it’s that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. I didn’t have the best week last week with just one perfect prediction, three correct outcomes and six incorrect outcomes which saw me lose even more ground in my predictions league. Here’s a look at how the top five in that league stands.
Pos Player Res Cls Exa Slm Pts
1. SeniorBurger 21 81 60 13 175
2. Gooners 25 66 69 10 170
3. Murray1886 28 67.5 60 13 168.5
4. andy 25 76.5 54 11 166.5
5. robbieg 29 75 48 13 165
I didn’t do well with my fantasy team either, but at least my decision to go with Hugo Ekitike as my captain paid off to some extent. Michael Keane and Declan Rice were the only other players to get me any points and I have to hope I do a lot better this week.
The chances are Ekitike will be my captain again this week with a home game against Wolves and I’m going to resist the temptation to make any changes to my squad. With the games coming thick and fast it’s difficult to know how squad rotation will affect my team, but I’m hoping for the best.
Tuesday December 30
Burnley v Newcastle United
7.30pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley drew 0-0 at home to Everton on Saturday to stay one place off the foot of the table and six points from safety. They drew their last home game after losing the previous four with no other team scoring less goals on their own ground. They have drawn their last two games after losing the previous seven with only three other teams scoring less goals.
I can’t see any Burnley players doing enough to recommend them to fantasy managers at the moment.
Newcastle lost 1-0 away to United on Friday to leave them in 14th place and three points off the top half of the table. They have only won once in their nine away games with only three other teams scoring less goals on the road. They have only one once in their last five games, but they have a very good run of games coming up.
Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Nick Woltemade are the Newcastle players who can perform for fantasy managers.
I think Newcastle will manage their second away win of the season in a close game.
Prediction: 1-2
Chelsea v Bournemouth
7.30pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea lost 2-1 at home to Villa at the weekend after taking the lead and that defeat saw them drop out of the top four. They have only won two of their last five home games, but they have a very good run of games coming up on their own patch. They have only won once in their last six games, but only three other teams have scored more goals and only the top two have conceded less.
The Chelsea defenders and keeper can all do well for fantasy managers along with Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro.
Bournemouth lost 4-1 away to Brentford on Saturday, but they still have nine points to spare over the bottom three. They haven’t won in their last seven away games with no other team conceding more goals on their travels, but only City and Chelsea scoring more. They haven’t won in nine games, but they drew four of them with no other team drawing more games.
Antoine Semenyo is still the Bournemouth player to have for fantasy managers, but he could be on the move before too long.
I think Chelsea will bounce back from their defeat against Villa by taking all the points in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Nottingham Forest v Everton
7.30pm GMT, City Ground, Nottingham
Forest lost 2-1 at home to City on Saturday to leave them one place and five points above the relegation zone. They have lost two of their last three home games with only two other teams conceding more goals on their own ground. They have lost three of their last four games with only Wolves scoring less goals.
I’m still not sure there are any Forest players doing enough to interest fantasy managers.
Everton drew 0-0 away to Burnley at the weekend, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the top half of the table. They have only taken one point from their last two away games after winning the previous two with only three other teams scoring less goals on the road. They have only taken one point from their last three games with only Wolves scoring less goals, but they don’t play any of the big six in their next eight games.
Everton’s defenders and keeper are very good choices for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a close game with the points being shared.
Prediction: 1-1
West Ham United v Brighton And Hive Albion
7.30pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham lost 1-0 at home to Fulham on Saturday to leave them in the relegation zone and five points adrift of safety. They have lost their last three home games with only Wolves conceding more goals on their own patch. They haven’t won in seven games with only Wolves conceding more goals and three other teams scoring less.
Despite West Ham’s poor results Jarrod Bowen can still do well for fantasy managers.
Brighton lost 2-1 away to Arsenal at the weekend and that defeat saw them drop into the bottom half of the table. They have only won once in their last six away games and their next game on the road after this one is against City. They haven’t won in five games, but their next two games are both against teams in the relegation zone starting with this one.
Yankuba Minteh is the Brighton player who can do well for fantasy managers.
I think Brighton will pile even more pressure on West Ham by winning this game.
Prediction: 1-2
Arsenal v Aston Villa
8.15pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal won 2-1 at home to Brighton on Saturday to remain two points clear at the top of the table. No other team has taken more points at home with only City scoring more goals on their own ground and no other team conceding less. They have won their last three games and no other team has conceded less goals, but they play two of the other top four teams in their next three games.
The Arsenal defenders and keeper can all do well for fantasy managers along with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice.
Villa came from behind to win 2-1 away to Chelsea at the weekend to leave them just three points behind Arsenal going into this game. They have won their last four away games and they scored 11 goals in those games, but they have some very difficult games on the road coming up. They have won 12 of their last 13 games and they won at home to Arsenal only a few weeks ago.
Morgan Rogers is the Villa player to have for fantasy managers.
This is a huge game for both teams and I think Arsenal should be good enough to take all three points.
Prediction: 2-1
Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
8.15pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United won 1-0 at home to Newcastle on Friday to move up to sixth place and stay within three points of the top four. They won their last home game after failing to win the previous three with only three other teams scoring more goals on their own patch. They have only lost twice in their last 12 games with only the top two scoring more goals.
With Bruno Fernandes still injured Matheus Cunha could be the United player to perform for fantasy managers.
Wolves lost 2-1 away to Liverpool on Saturday to remain rooted to the foot of the table and they’re now 16 points from safety. They’re the only team without an away win with no other team scoring less goals on their travels. They have lost their last 11 games with no other team scoring less or conceding more goals.
I can’t see any Wolves players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable United victory in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Thursday January 1
Crystal Palace v Fulham
5.30pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace lost 1-0 at home to Spurs on Sunday, but they just about held on to their place in the top half of the table. They have only taken one point from their last four home games with only two other teams scoring less goals on their own ground. They have lost their last three games and they conceded eight goals in those games.
The Palace defenders and keeper have been very good choices for fantasy managers until recently.
Fulham won 1-0 away to West Ham on Saturday and those three points moved them into the top half of the table and behind Palace on goal difference going into this game. They have won their last three away games after losing the previous five with only three other teams conceding more goals on the road. They have won six of their last nine games, but they have same tough games coming up.
Harry Wilson is the best bet in the Fulham team for fantasy managers while Raul Jiminez, Joachim Anderson and Antonee Robinson have looked good in recent games too.
This is a difficult game to predict, but I have a feeling the points will be shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Liverpool v Leeds United
5.30pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool won 2-1 at home to Wolves on Saturday and that victory moved them into the top four, but they’re still 10 points off the top of the table. They have taken seven points from their last three home games after losing two of the previous three and their next three games on their own patch are all against teams in the bottom half of the table. They have taken 14 points from their last six games after losing six of the previous seven.
Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz are the Liverpool players looking the most likely to perform for fantasy managers at the moment.
Leeds came from behind to draw 1-1 away to Sunderland on Sunday which left them two places and seven points above the relegation zone. They drew their last two away games after losing the previous four with only Bournemouth and Burnley conceding more goals on their travels. They have taken nine points from their last five games after losing the previous four, but they have some very difficult games coming up.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in fantastic form for fantasy managers at the moment with Anton Stach worth considering too.
I think Liverpool will strengthen their position in the top four with another three points in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur
8pm GMT, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford won 4-1 at home to Brighton on Saturday and that win moved them up to eighth place. Only the top three have taken points at home with only City and Arsenal scoring more goals on their own ground. They have taken seven points from their last three games after losing three of the previous four.
Igor Thiago still looks like the best of the Brentford players for fantasy managers with Kevin Schade a possibility too.
Spurs won 1-0 away to Palace on Sunday and they’re now only one point and one place off the top half of the table. They have only won once in their last four away games, but no other team has taken more points on the road. The win against Palace was only their second win in nine games with no other team in the bottom half of the table scoring more goals.
Spurs have a great run of games coming up which should make Micky van de Ven, Mohammed Kudus and Richarlison attractive to fantasy managers.
This is another tough game to call, but I think Brentford will get the better of a very close game.
Prediction: 2-1
Sunderland v Manchester City
8pm GMT, Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Sunderland drew 1-1 at home to Leeds on Sunday which saw them drop to seventh place. They’re one of two teams still unbeaten at home with no other team drawing more games on their own patch. They have only won two of their last nine games, but they drew five of them with only the top two conceding less goals.
Sunderland’s defenders and keeper are very good options for fantasy managers, but maybe not in this game with Granit Xhaka a good choice too.
City won 2-1 away to Forest on Saturday to remain two points behind Arsenal at the top of the table. They have won their last three away games after losing the previous two with no other team scoring more goals on their travels. They have won their last six games and they scored 19 goals in those games with no other team scoring more goals and only Arsenal conceding less.
Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki are the in form City players for fantasy managers with all of their defenders and keeper good options too along with Phil Foden and Tijjani Reijnders.
Sunderland put their unbeaten home record up against in form City in what looks like being a very close game and a draw is probably the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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