Predictions For Premier League Gameweek 18

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 three perfect predictions, two correct outcomes and five incorrect outcomes to move up a little in my predictions league. I'm still not too far off the leaders in that league and here's a look at how the top five stands.

POSITION				PLAYER NAME				THIS WEEK	POINTS
1 (3)				whitgooner frank merrick				+130	1455
2 (1)				L'OM				+90	1425
3 (1)				jplancer				+60	1395
4 (5)				David96				+90	1380
5 (7)				ArssenaL14				+130	1370

Friday December 21

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool 

8pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton 

Wolves won 2-0 at home to Bournemouth last week to move to within one point of the top six. They have won their last two home games after losing the previous three. They have won their last three games, but they’re the lowest scorers in the top half of the table.

Matt Doherty is still doing really well for fantasy managers while Raul Jiminez and Diego Jota (if he’s fit to play) are doing quite well too. 

Liverpool won 3-1 at home to United last week to stay ahead of City at the top of the table. They’re the only team unbeaten away from home with only Arsenal scoring more goals on the road and only City conceding less. They have won their last six games and kept clean sheets in four of them while scoring 16 goals.

Mohamed Salah continues to excel for fantasy managers, but he costs an awful lot while all of the Liverpool defenders and keeper are doing very well too.

I think Liverpool will hold on to top spot with a narrow win in this game.

Prediction: 0-1

Saturday December 22

Arsenal v Burnley 

12.30pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London

Arsenal’s long unbeaten run came to and end last week when they lost 3-2 at Southampton which left them three points behind the top four. They’re unbeaten in their last eight home games and only three teams have scored more goals at home. Their defeat last week was their first defeat in 15 games, but they have only kept three clean sheets so far.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is still the joint top scorer in the Premier League, but he’s struggling for goals at the moment while Alexandre Lacazette keeps performing well for fantasy managers when he comes off the bench.

Burnley almost got a point at Spurs last week, but they were undone in added time and dropped into the bottom three as a result. They have only taken one point in their last five away games and they failed to score in four of those games. They have only won once in their last 10 games with only Fulham conceding more goals.

I can’t see any Burnley players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.

I think Arsenal will get back to winning ways in this game with a couple of goals to spare.

Prediction: 3-1

Bournemouth v Brighton And Hove Albion

3pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth

Bournemouth lost 2-0 away to Wolves last week and they dropped into the bottom half of the table. They have lost three of their last four home games and they conceded nine goals in those four games. They have lost six of their last seven games and only five other teams have conceded more goals.

If he’s fit to play Callum Wilson is the best option in the Bournemouth team for fantasy managers with Ryan Fraser worth considering too.

Brighton lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea last week, but they’re still nine points above the bottom three. Only three teams have lost more away games and only three other teams have scored less goals away from home. They are looking like they might have enough to stay up for another season if they continue to play like they are at the moment.

Solomon March is available at a very good price for fantasy managers and he’s done very well in the last few weeks.

I think Bournemouth will get a much needed win in this game, but they won't have it all their own way.

Prediction: 2-1

Chelsea v Leicester City

3pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea won 2-1 away to Brighton last week to move three points above Arsenal in fourth place. They’re one of three teams still unbeaten at home with only City scoring more home goals and only Liverpool and City conceding less. They have won their last two games after losing two of the previous three, but they are eight points off the top of the table.

If he’s fit to play Eden Hazard is in great form for fantasy managers while Marcos Alonso is difficult to ignore too.

Leicester lost 1-0 away to Palace last week to drop into the bottom half of the table. They have taken as many points away from home as they have at home, but they haven’t won in their last three games on the road. They have only won twice in their last 10 games and they failed to score in their last two games.

I’m not sure there are any Leicester to recommend to fantasy managers for this game at least.

I think Chelsea should be too strong for a Leicester team that are struggling to score goals.

Prediction: 2-0

Huddersfield Town v Southampton 

3pm GMT, John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield 

Huddersfield lost 1-0 at home to Newcastle last week and they’re only one point off the foot of the table. No other team has taken less points or scored less goals at home. They have lost their last four games and no other team has scored less goals so far.

I can’t see any Huddersfield players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.

Southampton won 3-2 at home to Arsenal last week to move out of the bottom three. Only Fulham have lost more games and conceded more goals away from home and they have lost their last four games on the road. The win against Arsenal was their first win in 13 games and only three teams have conceded more goals.

With Danny Ings back from injury he has to be a serious consideration for fantasy managers.

I think last week's win might be just what Southampton needed to kick start their season and they will follow it up with a win in this game. 

Prediction: 1-2

Manchester City v Crystal Palace 

3pm GMT, Etihad Stadium, Manchester 

City won 3-1 at home to Everton last week to put the disappointment of their first defeat of the season the previous week behind them and stay hot on the heels of Liverpool at the top of the table. They have won all nine of their home games so far and they’re the top scorers at home with only Liverpool conceding less goals on their own patch. They have won eight of their last nine games and they scored 27 goals in those games with no other team scoring more goals and only Liverpool conceding less.

Leroy Sane is the in form City player for fantasy managers as long as he doesn’t suffer from the rotation curse while Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero are looking pretty good too.

Palace finally managed to win a game without Wilfried Zaha last week when they saw off Leicester by the only goal in a tight game. They have lost six of their nine away games and they have only taken one point from their last six away games. They have won two of their last four games after failing to win the previous eight and only Huddersfield have scored less goals.

I can’t see any Palace players who might make a difference for fantasy managers in this game.

I can't see anything other than a comfortable City win in this game.

Prediction: 3-0

Newcastle United v Fulham

3pm GMT, St. James’s Park, Newcastle 

Newcastle won 1-0 away to Huddersfield last week to move four points clear of the relegation zone. No other team has lost more home games and only Fulham have conceded more goals at home. They have only lost twice in their last eight games, but only Huddersfield have scored less goals.

Solomon Rondon is the only Newcastle player to remotely interest fantasy managers at the moment.

Fulham lost 2-0 at home to West Brom last week to remain rooted to the foot of the table. They have lost eight of their nine away games and no other team has conceded more away goals with only Cardiff scoring less goals away from home. They have only taken four points from their last 11 games and they have conceded more goals than any other team.

I can’t see any Fulham players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.

I think Newcastle will get the win they need to ease them further away from the bottom three.

Prediction: 2-1

West Ham United v Watford 

3pm GMT, London Stadium, London

West Ham won 2-0 away to Fulham last week to move up to ninth place and they’re only two points off the top six. They have won as many games as they have lost at home and they have won three of their last four home games and they scored 10 goals in those games. They have won their last four games and they scored 11 goals in those games with only the top six teams scoring more goals.

Felipe Anderson is the West Ham player to have for fantasy managers with Robert Snodgrass, Chicarito and Lukasz Fabianski all worth considering too.

Watford just about held on to win 3-2 at home to Cardiff last week and they moved back up to the top half of the table. They haven’t won in their last four away games, but only five other teams have conceded less goals away from home. Their win last week was their first win in seven games and they didn’t keep a clean sheet in any of those games.

Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra are both worth considering for fantasy managers, but I’m not sure Watford players are the way to go.

I think West Ham will continue their winning streak with a couple of goals to spare in this game.

Prediction: 3-1

Cardiff City v Manchester United 

5.30pm GMT, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

Cardiff almost came back from 3-0 down to get a draw at Watford last week, but they lost 3-2 to remain three points above the relegation zone. They have won four of their last five home games and they scored nine goals in those games. Only Fulham have lost more games and conceded more goals, but their home form is keeping them out of the bottom three.

Callum Paterson hasn’t done too badly recently for fantasy managers, but it’s always a risk to pick Cardiff players.

United lost 3-1 away to Liverpool last week and that defeat ultimately cost Jose Mourinho his job. They have lost more away games than they have won and only Fulham and Southampton have conceded more goals away from home. They have only won once in their last six games and they have only kept two clean sheets so far.

If he's fit to play Anthony Martial is the best of the United players for fantasy managers with Marcus Rashford doing well in recent weeks too. 

I think United should put their troubles behind them by getting the three points in this game.

Prediction: 1-3

Sunday December 23

Everton v Tottenham Hotspur 

4pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool 

Everton lost 3-1 away to City last week, but they’re still only two points off the top six. Only four teams have taken more points and scored more goals at home. They haven’t won in four games, but their fixtures improve considerably after this game.

I still think Richarlison and Gylfi Siggurdson are good options for fantasy managers, but this could be another tough game for them.

Spurs got a very late goal to win 1-0 at home to Burnley last week which kept them two points above Chelsea in third place. They have taken more points away from home than any other team with only Arsenal scoring more away goals. They have won 10 of their last 12 games and they kept clean sheets in six of those games.

Harry Kane is still the best Spurs player for fantasy maangers with Christian Eriksen, Heung-Min Son and Dele Alli all worth considering too if they can avoid being rotated more often.

Everton have had a tough run of games recently and I think this could be the one they get something from with a draw the most likely outcome.

Prediction: 1-1

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.