Thursday 12 January 2017

Predictions For Premier League Gameweek 21

It's that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. I did reasonably well last week with five correct outcomes and five incorrect, but not as well as others in my predictions league as you can see from the table below.

BadgesThis WeekPTS
 1 (1)  Karl-Yngve Lund 3+1351305
 2 (3)  Wayne Hubbard 1+951180
 3 (2)  Michael Sheehy 5+601170
 4 (4)  Rutland Gooner 3+1001120
 5 (5)  @ iWelloo 2+85860


 
Saturday January 14

Tottenham Hotspur v West Bromwich Albion

12.30pm GMT, White Hart Lane, London

Spurs beat the leaders Chelsea 2-0 in their last game to move ahead of Arsenal into third place. They are one of the two teams unbeaten at home with only Chelsea winning more home games and no other team conceding less goals at home. They have won their last five games and have only lost two of their 20 games so far and no other team has conceded less goals.

Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen are doing really well for fantasy managers at the moment while the Spurs defenders and Harry Kane cannot be ignored either.

West Brom came from behind to beat struggling Hull 3-1 in their last game to stay just behind Everton in eighth place. They have only won three of their 10 away games and have scored less than a goal a game on their travels, but only Chelsea and Spurs have conceded less goals away from home. They have won their last two games, but they don't have a good record against the top six so far with only one point from six games.

Matt Phillips is almost a must have for fantasy managers right now while Chris Brunt and Gareth McAuley aren't bad buys either.

I think Spurs will continue their good run and take the three points in this game.

Prediction: 2-0

Burnley v Southampton

3pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley

Burnley lost 2-1 away to 10 man City in their last game, but they're a different kettle of fish at home. They have taken 22 of their 23 points at home with only Chelsea and Spurs winning more home games and only four other teams scoring more goals at home. Only the bottom four teams have lost more games than Burnley, but their home form has to give them a very real chance of staying up.

Burnley defenders have done well for fantasy managers in their home games with Tom Heaton the best of the bunch.

Southampton were well beaten away to Everton in their last game and their defensive strength seems to have abandoned them at the moment. They have lost half of their 10 away games and have only scored nine goals in those 10 games. They have lost their last three games and conceded nine goals in the process and only Boro and Hull have scored less goals.

If the Southampton defenders aren't living up to their recent form it's hard to see any Southampton players to choose for fantasy managers.

I think this will be a close affair and a draw is probably the most likely outcome.

Prediction: 1-1

Hull City v Bournemouth

3pm GMT, KCOM Stadium, Hull

Hull led away to West Brom in their last game, but they ended up losing 3-1 and they're firmly rooted to the foot of the table which has cost Mike Phelan his job. They have lost five of their 10 home games and only Swansea have conceded more goals at home. They have only taken three points from their last nine games with no other team scoring less goals and only Swansea conceding more.

Robert Snodgrass is still the only Hull player to consider for fantasy managers.

Bournemouth led Arsenal 3-0 last time out, but they had to settle for a point after conceding three goals in the last 20 minutes and they're still comfortably in the top half of the table. They have lost six of their 10 away games and have managed a goal a game in those games while conceding almost two goals per game. They have conceded more goals than any other team in the top half of the table and they have conceded 18 goals in their last eight games, but they did take 10 points from those games.

Bournemouth's defenders have done well for fantasy managers with Charlie Daniels the best of the bunch.

I think this will be another very close game and the new man at the helm might just manage to get a point for Hull.

Prediction: 2-2

Sunderland v Stoke City

3pm GMT, Stadium of Light, Sunderland

Sunderland came from behind twice in their last game to get a point at home to Liverpool and move within one point of safety. They have taken 11 of their 15 points at home, but only four other teams have scored less goals on their own patch. They have only taken one point from their last three games with only Boro and Hull scoring less goals.

Jermain Defoe is the Sunderland player to have for fantasy managers.

Stoke put their recent poor run behind them to win 2-0 at home to Watford in their last game. They have only won two of their 10 away games and have conceded 11 goals in their last three away games, but they were against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. That win last week was their first one in six games and they conceded 13 goals in those previous five games.

Peter Crouch has done well in the last couple of games, but surely he's not going to keep it going.

This is a game Sunderland really need to win, but I think Stoke will take a point off them.

Prediction: 1-1

Swansea City v Arsenal

3pm GMT, Liberty Stadium, Swansea

Swansea won 2-1 away to Palace in their last game and that win puts them within a point of the relative safety of 17th place. They have only won two of their 10 home games and have conceded more goals at home than any other team. They had lost their previous four games and conceded 14 goals in the process before winning last week.

Gylfi Sigurdsson is still the Swansea player most likely to make a difference for fantasy managers.

Arsenal came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Bournemouth in their last game, but they really needed three points from the game and they dropped to fifth in the table. They have won half of their 10 away games, but haven't won in their last three on the road and they're the top scorers away from home. They have taken seven points from their last three games and only Liverpool have scored more goals, but they need to start making ground up on Chelsea quickly if they're going to challenge for the league.

Alexis Sanchez continues to be the must have Arsenal player for fantasy managers with Olivier Giroud doing well in recent weeks and Mesut Ozil might do well too now that he's back from his illness.

I think Swansea will give their all, but Arsenal should be too strong for them.

Prediction: 1-3

Watford v Middlesbrough 

3pm GMT, Vicarage Road, Watford

Watford lost 2-0 away to Stoke in their last game and they need to find a way to stop their slide towards the wrong end of the table. They have won as many games as they have lost at home and only two other teams have conceded more goals at home. They have only taken one point from their last five games and they failed to score in three of them with only the bottom four clubs conceding more goals.

I can't see any Watford players who might make a difference for fantasy managers at the moment.

Middlesbrough drew 0-0 at home to Leicester in their last game and they're only two places and four points above the relegation zone. They have only won once in 10 away games with only three teams scoring less away goals and only four teams conceding less. No other team has scored less goals than Boro and they have failed to score in four of their last six games.

Boro's defenders haven't done too badly for fantasy managers with Ben Gibson probably the best of the bunch and Alvaro Negredo hasn't been too bad recently either.

I think this will be another close game and it might just end in a draw too.

Prediction: 1-1

West Ham United v Crystal Palace

3pm GMT, London Stadium, London

West Ham lost 2-0 at home to United in their last game after yet another poor Mike Dean decision saw them play most of the game with 10 players. They have won as many games as they have lost at home, but no other team has scored less goals at home. They have lost their last two games without scoring a goal, but they have at least got seven points to spare over the bottom three.

Dimitri Payet is still the best fantasy choice in the West Ham team for me, but he apparently doesn't want to play for them any more while Michail Antonio and Winston Reid are good bets too and at better prices.

Palace lost at home to fellow strugglers Swansea in their last game and they're only one point above the bottom three as a result. They have lost half of their 10 away games, but only four other teams have scored more away goals and only Hull have conceded more on the road. They have only taken two points in their last six games, but only the top six have scored more goals than Palace.

With Wilfried Zaha off on international duty I'm not sure if any of the Palace players will do the business for fantasy managers.

I think West Ham might just have too much for Palace and will get the better of a close affair.

Prediction: 2-1

Leicester City v Chelsea

5.30pm GMT, King Power Stadium, Leicester 

Leicester drew 0-0 away to Boro in their last game to get a rare point on the road and move six points clear of the bottom three. They have won half of their 10 home games and only five other teams have conceded less goals at home. They have kept clean sheets in their last two games and taken eight points in their last six games which is a good run by their standards this season.

I still can't see any Leicester players to recommend to fantasy managers.

Chelsea lost at Spurs last time out to put an end to their run of 13 consecutive wins, but they're still five points clear at the top of the table. They have taken more points away from home than any other team and no other team has conceded less goals on their travels. They have won more games than any other team with only Spurs conceding less goals so far.

Chelsea defenders are still must haves for fantasy managers with Diego Costa and Eden Hazard pretty good too.

Leicester will want to show the current champions have something to offer against the league leaders, but I think Chelsea will edge this one narrowly.

Prediction: 1-2

Sunday January 15

Everton v Manchester City

1.30pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool

Everton won 3-0 at home to Southampton in their last game to stay seventh, but they're nine points behind sixth placed United. They have only lost once in their 10 home games with only Chelsea and Spurs conceding less goals at home. They have taken 10 points from their last five games and kept a clean sheet in two of their last three.

Romelu Lukaku is still the best fantasy option in the Everton team while Leighton Baines has been good in recent weeks too.

City just about won 2-1 at home to Burnley in their last game despite playing most of the game with 10 men. No other team has won more away games than City and only Arsenal have scored more away goals. They have won four of their last five games after losing the previous two, but they're not quite the free scoring team we thought they would be under Pep Guardiola.

Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne are the best fantasy choices in the City team while Raheem Sterling and David Silva have been good in recent weeks.

I think this will be another very close game and City might just get the better of it.

Prediction: 1-2

Manchester United v Liverpool

4.30pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester 

United won 2-0 away to West Ham last time out with more than a little help from Mike Dean to move within three points of the top four. They have only lost once in their 10 home games and only four other teams have conceded less goals at home, but they have scored less home goals than the rest of the top six. They are unbeaten in 11 league games and have won their last six with clean sheets in three of those six games.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the United player to have for fantasy managers and Paul Pogba has upped his game recently too.

Liverpool led twice away to Sunderland in their last game, but they had to settle for a draw in the end. Only Chelsea have taken more points on the road than Liverpool and only Arsenal have more away goals than them. They have taken 14 points from their last six games and kept clean sheets in three of them and they're the top scorers in the league too.

Adam Lallana, Roberto Frimino and Phillippe Coutinho (if he's fit) are all very good fantasy options and the Liverpool defenders haven't been too bad in recent weeks too.

This is a game which could go either way and I have a feeling it will end with the spoils shared.

Prediction: 1-1

That's it for this week.

See you next week.

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