TUESDAY:
WEST HAM V WEST BROM
West Ham are in a good place at the minute after recording back to back wins Everton and Burnley which the club up to 9th. The Hammers are unbeaten in their last four and will be looking to extend that run with a win in this one which would put them two points outside the Champions League places. In what has been a crazy season, West Ham have been one of the overachievers because no one expected them to be in this position at the start of the season and because of that David Moyes deserves a lot of credit. He'll be glad that Michail Antonio is back and back among the goals because he was a miss for the Hammers whilst he was out injured and his goal against Burnley will give him the confidence that any player will need after spending a long time on the side lines. With him now back along with the other attacking talent West Ham have, they could push for a place in the Europa League because of how the season has been and the performances they've put in this season.
West Brom picked up a massive win on Saturday as they beat Wolves 3-2 to give Sam Allardyce his first win in charge. That win will hopefully give the baggies the foundation to build on to help them stay up because that is what a first win under a new manager can do when managing a club near the wrong end of the table. Allardyce will still look to bring in some players in the January transfer window, but getting his first win in charge is a step in the right direction for West Brom. They may not be water tight at the back yet but the win over Wolves will hopefully be a confidence boost for the players going into this one and the games that follow. Robert Snodgrass impressed on his debut in the win over Wolves and will want to put in another good performance to show West Ham why they should've played him more after selling him to West Brom. This could be the perfect game to do it as he has recently joined the Baggies.
I think this one will be a West Ham win because I think they'll have enough to win this game. With Antonio back in the side, they look a better team going forward and i can see him get himself on the score sheet again.
PREDICTION: 2-0
LEICESTER V CHELSEA
Leicester fans might be starting to believe that they could win the title again with the Foxes 3rd in the table and two points off the top. They're unbeaten in their last five games in the Premier League and could well be part of a potential title challenge if they carry on their good form and the teams above them drop points within the next few games. They haven't been as good at home as they have been away this season but did win at home against Southampton on Saturday. Brendan Rodgers will want his side to pick up another home win in this one because it's a game against a tough opponent and winning these kind of games could show if they're capable of challenging for the league. They haven't beaten Chelsea at home since the season they won the league and that is something they'll surely be looking to do because of where they are in the table.
Chelsea picked up a good result last time out as they beat Fulham 1-0. It was a win they definitely needed because their form going into that game wasn't great and the win itself will give the team some confidence going into this one. Frank Lampard will be happy that Hakim Ziyech is back in the team because he makes a big difference to this Chelsea side when he's on the pitch. He creates lots of chances for his teammates and scores goals which is what Chelsea missed whilst he was out injured as they fell out of the top four. He was a crucial part of that good run Chelsea went on before their dip and will be again as they look to climb back into the top four and a possible title challenge. This is a must win game for Chelsea because if they don't win it, they could fall further behind the teams at the top of the table which they will not want to do as they look to push their way back into the top four.
This game will have goals in it because of the way both teams play and the players that both teams have in forward areas. It's going to be close for sure and I'm going for a draw because I can see them cancel each other out.
PREDICTION: 2-2
FA CUP THIRD ROUND:
SOUTHAMPTON V SHREWSBURY
This game had to be rescheduled because the a COVID outbreak at Shrewsbury at the time the rest of the 3rd Round fixtures were played.
Southampton should have a good go at this competition because they've got a enough squad to do well in it. They're having a good season in the Premier League and if they can go on a cup run as well as continue to do well in the Premier League, it could turn out to be a very good season for the Saints. This is because it will show how much they have progressed as a team and it will hopefully make them a better team in future if they were to have a good go at this competition which they are capable of. Ralph Hasenhuttl will probably give some of the youngsters a chance because it is a cup game and he'll want to give them an opportunity to show how good they are and why they want more opportunities. With the amount of injuries Southampton have at the moment, it would be a good opportunity for the young players to show the manager what they're made of if they got their opportunities.
Shrewsbury have really well since Steve Cotterill has come in as they've moved from 23rd to 17th in League 1 since taking over from Sam Ricketts. They've won 5 out of 9 games since Cotterill has been in the hot seat and he was the kind of manager they needed. He's an experienced manager in the Football League when you look at the list of clubs he has managed and with the club one or two points off the bottom when he arrived, it was definitely the right decision to appoint him. Shrewsbury will hopefully carry their League 1 form into this cup tie because they would love to cause an upset against Premier League opposition and after taking Liverpool to a replay last season, the players will think that they could do something similar against Southampton.
I think Southampton will win this one because they have some good young players in their squad and I can see the ones that get a chance put in a good performance. They may be without Redmond and Ings for this one, but I can see the fringe players step up.
PREDICTION: 2-0
WEDNESDAY:
MAN CITY V ASTON VILLA
City have put themselves in the title race in recent weeks after five straight wins during a nine game unbeaten run. They were in the bottom half a couple of months ago and they now find themselves 2nd and two points behind leaders Man United. They look more like the City we know in being brilliant to watch and after a slow start, they're finally up and running now the players have plenty of minutes in them. They're looking really solid defensively and in Ruben Dias and John Stones, they finally have a settled centre back pairing. Stones has looked a completely different player this season by cutting out his old mistakes and Dias has been the leader at the back that City lacked last season when Vincent Kompany left. John Stones having a regular partner at centre back has helped him a lot because he's hasn't had a regular partner since he's been at City and didn't improve him as a defender. Dias is the kind of centre back he needed to play alongside and their partnership has been excellent all season.
This will be Villa's first game since their COVID outbreak with their senior players having played the youngsters against Liverpool in the FA Cup the day after the outbreak at the club. The players may feel a bit rusty having not played for a couple of weeks but at the same time may feel refreshed because they played a lot of games over the Christmas period their time off will feel like a short break to them. They'll want to carry on where they left off because the players will be ready to return to action after not playing for a couple of weeks and they'll want to to build on the good season they've had with the club in 11th place. Villa were in the relegation zone this time last season and the progress they've made since then has been incredible. They went on a good run at the end of last season to stay up and they've carried that into this season which is why they're in the position they find themselves in. They'll be looking to push for a top half finish come the end of the season.
I think this one will be a City win because they're in really good form and looking more like themselves. With the way they've been playing in recent weeks, I can see them record another win in this one.
PREDICTION: 3-0
FULHAM V MAN UNITED
Despite their improvement as the season has progressed, Fulham haven't been clinical in front goal. They've scored 14 goals this season which is the same as West Brom and better than Burnley and Sheffield United. Bobby Decordova Reid is their top scorer with 4 and Aleksandar Mitrovic who was their talisman last season has only 2. If Fulham are stay up, they need to start scoring more goals because goals will keep up in the league. They've looked good to watch in the build up with Ivan Cavaleiro and Ademola Lookman impressing, but they haven't had the end product they need when it comes to winning a game of football. They look solid defensively after a poor start but going forward, their not scoring enough goals. With their current forwards not firing, Scott Parker will need to buy a striker in the window if his side are to stay up.
Some could say that Man United missed a big opportunity in their 0-0 draw at Liverpool because if they won it, they would've made a big statement in terms of challenging for the title. They were a bit defensive in the first half as Liverpool had the better chances and looked more in control. But in the second half, United probably had the better chances as they forced Alisson to make some good saves to keep the score at 0-0. In the end you could say it was a good point for United because they're still top of the league and they have a game in hand which is this one against Fulham. If they can win this one, they could well be title contenders because they've improved a lot defensively and they look dangerous whenever they go forward. The big question for them is whether they can keep it up into the crucial part of the season which is when they'll be judged.
I'm going for a United win because I think they'll have enough to win the game. Fulham will make it difficult but with United's quality going forward, they should win this game without any problems.
PREDICTION: 0-2
THURSDAY:
LIVERPOOL V BURNLEY
Liverpool's front three appear to have forgotten how to score with no goals from either of them in their last three games. They've only scored once since the 7-0 win over Crystal Palace and they haven't scored since that big victory. There are problems at centre back due to the number of injuries they have there and no they have problems in the forward department. With the forwards not scoring, the midfielders need to start stepping up and chipping in because it looks like the reds are relying on their front three a lot and a goal from a midfielder could take the pressure off of them. The reds don't have many goals from their midfield, but they are capable of chipping in when they need to. Especially in a game like this one on Thursday as it is against a tough opponent in Burnley.
Burnley need to start converting their chances more because they've scored just 9 goals this season which is the lowest out of all the clubs in the Premier League this season. They're a solid team at the back like they always are but at the moment, they don't have any end product. They had a lot of chances in their defeat to West Ham at the weekend, but they didn't take them. It was similar to their FA Cup clash with MK Dons the weekend end before because they had a lot of chances to score in that game and didn't score until the final few minutes. They have some good centre forwards in Chris Wood, Ashley Barnes and Jay Rodriguez, but none of them are firing at the moment which may prompt Sean Dyche to go into the market and buy a striker if the new owners give him money to spend.
With the problems both sides have in scoring goals, I can see this being a goalless draw because both sets of strikers are not firing at all. Burnley have missed a host of chances for most of the season and because they're very strong defensively, I can see them keep Liverpool out with their forwards not clicking at all.
PREDICTION: 0-0
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