THE international break is almost over and that means the return of all things Dream Team, including Score Predictor.
As usual, we’re putting up £250 for the weekly prize – not bad for a free-to-play game, eh?
Simply submit predictions for five selected Premier League games and earn points for accuracy – most points pockets the cash.
Remember, you don’t have to get all five scores exactly correct – that’s ultra rare – you just have to outperform everyone else.
Feel free to channel your gut instinct if that’s your preferred method but for those who would like some stats for each match-up, look no further…
Liverpool v Nottingham Forest
A fixture that will always transport fans of a certain age back to the late 1970s.
And we have to rewind that to that era to find the last time Forest won at Anfield in any competition – a 1-0 win for the visitors in the League Cup in 1978.
More relevantly, Liverpool and Manchester City are the only two teams to have won all three of their league games this season with the Reds yet to concede a single goal.
Clearly the hosts are big favourites but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have quietly started rather well themselves.
Forest are among the seven sides yet to lose in the top flight and they’ve registered more shots than any other team at this early stage.
Granted, they’ve only converted three of their 53 efforts into goals but their ability to create chances has to be admired.
Our Prediction: 3-1 to Liverpool
Aston Villa v Everton
The Toffees are bottom of the pile with zero points to show for their efforts this campaign.
Their heartbreaking (and farcical) defeat to Bournemouth before the international break was a tough one to stomach and Sean Dyche would have hoped for an easier task this weekend than a trip to Villa Park, where the Villains have an excellent record since Unai Emery took charge.
Everton actually won the last time they played Villa away but that was in the Carabao Cup amid considerable rotation – the last league meeting in the midlands finished 4-0 to the hosts.
Villa have some injury concerns and will naturally have one eye on the Champions League in midweek but they should still have enough to beat an Everton outfit low on confidence.
Our Prediction: 2-1 to Aston Villa
Play Score Predictor with Dream Team this season!
Bournemouth v Chelsea
The Blues plagued Score Predictor users throughout 2023/24 and they’ve picked up where they left off with a win, draw and defeat in their first three outings this season.
Predictably unpredictable, Chelsea smashed Wolves 6-2 in Matchweek 2 but defeat in the Conference League play-off second leg to Servette and a draw to Crystal Palace have since tempered expectations.
Only Man City and Liverpool have mustered more xG than the Cherries in the league so far and their miraculous comeback at Goodison Park maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Enzo Maresca has a huge advantage in terms of the talent available to him but Bournemouth are a well-drilled side – it’s a tough one to call.
Our Prediction: 1-1 draw
Tottenham v Arsenal
The North London derby is undoubtedly the standout fixture this weekend.
Mikel Arteta will be without his entire first-choice midfield of Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard which is clearly a significant hindrance.
But recent history is on the Gunners side as they’ve won five of the last seven meetings with their fierce rivals.
Last season’s two derbies yielded nine goals in total with Bukayo Saka and Son Heung-min being the standout performers.
Both teams wobbled before the international break but North London derbies tend to exist in their own space – make room on that fence…
Our Prediction: 1-1 draw
Wolves v Newcastle
Gary O’Neil’s mob have mustered just one point and only Everton have conceded more goals across the first three Matchweeks.
In contrast, the Magpies are sitting pretty in fifth with seven points to their name.
However, dig a little deeper and some stats put these two teams much closer.
Both Wolves and Newcastle are in the bottom four for shots taken and in the top four for shots faced.
Of course, it’s still a small sample size and Newcastle’s numbers are somewhat skewed by their opening game against Southampton when they had to play with ten men for over an hour; something that changed the game state dramatically.
Even so, Eddie Howe’s side haven’t quite got up to speed just yet and footage of Bruno Guimaraes limping out of Brazil training will have jangled a few nerves on Tyneside.
Our Prediction: 2-1 to Newcastle
Enter your predictions before Saturday’s 3pm deadline!
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