GW3 Preview: A Title-Tinged 6-Pointer Tops the Weekend

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The Tipple season is fully up and running, and we’re back with our weekly fixture preview, giving you an idea of why and how we’ve landed on this week’s line-up.

As always, our picks come from a blend of the difficulty algorithm and a touch of human instinct, making sure you’re never too comfortable. You could be on for a monster 30+ points… or you might be staring down the dreaded no win, -10 week.

So, here it is, your Gameweek 3 fixture list.

Premier League

Liverpool vs Arsenal – BIG BET

The headline act. Two title contenders meeting early in the season at Anfield. Liverpool looked rampant at home in their last outing, but Arsenal can go toe-to-toe with anyone this season, winning both their first 2 games without conceding a goal. A proper early season six-pointer, and the Big Bet pick of the week.

Sunderland vs Brentford

A mixed start for both of these teams, with both winning their home match and losing away. Can Sunderland shake off a disappointing loss to fellow Premier League newbies Burnley, or will Brentford start to show some form after their impressive 1-0 win against Villa.

Wolves vs Everton

It looks like a continuation of last season for Wolves, losing both of their opening matches (granted one being against City). They will be hoping to put things right back at home against Everton, but with the Toffees coming in off the back of a 2-0 home win vs Brighton, it won’t be an easy match.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham

With how West Ham are playing at the moment, this might seem a bit odd to include in the ‘close’ games of the week. But with Nuno Espírito Santo coming under heavy pressure after some ongoings in the background with the Forest owner, there is a lot of uncertainty in the camp at the moment. The question will be whether this is going to affect them on the pitch and allow West Ham to get their first result of the season after two very poor performances and results.

Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace

The late kick-off on Super Sunday is sure to be a cracker. With neither team coming into this in amazing form, I expect them both to be wanting to go for the win to kick-start their season. Neither can really afford to lose if they want to give their fans faith of achieving what they set out to this year, and it will be an interesting battle.

Championship

QPR vs Charlton

After losing 7-1 to Coventry last week in an unbelievably poor showing, QPR fans will be desperate to see something better from their team at home against newly promoted Charlton. However, Charlton are no walkovers this year, and have invested wisely, building a decent and capable team at this level. If things don’t start well, the home crowd could turn very quickly in this one.

Stoke City vs West Brom

Mark Robins is working wonders at Stoke it seems, after starting poorly in pretty much every season he had with Coventry, he seems to have finally found the secret formula. It remains to be seen whether he can keep it going, facing a stern test next at home to West Brom who have also started the season unbeaten, but they are certainly putting in the performances to go with the results.

Blackburn Rovers vs Norwich City

1 win from 3 for both of these teams is just not good enough if they want to achieve anything this year. They are going to have to start putting in some better performances and getting some points on the board, it will be an interesting test between two teams hoping to achieve similar aspirations this season, who will come out on top?

Bristol City vs Hull City

After losing Manning, Bristol City have started the season pretty steadily with a win and 2 draws, they will be coming into this hoping to add another 3 points to really cement their position as play-off chasers in their fans minds. They face a Hull side in a strange transitional period, after having an embargo forced upon them all transfer window, no one expected much, but they seem to have a pretty decent squad and are surprising a few people with their performances to start the season.

Portsmouth vs Preston North End

Preston have had the better start of the two, unbeaten in 3 with 2 wins and a draw they find themselves in the last play-off place. But as we all know, Fratton Park is one of the hardest places to go and come away with a result, whichever league Pompey are in at the time, I can see this one going either way. Winger Josh Murphy will be key to Portsmouth’s success, if he is on form it could spell danger for Preston.

League One

Barnsley vs Huddersfield

Both find themselves in the positions they would hope to be in come the end of the season, with Barnsley in the play-offs, and Huddersfield the automatic places. With Barnsley playing at home I would give them the slightest edge, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Huddersfield came away with a 3-0 win. It really could go either way.

Blackpool vs Bolton

In contrast to the previous game, this one sees two sides in pretty poor form. In their first 5 matches Blackpool and Bolton have accumulated just 3 and 6 points respectively, this is not good enough in the fans eyes and both will be looking to put that right on Saturday. With Blackpool only winning 1 out of 5 matches, Bolton will be confident they can come away from this match with all 3 points.

Exeter vs Peterborough

Peterborough’s slide down the EFL seems to be continuing as is this season, only managing 1 point out of 5 matches. Exeter will be extremely disappointed if they don’t walk away from this with all 3 points, but something has to change for Posh, and I think this match might bring enough pressure for their manager Darren Ferguson to change things. Because of this, it may look easy on paper, but it is quite a hard one to predict.

Reading vs Port Vale

Two teams that find themselves in the relegation zone, one finding it hard to score in Port Vale, and the other finding it hard to keep them out in Reading. This will be an interesting contest and will essentially come down to who can break their poor form either in front of goal or defending their own.

Wigan Athletic vs Stockport County

Two teams who are backed to finish quite high up, perhaps Stockport with a little more faith put in them in that department. If Stockport want to achieve promotion this season, they are going to have to pick up points on the road at teams like Wigan, but that is no easy feat and with a good crowd backing the Latics, we are in for a close match. This is our dodgy pick of the week, as Stockport with their attacking ability could easily put 4 past their opponents.

League Two

Barrow vs Fleetwood

Our relegation pick for all 3 TWITS, Barrow have pleasantly surprised us with their start to the season, picking up 6 points from a possible 15, including an impressive 2-0 away win to Colchester. Now I know this isn’t a points tally that sets the world on fire, but enough to put them comfortably mid table. Fleetwood do look the more solid of the two, with 2 wins and 2 draws, however the 1 loss did come as a 4-1 thumping at home against Crewe, so they are susceptible to a big loss.

Crewe vs Swindon

Talk of the devil, our next match features the frescoring Crewe Alexandra. 10 goals in 5 matches, and only conceding 3 along the way, they find themselves top of the table. Swindon however are a team that have a habit of killing people’s Acca’s, whether that be by winning or losing, and on their day can put 2 or 3 past anyone. Their issue this season, with 8 goals for and against, is that they are also pretty weak in defence. A bold choice needed on this one and a prayer to avoid a heavy defeat penalty.

Barnet vs Colchester

Both these teams have been quite disappointing in their first 5 matches. With both tipped to be quite high up, even though Barnet are newly promoted, they will be disappointed with their starts. I think it will be attack from the get go with the two of them looking to take control of the match and search for the 3 points they desperately need to get themselves back in the mix at the top half of the table.

Shrewsbury Town vs Accrington Stanley

Many had these two sides to struggle on their 1-24s this season, and it seems to be playing out that way. With the Shrews only managing 1 point from a possible 15, and Accrington only slightly better with 2, this could be an early relegation 6 pointer. A nervy afternoon at Croud Meadow incoming.

Tranmere vs Notts County

Another week of Notts County on the fixture list, they just keep having close matches. Probably one of the hardest teams to predict and with their apparent habit of conceding late goals, a sometimes annoying one at that. They travel to a Tranmere side unbeaten in their first 4 matches, and looking confident.

So, there you have it, your Tipple Gameweek 3 fixture list. Think you’ve got what it takes to get all 6 picks correct? Download Tipple on the App Store and get involved now!