It’s that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. I had a very good week last week with two perfect predictions, six correct outcomes and two incorrect outcomes which saw me move up a few places 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. Gooners 34 84 81 13 212
2. Sam 27 90 81 14 212
3. Murray1886 35 87 75 14 211
4. SeniorBurger 29 97.5 69 14 209.5
5. robbieg 33 94.5 63 14 204.5
I did reasonably well with my fantasy team last week, but I lost a little bit of ground overall. My decision to go with Bruno Fernandes as my captain paid off and the chances are he will be my captain again this week. The other option has to be Erling Haaland, but despite being the leading goalscorer he just isn’t playing well enough at the moment to give him the armband.
I am tempted to use more than the one free transfer I have this week as I’m looking to bring both Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez in. Chelsea have a great run of fixtures at the moment and both of those players are in very good form. If I do bring them both in then the players to lose out will most likely be Bruno Guimaraes and Igor Thiago.
Friday February 6
Leeds United v Nottingham Forest
8pm GMT, Elland Road, Leeds
Leeds lost 4-0 at home to Arsenal last week which left them six points and two places above the relegation zone. They had taken 11 points from their previous five home games before losing to Arsenal and they need to regain that form in this game. They have only lost twice in their last 11 games, but they drew six of them.
I’m not sure there are any Leeds players doing enough to interest fantasy managers at the moment and they have some very tough games coming up.
Forest drew 1-1 at home to Palace last week and they’re only behind Leeds on goals scored going into this game. They have won their last two away games after losing the previous three, but only two other teams have scored less goals on the road. They have taken eight points from their last four games after losing the previous four, but only Wolves have scored less goals.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson are both looking very good for fantasy managers at the moment.
This is a huge game for two teams trying to stay clear of the relegation zone and I think it will end all square.
Prediction: 1-1
Saturday February 7
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
12.30pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United scored a very late goal to win 3-2 at home to Fulham last week and that victory was enough to keep them in the top four. They have taken 12 points from their last six home games with only the top two scoring more goals on their own patch. They have won their last three games and they scored eight goals in those games with only the top two scoring more goals, but no other team in the top half of the table conceding more.
Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo are the United players to have for fantasy managers at the moment.
Spurs came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home to City last week to leave them in 15th place and five points below the top half of the table. They have only won once in their last seven away games with only Arsenal and Villa taking more points on their travels. They have only won twice in their last 15 games and they have some difficult games coming up.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero can do well for fantasy managers if they’re fit to play.
I think United will continue their good run with another three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Arsenal v Sunderland
3pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal won 4-0 away to Leeds last week to extend their lead at the top of the table to six points. They lost their last home game after being unbeaten in the previous 11 with no other team conceding less goals on their own ground and only City scoring more. The win against Leeds was their first win in four games with no other team conceding less goals and only City scoring more.
Arsenal’s defenders and keeper remain great choices for fantasy managers with Declan Rice worth considering too.
Sunderland won 3-0 at home to Burnley last week and those three points moved them back into the top half of the table. They haven’t won in their last seven away games with only Wolves scoring less goals on the road. They have won two of their last three games after failing to win the previous five with only the top two conceding less goals.
Sunderland’s defenders and keeper can do very well for fantasy managers in home matches in particular while Brian Brobbey and Enzo Le Fee are worth watching too.
I think Arsenal will make it back to back wins by a couple of goals in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Bournemouth v Aston Villa
3pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth won 2-0 away to Wolves last week and they’re now only one point off the top half of the table. They have won their last two home games after failing to win the previous five and they scored eight goals in their last three games on their own patch. They have taken 10 points from their last four games after only taking five in the previous 11 games with no other team in the bottom half of the table scoring more goals, but only the bottom three conceding more.
Junior Kroupi looks like he could be the cut price striker fantasy managers crave.
Villa lost 1-0 at home to Brentford last week and they’re now in third place with seven points to make up on Arsenal. They have taken 16 points from their last seven away games with only Arsenal taking more points on their travels. They have lost three of their last six games after winning 12 of the previous 13 and they have a very good run of games coming up.
Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins (if he’s fit to play) are the Villa players who can do well for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a close game with a draw being the most likely outcome.
Prediction: 2-2
Burnley v West Ham United
3pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley lost 3-0 away to Sunderland last week to leave themselves one place off the bottom of the table and 11 points from safety. They haven’t won in their last eight home games with only two other teams scoring less goals on their own ground. They haven’t won in 15 games with only Wolves scoring less goals and only West Ham conceding more.
I can’t see any Burnley players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
West Ham led 2-0 away to Chelsea last week, but they ended up losing 3-2 and they’re now six points from safety. They have only won once in their last 10 games, but this is a game they have to win. They had won two games in a row before losing to Chelsea, but they have some very tough games coming up after this one.
Jarrod Bowen is the West Ham player who can make a difference for fantasy managers at the moment.
This is a huge game for two teams in the relegation zone and I think West Ham might just get the better of Burnley.
Prediction: 1-2
Fulham v Everton
3pm GMT, Craven Cottage, London
Fulham conceded a very late goal to lose 3-2 away to United last week, but they managed to hold on to their place in the top half of the table. They have taken 10 points from their last four home games and their next four games on their own patch are all against teams below them in the table. They have taken 17 points from their last nine games, but only one other team in the top half of the table has conceded more goals.
Harry Wilson and Raul Jiminez are the Fulham players who can make an impression for fantasy managers.
Everton drew 1-1 away to Brighton last week and they’re only behind Fulham on goal difference going into this game. They have only lost once in their last eight away games with only Arsenal conceding less goals on their travels. They have only lost once in their last seven games, but they drew four of them with only three other teams scoring less goals.
Jordan Pickford, James Tarkowski and James Garner can all do well for fantasy managers.
I don’t think there will be too much between these two teams, but the chances are Fulham will take the three points.
Prediction: 2-1
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea
3pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves lost 2-0 at home to Bournemouth last week to leave them rooted to the foot of the table and awaiting their inevitable relegation. Despite a recent upturn in their home results no other team has taken less points or scored less goals on their own ground. They have only won once in 24 games with no other team scoring less goals and only West Ham and Burnley conceding more.
With two games next week Mateus Mane could be a reasonably priced option for fantasy managers.
Chelsea came back from 2-0 to win 3-2 at home to West Ham last week and they’re only one point off fourth place. They won their last away game after failing to win the previous five with no other team scoring more goals on the road. They have scored eight goals in winning their last three games and they are in the middle of a great run of fixtures.
Trevoh Chalobah, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro are the Chelsea players to have at the moment for fantasy managers.
I think Chelsea will continue their pursuit of a top four finish with another three points in this game.
Prediction: 1-3
Newcastle United v Brentford
5.30pm GMT, St. James’s Park, Newcastle
Newcastle led away to Liverpool last week, but they ended up losing 4-1 and that defeat saw them drop back into the bottom half of the table. They lost their last home game after taking 20 points from the previous eight games on their own patch. They have only taken one point and scored one goal in their last three games and they have some difficult games coming up.
If he’s fit to play Bruno Guimaraes is the best of the Newcastle players for fantasy managers.
Brentford won 1-0 away to Villa last week to move up to seventh place, but they’re only three points ahead of Newcastle. They have won three of their last four away games, but only the bottom two have lost more games on their travels. They have taken 16 points from their last eight games and their fixtures get a lot better after their next couple of games.
Igor Thiago is the best of the Brentford players for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Newcastle will manage a badly needed victory in a very close game.
Prediction: 2-1
Sunday February 8
Brighton And Hove Albion v Crystal Palace
2pm GMT, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton drew 1-1 at home to Everton last week and they’re now three points off the top half of the table. They’re unbeaten in their last five home games, but they drew four of them with no other team drawing more games on their own ground. They have only won once in their last 11 games, but they drew six of them with no other team drawing more games.
Yasin Ayari is the Brighton player who has done very well under the radar for fantasy managers and he’s available at a very good price too.
Palace drew 1-1 away to Forest last week and they’re still closer to the top half of the table than they are to the relegation zone. They have only taken one point from their last four away games and they have some very tough games on the road coming up after this one. They have only taken three points from their last nine games and they only scored five goals in those games with only Wolves and Forest scoring less goals.
I’m not sure there are any Palace players doing enough at the moment to interest fantasy managers.
I think this will be a very close game with the points being shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Liverpool v Manchester City
4.30pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool came from behind to win 4-1 at home to Newcastle last week and they’re only two points off the top four. They are unbeaten in their last six home games, but they drew three of them and this is one of their toughest games on their own patch this season. They have only lost once in their last 12 games, but they drew six of them and they have a very good run of games after this one.
Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike are probably the Liverpool players for fantasy managers to consider at the moment.
City led 2-0 away to Spurs last week, but they had to settle for 2-2 draw which saw them slip to six points behind Arsenal at the top of the table. They haven’t won in their last three away games, but only three other teams have scored more goals on their travels. They have only won once in their last six games, but no other team has scored more goals and only Arsenal have conceded less.
Erling Haaland is still a good option for fantasy managers despite his lack of goals recently with Marc Guehi, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki good options too.
This is a difficult game to predict, but the chances are it will go the way of Liverpool.
Prediction: 2-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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