It's that time yet again... Premier League football returns to our lives! Andrew Corns is back yet again with another prediction feature.
Corns will be predicting some huge matches, as we enter the most frantic segment of the season...
Manchester City v. Everton
Everton will be kicking themselves after dropping points at home last week and travel to the Etihad to battle a City facing their first bit of adversity this season.
They’ll look to erase memories of their lacklustre performance at Stamford Bridge by going for the jugular early.
This should be a thrilling, end to end match where Marco Silva sets his side up unafraid to go toe to toe with City.
They’ll push them until the end but fall short to a Sergio Aguero winner and City turn the tables by putting Liverpool under pressure to keep pace in the race for the league title.
Prediction: 2-1 City (15/2 - Bet 365)
Crystal Palace v. Leicester City
Palace played well in their match at West Ham last week, but ultimately couldn’t do enough to earn anything from the game.
Leicester haven’t shown enough ruthlessness in the final third and have cracks showing defensively so I expect Palace will be able to get to them enough to squeeze out a hard-earned point.
Prediction: 2-2 Draw (18/1 - Bet 365)
Wolverhampton v. Bournemouth
Wolves enter after a monumental win for the club over Leicester and Bournemouth hope to recover from their thrashing at the hands of Liverpool.
Wolves will have the home crowd and momentum however Eddie Howe should have his side motivated to erase last week’s result and stay in the hunt for the distinction of the best club outside the top six.
Too close to call a winner here.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw (6/1 - Bet 365)
Watford v. Cardiff City
Cardiff are finding their footing as of late and quickly went from being bottom of the table to their current position at fourteenth.
Watford’s descent in the table hasn’t stopped after their strong start and at this rate, they’ll finish in the bottom half but still comfortable enough to avoid any thoughts of relegation.
Even with their slip in the table, I like what they have to offer going forward and think we’ll see Cardiff’s play drop.
The game will remain scoreless for a good sixty to seventy minutes and then Watford find the breakthrough to bust the game open.
Prediction: 2-0 Watford (7/1 - Bet 365)
Huddersfield v. Newcastle United
A massive three points are on the line here. Huddersfield are only a point off bottom however Newcastle only sit three places higher in the table with a three-point lead.
I think Huddersfield play a more relaxed game at home and David Wagner will set them up properly to secure a close win and improve their position among the other relegation battling clubs.
Prediction: 1-0 Huddersfield (6/1 - Bet 365)
Tottenham v. Burnley
Spurs will be flying high after securing a place in the Champions League knockout round thanks to their emotional draw at the Camp Nou.
They’ll be more than happy to host a Burnley side who look like their incredible journey in the Premier League could be coming to an end this season.
Spurs are fundamentally sound at the back and their attacking presence has been more diverse compared to their over-reliance on Harry Kane to start the season. This game won’t be competitive for more than ten or fifteen.
Prediction: 3-0 Spurs (13/2 - Bet 365)
Fulham v. West Ham United
Fulham are still bottom of the table and West Ham are starting to click lately, but I’ve got a hunch this match won’t go as expected.
It’s inevitable that Ranieri will get Fulham playing to their potential and their fans must hope this happens before it’s too late.
I believe this is their opportunity to make a real statement that they can build on going into the second half of the season.
Prediction: 2-0 Fulham (18/1 - Bet 365)
Brighton v. Chelsea
Chelsea’s definitive win of the season last week over Manchester City should Sarri’s men reason to think they can push on and secure Champions League football next year even in a tight race with Spurs and Arsenal.
They’ll travel to Brighton and be heavy favourites, but I think they’re due a letdown and could take Chris Hughton’s team lightly.
Of all the sides in the top five, Chelsea will be the ones most affected by the compact schedule and need for squad rotation.
This is a banana peel game for the Blues where they waste away points that could haunt them in May.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw (15/2 - Bet 365)
Southampton v. Arsenal
With the way the Gunners have been playing, it’ll take a team playing almost perfect football to end their unbeaten run.
I’ve got December 29th circled when they travel to Anfield as the game their run comes to an end. Southampton will be praying their managerial change can spark their players and claw out of the relegation zone.
It’ll be several weeks before they’re at that level so don’t anticipate Arsenal struggling much to get another win under their belt.
Prediction: 2-0 Arsenal (11/1 - Bet 365)
Liverpool v. Manchester United
Regardless of the two sides’ places in the table, Liverpool v. Manchester United is always one of the marquee matches of the entire season.
Liverpool enter the weekend at the top of the league and made their way into the Champions League knockout stage but are dealing with an injury crisis at centre back with the news that Joel Matip has joined Joe Gomez on the sideline for an extended period of time.
That could cause major complication if Virgil van Dijk gets fatigue from playing as many games as there are the remainder of this month and next.
Manchester United handily beat Fulham over the weekend and then fell apart Wednesday losing to a game Valencia.
Expect Jose Mourinho to set his side up to play for an away point which will force Liverpool to tweak their formation in order to break them down in the final third.
United will bring their A-game and make it difficult on Liverpool but succumb to a Mo Salah winner in the final quarter hour.
Prediction: 2-1 Liverpool (8/1 - Bet 365)
