Football
Trending
‘THEY GOT IT WRONG’ — ALAN SHEARER & ALLY McCOIST BACKED ASTON VILLA, BUT ONE PUNDIT SAW FOREST’S VILLA PARK SHOCK COMING
The Premier League is back… and so is Ally vs Fletch. TNT Sports’ esteemed commentary duo have had their Premier League predictions showdown renewed for a second season, and we are once again inviting you to take on them both and prove you know ball.
On Saturday night, reigning champions Arsenal face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, seeking to preserve their 100% record so far this season – live with TNT Sports on HBO Max.
There are other mouth-watering encounters in gameweek 4, with a Manchester derby seeing Manchester United host their rivals Manchester City on Sunday, while Newcastle United visit Leeds United on Monday night.
Aston Villa will be hoping to carry momentum gleaned from beating Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League in midweek into their Premier League encounter with Nottingham Forest, while Tottenham Hotspur also go in search of their first league goal this term as they host Everton.
Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist make some bold predictions, with Fletch holding a slender lead over Ally after the third set of predictions.
| Wins | Points | |
| Fletch | 2 | 22 |
| Ally | 1 | 18 |
Remember, you can make your predictions for every Premier League game below and see how you stack up against the experts.
All set? Read on for Ally and Fletch’s Gameweek 4 predictions, then scroll down to make your own picks…
Gameweek 4 predictions
Date (UK time) Match Ally Fletch
Sat, Sep 12 (15:00) Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest 2-1 1-2
Sat, Sep 12 (15:00) Bournemouth v Brentford 2-1 3-2
Sat, Sep 12 (15:00) Chelsea v Hull 3-0 5-0
Sat, Sep 12 (15:00) Crystal Palace v Ipswich 2-0 2-0
Sat, Sep 12 (15:00) Liverpool v Fulham 3-1 3-0
Sat, Sep 12 (17:30) Tottenham v Everton 2-1 1-1
Sat, Sep 12 (20:00) Sunderland v Arsenal (TNT) 0-2 0-3
Sun, Sep 13 (14:00) Coventry v Brighton 1-1 2-1
Sun, Sep 13 (16:30) Man Utd v Man City 1-3 1-2
Mon, Sep 14 (20:00) Leeds v Newcastle 2-2 2-1
Selected matches:
Sunderland v Arsenal (TNT Sports)
Ally: “What a game. For many teams, this will be their hardest away game. I don’t see Sunderland scoring a lot of goals this season, while Arsenal come into this after a difficult away European tie which they handled superbly well.
“[Martin] Odegaard has started incredibly well, and as we saw at Villa, Arsenal can grind out results. I see that happening again.
“Sadly, I don’t think Sunderland will score, and I can see Arsenal nicking one and another one late on.”
Prediction: Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal
Fletch: “I’m going to go slightly bigger. I might have underestimated Sunderland a wee bit when we spoke before the season started.
“There doesn’t seem to have been any drop-off from where they were last season, and if they can stay relatively injury-free, there’s no reason why they can’t be good again.
“But this feels like the kind of game that Sunderland would least want at the moment. I just don’t see what they can do to hurt Arsenal, and I think they could get ground down by a team playing as well as Arsenal are.
“They must feel like they can beat anybody at the minute.”
Prediction: Sunderland 0-3 Arsenal
Man Utd v Man City
Ally: “I just cannot see Manchester United keeping a clean sheet at the moment.
“City have been getting more crosses into the box than usual, which clearly suits their centre-forward [Erling Haaland], who has been remarkable and is scoring headers as well as using his power and strength.
“United have been up and down so far, and while they were much better against Ipswich Town after being poor against Hull, I don’t see them taking anything from this derby.
“I think United will score, but they don’t make you believe. They’re not convincing.”
Prediction: Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City
Fletch: “I think City will win, but I see vulnerabilities in the way they have started the season.
“Coventry had chances against them last week and Porto created opportunities in midweek, while [Gianluigi] Donnarumma frightens me. He doesn’t look as good as he did a couple of seasons ago, and I feel this could be the start of the decline.
“Enzo Maresca still seems to be working out his best XI and balance.
“United are vulnerable too, but I don’t see City scoring three. They have plenty of possession but aren’t taking enough of their chances.
“I feel both these sides are still a work in progress. United don’t look as good as they did last season. They haven’t shown they’ve got the same spark.”
Prediction: Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City
