2021/22 Premier League Matchday 9: Predictions & Results
Pintsized Background
Newcastle’s prophesied dream start ended in a typical St James Park disaster. Despite Callum Wilson blowing the (metaphorical) roof off the joint with a second-minute opener, Spurs refused to join in the party spirit. Jonjo Shelvey’s look of horror towards his new Saudi overlords indicates the feeling within the dressing room.
A Friday evening match between two underperformers, Arsenal and Aston Villa, sees the footballing predictions fired out the press earlier than usual. If you can slog your way through the bumper fixture list, the final Matchday showdown between Man United and Liverpool will surely deliver. On the brink of being fired is a mythical version of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. With Ronaldo keeping the Red Devil’s European hopes alive, a raucous Old Trafford could give United the vital edge against a far stronger, more cohesive Liverpool unit.
Failed to catch the action from the Premier League last weekend? No worries. Peep our preview of Premier League Predictions: Matchday 8. Prefer a review of the event to jog the memory? Read Premier League Review: Matchday 8!
Unconvinced by Pintsized’s mystical predicting powers? Take a look at our prediction success last week detailed in Premier League Statistics: Match Day 8.
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Bitesize Predictions
| Fixtures | Pintsized | Ryan | Steviano | Results |
| Friday, 22 October | ||||
| Arsenal vs Aston Villa | 2-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 3-1 |
| Saturday, 23 October | ||||
| Chelsea vs Norwich | 4-0 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 7-0 |
| Crystal Palace vs Newcastle | 1-1 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 1-1 |
| Leeds vs Wolves | 2-2 | 2-2 | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Everton vs Watford | 1-0 | 2-0 | 3-1 | 2-5 |
| Southampton vs Burnley | 1-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2-2 |
| Brighton vs Man City | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 1-4 |
| Sunday, 24 October | ||||
| West Ham vs Spurs | 1-3 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| Brentford vs Leicester | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 1-2 |
| Man United vs Liverpool | 0-3 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 0-5 |
Premier League Matchday 9: Friday, 22 October
Arsenal (#12, 11pts) vs Aston Villa (#13, 10pts)
Pintsized
To be fair to ol’ Mikel, he seems to have steadied the ship after an awful start to the season. Granted, Arsenal fans did celebrate the last gasp equaliser at home against Crystal Palace like they had conquered Europe, but it remains a sign of Arsenal’s grit. Villa will still be hurting after dropping a 2-0 home lead over Wolves, yet the phenomenal form of Danny Ings continues. Arsenal’s attack may have found potency, yet their defensive failures will continue to hold them back.
Prediction: 2-2
Ryan
A rare Friday night treat for fans to watch with their takeaway. Arsenal still couldn’t shake the Palace curse on Monday whilst Villa somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Neither team has been shining recently so I’ll stick with a draw here.
Prediction: 1-1
Steviano
Both teams have stuttered in their last two games after a previous good run. Both are mid-table which may be where they both end up rather than Paul Merson’s red-tinted top 4 claim for the Gunners. I think home support may sway this one with a narrow win for Arteta’s men.
Prediction: 2-1
Premier League Matchday 9: Saturday, 23 October
Chelsea (#1, 19pts) vs Norwich (#20, 2pts)
Pintsized
Not sure how much analysis is needed for this match-up. Blue team strong. Yellow team weak. After eeking past Brentford away, before slapping Malmo mid-week, Chelsea are back to sterling form. Norwich are slowly piecing together a Premier League standard approach, evidenced by their unfortunate draw to Brighton, but they don’t have anywhere near the firepower to crack The Blues’ league-leading defence.
Prediction: 4-0
Ryan
Chelsea could consider themselves somewhat lucky against Brentford with some outstanding goalkeeping gifting the title contenders 3 points. Norwich were able to double their points tally, somewhat surprisingly, in yet another dull 0-0. Arguably this could have been more but for a toothless attack. What won’t be arguable is that, despite the striker injury problems for Chelsea, this will still be a walk in the park.
Prediction: 3-0
Steviano
Losing your two main strikers in mid-week would be a concern if it wasn’t for the opposition. Chelsea may be without their main attacking threat but at least they have one, Norwich have two goals in eight games now and are without their best players in Cantwell and Gilmour so despite b2b goalless draws I expect normal canary losing service to resume.
Prediction: 2-0
Crystal Palace (#14, 8pts) vs Newcastle (#19, 3pts)
Pintsized
A relatively meaningless match a fortnight ago, since the Saudi takeover, Palace versus Newcastle holds far greater meaning. Vieira’s anger over dropping vital points at the Emirates highlights Palace’s intent this season, refusing to be categorised as the ‘youth rebuild’ whipping boys. Newcastle are managerless, a massive decision that may backfire in the immediate interim. A fit Callum Wilson may still prove the difference, however.
Prediction: 1-1
Ryan
This Palace team have shown some character with Vieira and haven’t flopped as badly as I had initially thought with a 2-2 draw against Arsenal continuing their impressive unbeaten record against the Gunners. After a predictable loss against Spurs, Steve Bruce was inevitably put out of his misery. At least he can enjoy a juicy payout. With no manager confirmed as of writing, this will still be a team in disarray and clueless. Palace should have too much for the away side.
Prediction: 2-1
Steviano
Steve Bruce has finally felt the chop with the new owners, thankfully one he will be well paid for. The excitement of new ownership can’t disguise that this Toon is a woefully thin squad based on talent which can’t be addressed until January. Viera continues to impress with a new squad who have quickly gelled and would be higher up the table if games were a bit shorter! Zaha return to boost the Eagles in this one.
Prediction: 3-1
Leeds (#17, 6pts) vs Wolves (#10, 12pts)
Pintsized
I can’t do it. I can’t, for a ninth week in a row, predict that this is the week that Bielsa nails his tactics. If Raphinha returns, that is a huge boost for Leeds, but they will still be missing Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford. Wolves, on the other hand, are flying. Goals are coming with ease since the signing of Hee-Chan Hwang, and Raul Jimenez is playing as if he’d never left the league.
Prediction: 2-2
Ryan
Leeds came back down to Earth following up their first win of the season with yet another loss, this time against Southampton. When does it become okay to officially declare Leeds in a relegation scrap? Speaking of teams who were threatened early on with that, Wolves have been a completely different team recently with an incredulous comeback at Villa baffling everyone including themselves. I was tempted to go for the away team here but this is so unpredictable that a draw may be the likely result.
Prediction: 2-2
Steviano
I’m not sure how Wolves have gone on a 3-match win-streak which has included a fair share of luck against the teams around them but at least showed some spirit with their Villa comeback. Leeds continue to struggle with injuries but with Raphina back from injury I will back them to win this one which is clearly the kiss of death for them.
Prediction: 2-1
Everton (#8, 14pts) vs Watford (#16, 7pts)
Pintsized
Poor old Toffees. They were foolish for trying to stand in the way of Moyes’ mighty Hammers. Losing Calvert-Lewin for a few more weeks will stunt Everton’s attack, but top goal-scorer Andros Townsend is still fit ;). Ranieri’s Watford fell to a humiliating 5-0 defeat to the red Scousers and I expect them to continue their run of bad form against teams from the North-West.
Prediction: 1-0
Ryan
Everton were poor against a fired up West Ham and got what they deserved. Ranieri couldn’t have asked for a worse start with a welcome back gift of a 5-0 home loss to Liverpool. Last week I mentioned that there wouldn’t be a new manager bounce back and I stand by that for this week too.
Prediction: 2-0
Steviano
The tinkerman did not have the new manager bounce the Hornets were looking for and 0-5 was flattering to the 0. Travelling to the other half of Merseyside will be a bit easier but a fit Richarlison should mean that his old team go away with 0 points again a well organised Everton.
Prediction: 3-1
Southampton (#15, 7pts) vs Burnley (#18, 3pts)
Pintsized
Two teams that are struggling in the final third will clash in what most likely transpires as a dull staring contest. Southampton holds the only win between the two teams this season, securing it over Leeds last weekend, and home advantage further bolsters The Saints’ chances.
Prediction: 1-0
Ryan
Southampton scored an important 3 points against a potentially dangerous Leeds team which will have them feeling confident. Burnley will be relieved to have only conceded 2 at City although they didn’t have much of an answer going forward. It’s a struggle at the moment to see where their first win is coming from. Whilst I don’t think this will be it, I can also see both sides adding to their tally here.
Prediction: 0-0
Steviano
Back to back 0-0 draws including Norwich is not the early season form of Brighton and they will need a big performance against Potter admirer Pep’s city team who were clinical against Bruges in mid-week. City need to keep the pressure on Chelsea and Liverpool and should have too much for the Seagulls.
Prediction: 1-2
Brighton (#4, 15pts) vs Man City (#3, 17pts)
Pintsized
After a flying start to the season, Brighton have started to tail off – riding a three draw streak (with one against the dire, Norwich). After Blitzkreiging Club Brugge a few days ago, Pep’s city continues to march without a leading figure up top. I imagine Potter will approach this fairly aggressively and could force an entertaining back and forth affair in the first half.
Prediction: 1-3
Ryan
The early hot start for Brighton seems to be cooling a bit like the weather outside. Not beating Norwich is going to be a bit of a joke this season. City meanwhile did a professional job on Burnley last time out. This will be the best time for City to play Brighton whilst they’re on a downturn and they will take advantage of this.
Prediction: 1-3
Steviano
This could be one of the games of the weekend. Brentford are the new Leeds this season with no fear against anyone whilst Leicester come off the back of a big win over United last week. Probably one of the hardest games to predict so I’ll sit on the fence with a draw.
Prediction: 2-2
Premier League Matchday 9: Sunday, 24 October
West Ham (#7, 14pts) vs Tottenham (#5, 15pts)
Pintsized
Without any hiccups in Europe so far, my Irons continue to ride their luck on their paper-thin squad depth. Antonio continues to pound on the door for an England call-up while Soucek showcased the old school football mentality by bravely wearing Rondon’s (somewhat intentional) stomp. Spurs’ loss to Vitesse is a slight embarrassment but it was hardly a full-strength line-up. Kane’s return to scoring form is a huge worry.
Prediction: 1-3
Ryan
West Ham are definitely a team to watch this season. Even with Europa League commitments, they’re still smashing it overall and an impressive away win at Everton only fuels the fire. Spurs couldn’t have asked for a better fixture when they strolled past a disorganised Newcastle with Harry Kane finally getting off the mark in the league. A local derby though is not what they will have wanted and West Ham will make sure of that.
Prediction: 2-1
Steviano
Two of the teams battling hard for top 6 positions should make for an interesting encounter. B2b league wins for Nuno’s Spurs has stopped the rot but a disappointing mid-week European result hints at the issues with squad depth quality. Happy Hammers for me as I expect Moyes feel good factor to continue despite the Brentford loss in the last home game.
Prediction: 2-1
Brentford (#9, 12pts) vs Leicester (#11, 11pts)
Pintsized
I want to see Brentford stay in the Premier League for a while just to see what sort of smart investments they can make for their squad. After surpassing all expectations since promotion, Brentford could once again shock the bigger team at home. Chelsea could only eek out the one goal against Brentford. Leicester may have banged four past Man United, but Ole’s defence is comically porous on occasion.
Prediction: 1-1
Ryan
Brentford were unlucky and will not be a pretty team to play against. The surprise package arguably deserved more against Chelsea. Leicester completely blitzed an under par United to break their unbeaten away record. As is tradition though, teams that play their ‘cup final’ tend to lack energy or feel tired in their next game. With a team chomping at the bit for a comeback victory, this will be a big challenge for the Foxes.
Prediction: 2-1
Steviano
This could be one of the games of the weekend. Brentford are the new Leeds this season with no fear against anyone whilst Leicester come off the back of a big win over United last week. Probably one of the hardest games to predict so I’ll sit on the fence with a draw.
Prediction: 2-2
Man United (#6, 14pts) vs Liverpool (#2, 18pts)
Pintsized
If you haven’t already, give United vs Atalanta a wee viewing. Typical flakey United defence, Fred ballooning chances into the stands and a Ronaldo comeback all combined for a delightfully entertaining match. I imagine Ole will opt out of chasing the win quite as hard as Wednesday night, choosing instead to shore up with McFred and dragging Liverpool into a disgusting affair. Whether that is enough, I have my doubts – Klopp will shred the last bit of fan faith in Ole.
Prediction: 0-3
Ryan
Ole is under serious pressure at the moment. 3 wins in the last 8 games is just not good enough and an unsuccessful trip to Leicester did not help matters. On the flip side, Liverpool may well be considered genuine title contenders this season, steamrollering relegation fodder is exactly what they should do. So how do I see this going? No matter what anyone says, this rivalry is the biggest in English football. It’s one of those games where every result is feasible due to form being thrown out of the window. My heart says United will pull a rabbit out of the hat as they have been known to do under Ole but my head says Liverpool will be more cohesive and organised for this game. Unfortunately I’ll go with my head this time.
Prediction: 1-2
Steviano
On form this should be a Liverpool win but this game has a life of it’s own. Ole has a habit of following a poor run with a headline win which quells the rumblings and this is his big opportunity to do that but that will need Maguire to be fitter/sharper than his return against Leicester otherwise Liverpool’s front 3 could have a field day.
Prediction: 1-3
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