We’re fresh off FA Cup weekend and ready for another blockbuster gameweek of Premier League football.
It’s midweek action time again in England’s top flight and on Tuesday night we’ve got Arsenal looking to get back on track at the Emirates as they take on Cardiff, while across town Fulham look for hope vs. Brighton. Manchester United will be going for nine straight wins under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at home to Burnley whilst the champions will travel to Newcastle.
Wednesday sees Chelsea and Crystal Palace travel to the south coast to take on Bournemouth and Southampton respectively. Meanwhile Spurs play Watford in a match both sides will be desperate to win and finally league leaders Liverpool host Leicester whose recent results make them impossible to predict.
We’ve had a look at the fixtures and had two of the Squawka team come up with predictions:
Arsenal vs. Cardiff
Muhammad Butt: Arsenal have no defence to speak of and their morale must be in the gutter after their FA Cup exit, but they’re a side with bags of attacking talent and poor Cardiff will reap the whirlwind. 4-1 Arsenal.
Will Eldridge: The Gunners may have crashed out of the FA Cup against a resurgent Manchester United side, but I fully expect them to get back to winning ways against Neil Warnock’s battling Cardiff City. 3-0 Arsenal.
PLAYER TO WATCH: The Gunners will do well to keep the ball in the middle of the park, with Lucas Torreira (88.6%) and Matteo Guendouzi (87.5) boasting impressive pass success rates this campaign.
Fulham vs. Brighton
MB: Fulham need a win. They just need some positivity. Unfortunately for them even struggling Brighton will prove to have too much solidity to grant them what they want. 1-2 Brighton.
WE: Two sides in need of points, Brighton’s have only won twice in the last 10 matches but find themselves well-clear of 19th placed Fulham. Can see Ranieri’s men winning this one. 2-1 Fulham.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Brighton may want to close down Aleksandar Mitrovic who has attempted the most shots (80) out of every player in the league this season.
Huddersfield vs. Everton
MB: Everton desperately need a bounce-back after their embarrassing FA Cup defeat to Millwall. You can expect Marco Silva to have his men fired up for this one, with Jordan Pickford in particularly intent to make up for his poor performance. 2-0 Everton.
WE: This season doesn’t get any easier for the Terriers but under new manager Jan Siewert, they may find some fortune against the Toffees, following their disappointing FA Cup exit to Championship side Millwall. 1-1 draw.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Only four players have committed more fouls (34) than Idrissa Gueye.
Wolves vs. West Ham
MB: Neither side shone in the cup but West Ham’s performance did pick up with the introduction of Felipe Anderson in the second half. As a result, you can expect the Hammers to bounce back from their weekend disappointment. 1-2 West Ham.
WE: A midtable clash between two sides good enough to avoid a relegation battle but more than likely to miss out on a Europa League place. Wolves’ home record isn’t great of late but West Ham may struggle to motivate themselves following their own FA Cup exit against AFC Wimbledon. 2-0 Wolves.
PLAYER TO WATCH: West Ham’s midtable placing can partly be due to Lukasz Fabianski’s excellence in goal, with the shot-stopping making a massive 86 saves so far this campaign.
Manchester United vs. Burnley
MB: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United are an absolute juggernaut. They’ve won eight in a row and have recently beaten Spurs and Arsenal. There’s no way Burnley, who just got thumped 5-0 by Manchester City, can stop the Red Devils from making it nine in a row under the Norwegian. 4-0 United.
WE: There simply is no stopping Manchester United at present, with Sean Dyche’s Burnley unlikely to cause any real headaches for Solskjaer’s men. Nine out of nine for the United boss. 3-1 United.
PLAYER TO WATCH: With Burnley struggling most of the season, their two centre-backs have made the most defensive blocks this season, with James Tarkowski and Ben Mee totalling 36 and 29 blocks respectively.
Newcastle vs. Manchester City
MB: Newcastle will fight, Rafa will have his side be organised and stifling. They will waste time, go in hard, use every ounce of good-will the crowd gives them and fight for their lives and Manchester City will slap them aside anyway. 0-3 City.
WE: Rafa Benitez will be hoping for damage limitations against Pep Guardiola’s talented City side, who will want to ensure they keep the pressure on Liverpool at the top of the table. 1-3 City.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Both Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling have scored 10 Premier League goals this season, one more than Newcastle United (19).
Bournemouth vs. Chelsea
MB: Gonzalo Higuain will make his Premier League debut at the Vitality Stadium and playing alongside Eden Hazard should do the Argentine (and Chelsea) the world of good. With them in attack, expect a Blues win. 0-2 Chelsea.
WE: Eddie Howe will be hoping Chelsea forward Gonzalo Higuain doesn’t find his feet against the Cherries this weekend. Chelsea will fight hard for fourth place while Bournemouth are only a few bad results away from dropping dangerously low in the table. 0-3 Chelsea.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Marcos Alonso has hit the woodwork more times (6) than anyone else in the Premier League.
Southampton vs. Crystal Palace
MB: Crystal Palace will feel like they’re on top of the world right now after their FA Cup win but their inconsistency against smaller sides will come back to haunt them here as the in-form Saints smack them in the mouth. 2-1 Southampton.
WE: The Eagles travel to the south coast following their professional performance against Tottenham Hotspur. Roy Hodgson’s side still need the points, as do Southampton, with both sides sitting just three points above the relegation zone. 2-2 draw.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Only two players have played all 2070 minutes of the Premier League season so far for Crystal Palace, with both Luka Milivojevic and Mamadou Sakho ever-presents for the Eagles.
Spurs vs. Watford
MB: Finally Daniel Levy’s chickens are coming home to roost. After years of underinvestment in the Spurs squad being masked by Mauricio Pochettino’s genius, Spurs are actually struggling because of injuries. Watford will show up and render Pochettino’s substitutions pointless with a shock victory. 1-2 Watford.
WE: Spurs are without the majority of their key forwards whereas Watford are sitting pretty as the ‘best of the rest’ in the Premier League. Expect a close encounter but Mauricio Pochettino’s men should edge this encounter. 2-0 Spurs.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Absentees Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min have scored 27 Premier League goals combined this season. Fernando Llorente, Lucas Moura and Christian Eriksen have scored just 10.
Liverpool vs. Leicester
MB: Both sides are coming off an extended break with no FA Cup action and whilst Leicester have recorded some pretty big shocks so far this season including dusting Manchester City and Spurs, The Reds will have too much firepower for Puel’s men. 2-0 Liverpool.
WE: Another test for the Premier League title dreamers, who host the side who won the competition in 2016. Pressure is own Claude Puel to deliver a seventh-placed finish this year, but he may come up short against a rapid Liverpool eleven. 3-1 Liverpool.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Alisson has the most clean sheets this season with 13, seven more than Leicester City.
The post Premier League predictions for all 10 matches this gameweek appeared first on Squawka News.
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