Predictions For Premier League Gameweek 17

It’s that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. It’s been a long time since we last saw any Premier League action thanks to the World Cup, but thankfully it’s back to normal again. I did fairly well last time out with two perfect predictions, three correct outcomes and five incorrect outcomes which left me one place off the top five in my predictions league. Here’s a look at how the that top five looks.

Rank	Player	Res	Cls	Exa	Slm	Pts
1	RobbieZ	23	43.5	60	9	135.5
2 1	Gooners	25	54	45	11	135.0
3 2	Rutland Gooner	22	52.5	48	9	131.5
4 1	robbieg	23	61.5	36	10	130.5
5 1	Richard Landsberg	22	61.5	36	10	129.5

My choice of Erling Haaland as my fantasy captain didn’t work out in the last Gameweek, but the chances are he’ll be my captain again this week. Kieran Trippier, Gabriel Magalhaes, James Maddison, Miguel Almiron and Phil Foden were the players who performed well for me, but my big mistake was leaving Ivan Toney on the bench as he scored two goals against City. I lost a little ground overall and I have to hope I can finally start to make the right choices for my team if I’m going to finish anywhere near as high as I did last season.

Monday 26 December 

Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur 

12.30pm BST, Brentford Community Stadium, London 

Brentford won their last game 2-1 away to City to move into the top half of the table. Their only home defeat so far came against the league leaders and they have kept clean sheets in two of their last three home games. The win against City was their first win in five games and only five other teams have conceded more goals.

Ivan Toney has been the stand out Brentford player for fantasy managers so far and there doesn’t seem to be any reason that shouldn’t continue.

Spurs won 4-3 at home to Leeds in their last game and that win was enough to keep them in the top four. They have lost two of their last four away games and they were both against other big six teams. They have lost three of their last five games and they conceded 11 goals in those games with only one other team in the top half of the table conceding more goals.

Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son are the Spurs players fantasy managers will be looking to for the rest of the season.

I think Brentford will make a game of it, but the chances are Spurs will win narrowly.

Prediction: 1-2

Crystal Palace v Fulham 

3pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London 

Palace lost 1-0 away to Forest last time out and that defeat saw them drop into the bottom half of the table on goal difference. They have won their last three home games, but United are the only team in the top half of the table to have scored less goals on their own ground. They had taken 13 points from six games before losing to Forest, but only the bottom five teams have scored less goals.

Wilfried Zaha is the Palace player most likely to perform for fantasy managers with Eberechi Eze worth considering too.

Fulham lost 2-1 at home to United in their last game, but they managed to stay in the top half of the table on goal difference. They have lost four of their last six away games and they will have their work cut out to get anything from this game. They have only taken one point from their last three games with only three other teams conceding more goals.

Alexander Mitrovic and Andreas Pereira are the Fulham players who should be of real interest to fantasy managers.

This looks like being a close game with Palace probably taking the three points.

Prediction: 2-1

Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers 

3pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool 

Everton lost 3-0 away to Bournemouth in their last game game and they’re now only one point above the bottom three. They have lost two of their last three home games with only Wolves scoring less goals on their own patch. They have lost five of their last seven games and they failed to score in five of those games too with only Wolves scoring less goals.

I can’t see any Everton players doing enough to interest fantasy managers at the moment.

Wolves lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal last time out to leave themselves propping up the rest of the table. They’re one of two teams without an away win and only Forest have scored less goals on the road. They have only taken one point from their last five games and no other team has scored less goals.

I can’t see any Wolves to recommend to fantasy managers either.

This isn’t an easy game to call, but I think the chances are it will end in a draw.

Prediction: 1-1

Leicester City v Newcastle United 

3pm GMT, King Power Stadium, Leicester 

Leicester won 2-0 away to West Ham in their last game and they’re now only two points off the top half of the table. They have taken seven points from their last four home games and they kept clean sheets in three of those games with only two other teams conceding less goals on their own ground. They have won four of their last five games and they kept clean sheets in five of their last six.

James Maddison was in great form before the World Cup and along with Harvey Barnes he could do very well for fantasy managers.

Newcastle won 1-0 at home to Chelsea in their last game to move within two points of second placed City. They have taken 10 points from their last four away games with only Arsenal and United taking more points on their travels. They have taken 22 points from their last eight games with no other team conceding less goals.

Kieran Trippier, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson are the best of the Newcastle players for fantasy managers, but there are plenty of others to choose from too.

I think this will be a close game with Newcastle more than likely emerging with all three points.

Prediction: 1-2

Southampton v Brighton And Hove Albion 

3pm GMT, St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton 

Southampton lost 3-1 away to Liverpool in their last game to leave themselves one place and two points off the foot of the table. No other team has taken less points on their own ground with only Wolves and Everton scoring less goals at home. They have lost their last three games and they conceded eight goals in those games with only Bournemouth and Forest conceding more goals.

I can’t see any Southampton players to interest fantasy managers at the moment, but that could change soon with a new manager at the helm.

Brighton lost 2-1 at home to Villa last time out, but they’re still comfortably in the top half of the table. They won their last away game after failing to win the previous four with only Leicester and Arsenal scoring more goals on the road. They have won two of their last three games and they scored eight goals in those games.

Leandro Trossard is the Brighton player to have for fantasy managers with Pascal Gross worth considering too.

This isn’t an easy game to call, but I think the spoils will be shared.

Prediction: 1-1

Aston Villa v Liverpool 

5.30pm GMT, Villa Park, Birmingham 

Villa won 2-1 away to Brighton in their last game and they’re now only one point off the top half of the table. They have won three of their last four home games and they scored seven goals in their last two. They have won three of their last four games after only winning one of the previous nine.

I’m not sure which Villa players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment and particularly not in this game.

Liverpool won 3-1 at home to Southampton in their last game to move up to sixth place, but they still have a long way to go to catch the leaders. They won their last away game against Spurs, but that was their first away win of the season. They won their last their last two games after losing the previous two and they only play one of the other big six teams in their next nine games.

Mohamed Salah is still the best of the Liverpool players for fantasy managers with Darwin Nunez looking good recently too.

Despite their poor away form I think Liverpool should get the better of Villa with a couple of goals to spare.

Prediction: 1-3

Arsenal v West Ham United 

8pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London 

Arsenal won 2-0 away to Wolves in their last game to increase their lead at the top of the table to five points. They’re the only team with a 100% record at home, but they have only managed one clean sheet in their six home games so far. They have taken 22 points from their last eight games with only City scoring more goals and no other team conceding less.

Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are all very good choices for fantasy managers with the Arsenal defenders worth considering too.

West Ham lost 2-0 at home to Leicester in their last game and they’re now only one point outside the relegation zone. They have only taken one point and scored two goals in their last five away games with only Forest scoring less goals on the road. They have lost their last three games and they only scored one goal in those games with only three other teams scoring less goals. 

I’m not sure there are any West Ham players to interest fantasy managers at the moment.

I think West Ham will make a game of it, but Arsenal should take the three points.

Prediction: 2-1

Tuesday December 27

Chelsea v Bournemouth 

5.30pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea lost 1-0 away to Newcastle in their last game and that defeat saw them drop to eighth place in the table. They have only taken one point from their last two home games, but they were both against teams above them and Bournemouth do not fall into that category. They have only taken two points from their last five games and they only scored two goals in those games with only one other team in the top half of the table scoring less goals.

None of the Chelsea players have excelled so far for fantasy managers, but Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling must come good at some stage and this could be the game.

Bournemouth won 3-0 at home to Everton last time out and that win moved them three points clear of the bottom three. They lost their last two away games and they conceded six goals in those games with no other team conceding more goals on their travels. They had lost four games in a row before beating Everton and no other team has conceded more goals.

Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcus Tavernier are all in good form and available at a good price too.

I think Chelsea should be too strong for Bournemouth and they will win this game comfortably.

Prediction: 3-0

Manchester United v Nottingham Forest 

8pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester 

United won 2-1 away to Fulham last time out to stay within touching distance of the top four. They have taken 13 points from their last five home games and they kept clean sheets in the last three with no other team conceding less goals on their own patch. They have taken 14 points from their last seven games, but they have conceded as many goals as they have scored. 

Marcus Rashford is the United player to have for fantasy managers while Anthony Martial and Diogo Dalot are both good options too.

Forest won 1-0 at home to Palace in their last game and they’re now only one point from the relative safety of seventeenth place. They have only taken two points and scored one goal in their seven away games with no other team scoring less goals on their travels and only Bournemouth conceding more. They have taken eight points from their last five games, but only Wolves have scored less goals and only Bournemouth have conceded more.

Morgan Gibbs-White is probably the only Forest player for fantasy managers to consider.

I think United will win this game with at least a couple of goals to spare.

Prediction: 2-0

Wednesday December 29

Leeds United v Manchester City 

8pm GMT, Elland Road, Leeds 

Leeds lost 4-3 away to Spurs last time out and they only have two points to spare over the bottom three. They have only won once in their last five home games and their chances of getting anything from this game are very slim. They have won two of their last three games after losing the previous four with only three other teams conceding more goals.

Both Rodrigo and Crysencio Summerville were in great form before the World Cup and they have to be of interest to fantasy managers if they can continue in that fashion.

City lost 2-1 at home to Brentford in their last game and they’re now five points behind Arsenal at the top of the table. They have won two of their last three away games and they only conceded one goal in those games with only Arsenal conceding less goals on the road. They have lost two of their last five games, but no other team has scored more goals with only Arsenal and Newcastle conceding less.

Erling Haaland is the outstanding City player for fantasy managers with Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo very good options too.

I can’t see anything other than a comprehensive City victory in this game.

Prediction: 1-4

That’s it for this week.

See you next week.