Written by Shahan Ahmed

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Round 2: English Premier League Preview
& 2 New Director's Picks

Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney should start for Manchester United at Old Trafford

In the second round of England’s Premier League, the football gods have blessed fans with a few sumptuous fixtures: Fulham versus Manchester United at Old Trafford, Newcastle United verses Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and Manchester City versus Liverpool at Anfield.

Fulham vs Manchester United: Old Traffford

On Saturday, five-goal Fuham look to get a win at Old Trafford against a one-loss Manchester United. Robin Van Persie may start his first match for Manchester United, while Clint Dempsey remains a mystery for Fulham. However, striker Mladen Petric had a memorable double on his debut with the Cottagers after the 31 year-old Croatian moved to London from Hamburg over the summer.

Newcastle United vs Chelsea: Stamford Bridge

Alan Pardew’s new-look Newcastle United finished fifth in the league last season, just behind Tottenham Hotspur and ahead of Chelsea. In round 1, Newcastle beat Spurs 2-1 with Demba Ba and Hatem Ben Arfa showing moments of brilliance. This Sunday, they travel to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea is currently top of the table, having played an extra match against Reading on Wednesday. The Blues have a few extra midweek fixtures to allow for a December trip to the Club World Cup in Japan.


Click on Image to see Eden Hazard with a brilliant assist while at Lille

After two matches, Chelsea have two wins. However, Chelsea’s general play has failed to impress, save for Eden Hazard, of course. Chelsea’s new Belgian winger is not only pacey but can deliver a precise pass with pin-point accuracy. Even more, his most devastating asset this season has been his ability to draw penalties—two of them—and no, he’s not diving. He’s just quick with his movements in the box, and he’s done well to catch defenders leaving their feet out.

Granted, he’s only played against Wigan and Reading this season, but Hazard’s abilities and play are in line with his general play and ability in the Champions League last season. Hazard may have only recorded one single assist in Europe last season, but sometimes, statistics don’t tell the story.

Hazard has been the best player on the pitch both times Chelsea has gone out this campaign, not so much in the Community Shield. By the way, take a look at the pass by clicking the image above (It’s well worth the minute it’ll take you).


Samir Nasri has been one of Manchester City’s best players so far

Manchester City vs Liverpool: Anfield

Also on Sunday, Liverpool plays Manchester City at Anfield. Liverpool looked a work in progress during their 3-0 spanking at the Hawthorns. New manager Brenden Rodgers had the Reds playing well in patches, but they look to be a long way from challenging for the league.

Manchester City is still the team to beat, and the champions enjoy the taste of snatching victory from the jowls of defeat. In round 1, Man City missed a penalty before taking a first half lead. Then, the Citizens went down 2-1 to Southamption in the 68th minute at the Etihad Stadium and an opening day shock was afoot. Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri reversed that deficit in 12 minutes time. The fans felt like it was the final day of the season all over again. Christmas has come to the Blue side of Manchester, and it doesn’t look to be going anywhere soon.


Daniel Agger was shown a straight red in Liverpool’s first match of the season

Other Must-See Matches Across Europe:

Bundesliga…ALL OF THEM!
German football is back, and both Bayern and Dortmund have retooled. Expect Bayern Munich to crush Germany this season. I like what they’ve done this summer.

Serie A…ALL OF THEM!
Italian football returns after a controversial summer that saw trials, suspensions, and sell-offs. Juventus got stronger with new additions, Milan sold off its two biggest stars, and Inter has a mix of young and old with a young manager. Even with Conte suspended, when looking at that roster, this is Juve’s season to lose.

La Liga…
Barcelona away to Osasuna, but expect to see some regulars rested for the 2nd leg of the Spanish Super Copa 2nd leg at the Santiago Bernabeau on Wednesday. Barcelona won an eventful 1st leg at the Camp Nou 3-2.

To see Mr.Ahmed's betting analysis for the other three leagues, visit Championsleague.ca

Director’s Premier League Picks

1. Chelsea vs Newcastle: Newcastle +1 goal at 2.050

Chelsea has not played well at all to this point. Newcastle wasn’t the better side in the first half against Spurs, but in the second half, Pardew had his boys back to playing like they did last season. Ben Arfa, in particular, looked strong. AccuScore’s computer calculates significant value on the draw and a Newcastle win. However, to be safe, the Newcastle +1 provides the safest and strongest bet. Only 30.4% of AccuScore’s simulation results had the Blues winning by 2 or more goals. At better than even money odds for a result that only has a 30% chance of occurring, it’s hard not to take this one.

Yes, Newcastle played in Europa League in Greece on Thursday, so they have one less day of rest and an extra travel in between. However, many of Newcastle’s starters from round 1 were left behind for the trip to Greece (Ben Arfa, Demba Ba, Steven Taylor, Cheik Tiote, and Danny Simpson). Further, Jonas Gutierrez, Steven Taylor, Davide Santon, Tim Krul, and Yohan Cabaye all started round 1, and all were not in the starting lineup against Atromitos; only Jonas Gutierrez came on to play a part.

Chelsea, on the other hand, played a rather tense and difficult match against Reading with most Chelsea regulars starting. Only Gary Cahill and Ramires came into the squad anew for Roberto Di Matteo from the group that played against Wigan. If either squad feels the effects of fatigue, it would be Chelsea.

Members, log in to see Expert’s 2nd pick below.
Our guy was an astounding 57-36 on his soccer picks last season with a Total profit of 3,486 units and 697% Return on Investment. He already got his first two picks right last weekend and those picks provided a profit of 253 units and 125% return on investment. Become an AccuScore Member Now and as an added bonus, new members can use the coupon code ‘ahmed2013’ and get 20% off an annual membership. This includes award winning picks, analysis, and coverage for every sport AccuScore covers. Or, try a monthly membership, and get a free 7 day trial, so there's no risk or obligation.

2. Liverpool vs Manchester CIty: Manchester City to win at 2.450

Manchester City is the best team in the Premier League, and Liverpool is not. Currently, odds makers are only giving Manchester City a 40.0% chance of winning. The computer simulations put City’s chances at 45.9%, so there is considerable value even with Aguero out with a knee injury. Tevez and Nasri have looked something sharp in the early going, while Stevie G had one of his poorest opening days ever. I wouldn’t normally bet against Gerrard at Anfield, but with Manchester City getting 2.450, considerably better than even odds, it’s impossible to pass on this value. Pick City to win.