TUESDAY:
SHEFFIELD UNITED V WEST BROM
Sheffield United are looking more like the team they were last season and put in an organised performance against Man City at the weekend despite losing the match 1-0. They kept the score down by being solid defensively for most of the match and they even had a few chances to score themselves which they could've taken if they had their shooting boots on. They've put in better performances since the new year and they appear to have more belief in themselves as a team which we didn't see in the first half of the season when they were losing so many games. They may be bound for relegation, but Chris Wilder is making sure that they go down fighting because he wants his side to show some spirit between now and the end of the season. If they win this one, they might have a bit more belief that they can pull off the impossible in avoiding relegation when no one gave them a chance one or two months ago.
This is another game that West Brom need to win if they're to stay up because they're up against a team who are in a similar position to them. I fought they missed a big opportunity in drawing with Fulham because they would've given themselves a huge survival boost if they won by moving above Fulham in the table. The performance was better but similar failings once again cost them with both of Fulham's goals not being well defended. New signing Mbaye Diagne will hopefully make his full Premier League debut for the Baggies after coming off the bench against Fulham in which he got an assist oin setting up Matheus Pereira for his goal to but the Baggies 2-1 up. He is what the Baggies needed because they're the 3rd lowest goal scorers in the league and they haven't had a consistent goal scorer all season. If they can get him firing as soon as possible, West Brom have a good chance of staying up.
I'm going for a Sheffield United win in this one because they're looking more confident than West Brom at the moment. I haven't predicted many wins for the Blades this season, but I think they can win this one as they have more belief than they did before.
PREDICTION: 2-0
WOLVES V ARSENAL
When these two sides met in the reverse fixture, Raul Jimenez fractured his skull and it set up what was to come for Wolves. Wolves have only won once since that game and I'm not really surprised because I knew they would struggle without Jimenez the moment I heard about his nasty injury. Wolves were 6th on that day and just one point outside the top four. Now they find themselves in 14th and nine points above the relegation zone with Newcastle, Burnley and Brighton one or two points behind them. They need to start winning games and for that to happen they'll want new signing Willian Jose to start scoring soon. He was brought in to fill in for the Mexican during his absence and with Wolves desperate to win games to get themselves up the table, they'll want Willian Jose to start scoring goals once he's up and running.
Arsenal were in a bad place in the reverse fixture and that continued for another few games until the end of December where they began to turn their season around. Their improvement since then has been incredible and most of it has been down to the young players who have taken their opportunity. Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have been the main standouts during their turn around in form and have become key players for Gunners by putting in good performances. Saka is unlikely to be available for this one after missing the goalless draw against Man United on Saturday along with Kieron Tierney who has arguably been Arsenal's best player this season. The Gunners will hopefully have Pierre Emerick Aubameyang back for this one after having some time off due to some personal reasons. He was beginning to return to his best before his absence and will be looking to be back where he left off in his one.
I'm going for an Arsenal win because they're on a good run of form and I can see them carry with that in this game. They may be missing a couple of key players, but I still think they'll have enough to beat an out of form Wolves team.
PREDICTION: 0-2
MAN UNITED V SOUTHAMPTON
Man United missed a big opportunity to make a statement in terms of challenging on Saturday by drawing with Arsenal. They had some good chances in that game with Edinson Cavani going close a couple of times and Bruno Fernandes' free kick going over the bar. If United are to challenge for the title, those are the kind of games they need to win and their recent record against the big six hasn't been great which shows how much work Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to do in order to get United back to where they want to be. They've gone a bit off the boil recently with the defeat at home to Sheffield United prior to the goalless draw with Arsenal and they'll want to return to winning ways in this one so they can keep up with rivals City at the top. They were in good form prior to their last two results and they need to return to that if they're to be up there challenging.
Southampton were very unlucky in their defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday because they had two goals disallowed and one of them should've been given. Danny Ings' goal is the one that should've been given because his arm was the only part of him that was offside and you can't score with your arm. It's exactly the same as the Patrick Bamford one when he had a goal disallowed against Crystal Palace because of his arm being offside. The offside rule clearly needs to be changed slightly. The Saints have lost their last three games in the league and have one just once in eight games which will worry Ralph Hasenhuttl. They will not want to lose a fourth straight games because the manager has set his team high standards and will want a result in this one to stay in touching distance of the top half. They were top of the league back in November. They're now 11th and not in the best of form.
I'm going for a United win in this one because I think they'll return to winning ways after a slight drop in form. They beat Southampton earlier in the season and I can see them win again to put their little wobble behind them.
PREDICTION: 3-1
NEWCASTLE V CRYSTAL PALACE
Newcastle can now breathe a sigh of relief after ending their long wait for a win by beating Everton on Saturday. They looked like a side who were competitive and on the front foot more which we didn't see prior to their defeat at Everton. Callum Wilson had more service than he did before and he thrived off of that by scoring twice to give the Magpies to win. Steve Bruce will be happy that he got the win because he was under a lot of pressure leading up to that game and he can now focus on getting more wins for his side so they can pull themselves away from a relegation battle. He'll also be happy that Allan Saint Maximin is back because he's been a massive miss for them whilst he's been unavailable. His pace and movement make him an exciting player to watch and that is what Newcastle have missed during his absence. With him now back, the Magpies will hopefully score more goals.
Crystal Palace picked up a huge win at the weekend by beating Wolves with an excellent striker from Eberechi Eze. The Eagles had just one win in nine games prior to that win and will be looking to follow that up with a win in this one. New signing Jean-Philippe Mateta will be hoping to make his debut following his loan switch from Mainz and he'll hopefully add more firepower to the Palace attack. The Eagles have lacked a clinical no.9 this season and have done for a long time and Roy Hodgson will be hoping that his new striker will solve his striker problem. Palace have been a better side going forward than they were last season with the signing of Eze and the return to form of Wilfried Zaha, but they haven't had a centre forward who is a consistent goal scorer. If Mateta can hit the ground running, Palace could have a dangerous forward line of him, Zaha and Eze.
I think this one will be a draw because they both play a similar way and I can see them cancel each other out. I can't see a lot between the two sides and because of this I can't see a winner from either.
PREDICTION: 1-1
WEDNESDAY:
BURNLEY V MAN CITY
Burnley had a good mini spell before their defeat to Chelsea on Sunday where the home side were just the better side on the day. I thought they would cause a shock in that game because they won at Arsenal and Liverpool. But it wasn't to be their day. They'll need to be at their best if they're to get something out of this one because City are flying high and the Clarets have lost their five games against them in the league. The only bad news they have going into this one is that they'll be without striker Chris Wood whose out with a thigh injury. This is massive blow to them because Wood is their top goal scorer and their best striker which makes him an important player for them. With Ashley Barnes likely be out as well, goals could be hard to come by in this one and that has been the case for them for most of this season. They're the second lowest goal scorers in the league with 13 ahead of Sheffield United who have 12.
Man City are looking unstoppable at the moment because they can't stop winning games and are looking like a side who will go on to win the title. They've won 8 games in a row and are unbeaten in 11 games in the league which is title winning form. They looked out of it a couple of months ago and they've put themselves back in the mix by going on a good run of form to put themselves in a very good position. Whoever was writing them off a couple of months ago have been proven wrong and they're now thinking that City will go on and life the trophy at the end of the season. This shows that you never write big teams off because they have the ability to go on a good run of form after a sticky start and put eventually out themselves within the mix. That is what City have done over the last two or three months and they're now looking like the favourites for the title.
I'm going for a City win in this one because they're flying high and they have players who can play a good pass through stubborn defences. They may be without Kevin De Bruyne, but they still have the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden who can pick out any pass through a stubborn defence like Burnley.
PREDICTION: 0-3
FULHAM V LEICESTER
Fulham missed a big opportunity on Saturday by not beating West Brom because a win would've moved them within two points of safety before Brighton's game with Tottenham. They had enough chances to win that game, but they didn't take them which has been their problem all season. They may have scored twice, but the chances they missed were costly to them. The good news for them is that they signed a striker on deadline day in Josh Maja on loan from Bordeaux and Scott Parker will be hoping that he'll help his side scored more goals because they've lacked a clinical no.9 all season. He won't play in this one having arrived at the club on transfer deadline day but once he gets himself going on the pitch, Scott Parker will be wanting him to deliver the goals because his side need more of them if they're to stay up at the end of the season.
Leicester really missed Jamie Vardy in their defeat to Leeds on Sunday because they didn't have someone who could run in behind defences at the top end of the pitch. He's key to the way that Leicester play and without him they're not the same team because they have no one else like him in their squad who can stretch defences and make runs in behind. The other strikers they have in their squad in Ayoze Perez and Kelechi Iheanacho are good players, but they don't make the runs in behind that Vardy makes which is a key part of how Leicester play. The Foxes are also without Wilfried Ndidi who is also a big loss because of the way he protects the defence and the amount of interventions he makes. The Foxes coped well without him when he injured early on in the season but like Vardy, they have no one else in their squad who can do as good a job as he does in protecting the defence.
I think this one will be a draw because Fulham don't score a lot of goals and Leicester are without Jamie Vardy. The Cottagers are reasonably solid at the back but miss a lot of chances and with Leicester without the pace of Vardy up top, Fulham should have enough to earn a point.
PREDICTION: 1-1
LEEDS V EVERTON
Patrick Bamford was back on goal scoring duty against Leicester on Sunday by scoring the second goal in a 3-1 win as well assisting the other two goals for Stuart Dallas and Jack Harrison. He did all that in front of England manager Gareth Southgate who was at the game himself. Bamford has played down being selected for England by saying that there are four striker ahead of him but if he continues scoring goals, he could end up being selected for his country because he deserves it based on what he's done this season. With the Euro's coming up, he'll want to score as many goals as he can between now and the end of the season so he has a chance of being selected in the final squad for the tournament. Leeds themselves will be looking for three straight wins for the first time this season in this one after back to back wins over Newcastle and Leicester. If they can win this one, they'll hopefully start building the consistency they've been wanting all season.
Everton are an inconsistent team but not as inconsistent as their opponents. They can have one or two good results followed by a bad result and has been the case for them in recent weeks. They were flat in their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle as they didn't have any real cut opportunities despite having their best attacking players on the pitch. Carlo Ancelotti will want a better performance from his players in this one because he wants his team to be in Europe next season and and for that to happen his team need to win games like this one and the ones after this one. The Toffees always have a period in a season where they have a slight wobble in the league and they won't want that to happen to them this season as they look to push for a Europa League spot. They had a little one earlier in the season after their good start and another one at this stage could destroy their ambitions for the season.
I think this one will be a draw because it will be a close game and I can't see a winner from either side. Both sides are good going forward but as Leeds never win three in a row and Everton are in a little slump, I can't see anyone winning this.
PREDICTION: 2-2
ASTON VILLA V WEST HAM
Villa were a bit lucky to come away with a win at Southampton last time out and especially Matty Cash whose handball wasn't given. It was the right decision in the end because the ball came off his thigh and hit his hand which is what the law states and the law itself saved Cash from giving away a penalty. Villa are three points behind their opponents going into this one and could go above them on goal difference if they win as their goal difference is more superior than West Ham's. They were unlucky in the reverse fixture because Ollie Watkins had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside by VAR. It was only his arm that was in an offside position unlike the rest of his body on that day and Villa will be hoping that they'll have some decisions go their way in this one because that offside decision in the reverse fixture cost them the three points. Watkins also missed a penalty on that day and he has hopefully been practising his penalties in training ever since.
West Ham's good start to 2021 was ended on Sunday as they were beaten by Liverpool who outplayed the Hammers on the day and won 3-1. Jesse Lingard will be hoping to make his debut following his loan move from Man United with the Liverpool game being too soon for him. I reckon he'll start this one on the bench because he hasn't played much football this season and David Moyes will want to build up his sharpness game by game so he can be ready for a good run in the team once he's ready to play more minutes. The Hammers have some good options going forward now with Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Andriy Yarmolenko, Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio plus Lingard himself. With that depth in attack along with a solid defence, West Ham are a good shout for a Europa League place if they continue what they're doing.
I'm going for a Villa win in this one because they have all their best attacking players available and I think that will be enough to for them to win the game. It should be a close game because of the attacking talent both teams and I think Villa will just edge it.
PREDICTION: 2-1
LIVERPOOL V BRIGHTON
Liverpool are looking more like themselves after back to back wins against Spurs and West Ham where they played some really good football. The attack has found its mojo again and they're more like the side we know they are. The fans will be happy that they got two centre backs in before the transfer window closed with Ben Davies coming in from Preston and Ozan Kabak arriving from Schalke on loan. It's good that they got two in because Joel Matip is out for the season along with Gomez and Van Dijk which left Liverpool with no fit senior centre backs until they got the new signings through the door. They probably won't play in this one because they've only just arrived at the club but once they start playing, Liverpool will finally have a proper defence in front of the goalkeeper and Jordan Henderson will be able to move back into midfield along with Fabinho. Those two have done okay at centre back but with them back in midfield, the reds will have someone who can control the game from midfield as well as some one who can dictate play.
Brighton finally got their first home win of the season by beating Spurs on Sunday night. The win itself was a big one for them because it pulled them 7 points clear of the relegation zone and it will hopefully give the team some confidence going into the rest of the season because wins against a team like Spurs can give a team plenty of confidence. The Seagulls are in some decent form at the moment with three wins from their last five games in all competitions which has given the players some confidence to get good results. A month ago they were right in the mix for a relegation battle because they weren't winning games and they were struggling to score goals and finish teams off. Scoring goals and finishing teams off are still their main problems but after some good results in recent weeks, they'll believe that they can win more games between now and the end of the season.
I'm going for a Liverpool win in this one because they're looking more like themselves and they have more quality. They're back to their best in attack and I can see that form carry on into this game.
PREDICTION: 2-0
THURSDAY:
TOTTENHAM V CHELSEA
Spurs are not the same team without Harry Kane and their defeat at Brighton proved it. They missed his presence at the top end of the pitch and they missed the creativity he has added to his game this season. Son struggled without him because of the relationship the pair have on the pitch and Spurs have relied on that a lot this season. The pair have scored 24 goals between them this season and Spurs themselves have scored 34 all season showing that 10 of their goals have been scored by other players. No one has stepped up to help them out and especially Gareth Bale. We haven't seen the best of Bale since he returned to Spurs and that could be down to a lack of game time or a lack of effort from the player himself. I'm surprised that Mourinho hasn't played him more this season because he's a top player on his day and he came back to Spurs to reignite his career and get more game time having not being rated by Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid. He needs to rediscover that spark he had a few years ago so he can play more games and get some confidence on board.
Chelsea got their first win under Thomas Tuchel at the weekend with the win over Burnley and Tuchel will want another win in this one which will be his first big test since taking the job. The German used a 3-4-3 formation against Burnley and it worked pretty well as they kept possession of the ball well plus Mason Mount and Callum Hudson Odoi impressed with Hudson Odoi doing well at right wing back. Marcos Alonso looked more comfortable at left wing back and was excellent throughout as he netted the winner and caused problems with his deliveries into the box. He played that position when Chelsea won the league under Antonio Conte in 2017 and was an important part of that team along with Cesar Azpilicueta who played on the right of the a back three which was where he played that season as well. That system appears to suit Chelsea and it could be the one that Thomas Tuchel uses in the longer term.
I'm think this one will be a draw because it will be a close game and I can't see a winner from either side. Chelsea have struggled to beat teams in the top half of the table and Spurs appear to be out of sorts at the moment which is I'm going with a draw.
PREDICTION: 1-1
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