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 a good week last week with no perfect predictions, three correct outcomes and seven incorrect outcomes, but I didn’t lose any ground in my predictions league at least. Here’s a look at how the top five in that league stands.
Pos Player Res Cls Exa Slm Pts
1. SeniorBurger 25 93 69 14 201
2. Gooners 30 76.5 78 12 196.5
3. Sam 25 84 72 13 194
4. Murray1886 13 79.5 69 13 193.5
5. andy 28 90 63 12 193
My fantasy team did reasonably well last week in what was a low scoring week. All of my defensive players got me points, but the lack of returns from my attacking players prevented me from doing even better. I moved up in the overall rankings for the third week in a row and I’m not too far off the top 1% in the overall standings.
Hugo Ekitike didn’t do much as my captain last week and the chances are I will give the armband back to Erling Haaland this week despite his lack of form. I have two transfers I can make this week and I think I will be bringing Bruno Fernandes in and possibly selling Ekitike too, but I will have to wait until I find out more about the fitness of Bruno Guimaraes.
Saturday January 24
West Ham United v Sunderland
12.30pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham scored a very late goal to win 2-1 away to Spurs last week, but they’re still in the relegation zone and five points from safety. They have only taken one point from their last five home games with no other team conceding more goals on their own ground. They had only taken four points from 10 games before beating Spurs with no other team conceding more goals.
Jarrod Bowen is the only West Ham player who can return points for fantasy managers.
Sunderland won 2-1 at home to Palace last week and they’re only three points off fourth place. They have only taken three points from their last six away games with no other team scoring less goals on the road. The win against Palace was their first win in six games, but no other team has drawn more games and only two other teams have scored less goals.
Sunderland’s defenders and keeper can do well for fantasy managers while Granit Xhaka is worth considering too.
I don’t think there will be too much between these two teams with a draw being the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 1-1
Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur
3pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley drew 1-1 away to Liverpool last week to remain one place off the foot of the table and eight points from safety. They have only taken two points from their last seven home games with no other team scoring less goals on their own patch. They haven’t won in 13 games, but they have drawn four of their last six with only two other teams scoring less goals and only West Ham conceding more.
I can’t see any Burnley players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Spurs conceded a late goal to lose 2-1 at home to West Ham last week and they’re now five points off the top half of the table. They have only won once in their last six away games, but only Arsenal have taken more points on their travels with only Chelsea and Bournemouth scoring more goals. They have only won two of their last 13 games and they have some very difficult games coming up after this one.
I don’t think it’s a great idea to recommend Spurs players to fantasy managers at the moment considering their upcoming games.
I think Spurs will take three badly needed points in this game.
Prediction: 1-2
Fulham v Brighton And Hove Albion
3pm GMT, Craven Cottage, London
Fulham conceded a late goal to lose 1-0 away to Leeds last week and that defeat saw them drop into the bottom half of the table. They have taken seven points from their last three home games after losing the previous two and they have a good run of home games coming up. They had taken 14 points from six games before losing to Leeds, but three of their next five games after this one are against big six teams.
Harry Wilson is the best of the bunch in the Fulham team for fantasy managers with Raul Jiminez and Joachim Anderson possibilities too.
Brighton scored a late goal to draw 1-1 at home to Bournemouth last week and they’re only one point and one place behind Fulham going into this game. They have only taken two points from their last four away games, but three of those games were against teams in the top four. They have only won once in their last nine games with no other team drawing more games.
Danny Welbeck, Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh are all capable of doing well for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end in a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
3pm GMT Etihad Stadium, Manchester
City lost 2-0 away to United last week and they’re now seven points behind Arsenal at the top of the table. They have drawn their last two home games after winning the previous eight with no other team scoring more goals on their own patch and only Arsenal conceding less. They haven’t won in four games after winning the previous six with no other team scoring more goals and only Arsenal conceding less.
Erling Haaland has done very little for fantasy managers in recent weeks, but it’s still difficult to look past him with Antoine Semenyo a good option too.
Wolves drew 1-1 at home to Newcastle last week, but they’re still rooted to the foot of the table with 14 points to make up on 17th place. They have drawn their last two away games after losing the previous six, but they’re the only team without a win on their travels with no other team scoring less away goals. They are unbeaten in four games, but they drew three of them with no other team scoring less goals.
Mateus Mane is the only Wolves player who might make a contribution for fantasy managers and he’s available at a very good price.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable City victory in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Bournemouth v Liverpool
5.30pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth conceded late on to draw 1-1 away to Brighton last week and they’re a lot closer to the top half of the table than the relegation zone despite being in 15th place. They won their last home game after failing to win the previous five, but their next two home games are against teams in the top four starting with this one. They have only won once in their last 13 games with only two other teams conceding more goals.
Marcus Tavernier and Kroupi Junior are the Bournemouth players who should interest fantasy managers.
Liverpool drew 1-1 at home to struggling Burnley last week to stay in fourth place, but they’re still 14 points off the top of the table. They are unbeaten in their last five away games after losing the previous four and they have a good run of away games coming up. They are unbeaten in 10 games, but they drew six of them and their next two games after this one are far from easy.
It’s difficult to know which Liverpool players will do well for fantasy managers at the moment, but Florian Wirtz is starting to live up to his billing.
I think Bournemouth will give Liverpool a run for their money and might just get a point from this game.
Prediction: 2-2
Sunday January 25
Brentford v Nottingham Forest
2pm GMT, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford lost 2-0 away to Chelsea last week to fall back to seventh place, but they’re only three points below the top four. They have taken 17 points from their last seven home games and they scored 17 goals in those games with only the top three taking more points on their own patch. They had taken 14 points from six games before losing to Chelsea and they have some very difficult games coming up after this one.
Igor Thiago is the best of the Brentford players for fantasy managers with Kevin Schade and Nathan Collins good choices too.
Forest drew 0-0 at home to league leaders Arsenal last week and that point kept them five points above the relegation zone. They won their last three away games after losing the previous three with only two other teams scoring less goals on their travels. They have taken four points from their last five games after losing the previous four with only Wolves scoring less goals.
Morgan Gibbs-White remains the best bet in a Forest team that don’t do an awful lot for fantasy managers.
I think Brentford will prove to be too strong on their own ground for Forest and should win by a couple of goals.
Prediction: 3-1
Crystal Palace v Chelsea
2pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace lost 2-1 away to Sunderland last week to remain in 13th place and they’re now four points behind the top half of the table. They haven’t won in their last six home games with only Wolves winning less games on their own ground and no other team scoring less goals. They have only taken two points from their last seven games and they only scored two goals in those games.
I’m not sure there are any Palace players doing enough to interest fantasy managers at the moment.
Chelsea won 2-0 at home to Brentford last week and they moved back to sixth place and within two points of fourth place as a result of that win. They have only taken three points from their last five away games, but no other team has scored more goals on the road. The win against Brentford was only their second win in 10 games, but their next five games are all against teams in the bottom half of the table.
Chelsea’s defenders and keeper could do well for fantasy managers over the next few weeks along with Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer.
I think Chelsea will take advantage of Palace’s current problems to narrowly win this game.
Prediction: 1-2
Newcastle United v Aston Villa
2pm GMT, St. James’s Park, Newcastle
Newcastle drew 0-0 away to Wolves last week and they’re still only three points off the top four. They have taken 20 points from their last eight home games and they scored 18 goals in those games with only three other teams scoring more goals on their own patch. They have taken 10 points from their last four games, but they have some very tough games coming up.
If he’s fit to play Bruno Guimaraes is the best of the Newcastle players for fantasy managers with Malick Thiaw and Joelinton doing well recently too.
Villa lost 1-0 at home to Everton last week and that defeat saw them stay in third place with seven points to make up on league leaders Arsenal. They have only taken one point from their last two away games after winning the previous four with only Arsenal taking more points on their travels. They have only won once in their last four games after winning 12 of the previous 13 and they don’t play any of the big six in their next six games.
Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins are the Villa players who fantasy managers should have their eye on.
I think Newcastle should make home advantage pay to move themselves closer to the top four.
Prediction: 2-1
Arsenal v Manchester United
4.30pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal drew 0-0 away to Forest last week to give themselves a seven point lead at the top of the table. They’re one of two teams unbeaten at home with no other team taking more points or conceding less goals on their own ground and only City scoring more. They have only lost once in their last 19 games, but they have drawn the last two 0-0 and no other team has conceded less goals.
Arsenal’s defenders and keeper are great choices for fantasy managers along with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.
United won 2-0 at home to City last week to move up to fifth place and within one point of fourth place. They haven’t won in their last three away games, but no other team has drawn more games on the road. They have only lost two of their last 14 games, but they drew seven of them with no other team in the top half of the table conceding more goals and only the top two scoring more.
Bruno Fernandes is the best of the United players for fantasy managers with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha possibilities too.
I think Arsenal will be good enough at home to win a very close game.
Prediction: 2-1
Monday January 26
Everton v Leeds United
8pm GMT, Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool
Everton won 1-0 away to Villa last week and that win moved them back into the top half of the table. They have only taken one point from their last three home games, but three of their next four games on their own patch are against teams in the bottom half of the table. The win against Villa was only their second win in seven games, but they have kept clean sheets in three of their last five games.
Everton’s defenders and keeper can do very well for fantasy managers and the returning Iliman Ndiaye could be a good option too along with James Garner.
Leeds scored a late goal to win 1-0 at home to Fulham last week and they now have eight points to spare over the bottom three. They haven’t won in their last eight away games, but they have drawn the last three and only the bottom two have taken less points on their travels. They have only lost once in their last nine games, but they drew five of them and they have a difficult run of games over the next few weeks.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the Leeds player fantasy managers should be interested in.
I think Everton will just about get the better of a very close game.
Prediction: 1-0
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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