After what was another highly controversial weekend of action on Matchday Five of the 2017/2018 Premier League season, fans have had to endure a rather tedious week of Carabao Cup action.
But, “The Best League In The World” is duly back tomorrow lunchtime as we face Spurs in a classic London Derby and the league leaders host a desperate Eagles side.
West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur (Saturday 12:30 PM)
In Sky Sports’ early Saturday kick-off, we host Mauricio Pochettino’s Lilywhites to renew one of the Premier League’s oldest rivalries at The London Stadium.
The last time that we faced Spurs, Manuel Lanzini struck in the second half for all three points back in May, a victory that effectively ended their title challenge.
However, a lot has changed since then as both sides have endured relatively sluggish starts to the campaign by respective standards with the away team yet to win at home in the league.
However, a strong Spurs do sit fifth in the table with eight points, whereas, we loiter in 17th place after a very torrid start indeed, both sides picked up Carabao Cup home victories in midweek.
Despite this, we have defeated the Lilywhites 14 times in the Premier League which is our highest win tally against a single opponent and a 15th could really go a long way to rescuing our season.
Glanville’s Prediction: 1-2.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace (Saturday 3 PM)
As Crystal Palace continue to break their own awful Premier League records, they travel to The Etihad in one of six Saturday afternoon kick-offs, in desperate need of an unlikely win.
Pep Guardiola’s men have the look of a side that won’t be beaten much this season after four wins out of five and 11 goals for and zero against in their last two fixtures.
Whereas, the Eagles remain rooted to the very foot of the table after five opening defeats with zero goals scored, a Premier League record.
Furthermore, under new manager Roy Hodgson, the form has not picked up in the League despite beating Huddersfield Town in the League Cup.
With defeat in the North East against the early pacesetters, the South London Club would join Portsmouth in becoming the only team to lose their first six games in a Premier League campaign.
To add insult to injury for Hodgson, the hosts, who have now won five on the spin in all competitions after cup triumph on Wednesday, possess a formidable record against their opponents with nine wins in the last ten meetings.
Glanville’s Prediction: 4-0.
Southampton vs Manchester United (Saturday 3 PM)
The St Mary’s Stadium will play host to an intriguing clash tomorrow afternoon, as a red-hot Manchester United travel to face Mauricio Pellegrino’s Saints.
The visitors are only behind their Manchester rivals on alphabetical order with all the stats even and could take back first place with a big victory on the South Coast.
The Saints became the latest team to profit from Crystal Palace’s misfortune last weekend with an away triumph at Selhurst Park, but will surely have it a lot harder this time around.
The home side have also benefited from a weeks’ rest with United defeating Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.
The odds are firmly in Jose Mourinho’sfavourr with stats like scoring more goals in the last ten minutes than any other Premier League side has managed overall this season, enough to strike fear into any opponent.
Glanville’s Prediction: 0-2.
Stoke City vs Chelsea (Saturday 3 PM)
The rarity of so many of the league’s “Top Six” teams playing at 3 O’clock on Saturday continues in the Midlands tomorrow, as Mark Hughes’ Stoke City host Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.
The Potters have enjoyed a mixed start to their 2017/2018 campaign with typical topsy-turvy results, the sort of form that is epitomised by the fact that they have beaten Arsenal but have lost to Everton.
However, the Blues have had no such and worries after recovering from an opening day blip against Burnley to winning three of their last four league games and thrashing Nottingham Forest in the week.
A night before Chelsea’s triumph, Stoke went down 2-0 to Championship Bristol City at Ashton Gate and will be looking for a reaction against the champions.
However, the visitors will be buoyed by the fact that they can become the third highest Premier League points holders of all time with anything from The Bet 365 Stadium.
Glanville’s Prediction: 1-2.
Everton vs AFC Bournemouth (Saturday 3 PM)
In a real early relegation six-pointer, the Toffees host the Cherries at Goodison Park tomorrow, with both sides in the dreaded relegation zone heading into Matchday Six.
Ronald Koeman’s men, who sit in 18th place, could have been forgiven for having the distraction of Europa League to contend with, but that is a competition in which they are also struggling.
Meanwhile, Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth travel to Merseyside on a wave of optimism after consecutive league and cup wins over Brighton & Hove Albion, but the hosts also did manage to beat Sunderland on Wednesday.
A win could mean so much for either side but the stats point to a resounding home victory in the knowing that forward Wayne Rooney has a fantastic record against the South Coast side which he is set to continue.
However, whatever the score tomorrow, there is bound to be goals as this fixture has thrown up such scorelines as 6-3 and 3-3 in recent campaigns.
Glanville’s Prediction: 3-1.
Burnley vs Huddersfield Town (Saturday 3 PM)
The fact that the Clarets and the Terriers are meeting in the Premier League for the first time epitomises the success of two relatively small northern clubs, as they go toe to toe in a top-half clash at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams have enjoyed fabulous starts to their Premier League campaigns, sitting in seventh and sixth respectively and level on points with eight from five games.
Another thing that Sean Dyche’s side and David Wagner’s men have in common is the fact that they both went crashing out of the Carabao Cup in midweek and now can have the league as a sole focus.
The statistical edge very much lays with the home Side, as only Manchester City have won more on home turf since August 2016 than the Clarets.
Glanville’s Prediction: 2-1.
Swansea City vs Watford (Saturday 3 PM)
In the final of the Saturday afternoon ties, the Hornets travel to clash with the Swans in a game that really could go either way at The Liberty Stadium.
Marco Silva’s men were flying and unbeaten in their opening four league fixtures before the Citizens came to town last Saturday and thrashed them 0-6, evening things up heading into this encounter.
Meanwhile, Paul Clement’s Swansea City are yet another side whose fortunes have been very mixed this season as they are 14th with five points from five and have only scored two goals.
The hosts will take confidence from a victory away at Reading in midweek but the visitors will be fresher after a rest.
But if they can sneak a win, it will be the first time that they have been victorious in three consecutive top-flight away ties in history.
Glanville’s Prediction: 1-1.
Leicester City vs Liverpool (Saturday 5:30 PM)
For the second time this week, the Foxes host the Reds at The King Power Stadium in BT Sport’s Saturday Night Live fixture in the Midlands.
With goals from Shinji Okazaki and Islam Slimani, Craig Shakespeare’s men were victorious over Jurgen Klopp’s side in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Furthermore, the hosts have beaten Liverpool in two of the last three league meetings, including three consecutive home victories in all competitions.
These are stats that will not help a desperate Klopp, whose side has now not won a game since before the International Break.
To add to this, the home side will be favourites on Saturday night to inflict yet more misery on a depleted Merseyside outfit.
Glanville’s Prediction: 3-2.
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Newcastle United (Sunday 4 PM)
Magpies fans will make one of the longest journeys in English football on Sunday afternoon live on Sky Sports, as they travel to The Amex Stadium to take on the Seagulls.
Rafa Benitez’s men are very much the form side of late with three league victories on the bounce. In contrast, the hosts come into the tie off the back of consecutive league and cup defeats to rivals the Cherries.
Both of these teams embarked on a Championship title race last season with Newcastle having the phycological edge of coming out on top with a remarkable late comeback.
Despite this, Chris Hughton will have a trick up his sleeve in the form of forward Pascal Gross as he has been involved in all of their four goals this season.
A home victory looks probable in the first meeting of Brighton and Newcastle in the Premier League, but who will come out on top?
Glanville’s Prediction: 2-0.
Arsenal vs West Bromwich Albion (Monday 8 PM)
On Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, the Baggies travel to The Emirates to face Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in a mid-table clash.
The Gunners have endured a tough start to the campaign, but if recent cup results are anything to go by, they should be fine and impressed in a draw at Stamford Bridge last Sunday.
Meanwhile, despite being knocked out of the cup by Manchester City on Wednesday, the visitors have made a fairly impressive start under Tony Pulis and are part of seven teams tied on eight points stretching from 12th to fifth positions. Arsenal are a point behind.
There is no doubt that all the media attention will be on Baggies midfielder Gareth Barry as he is set to break Ryan Giggs’ Premier League appearance record of 632 games on Monday night and his teammates will be eager to mark the occasion with a victory.
Glanville’s Prediction: 2-2.
So, with all of your Game Week Six action previewed and all of the drama poised to unfold, can Palace steal a vital shock victory in Manchester? Will the Red Devils and the Citizens continue to trade like for like blows? And could our Hammers inflict a derby defeat on Spurs?