Score Predictor Tips: Users divided by Manchester United v Brighton – PlayStation 5 up for grabs!

STOP worrying about whether Gareth Southgate will select [insert player you hate] over [insert player you love] for England’s opening match at the Euros.

There’s two more international breaks before December to fill with all that tedium.

Now is the time to refocus on the Premier League and, by extension, Score Predictor.

There’s a PlayStation 5 up for grabs once again in Matchweek 5 and so let’s analyse each of the selected fixtures in hope of providing one reader with the information they need to land the fantastic prize.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR FOR FREE – INCREDIBLE WEEKLY PRIZES!

Manchester United v Brighton

Matchweek 5’s headline fixture comes first chronologically as it’s scheduled for 3pm on Saturday.

You may remember this match-up from the opening weekend last season when the Seagulls recorded an historic 2-1 win at Old Trafford thanks to a Pascal Gross brace.

Interestingly, 40% of Score Predictor users believe the visitors will win by the same scoreline again this season while same volume of users think the Red Devils will take revenge with a 2-1 win of their own.

With 1-1 being the third-most popular prediction it’s clear this fixture has split fans down the middle and will therefore be a pivotal one.

Roberto De Zerbi’s tactics generally ensure a open-ended contest with chances at both ends while Erik ten Hag has struggled to strike the right balance in midfield, while also being hampered with injuries in defence.

However, Brighton are yet to keep a clean sheet this season, even with a couple of favourable fixtures in that regard in the form of Luton and Wolves – they’ve allowed their opponents 46 shots across their first four fixtures.

This suggests there will enough to keep the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford interested even if Andre Onana is to be a busy man.

We got our prediction spot on for Matchweek 4’s headline fixture by tipping Arsenal to beat Man United 3-1 but this one really could go either way.

Our Prediction: 2-1 to Brighton

Newcastle v Brentford

Now then, this an intriguing one.

Score Predictor users are overwhelmingly backing Eddie Howe’s men, as are the bookies, but it has to be noted that the Bees are yet to lose this season while the Magpies have lost three on the bounce.

Not only that, Brentford have generated the most xG (expected goals) in the Premier League so far this season – a byproduct of the more expansive approach employed by Thomas Frank this term.

That being said, St James’ Park is a very difficult place to go these days (unless you’re Liverpool, Newcastle’s bogey team) and while it’s true Brentford are undefeated, they’ve only won one of their four games – Bryan Mbeumo’s 93rd-minute strike prevented a home loss to Bournemouth last time out.

We suspect the international break will have allowed Newcastle to reset and let’s not forget that their three consecutive defeats came against Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton – three of the top six teams in the league and, respectfully, all a level above Brentford.

Our Prediction: 3-2 to Newcastle

Bournemouth v Chelsea

The Blues still aren’t quite right while the Cherries are without a win under Andoni Iraola.

Defeat at home to Nottingham Forest in Matchweek 4 was a bitter pill to swallow for Mauricio Pochettino but his side’s underlying numbers are actually rather encouraging – although Nicolas Jackson really needs to start converting more of his chances.

Even with their efficiency problems and the unsettling presence of an out-of-sorts Robert Sanchez between the sticks, Chelsea have Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez in impressive form and literally hundreds of millions of pounds of talent in the starting midfield alone.

Our Prediction: 2-0 to Chelsea

Everton v Arsenal

Fans of the Toffees are probably among the small minority who would welcome another week or two of the international break.

Sean Dyche’s side have mustered just one point from four outings so far and that came from a draw to newly-promoted Sheffield United.

No team has scored fewer goals than Everton’s two at the start of this season and it’s hard to envisage anything other than one-way traffic in favour of the Gunners on Sunday.

We agree with the 40% of users who think this will be a routine 3-0 win for Arsenal.

Cue those famous Goodison Park boos…

Our Prediction: 3-0 to Arsenal

Nottingham Forest v Burnley

Many pundits fancied the Clarets to do well upon their return to the top flight under Vincent Kompany but it hasn’t gone to plan for the Belgian gaffer so far.

His side have conceded the most goals in the league at this stage, despite playing one game fewer than every team bar Luton, shipping 11 in their three defeats.

As for Forest, they’ve generally been competitive at home and dismal away but they bucked that trend in emphatic fashion with a win at Stamford Bridge before the international break.

Steve Cooper’s side also had their moments against Arsenal and Man United in the games they lost.

This analysis hints at a home win but it should be noted that Burnley actually beat Forest in the Carabao Cup a fortnight ago, albeit with both managers naming second-string starting line-ups.

Also, Score Predictors users should occasionally listen to their gut and ours is telling us…

Our Prediction: 1-1 draw

Submit your predictions for Matchweek 5 now!

CLICK HERE TO PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR FOR FREE – INCREDIBLE WEEKLY PRIZES!

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk