It’s that time of the week when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. I did reasonably well with my predictions last week with no perfect predictions, five correct outcomes and five incorrect outcomes which saw me move up one place 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. Murray1886 37 102 81 16 236
2. Gooners 36 97.5 87 14 234.5
3. Sam 29 105 84 16 234
4. SeniorBurger 31 106.5 78 15 230.5
5. robbieg 35 108 69 16 228
I did reasonably well with my fantasy team too as my choice of Joao Pedro as my captain paid off and I moved up yet again in the overall standings. Harry Wilson and Erling Haaland were my only other players to perform last week so I have used two of my three available transfers to bring Virgil van Dijk and Raul Jiminez into my squad. I am hoping not to use any transfers for the next few weeks as I have so many players not playing in Gameweek 31 due to the Carabao Cup Final.
The chances are Bruno Fernandes will be my captain this week with Haaland a possibility too. I have decided on my strategy for my four remaining chips and they will all get used from Gameweeks 32 to 36 most likely.
Friday February 27
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa
8pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves lost 1-0 away to Palace last week and they’re now 17 points from safety with just 10 games left to play. They have only won once at home so far with no other team taking less points or conceding more goals on their own ground. They haven’t won in eight games, but they drew four of them with no other team scoring less goals and only Burnley conceding more.
I can’t see any Wolves players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Villa scored a late goal to draw 1-1 at home to Leeds last week to remain in third place, but they’re now closer to the teams chasing them than the teams above them. They have only won once in their last four away games, but they have a good run of games on the road for the rest of the season and only Arsenal have taken more points away from home. They have only taken 12 points from their last nine games with only the top two conceding less goals.
Morgan Rogers is the Villa player most likely to do well for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a close game with Villa probably taking the three points.
Prediction: 1-2
Saturday February 28
Bournemouth v Sunderland
12.30pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth drew 0-0 away to West Ham last week and that point moved them up to eighth place. They have taken seven points from their last three home games with only the top two losing less games on their own patch. They’re unbeaten in their last seven games after failing to win the previous 11 with only four other teams conceding more goals.
James Hill, Marcos Senesi, Krupi Junior, Rayan Vitor and Amine Adli are all offering very good value for fantasy managers at the moment.
Sunderland lost 3-1 at home to Fulham last week, but they’re still only one point off the top half of the table. They haven’t won in their last eight away games and they conceded 15 goals in those games with only Wolves scoring less goals on their travels. They have lost five of their last seven games and they conceded 14 goals in those games with only Wolves and Forest scoring less goals.
Enzo Le Fee and Granit Xhaka are the Sunderland players to watch for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Bournemouth should be good enough to get the better of Sunderland in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Burnley v Brentford
3pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley scored a late goal to draw 1-1 away to Chelsea last week, but they still have eight points to make up on 17th place. They have only taken three points from their last nine home games and they conceded 17 goals in those games with no other team conceding more goals on their own ground. They have only won once in their last 18 games with no other team conceding more goals.
I can’t see any Burnley players that can make a difference for fantasy managers at the moment.
Brentford lost 2-0 at home to Brighton last week to remain in seventh place, but they’re now eight points off fourth place. They have won four of their last five away games and they scored 10 goals in those games, but only the bottom two have lost more games on the road. They have only taken one point from their last two games after winning six of the previous nine and they have a good run of games coming up.
Igor Thiago is the best of the Brentford players for fantasy managers at the moment with Dango Ouattara a possibility too.
I think this will be a close game with Brentford getting the win.
Prediction: 1-2
Liverpool v West Ham United
3pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool scored a last gasp goal to win 1-0 away to Forest last week and those three points kept them in sixth place within three points of the top four. They have only won once in their last four home games, but they have a good run of games coming up on their own patch. They have won three of their last four games after failing to win the previous five and their next three games are all against teams in the bottom five.
Virgil van Dijk and Florian Wirtz are the Liverpool players for fantasy managers to consider at the moment.
West Ham drew 0-0 at home to Bournemouth last week to move within two points of safety with 11 games still to go. They have won two of their last three away games after failing to win the previous eight, but they have some very tough away games for the rest of the season. They have only lost one of their last six games with only the two teams below them conceding more goals.
Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville are the West Ham players who can perform for fantasy managers.
I think Liverpool will be too good for West Ham and should win by a couple of goals.
Prediction: 2-0
Newcastle United v Everton
3pm GMT, St. James’s Park, Newcastle
Newcastle lost 2-1 away to City last week and that defeat saw them drop back into the bottom half of the table. They have lost their last two home games after being unbeaten in the previous eight with only three other teams scoring more goals on their own ground. They have lost four of their last five games and they conceded 12 goals in those games with no other team in the bottom half of the table scoring more goals.
Malick Thiaw is probably the only Newcastle player doing enough at the moment to interest fantasy managers.
Everton lost 1-0 at home to United last week, but they remained in the top half of the table and one point above Newcastle going into this game. They have only lost once in their last nine away games with no other team conceding less goals on the road. They have only won two of their last eight games with only three other teams scoring less goals.
I’m not sure there are any Everton players to consider at the moment for fantasy managers.
I think Newcastle will make their home advantage pay with a narrow victory in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Leeds United v Manchester City
5.30pm GMT, Elland Road, Leeds
Leeds drew 1-1 away to Villa last week and they’re now six points above the relegation zone and climbing in the right direction. They have taken 14 points from their last seven home games and they scored 15 goals in those games. They have only lost two of their last 14 games and they have only failed to score twice in their last 17 games.
None of the Leeds players are doing enough on a consistent basis to turn the heads of fantasy managers.
City won 2-1 at home to Newcastle last week to remain in second place five points behind Arsenal and they have a game in hand. They have taken 14 points from their last seven away games, but they have lost more games on their travels than the rest of the top five. They have taken 13 points from their last five games after failing to win the previous four with no other team scoring more goals and only Arsenal conceding less.
Erling Haaland, Nico O’Reilly, Matheus Nunes, Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo are all looking very good for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Leeds will give City a run for their money, but City will take the three points.
Prediction: 1-2
Sunday March 1
Brighton And Hove Albion v Nottingham Forest
2pm GMT, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton got a much needed 2-0 win away to Bournemouth last week to move an awful lot closer to the top half of the table than to the relegation zone. They have only won once in their last seven home games, but they drew four of them with no other team drawing more games on their own ground. The win against Brentford was only their second win in 14 games, but they drew six of them with only Bournemouth drawing more games.
None of the Brighton players have been impressive in recent weeks for fantasy managers.
Forest conceded a very late goal to lose 1-0 at home to Liverpool last week and that defeat means they’re now only two points above the bottom three. They have won two of their last three away games after losing the previous three with only two other teams scoring less goals on the road. The have only won two of their last 11 games with only Wolves scoring less goals.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson are the Forest players who can perform for fantasy managers at the moment.
This is a game which could go either way and the chances are it will end in a home win.
Prediction: 2-1
Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur
2pm GMT, Craven Cottage, London
Fulham won 3-1 away to Sunderland last week and that victory moved them back into the top half of the table. They lost their last home game after taking 10 points from the previous four and their next three games on their own patch are all against teams in the bottom five. They won their last game after losing the previous three and their next four opponents are all in the bottom five.
Danny Wilson and Raul Jiminez are the Fulham players for fantasy managers to have at the moment.
Spurs lost 4-1 at home to Arsenal last week and they’re now only four points and two places above the relegation zone. They have only won once in their last eight away games, but they have taken almost two thirds of their points this season on their travels. They haven’t won in nine games and they conceded 18 goals in those games, but five of their next seven games are against teams in the bottom half of the table.
I can’t see any Spurs players who can make a difference for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think the Spurs problems will continue as Fulham take the three points in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
2pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United won 1-0 away to Everton last week to remain in fourth place and they’re now only three points off third place. They have taken 15 points from their last seven home games and they scored 14 goals in those games with only the top two scoring more goals on their own ground. They are unbeaten in 10 games with only the top two scoring more goals, but only two other teams in the top half of the table have conceded more.
Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot and Bryan Mbeumo are all looking good for fantasy managers at the moment.
Palace won 1-0 at home to Wolves last week to move within two points of the top half of the table and they’re now a very healthy 10 points above the bottom three. They won their last away game after only taking one point in the previous four and their next three away games are all against big six teams. They have won two of their last three games after failing to win the previous nine with only two other teams scoring less goals.
Ismaila Sarr might be the only Palace player for fantasy managers to consider right now.
I think United will continue their impressive results under their temporary manager with another win in this game.
Prediction: 2-0
Arsenal v Chelsea
4.30pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal won 4-1 away to Spurs last week to maintain their five point lead at the top of the table, but the teams chasing them all have a game in hand. They have only won once in their last three home games after winning the previous seven with no other team conceding less goals on their own patch and only City scoring more. They have taken 11 points from their last five games and they scored 14 goals in those games with no other team scoring more or conceding less goals.
Gabriel Magahlaes, Declan Rice and Viktor Gyokeres are the Arsenal players for fantasy managers to have at the moment.
Chelsea conceded a late goal to draw 1-1 at home to struggling Burnley last week and that point was enough to keep them in fifth place on goal difference. They have won their last two away games after failing to win the previous five with only Arsenal taking more points on their travels and no other team scoring more goals. They have taken 14 points and scored 14 goals in their last six games with only the top two scoring more goals.
Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer are the Chelsea players most likely to do the business for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Arsenal will keep their gap at the top of the table with by a narrow margin in this game.
Prediction: 2-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment