It’s that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. I had yet another bad week last week with no perfect predictions, five correct outcomes and five incorrect outcomes which means that I stayed in eighth place in my predictions league. Here’s a look at how the top five looks in that league stands.
Pos Player Res Cls Exa Slm Pts
1. andy 16 69 48 10 143
2. SeniorBurger 17 63 51 10 141
3. Derek 24 61.5 39 12 136.5
4. Gooners 20 51 57 8 136
5. Murray1886 23 55.5 45 10 133.5
I had a reasonably good week with my fantasy team as I moved up ever so slightly in the overall rankings and I’m still just inside the top 1%. My choice of Erling Haaland didn’t pay off for the third time in four weeks and I will have to seriously consider moving the armband elsewhere. Thankfully Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi, Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Guimaraes and Bukayo Saka did their part to give me a reasonable score for the week.
With five free transfers to use thanks to player involvement in the African Cup of Nations I can give myself a mini wildcard this week. I’m looking to bring Phil Foden, Bruno Fernandes and maybe Declan Rice in with the possibility of Nico O’Reilly or Daniel Munoz too. Rice might make a good captaincy choice this week or possibly Bukayo Saka, but it’s still difficult to look beyond Haaland.
Saturday December 13
Chelsea v Everton
3pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea drew 0-0 away to Bournemouth last week and that defeat saw them drop out of the top four. They have only won three of their seven home games, but three of their next four games are on their own ground. They haven’t won in three games, but only Arsenal and Palace have conceded less goals.
Trevoh Chalobah and Pedro Neto are the Chelsea players looking good for fantasy managers at the moment.
Everton won 3-0 at home to Forest last week and that win moved them within two points of the top four. They have won their last two away games with only Palace and Arsenal conceding less goals on the road. They have won four of their last five games with no other team in the top half of the table scoring less goals.
Kiernan Deesbury-Hall, Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, James Tarkowski and Iliman Ndiaye are all doing very well for fantasy managers.
I think Everton are playing well enough to take a point in this game.
Prediction: 1-1
Liverpool v Brighton And Hove Albion
3pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool conceded a very late goal to draw 3-3 away to Leeds last week and that point was just enough to keep them in the top half of the table. They have only won once in their last four home games, but they have a very good run of games on their own patch coming up. They have only won two of their last 10 games with no other team in the top half of the table conceding more goals.
I’m not sure which Liverpool players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment as none of them have been impressive recently, but with Dominik Szoboszlai now on penalties he could be a possibility.
Brighton scored a late goal to draw 1-1 at home to West Ham last week and that point was enough to keep them two places ahead of Liverpool on goal difference. They have taken eight points from their last five away games, but they have some very difficult games on their travels coming up. They have only lost twice in their last 11 games with only three other teams scoring more goals, but no other team has drawn more games.
Danny Welbeck and Yankuba Minteh are the Brighton players who can perform for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a very close game with Liverpool getting a narrow victory to try to put their troubles behind them.
Prediction: 2-1
Burnley v Fulham
5.30pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley lost 2-1 away to Newcastle last week and that defeat left them one place off the foot of the table and five points from safety. They have lost their last three home games with no other team scoring less goals on their own ground, but only four other teams conceding less. They have lost their last six games and they conceded 13 goals in those games with only Wolves conceding more goals.
I can’t see any Burnley players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Fulham lost 2-1 at home to Palace last week and they’re closer to the bottom three than they are to the top half of the table. They won their last away game after failing to win the previous six with only two other teams scoring less goals on the road. They lost their last two games after winning three of the previous four with only the bottom two losing more games.
Harry Wilson is the Fulham player looking good for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Fulham might just take the three points in this game to ease their worries and increase the pressure on Burnley.
Prediction: 1-2
Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers
8pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal conceded a very late goal to lose 2-1 away to Villa last week and their lead at the top of the table has now been cut to just two points. They’re one of two teams still unbeaten at home with no other team conceding more goals on their own patch and only City scoring more. They have only won two of their last five games with no other team conceding less goals and only City scoring more.
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are in good form for fantasy managers along with the Arsenal defenders and keeper.
Wolves lost 4-1 at home to United last week to leave them stranded to the foot of the table with relegation looking a certainty before the halfway point in the season. They’re the only team without an away win with no other team scoring less goals on their travels. They have lost their last eight games and they conceded 19 goals in those 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 Arsenal victory in this game.
Prediction: 3-0
Sunday December 14
Crystal Palace v Manchester City
2pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace won 2-1 away to Ipswich last week and that win moved them up to fourth place. They have only won once in their last four home games with no other team drawing more games on their own ground. They have taken 13 points from their last six games and they kept clean sheets in four of those games with only Arsenal conceding less goals.
The Palace defenders and keeper are all excellent choices for fantasy managers at the moment.
City won 3-0 at home to Sunderland last week and that win moved within two points of Arsenal at the top of the table. They won their last away game after losing the previous two with only Chelsea and Spurs scoring more goals on the road. They have won their last three games and they scored 11 goals in those games with no other team scoring more goals.
Erling Haaland is still a must have for fantasy managers despite his recent downturn while Phil Foden and Nico O’Reilly are very good options too.
I think this will be a very tight game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the points shared.
Prediction: 2-2
Nottingham Forest v Tottenham Hotspur
2pm GMT, City Ground, Nottingham
Forest lost 3-0 away to Everton last week and they’re now only two points above the relegation zone. They lost their last home game after taking four points from the previous two with only two other teams conceding more goals on their own patch. They have lost two of their last three games with only Wolves scoring less goals.
I’m not sure there are any Forest players doing enough on a consistent basis to interest fantasy managers.
Spurs won 2-0 at home to Brentford last week to leave them one point and one place off the top half of the table. They have only lost one of their seven home games with only Palace taking more points on their travels and no other team scoring more goals. The win against Brentford was their first win in six games with only three other teams scoring more goals.
Mohammed Kudus is the best of the Spurs players for fantasy managers.
This is a game which could go either way with a draw being the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
Sunderland v Newcastle United
2pm GMT, Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Sunderland lost 3-0 away to City last week and that defeat saw them drop to ninth place. They’re one of two teams still unbeaten at home with only Palace drawing more games on their own ground. They have only won once in their last six games, but they drew three of them with no other team drawing more games.
The Sunderland defenders and keeper are good choices for fantasy managers along with Granit Xhaka.
Newcastle won 2-1 at home to Burnley last week and they’re now only one point and three places behind Sunderland. They won their last away game after failing to win the previous six and they have a pretty good run of games on the road coming up. They have taken 10 points from their last four games and they scored 10 goals in those games.
Dan Burn, Nick Woltemade and Anthony Gordon are the Newcastle players to watch for fantasy managers.
This is a huge game for these fierce rivals and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end all square.
Prediction: 1-1
West Ham United v Aston Villa
2pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham conceded a late goal to draw 1-1 away to Brighton last week which meant they stayed in the relegation zone. They have lost five of their seven home games with only Wolves taking less points and conceding more goals on their own patch. They haven’t won in four games, but they drew three of those games and they play two of the top three in their next two games starting with this one.
Jarrod Bowen is by far the best of the West Ham players for fantasy managers.
Villa scored a last gasp goal to win 2-1 at home to Arsenal last week and that victory moved within three points of the top of the table. They have won three of their last four away games, but their next two away games after this one are against Chelsea and Arsenal. They have won nine of their last 10 games with only Arsenal and Palace conceding less goals.
Matty Cash and Morgan Rogers are the Villa players most likely to perform for fantasy managers.
I think Villa will continue their impressive run with a narrow victory in this game.
Prediction: 1-2
Brentford v Leeds United
4.30pm GMT, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford lost 2-0 away to Spurs last week and that defeat saw them drop to 14th place. They have won five of their seven home games with only the top three taking more points on their own ground and only three other teams scoring more goals. They have lost three of their last four games and they conceded seven goals in those games with only five other teams conceding more goals.
Igor Thiago is the Brentford player who can do very well for fantasy managers.
Leeds scored a last minute goal to get a 3-3 draw at home to Liverpool last week and that point moved them up to 16th in the table. They have lost six of their seven away games with only Wolves taking less points on the road and only two other teams conceding more goals. They taken four points from their last two games after losing the previous four with only the bottom two conceding more goals.
Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are the Leeds players to consider at the moment for fantasy managers.
I think Brentford will be strong enough at home to take all the points in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Monday December 15
Manchester United v Bournemouth
8pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United won 4-1 away to Wolves last week and they’re now only one point off the top four. They have only taken one point from their last two home games after winning the previous four. They have taken 18 points from their last nine games with only the top two scoring more goals.
Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo showed against Wolves just how good they can be for fantasy managers.
Bournemouth drew 0-0 at home to Chelsea last week and they’re now three points off the top half of the table. They have only won once in their seven away games with only Burnley conceding more goals on their travels. They have only taken two points from their last six games and they conceded 13 goals in those games with only five other teams conceding more goals.
I’m not sure there are any Bournemouth players doing enough at the moment to interest fantasy managers.
I think United will continue to climb the table with another three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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