With the international break over, Premier League action returns to our screens this weekend and it all starts with Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham.
Few would have predicted saying that a fortnight ago, but the Portuguese tactician is back in business as he was confirmed as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor at Spurs this week.
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His side kick things off at West Ham in the early start on Saturday, while there is a highly-anticipated clash between Man City and Chelsea to look forward to as well.
As ever, pundit Charlie Nicholas has delivered his predictions ahead of the weekend’s action in his Sky Sports column, and he has gone with a win first up for Mourinho with a 2-1 victory, as he expects him to give Spurs a lift after his arrival against a Hammers side that is struggling badly right now.
Meanwhile, he’s also predicting that we’ll see Man City prevail in a thriller against Chelsea, with Nicholas convinced that it will be an open game which ends 4-2 in favour of the reigning Premier League champions.
In fairness, given City’s frailties at the back and the quality that Chelsea have going forward, it’s easy to see the visitors getting on the scoresheet at some stage. That said, the Blues have also conceded 17 goals in 12 league games thus far, and so the hosts will fancy their chances of racking up the goals too.
It won’t be such a happy weekend for Man Utd though, as Nicholas has tipped them to drop points in a 1-1 draw away at Sheffield United on Sunday despite their upturn in form prior to the international break.
With the Red Devils down in seventh place and needing to avoid any further slip-ups to keep themselves in contention for a Champions League spot, this would be a real setback for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his men.
However, it’s easy to see where Nicholas is coming from as the Blades will be a problem for most sides at Bramall Lane, and unless United are able to match their effort and energy and make their superior quality tell, they could come unstuck against a side currently above them in the standings.
Other notable picks include a win for Aston Villa over Newcastle Utd in the ‘Monday Night Football’ game, wins for Arsenal and Liverpool but for Leicester City to drop points at Brighton.
