EPL Picks - Week 2

Wayne Rooney is either trying to play peek-a-boo, or hide from all of the nice people who took our crazy advice in picking Manchester United to beat Burnley last week. What were we thinking! Of course Burnley was going to beat such a weak, feeble team! Oh well, even us Yoders have a bad game or two. Or in Doc's case, 4. United's loss along with a couple other surprise results see things tighten up after 2 slates of games. Here's our results so far, and the picks and analysis for the second weekend of the EPL. Enjoy!

Midweek Results:

Mr. Yoder I: 4-2-0 12 pts

Mr. Yoder II: 3-3-0 9 pts

Dr. Yoder: 2-4-0 6 pts

Total After Week 1:

Mr. Yoder II: 11-5-0 33 pts

Mr. Yoder I: 10-6-0 30 pts

Dr. Yoder: 9-7-0 27 pts

Portsmouth (0-2-0) @ Arsenal (1-0-0)

If you're Pompey, and you've lost your first two games, and you're yet to score, it's probably not a good time to visit a team that scored 6 goals in their first EPL game. Arsenal's win at Celtic in the midweek was impressive as well. They can send out the youngsters in this one and still beat a shorthanded Pompey. In case you were wondering, we all like Arsenal.

All: Arsenal

Stoke (1-1-0) @ Birmingham (1-1-0)

Birmingham played Man U. tough in week one, then beat Pompey midweek to get an important win early on. Stoke payed for Liverpool's opening loss, losing 4-0 at Anfield last week. Both teams will probably play it close to the vest, so this one could go either way. Maybe we'll get our much anticipated first draw!! Our experts are split. Me and Doc ride the wave with Birmimgham, while Y2 goes with Stoke.

Y1: Birmingham Y2: Stoke Y3: Birmingham

Bolton (0-1-0) @ Hull (0-2-0)

OK Hull, you've started with losses to the current Top 2, so we can let that slide. One of them was 5-1 at home vs Spurs, but we'll even forget that for now. But, this is Bolton now, this is a winnable game. We don't want to see the future of US Soccer, our boy Jozy Altidore, come on board to a team that is this year's Derby County. Don't let us Yoders down.

All: Hull City

Blackburn (0-1-0) @ Sunderland (1-1-0)

Blackburn played with a lot of fire against Man City last weekend, they just couldn't score. Sunderland was leading Chelsea before being overcome in the 2nd Half by Chelsea's skill and talent. They won't have this problem against Blackburn this weekend. As long as they keep their head, they'll win.

Y1: Sunderland Y2: Sunderland Doc: Blackburn

Wolves (1-1-0) @ Man City (1-0-0)

Thank you Wolves for saving me a little face with last week's win at Wigan. This week sees a much sterner test at the princes of Manchester City. City won 2-0 last week, but weren't thoroughly impressive. As long as they get the W's, and stay above their city rivals United though, it'll be all smiles at Eastlands (and not just because Mr. Al-Fahim has a few extra pennies lying around). They should be able to handle last year's Championship winners.

All: Manchester City

Man United (1-1-0) @ Wigan (1-1-0)

Speaking of City's city rivals (sorry for the redundant redundancy) Manchester United looks to rebound from Wednesday's shocking loss at Burnley with a trip to Wigan Athletic. Wigan looked great in dominating Aston Villa on Opening Day, but fell back to Earth in midweek. 1 goal in two games for United isn't doing much to ease those fears about losing Ronaldo and Tevez. Doc's conflicted, but he goes with his head over his heart. Man U can't lose 2 straight games to Burnley and Wigan... can they?

All: Manchester United

Tottenham (2-0-0) @ West Ham (1-0-0)

Who would have thought 1 year ago that Tottenham Hotspur would still be in the EPL, let alone at the top! A win over Liverpool, and then an absolute crushing of Hull City has White Hart Lane flying high. However, don't underestimate Zola's Hammers. The Italian pledged his commitment to the Hammers this week, easing some fans minds amidst financial concerns. At least West Ham is having a better month than their most famous fan (right).

Y1: Spurs Y2: Spurs Doc: West Ham

Everton (0-1-0) @ Burnley (1-1-0)

Burnley just recorded their biggest win in years by beating the reigning champions Manchester United 1-0. Everton got thrashed at home by Arsenal 6-1, and star CB Joleon Lescott has now been axed from the team until the transfer saga with Manchester City is over. So, of course, following this logic, Everton is an easy pick. At least the Yoder Bros. think so.

Y1: Everton Y2: Everton Doc: Burnley

Chelsea (1-0-0) @ Fulham (1-0-0)

Craven Cottage sees one of the marquee games of the weekend when Chelsea visits their London neighbors. Fulham always seems to play the big teams well at home, and are coming off a solid road win. Chelsea has looked great in second halves after giving up early leads, picking up 2 wins from 2. If they do it again this week, they won't get it back so easy against a Fulham defense made of steel. Give Roy Hodgson a lot of credit for pulling Fulham from the depths to competing for a European spot. Tough one to pick, only Y2 goes for the slight upset.

Y1: Chelsea Y2: Fulham Doc: Chelsea

Aston Villa (0-1-0) @ Liverpool (1-1-0)

Villa, Villa, Villa, what happened to the team that was supposed to break through to the Top 4? It might be a long season for Martin O'Neill with a short squad not exactly long on confidence right now. Liverpool on the other hand is back from the brink of despair after that 4-0 whooping of Stoke in midweek. Glen Johnson (left) was a terror coming up from right fullback and as long as Lucas stays out of everyone's way, Liverpool should be able to defend the Anfield home turf. It might not be a repeat of this fixture last year (5-0), but a comfortable win for the Reds.

All: Liverpool