Blasphemy! Seven clubs lock horns for the title after sir Alex Ferguson's retirement!

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England star joins Arsenal​
Ross has ability to become long-term playmaker at Emirates​
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Barkley is a full international star already​
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By Alan Smith
10:14AM GMT 11 Aug 2016

Arsenal have announced the transfer of England international midfield playmaker Ross Barkley (22) from Everton. The fee is reported to be around 24.0 million pounds. This news is a sound continuation of Arsene Wenger's policy of building a new core of home-grown players and as we know it's hard to recruit those because of the notoriously overinflated market. Ross broke in the Toffees first team three seasons ago but only managed 17 starts and decided it was time to look for a move elsewhere. It is still unclear if Wenger plans to use him from the off or give him a season long loan at an affiliate to get him up to speed but Barkley certainly showed glimpses of class when representing England - he bagged 5 goals in just 7 international games.

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Barkley becomes a Gunner​

Ross Barkley transfer verdict: 7.5/10 - he's definitely not the finished article yet but nobody can dispute his tremendous talent and the fact he's a homegrown player is an added bonus.
 
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Premier League predictions: Lawro v Hugh Laurie

BBC Sport football expert Mark Lawrenson is back for the new season and will again be pitting his wits against a different guest each week.

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His first opponent of the new campaign is English actor, comedian, writer, musician, director and Arsenal fan Hugh Laurie.

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Lawro vs Laurie for the opening games this season

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A correct result is worth ONE point. A correct score earns THREE points.

Chelsea - West Ham
Hugh Laurie: The Blues will win this. 2-0.
Mark Lawrenson: Jose Mourinho has a great squad and it will show in this London derby. 3-1.

Tottenham - Newcastle
Hugh Laurie: I can see Spurs suffer in this one but it will be close. 2-3.
Mark Lawrenson: I expect the Magpies to score big after kicking the season off in a disappointing manner. 0-4.

Manchester United - Swansea
Hugh Laurie: I'll have to back the Red Devils here. 2-0.
Mark Lawrenson: Man United are in a good shape and the Swans barely survived last season so don't expect any fireworks at Old Trafford. 4-0.

Everton - Manchester City
Hugh Laurie: The Toffees might pull a surprise at home. 1-1.
Mark Lawrenson: I don't expect the Citizens to fail there but you never know. 1-2.

Fulham - Arsenal
Hugh Laurie: We have to take this game. 1-3.
Mark Lawrenson: It will be hard for the Gunners, Fulham will be really up for this London derby at home and they have the habit of starting strongly. 2-1.

Blackburn - Q.P.R.
Hugh Laurie: I don't know what to expect of Rovers, my guess is they will still be blending and might take some time to work well as an unit. 2-2.
Mark Lawrenson: It's a home game and Blackburn have too much class to miss out on a win. 3-0.

Last season, Lawro was precise with his predictions and completely blew his guests out of the water:

Total scores for season 2015/16:
Lawro: 174
Guests: 144

Total scores for season 2014/15:
Lawro: 145
Guests: 128
 
Amanado said:
Unlucky in the community shield mate
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****** off with the late knock which forced us to play Debuchy in DM - Chelsea scored two exactly after that change and I had to endure Mourinho's bragging all over again...
 
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Premier League 2016/17 kicks off!

Saturday 13th August 2016:

Chelsea - West Ham 6-0
Hazard (1), Cole (pen 29), Hummels (32), Falcao (45+2, 61), Umtiti (89)​
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Tottenham - Newcastle 2-3
Diego Costa (20), Papadopoulos (69); Balotelli (13, 29), Januzaj (41)​
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Manchester United - Swansea 3-0
Bale (35), van Persie (44), Di Maria (69)
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Everton - Manchester City 0-5
Makoun sent off (88); Messi (8, 27, 42), Gotze (44, 48)
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Sunday 14th August 2016:

Fulham - Arsenal 2-5​
Hangeland (16), Parker (42), Hangeland sent off (49); Isco (1), Wilshere (11), Ramsey (pen 27, pen 59), Aubameyang (37)
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Monday 15th August 2016:

Blackburn - Q.P.R. 3-0
Schneiderlin (23), Vermaelen (76), Alexis Sanchez (87)​
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League Table:

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KevinHann said:
- Man United is a strange pick considering both Chelsea and Man City - as well as we - have outperformed them consistently in recent seasons. Would you elaborate?
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They always seem to be there, if they havent won the league in a couple of years, they do the third... though this is just me theorizing... lol
 

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Robbie Savage @RobbieSavage8 what a tool @ Marseilles can youiiiilieve 1m

#blackburn set to officially announce new star who already featured in season
opener

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Blackburn keep spending - fullback Carvajal latest on the shopping list
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By Kevin Gallacher.........i-iiiii..........11:43 PM Monday 15th August 2016 in Sport
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Blackburn just can't stop their spree on the market - the club has officially announced yet another high-profile signing in the face of CSKA Moscow fullback Dani Carvajal (24). The transfer fee is reported to be in the region of 11.25 million pounds. The more impressive news is Rovers wrestled Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham to the Spain international and the right fullback was so captivated by the project in motion at Ewood Park that told his agent to refuse any other offers.

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Carvajal pleased to become a Rover​

Dani is a product of the Real Madrid academy and even forced them to buy him back a single season after selling him to Leverkusen. Despite enjoying two good seasons in Madrid the board let him go to CSKA Moscow where he established himself as one of the best players in the Russian championship.

Dani Carvajal transfer verdict: 8.0/10 - one of the best fullbacks available on the market and acquiring him at such an early stage of his career is a real coup for Rovers.
 
I thought it would be from a premier league club, isn't that what the tweet meant?
 
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Van Persie era comes to an end
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Last Updated: 15th August 2016

DUTCHMAN was the last natural goalscorer at Old Trafford

We felt it was coming but it still shocked us when Manchester United announced the departure of cultured striker Robin van Persie (33). Some expected Robin would stay at Old Trafford until the time comes to hang up his boots but he didn't relish the prospect of becoming a backup player and instead opted for a 825k pounds move to Juventus. Van Persie was the last natural goalscorer left from sir Alex Ferguson's reign and we can now expect to see what David Moyes has in mind for the Red Devils' attack in the coming years. Especially after Wayne Rooney has surprised us with having an early testimonial in pre-season signalling his time at Old Trafford might also be nearing an end.
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van Persie moves to Italy

It's hard to judge the Holland international as he has featured less and less under Moyes - 33 starts in the first season, 18 in the second and only 12 last campaign. A lot of it was down to injuries though and if anyone doubted Robin was losing his skill it was proven wrong this very weekend - van Persie blasted a screamer in the back of the net to say a proper goodbye in style.​

Robin van Persie transfer verdict: 0.5/10 - poor transfer beyond any doubt - players at this age never command a big fee and it will be extremely hard to find a suitable replacement.
 

Gary Lineker: Good evening and welcome to Match of the Day for our thoughts on the 2016/17 Premier League season! It seems the race will be as tight as ever this time around and as we all know it is those direct 6-pointer clashes that play a decisive part in deciding who will fly and who will fall. For this reason we will be focusing solely on those giant games in Match of the Day. Stay with us as Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer aid me on analyzing the key aspects of what happened and why it happened for you!

Chelsea - Arsenal
1-1
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Gary Lineker: The first title contender derby this season was a fixture pulled early due to Arsenal's European Super Cup fixture. It was a trip to Stamford Bridge, ground of reigning champions Chelsea - perhaps not the game Wenger would like to see midweek. Chelsea started off brightly and took the lead with an early Lewandowski goal. Mourinho must have thought the cat was in the bag but the Gunners somehow found a vital Walcott equalizer in the dying seconds to sneak a point off their hosts!
Alan Hansen: This just shows how easily you could end up dropping points at home if you don't take your chances and that was something Chelsea simply didn't do. They had so many chances and should have put it to rest much earlier - you don't miss four or five clear cut sitters like that! But let's also give some credit to the visitors - Arsenal crafted two great chances and matched the possession of the champions so they always had a chance of scoring as long as they hanged in there.
Alan Shearer: Umtiti and Hazard had a decent game for the Blues but Ramires disappointed before Mourinho took him off at half time. Goal hero Walcott and Diego Reyes were good for the visitors but it was Ben Davies who had tremendous passion with numerous tackles and a great deal of play going through him who deservedly took the PoM award.
Gary Lineker: It's way too early to mourn the loss of points for Chelsea but Mourinho will know that's exactly what they did. The Arsenal camp can be very happy with taking this point out of perhaps the most unpleasant place to travel to.
 
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Premier League predictions: Lawro v Liam Gallagher

BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson is pitting his wits against a different guest each week this season.

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This week he takes on Liam Gallagher, the frontman of the band Beady Eye, a Manchester City fan and formerly one of the two frontmen of one of the most prominent Britpop bands - Oasis. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press. He remains one of the most recognisable figures in modern British music.

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Lawro vs Man City fan Liam

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A correct result is worth ONE point. A correct score earns THREE points.

Newcastle - Manchester United
Liam Gallagher: I'd love to see these two take points off each other! 2-2.
Mark Lawrenson: I'll side with the Magpies in this one but it could really go either way. 3-2.

Bolton - Chelsea
Liam Gallagher: I'll go for a shock result in this one, Wanderers nearly appointed Klopp so why not? 2-2.
Mark Lawrenson: Of course I'll back the Blues to take an easy win against a promoted club, Mourinho won't allow points to be lost twice in a row. 0-2.

Manchester City - Fulham
Liam Gallagher: Easy game for us. 3-0.
Mark Lawrenson: I also don't see the Cottagers pulling any surprises at Etihad. 3-1.

West Ham - Blackburn
Liam Gallagher: I don't know why Rovers are considered title challenger, really. 1-0.
Mark Lawrenson: This is a tough game for Blackburn but I'll back them for a win. 1-2.

Arsenal - Leeds
Liam Gallagher: This could be an upset even if Arsenal are at home. 1-1.
Mark Lawrenson: I doubt the Gunners will underestimate Leeds and I can see them winning by a small margin. 2-1.

Last week, Lawro got five results right, with one perfect score. His score of 7 was enough to stop Arsenal fan Hugh Laurie, with the comedian scoring 6 thanks to his four correct results, one perfect score.

Total scores after Week One
Lawro: 7
Guests: 6
 
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Premier League
Round 2

Saturday 20th August 2016:

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Newcastle - Manchester United 2-4
Balotelli (29), Depay (52); Henriquez (78, 80, 82), Iniesta (79)​
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Bolton - Chelsea 1-1
Cornelius (78); Cole sent off (24), Thiago Alcantara sent off (32), Fabregas (38)​
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Manchester City - Fulham 3-0
Vidal (pen 29), Ronaldo (61), Modric (90)​
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West Ham - Blackburn 0-1
Bony (82)
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Arsenal - Leeds 0-0​
Pique sent off (40)​
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League Table:

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How in the world is that even possible? Four goals in four minutes, huh.
 

Gary Lineker: Good evening and welcome to Match of the Day for our thoughts on the 2016/17 Premier League season! It seems the race will be as tight as ever this time around and as we all know it is those direct 6-pointer clashes that play a decisive part in deciding who will fly and who will fall. For this reason we will be focusing solely on those giant games in Match of the Day. Stay with us as Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer aid me on analyzing the key aspects of what happened and why it happened for you!

Newcastle - Manchester United
2-4
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Gary Lineker: Saint James' Park geared up for the second title contender derby this season as both Newcastle and Man United got off to a winning start in the Premier League. The Magpies took the lead with yet another Balotelli goal in the first half, then extended their lead after the break with a Depay strike and appeared on track for a massive win... But a spectacular 5-minute collapse at the end really cost them as the Red Devils struck no less than four goals - sub Angelo Henriquez got perhaps the quickest hattrick I've ever seen, sandwiching an Iniesta strike to bring a totally shocking away victory!!
Alan Hansen: If you look at the stats and the scoreline and you haven't seen the game you will get the totally wrong idea of what happened. Man United had more chances and got the more goals... but in all honesty I've never witnessed such a spectacular turn of events in the course of a match! I mean the Magpies were really cruising up until the final ten minutes and I still don't know why and how the turnaround happened. The only thing that pops to mind was the Henriquez introduction somehow confused the home defense into forgetting basic football skills. Credit to Moyes for that!
Alan Shearer: Despite the loss Gino Peruzzi was great for Newcastle and Balotelli had another good match since joining. Yohan Cabaye was the poorest player on the pitch for them and perhaps was one of the catalysts for the surrender. De Gea had a shocker for Man United but Pogba, Kagawa, Iniesta and Vidic were pretty good while Fellaini and Bale were exceptional. Of course the PoM award went to Angelo Henriquez for his 300-seconds hattrick.
Gary Lineker: It will be very interesting to see how the Magpies pick themselves up from this - they are now stuck in the lower half of the table. The Red Devils are buoyant and maintain a perfect record after this win and they can really feel it could be their year now!
 
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