Good day everyone,

I hope you are all well and had an excellent weekend, welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things sports. This weekend of matches saw a resounding win for Spurs as Rodgers is put under even more pressure, Forest letting a lead slip once again, City running rampant, and Everton picking up a much needed win. If you would like to check out the preview on this round of games it can be found here: https://www.publish0x.com/cryptogod-1-sports/premier-league-2223-match-week-7-preview-xdddrvk

Weekend Predictions & Final Results

So in terms of the predicted scores, it was a disaster of a weekend. I got 0/7 correct this weekend. In terms of match-winner/loser, I managed to predict 3/7 correctly in this round of games.

Predicted: Aston Villa 1-1 Southampton

Result: Aston Villa 1-0 Southampton

Ramsey

Gerrard's side recorded their first clean sheet of the season as they secured a win at Villa Park over Hasenhuttl's side. The game got off to a slow start after wonderful scenes of remembrance for the Queen, but Coutinho was the key to getting things going. Bailey was wasteful on the other wing, but the Brazilian was instrumental in the opening goal, crossing in for Watkins who saw his header saved by Bazunu, with Ramsey on hand to score the follow up. Aribo came on at the break to help kick start Southampton, but without Lavia they lacked that penetrating bite to trouble the home defence. Mings played excellent, and Villa did their fans and manager proud with their performance. They were not at their flowing best but Gerrard knows once they get the points on the board the team will grow in confidence, and the style will improve over time. Southampton have now conceded in their last 13 Premier League matches, making it the longest run of any side in the division. Ramsey scored his first goal of the season for Villa and he is now only behind Watkins and Ings as the clubs top scorer since the start of last season. Ashley young also broke a record, becoming the second oldest outfield player to start a Premier League game at 37 years and 69 days, with only Robert Pires at 37 years and 120 days ahead of him.

Predicted: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fulham

Result: Nottingham Forest 2-3 Fulham

Awoniyi, O'Brien - Adarabioyo, Palhinha, Reed

With three goals in six minutes, it was a quickfire second half from Fulham to turn this game around after going behind in the eleventh minute. It was all Forest in the opening half with Fulham offering little, and it was Gibbs-White's corner which led to the opener. Yates managed to flick the ball on and Awoniyi was there to turn the ball home. Mitrovic largely nullified for Fulham in the first half, with a one near-post header from a corner the only real chance but was saved by a scrambling Henderson. The second half was completely different, with Adarabioyo getting the equaliser on 54 minutes with a powerful header from Willian's corner. Three minutes later and Fulham had the lead when Palhinha picked up Tete's cutback to curl a first-time finish from just outside the box into the top corner. On the hour mark and Fulham had a two goal cushion as Pereira played in Reid down the left and he powered into the box before finishing smartly. Lingard came on for Forest and they switched to a more attacking shape but it was O'Brien who got them back into it when he slammed home following a Brennan Johnson cut-back on the 77th minute. Fulham held on to secure another three points and the result saw Forest lose to another promoted side after their lose to Bournemouth last time out. Fulham's return of 11 points from seven games is their joint second-best at this stage of a Premier League season.

Predicted: Wolves 1-1 Manchester City

Result: Wolves 0-3 Manchester City

Grealish, Haaland, Foden

It took less than a minute for Man City to open the scoring here, as he converted De Bruyne's cross from close range. From there it was all one way, as fifteen minutes later Haaland made it two with a lovely right footed effort from outside the area, giving Sa no chance. Wolves were struggling against the power of City and on 33 minutes things got worse when Collins got a red card for a high challenge on Grealish, leaving Lage's side with a mountain to climb. While the home side tried to get back into the game in the second half, the damage was done when De Bruyne low right-wing cross was turned in by Foden with just over twenty minutes left to play. It was a well deserved victory and in all truth Wolves had little chance after conceding twice so early in the match. The red card marred things but it was a great day for Grealish who scored his first goal of the season after recent scrutiny. Haaland now has a remarkable eleven goals in his opening seven league matches meaning he is on course to break all records. City are also undefeated in 22 away games in the league, while Wolves have won just one of their last fourteen league fixtures.

Predicted: Newcastle 2-0 Bournemouth

Result: Newcastle 1-1 Bournemouth

Isak - Billing

It was the home side who started brighter in this game, with Newcastle dominating possession in the first half but not being able to make the most of it. It was Bournemouth who had the first big chance, as Tavernier headed wide from Zemura floated cross when Pope was in no man's land. Trippier was the main outlet for Newcastle, constantly providing a threat and even hitting the post from a free kick. Joelinton also hit the post, this one from inside the box, as Newcastle applied pressure at the end of the first half which also saw Neto save from Joelinton and Fraser in quick succession. The second half continued in the same manner with Bournemouth frustrating Newcastle, catching them on the break just after the hour mark when Billing guided Zemura's cross Pope. It was a quick response from Newcastle as Trippier won a penalty within five minutes as his cross struck the hand of Lerma inside the box and after a pitch side monitor VAR check, the referee awarded the spot kick. Isak sent Neto the wrong way to draw the sides level, with the club record signing showing great composure to score. The game failed to create much more and a share of the spoils seems deserved. The result means Newcastle have now drawn five games this season, and will need to turn those into wins if they wish to challenege for the European spots. Bournemouth meanwhile have managed to collect another point in their upturn in form since Parker got sacked after the humiliation to Liverpool.

Predicted: Tottenham 3-1 Leicester

Result: Tottenham 6-2 Leicester

Kane, Dier, Bentancur, Son x3 - Tielemans, Maddison

Interestingly, Son was dropped to the bench for this one after not scoring in his last eight games, and he now faces real competition upfront for his starting spot with Richarlison signed over the summer and Kulusevski continuing his excellent Spurs career. It was the perfect response from Son and Spurs in general in this game, after they went behind when Tielemans' fourth-minute penalty had to be retaken, and the Belgian scored at the second time of asking. That lead did not last long, as Kane scored with a header in the eight minute and just after twenty minutes Dier got himself a headed goal to give Spurs the lead. Familiar defensive issues plagued Rodgers side, although Maddison managed to keep the score level four minutes before the break with a beautiful hooked finish. Two minutes after the restart it was Spurs in the lead again as Bentacur got his first Spurs goal. The magic was to come from Son though, as he come off the bench at the hour mark to score in the 73rd minute with a beautiful long range effort. He added another long range beauty on 84 minutes before slotting past a helpless Ward two minutes later to complete his treble and ensure Spurs remain unbeaten after seven league games. Leicester meanwhile still have only one point from a possible twenty-one and Rodgers will be favourite for the chop next with the awful defensive displays from his side, albeit a lack of summer investment has not helped.

Predicted: Brentford 0-1 Arsenal

Result: Brentford 0-3 Arsenal

Saliba, Jesus, Vieria

Another strong performance from Arsenal as afterwards Brentford manager Thomas Frank admitted the Gunners are definitely title contenders. Arsenal started brightly, with Xhaka and Martinelli perfectly before the Brazilian lost his footing as he was about to shoot. It took until the 17th minute to open the scoring, as Saliba connected with Saka's corner to head in off the post. He was just as good at the back, keeping Toney at bay throughout the game. The second came just before the half hour mark as Jesus met a perfect ball from Xhaka to head in beyond Raya in the net. Brentford could not get a foothold in the game and four minutes into the second half it was all over as Vieira, making his first start for the club, collected a Saka pass in space outside the Brentford box and struck a delicious strike which went in off the post. Twice Jesus tested Raya after that, and Arsenal pressed for more but could not find it. The win takes then back top of the table, while Nwaneri came on at 15 years and 181 days old to become Premier League's youngest player. Jesus is now just behind Haaland in terms of overall Goals and Assists, with four goals and three assists. 

Predicted: Everton 2-2 West Ham

Result: Everton 1-0 West Ham

Maupay

With a tough start to the season so far for both of these sides, a must needed win will have given Everton a huge confidence boost ahead of the international break. The pressure of maybe the overall occasion meant the first half was nothing more than a distinct lack of quality in the final third on display. The fans had little to cheer about, knowing a lose for either side would cement them in the relegation zone for the international break. Bowen created the best chance of the first half, cutting back for Antonio in the box only to have Coady make a last ditch block to stop a certain goal. After having no shots on target in the oepning half, it took eight minutes into the second before Maupay received Iwobi's pass on the edge of the box and produced a quick turn and shot on the bounce to leave West Ham goalkeeper Fabianski helpless. Tarkwoski stopped both Bowen and Benhrama efforts to keep Everton in the lead, and Cornet's touch let him down in the end after a Rice driving run. The win moves Everton out of the drop zone, while West Ham remain in the bottom three and two points from safety.

Table After Match Day 7

A look at the top half of the table and both Man City and Spurs have maintained their unbeaten starts to the season after seven games, while Arsenal have gone back to the top of the table. Brighton, United, Chelsea and Liverpool did not play, meaning Fulham have pushed up into sixth. Brentford and Newcastle close out the top ten.

As for the bottom half, Leicester are still bottom with 1 point so far this season. Forest are next, somewhat showing spending lots of money on lots of players does not always work. West Ham have continued their awful start to the league campaign, sitting in 18rg with Wolves and Palace just two points ahead, albeit Palace have a game in hand. A well needed win has seen Everton push up into 13th and they will hope to climb even higher in the table.

Top Goal scorers After Match Day 7

1 - E. Haaland - Man City - 11 Goals
2 - A. Mitrovic - Fulham - 6 Goals
3 - H Kane - Tottenham - 6 Goals
4 - I. Toney- Brentford - 5 Goals
5 - W. Zaha - Crystal Palace - 4 Goals   
6 - Rodrigo - Leeds United - 4 Goals
7 - A Mac Allister - Brighton - 4 Goals

8 - Jesus - Arsenal - 4 Goals

Check out my 2022/23 Season Preview and Predictions here: Premier League 2022/23 Prediction

Also check out my review of the group draw and prediction of the Champions League for this season here: Champions League 2022/23 Prediction

I hope you enjoyed this round of midweek games. We will be back again next weekend with the final round of fixture before the international break. Have a great day.

Peace. CryptoGod-1.

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