fixture with some confidence after holding Man United to a draw. To travelling Gus Poyet, this is a chance to get their first win and avoid the usual slow start. Saturday Swansea 1-0 West Brom 4pm The Swans are enjoying this season and this is a chance for them to make it three in three. After beating Man United and Burnley, it is unlikely that a West Brom side missing Lescott, Varela and Samaras will pick them out. The Welsh side have had a good defence but their attack has been wanting. Still, they can score the goal they need to collect maximum points. Saturday Everton 0-0 Chelsea 6.30pm Everton blew up a big chance to beat Arsenal back to back at Goodison Park when complacency saw them concede two goals with five minutes left to drop points. But with the acquisition of Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o, this fixture gets all the more exciting. Eto’o spent the better part of the offseason hitting out at Mourinho for calling him an ‘old man.’ He has been trying to prove his Portuguese coach at Chelsea last season wrong and this is his chance if he makes the debut. Romelu Lukaku is likely to start on the wings again as Naysmith gets the nod upfront. But Chelsea, after belaboured wins against promoted sides Leicester City and Burnley, could be missing the services of Diego Costa, the striker who has scored in each of their opening fixtures. Andre Schurrle is also a doubt, meaning Fernando Torres could be recalled to action unless Mourinho decides to park the bus by playing without natural strikers. A draw. Sunday Aston Villa 2-0 Hull City 2.30pm Aston Villa are yet to lose and this is turning up like their usual season. They start relatively well and then blow it up around February when fatigue takes its toll on the team. This is yet another fixture to collect maximum points from. However, Steve Bruce is a man who knows how to crack midtable sides like Villa. After beating QPR and a draw at home to Stoke City, Bruce will relish another fixture of this kind. But Paul Lambert is equally shrewd. This should not be too hard for Villa. Sunday Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool 2.30pm In the same fixture last season, Liverpool overrun Spurs, hitting five unanswered goals. But that was a Luis Suarez-led Liverpool. The SAS was a chorus that Spurs could not handle. After going down 3-1 at champions City, Liverpool will be desperate to avoid defeat. Unfortunately, this is a new-look Spurs with Mauricio Pochetino in charge. Liverpool’s big plus is that they have Mario Balotteli, whose goal-scoring record is never in doubt. Will Pochetino allow his side to lose to Liverpool in successive game after Saints went down 3-0 in April? A potential draw as Liverpool is still struggling with finding the perfect defensive midfield to line up. Sunday Leicester 1-1 Arsenal 5pm Arsenal’s new signing Alexis Sanchez finally got off the mark but only in a fixture against a Turkish side. The Chilean striker is struggling against English Premier League sides. Last week, he had to be withdrawn at halftime and the man whose goal rescued Arsenal from the brink of defeat to Everton is out until next year. Oliver Giroud broke a tibia and Wenger could recall Yaya Sanogo to partner Sanchez up front. But Leicester are not easy. They have drawn with Everton and lost to Chelsea and this third big fixture could be theirs for the taking if they frustrate Arsenal long enough. Draw.
