Kevin Doyle talks Mourinho, Poch and Man City v Chelsea

Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Saturday @ 15:00 

As the season goes on, each game will get morestressful for Liverpool as they go after the Premier League title. I thinkthey should take advantage of the transfer window in January and make aneffort to sign a couple of players.  

They are in a great position and have a very goodteam, but the one difference between them and Man City is, City have thestronger squad.

Jurgen Klopp doesn’t like spending money in January,but I feel they must do so to give the team that final push to win the league,and to have some fresh legs incase of injury.  

Crystal Palace manager, Roy Hodgson was Liverpoolgaffer from 2010 to 2011. So, he will be determined to show that heis still has it and is a good manager.  

Selhurst Park will be a tough pitch for Liverpool to play on as it’s not a fantastic stadium. However, I do think Liverpool will have enough to win 1-0, but Crystal Palace will make it a tough game for them.  

Bournemouth v Wolves, Saturday @ 15:00 

They’re two good teams that I enjoy watching, withyoung and enthusiastic managers. I don’t see there being many goals scored inthis game, but it will be an enjoyable one to watch.

Seeing as the game is at the Vitality Stadium, I think this could be an advantage for Bournemouth and I see them winning 1-0.

Arsenal v Southampton, Saturday @ 15:00

This is going to be an interesting game that won’t beeasy for Arsenal considering the way they have been playing recently.

Both Unai Emery and Ralph Hasenhuttl have been under alot of pressure.  

Emery has come into this team and is trying to makethem a tighter unit and more solid defensive wise which is not what the Arsenalsquad are about.

Over the years they have been used to playing an openand enjoyable style of football. Emery is a good manager, but I think hedoesn’t have enough players that are open to his style of play.  

I can see both teams getting something out of thisgame, but as Arsenal are playing at home, I think they will steal a win – butit will have nothing to do with their performance.

My prediction is a 2-1 Arsenal victory.  

Brighton v Leicester, Saturday @ 15:00 

Leicester deserve to be sitting in second place on thetable. I’ve seen them play several times and they have played very well eachgame.

However, I don’t think they can hold onto this position for the whole season. But I suppose this was said the last time they surprised everybody and won the league in 2015-16! 

Brendan Rodgers comes across very well in his interviews.He never looks stressed or under pressure. The players seem to love playing forhim. He has especially done a great job getting Jamie Vardy back to his verybest.  

Brighton on the other hand, have been playing OK thisseason. They should be happy with their position, I think they are where they should be.

The squad isn’t good enough to be any higher in the league.Unless they go out and sign more players, they are going to remain in thatposition.  

I could see both teams getting something out of this game, but Leicester will have the upper hand so fancy them to win 2-1.

Man City v Chelsea, Saturday @ 17:30 

Man City didn’t play well in their lastgame against Liverpool. They still haven’t reached the levels they played atlast season.

I had predicted this game ending in a draw, so I wassurprised with the result. Pep Guardiola’s side are going through a tough firsthalf of the season but are still up there fighting.  

Chelsea have been doing well with a young andsomewhat inexperienced team in certain areas but will have gained confidenceover the last number of weeks.

But heading to the Etihad Stadium this week could be tough for them. I expect Man City to have a better second half to the season. In terms of this game at the weekend, I see a strong combative performance from City and a 2-0 home win.   

Sheffield Utd v Man Utd, Sunday @ 16:30 

Manchester Utd’s 3-1 win against Brighton last weekend wasa surprise. Now that is saying something about how Man Utd areperforming this season! 

They’re play was better (still not great), thansome of their performances recently, but are on an upward trend.  

Sheffield Utd have been a surprise package so far thisseason.

Chris Wilder comes across as a good manager who wantsto play and not just sit back in the Premier League and hope tosurvive relegation. He wants the team to do well and improve. I find thema fun team to watch, which cannot be said about most teams.  

Going away from home this weekend won’t be easy for Man Utd. Bramall Lane is an intimidating place to play. But I am hopeful and predict them getting something out of the game which I think will end in a 1-1 draw.

Goodbye Pochettino, hello Mourinho 

We don’t know what’s gone on behind the scenes as tothe real reason Mauricio Pochettino has been let go, apart from the obvious drop in theteam’s form. 

I think Pochettino is a fantastic manager and he isthe one who has dragged the team to the top and made them into a bettersquad.  Tottenham have not spent a lot of money in the last couple ofyears and Pochettino still had them in the Champions League last year. If I wasthe Chairman of another football club looking for a new manager, possibly ManUtd, I would be trying to get Poch in ASAP. 

I think Jose Mourinho will do fine with Tottenham. Inhis last season with Man Utd he was controversial and seemed to be looking foran argument in interviews which was disappointing as I really liked him.

He has been a top-class manager in everything he has done but seems to have a chip on his shoulder the last number of years. Therefore, I will be surprised if Mourinho is still at Spurs in a couple of years.  

My Five-Fold ACCA 

Spurs v West Ham: Spurs win 
Arsenal v Southampton: Arsenal win 
Man City v Chelsea: Man City win 
Ipswich v Blackpool: Ipswich win 
Sunderland v Coventry: Coventry win 

My 1-2-FREE Prediction

Man City v Chelsea: 2-0 City 
Hamilton v Rangers: 3-1 Rangers 
Sheffield Utd v Man Utd: 1-1 Draw

Kevin