Predictions For PremierLeague Gameweek 23

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, but not well enough to make up any ground on the leader of my predictions league. I got one perfect outcome, four correct outcomes and five incorrect which leaves me still in second place as you can see from the table below.

Name	Badges	This Week	PTS
1 (1)	Karl-Yngve Lund	3	+30	1375
2 (2)	Michael Sheehy	5	+25	1275
3 (3)	Rutland Gooner	4	+45	1265
4 (4)	Wayne Hubbard	1	+45	1245
5 (5)	@ iWelloo	2	0	860

Tuesday January 31

Arsenal v Watford

7.45pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London

Arsenal just about managed to win 2-1 at home to Burnley in their last game and that win moved them up to second in the table. Only Spurs and Chelsea have taken more points at home than Arsenal and they haven't lost at home since the opening game of the season. Only Chelsea have won more games than Arsenal and only Liverpool have scored more goals and they have taken 13 of the last fifteen points available to them.

Alexis Sanchez is still the Arsenal player to have for fantasy managers while Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud don't look too bad at the moment either.

Watford managed a point and a couple of goals too in their last game away to Bournemouth and that's better than they have done in a while. That draw at Bournemouth was their first away point in six games and they had failed to score in their previous three away games. They have only taken three points from their last seven games and they failed to score in four of those games.

I can't see any Watford players to interest fantasy managers right now.

Arsenal need to keep up the pressure on Chelsea and I think they should have more than enough to do so in this game.

Prediction: 2-0

Bournemouth v Crystal Palace

7.45pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth 

Bournemouth came from behind twice to get a point at home to Watford in their last game, but they're still conceding too many goals for their own good. They have only won two of their 11 home games and have only taken two points from their last three at home while conceding eight goals in those games. They have only won once in their last six games and they conceded 14 goals in those games.

Charlie Daniels has been the best fantasy performer in the Bournemouth team and Ryan Fraser hasn't done too badly when he has played either.

Palace lost at home to Everton last time out and find themselves in the bottom three with Sam Allardyce faring no better or even worse than his predecessor. Their away form is better than their home form, but only Hull have conceded more goals on the road. They have only taken one point from their last seven games and have failed to score in three of their last four.

The way Palace are playing I wouldn't recommend any of their players to fantasy managers.

Palace are desperate for their first win under Allardyce, but I don't think it will come in this game and the chances are they will lose.

Prediction: 2-1

Burnley v Leicester City

7.45pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley

Burnley came very close to getting their second away point of the season at Arsenal in their last game, but they were beaten by a last minute penalty. Only the top three have taken more home points than Burnley, but they will only have six home games left after this game. They have won their last four home games and that home form could be enough to keep them up despite losing nine of their 10 away games.

Tom Heaton and the Burnley defenders are all pretty good choices for fantasy managers when they play at home.

Leicester were well beaten away to Southampton in their last game and they're still far to close to the bottom three for a team who won the league last season. They still haven't won away from home after 11 attempts this season with only Hull and Palace conceding more away goals. They have only won once in their last seven games and they have failed to score in their last three.

I can't see any Leicester players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment and unless a few of them change that statistic who knows where the season will end for them.

It's hard to look beyond Burnley's fantastic home form in this game and I think it will continue with yet another win.

Prediction: 2-0

Middlesbrough v West Bromwich Albion

7.45pm GMT, Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough 

Boro lost at home to West Ham in their last game as their usually solid defence was found wanting for once. Only Swansea and Palace have less home points than Boro and no other team has scored less goals at home. They haven't won in their last five games and have failed to score in three of those games, but they have conceded the least goals of the teams in the bottom half of the table.

Boro defenders haven't done too badly for fantasy managers, but only with clean sheets as they rarely contribute in attack.

West Brom won 2-0 at home to Sunderland in their last game and they're still in a very healthy eighth position in the league. They have only won three of their 11 away games, but only five other teams have a better defensive record away from home and only five other teams have scored less goals away from home. They have won three of their last four games and have only lost one game against a team below them in the table so far.

Chris Brunt and Matt Phillips are the West Brom players to have for fantasy managers in my opinion, but Gareth McAuley and Solomon Rondon are worth considering too with a good run of fixtures coming up.

West Brom tend to fare well against teams below them in the league and I can see that trend continuing in this game.

Prediction: 0-2

Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur

7.45pm GMT, Stadium of Light, Sunderland 

Sunderland lost 2-0 away to West Brom in their last game to move back to the foot of the table and this could be the season where their luck eventually runs out. They have lost six of their 11 home games with only Hull and Swansea conceding more goals at home. They have only taken one point in their last five games and conceded 14 goals in the process while only Boro have scored less goals and only Hull and Swansea have conceded more.

Jermain Defoe is the only Sunderland player for fantasy managers to consider as he continues his one man crusade to keep them up.

Spurs came from 2-0 down to get a point away to City in their last game and dropped to third place as a result. They have only won four of their 11 away games, but only Chelsea have conceded less goals on their travels. They have taken 19 points in their last seven games and have lost less games than any other team while only Chelsea have conceded less goals so far.

Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane are all in excellent form for fantasy managers and the Spurs defenders have all done pretty well too.

Sunderland badly need something from this game, but I just can't see anything other than a Spurs win.

Prediction: 0-2

Swansea City v Southampton

7.45pm GMT, Liberty Stadium, Swansea

Swansea had a great win away to Liverpool in their last game and that win moved them out of the relegation zone. They have only won two of their 11 home games with only Palace gaining less points at home and no other team has conceded more goals on their own patch. They have won two of their last three games, but they lost the previous four and have conceded 20 goals in their last seven games as well as conceding more goals than any other team so far. 

Gylfi Sigurdsson is still by far the best fantasy option in the Swansea team with Fernando Llorente maybe worth considering as a back up striker.

Southampton got their first league win in a while when they beat Leicester 3-0 in their last game and they beat Liverpool in the EFL Cup since then to reach their first cup final in 14 years. They have only won two of their 11 away games and only five other teams have scored less goals on the road. They had lost their previous four games before beating Leicester and had conceded 10 goals in those games.

Southampton defenders had being doing very well for fantasy managers before their schedule became so hectic and that might just be the case again quite soon.

A win for Swansea would give them some real breathing space in the fight to survive, but I think they might have to settle for a point.

Prediction: 1-1

Liverpool v Chelsea

8pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool

Liverpool lost at home to Swansea in their last league game and they have gone out of two cups at home in the week since that game. That defeat against Swansea was their first league defeat at home this season and only Chelsea have scored more goals at home. They haven't won in their last three games and have conceded six goals in those games, but they are the top scorers in the league so far.

Phillippe Coutinho, Roberto Frimino and Adam Lallana are all worth considering for fantasy managers if Liverpool can find their shooting boots again.

Chelsea weren't overly impressive in their 2-0 win against Hull in their last league game, but they continue to rack up the victories and leave every other team in their wake. They have won eight of their 11 away games and no other team has conceded less goals away from home. They have won 18 of their 22 games and have won 15 of their last 16 and kept a clean sheet in 12 of those 16 games as well as having the best defensive record in the league.

Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro are all doing well for fantasy managers, but the stars of the show have to be the Chelsea defenders.

This is a game Liverpool probably have to win to keep their season alive and Chelsea could be unstoppable if they win it, but I have a feeling the spoils will be shared.

Prediction: 1-1

Wednesday February 1

West Ham United v Manchester City

7.45pm GMT, London Stadium, London

West Ham won 3-1 away to Boro last time out and they seem to be finding some form despite Dimitri Payet no longer being around. They have won three of their last four home games and they kept clean sheets in those three wins too, but only Boro have scored less goals at home. They have won five of their last seven games and kept clean sheets in three of them.

Andy Carroll looks good at the moment as does Manuel Lanzini while the addition of Robert Snodgrass is one for fantasy managers to watch as well as both Winston Reid and Darren Randolph.

City were 2-0 up at home to Spurs in their last game, but they had to settle for a draw in the end and they're now 12 points behind Chelsea. Only Chelsea have won more away games, but City have also lost four of their 11 away games. They have only won once in their last four games and have conceded more goals than the rest of the top six.

Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling are all good options for fantasy managers.

City won easily away to West Ham in the third round of the FA Cup only a few weeks ago and I think they should take the three points in this game too.

Prediction: 1-3

Manchester United v Hull City

8pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester 

United needed a last minute goal to rescue a point away to Stoke in their last game and they're still in sixth place 14 points behind Chelsea. They have only lost one of their 11 away games, but they have drawn as many as they have won and only three other teams have a better defensive record at home. They're unbeaten in 13 league games, but they have drawn six of those games and have scored a lot less goals than the rest of the top six.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the United player most likely to make a difference for fantasy managers.

Hull played well away to Chelsea in their last league game, but ended up losing 2-0 and they're still rooted in the bottom three. They have lost nine of their 11 away games with no other team conceding more away goals and only Burnley scoring less away from home. They have only taken six points from their last 11 games and they failed to score in six of those games with only Boro scoring less goals so far and only Swansa conceding more.

With Robert Snodgrass no longer a Hull player it's hard to see which Hull players might be worth having for fantasy managers.

I think United will have too much for Hull and should win with a couple of goals to spare.

Prediction: 2-0

Stoke City v Everton

8pm GMT, BET365 Arena, Stoke

Stoke looked to have beaten United in their last game, but a last minute goal meant they had to settle for a point. They have only lost three of their 11 home games and have only lost one of the last nine on their own ground. They have taken seven points in their last three games, but they have scored less goals than any other team in the top half of the table.

Peter Crouch has done well recently for fantasy managers and the Stoke defenders haven't done too badly at times either.

Everton won 1-0 away to Palace in their last game, but they're still five points behind United in seventh place. They have lost five of their 11 away games and taken seven points from their last three away games with clean sheets in two of those games. They have taken 13 points from their last five games and kept clean sheets in four of those games.

Everton defenders have done very well recently with Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman good fantasy options while Tom Davies, Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku are looking quite good too.

This is a tough one to call, but the chances are it will probably end in a draw.

Prediction: 1-1

That's it for this week.

See you next week.