Crystal Palace vs Swansea
Crystal Palace manager will be without both Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham for the festive clash with Swansea after they were both ruled out for weeks through injury. After their goalless stalemate with Bournemouth, the Eagles will face Swansea fresh off the back of a first win in eight matches following their defeat of West Brom. The Swans were hardly devastating but did what was needed to take the three points, and will look to break a run of three defeats away from home in this match. For Palace, they are unbeaten in their last five league matches and despite having an arguably understrength squad available and will look to continue that streak. Defeating Albion was not the best measure of where Swansea are at, so a testing fixture at Selhurst Park may help to weed out the truth.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Swansea
Everton vs Stoke City
Tom Cleverley’s late winner against Newcastle on Boxing Day got his side back to winning ways, but the Toffees will need to appear more convincing this time out as they take on a Stoke side fresh off completing a Manchester double. Stoke’s forward line ran riot all game, in particular Bojan, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri, and Everton’s defense will have their hands more than full in this clash. Everton struggled to create many serious opportunities in the narrow win, but will heed care in pushing too high at Stoke, whose ruthlessness on the counter-attack has undone many a side. Romelu Lukaku will look to begin scoring again after his streak ended, and it seems strange to say this, but this clash is shaping up to be an entertaining battle of two very talented forward lines. Both teams sit on 26 points inside the league top 10, and a win here for either is invaluable to finish off the first half of the season.
Prediction: Everton 1 – 2 Stoke City
Norwich vs Aston Villa
Alex Neil’s Norwich were brought crashing back to earth after their win over Manchester United last week, as they were dismantled by a superior Spurs side 3-0 on Boxing Day. Now they welcome desperate Aston Villa to Carrow Road; with Norwich flirting with relegation while Villa are basically married to the drop. The visitors propped themselves up slightly with a 1-1 draw with West Ham the day after Christmas, and desperately need to begin patching together points if they are to find a way out. Remi Garde is still yet to taste victory with this side, and with only eight points on the board, the outlook appears bleak.
For Neil, stopping Jordan Ayew needs to be the only major task for his defense, having been the bright spot of Villa’s performances so far, and doing that will be a major key to notching a much-needed win here.
Prediction: Norwich 1 – 0 Aston Villa
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Watford vs Tottenham
Tottenham reinforced their aim of Top Four on boxing day with a 3-0 taking apart of Norwich, but will be tested this weekend by a trip to Vicarage Road to face Watford. Harry Kane hit form with two goals and will be a danger to the Hornets, however Quique Flores’ side are beginning to look like they can go toe-to-toe with the big boys of the league. Their 2-2 draw with Chelsea came despite a brace from Diego Costa, and Watford are far from scared about coming up against the big teams. With no fresh injury concerns both teams may come in a little tired, but ready to go, and Watford will be happy to sit back and wait for Spurs to push the envelope.
Prediction: Watford 2 – 2 Spurs
West Bromwich Albion vs Newcastle
A run of no wins in their last five matches has seen West Brom fall down the table in recent weeks, and Tony Pulis’ side now sit only three points ahead of Newcastle residing in the relegation zone. Pulis was furious at the referee’s after their decision making in the loss to Swansea, but he cannot solely rely on those decision’s as they look to scramble up the table.
For Newcastle, they suffered late heartbreak as Tom Cleverley’s winner sunk them at the death on Boxing Day, despite creating arguably the better chances. The Magpies no longer look quite the discombobulated mess they did earlier in the season, settling instead for just a mess. Steve McClaren will drum into his side the importance of notching a win over a potential relegation rival, and the Magpies may just be able to steal this one.
Prediction: West Brom 0 – 1 Newcastle
Arsenal vs Bournemouth
Arsneal’s 4-0 thumping at the hands of Southampton raised questions about their title credentials, and this week they face a confident Bournemouth side who have gone undefeated for the last six weeks. Recent victories over Manchester United and Chelsea have buoyed spirits in the Cherries camp, and Eddie Howe’s side are playing attractive football. Likely to sit back a bit and wait for the Gunners’ to pressure, Howe and his men will arguably believe that they can take the home side here.
Arsene Wenger’s men were stagnant and without life at St. Mary’s in the pummeling, and an anonymous defensive display will need to be corrected this time out. Alexis Sanchez is still out injured, and the Gunners’ look a little lost in attack recently without him. Another loss here could see Arsenal fall a bit behind the 8-ball, and end the second half of the season badly.
Prediction: Arsenal 1 – 1 Bournemouth
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Manchester United vs Chelsea
Dead Van Walking was the absolutely shambolic pun thrown around following Manchester United’s Boxing Day loss to Stoke, but it may very well ring true for Louis Van Gaal if form continues like that. The former heavyweights were completely outplayed and lacked endeavour and fight, with the Potters easily rolling them over going forward. Van Gaal will implore to his players the importance of this big matchup with Chelsea, and it will be interesting to see if Captain Wayne Rooney comes back into the fold. For Chelsea, their 2-2 draw with Watford could have been much more if not for Oscar’s woeful slip, and Guus Hiddink will make sure his players rebound in a big match here at Old Trafford. Diego Costa scored a double to reignite his goalscoring form, however the Spaniard is suspended for this clash so Loic Remy should start up front. Both of these sides have been far from special in recent times, and the result of this really could go just about any way.
Prediction: Manchester United 1 – 2 Chelsea
West Ham United vs Southampton
Southampton’s dramatic 4-0 thumping of Arsenal has re-ignited their push up the table, and marked a first win for the side in six weeks. Ronald Koeman’s men have struggled to start this season as well as the last, however can now push on against a Hammer side that have not won in eight matches. Shane Long should get the nod up front again after a very good display, and despite some poor recent away form, the Saints may fancy themselves here.
For West Ham, a disappointing goalless draw with Aston Villa continued their winless streak, and Slaven Bilic’s men need to get winning to begin chasing the heights they reached early in the season. The home side here play better when the other side plays to push them, but Koeman may sit back a bit and wait for Bilic to play the first card. Neither of these sides have been consistent enough to confidently back one, but the Saints boxing day win puts them slightly ahead for me.
Prediction: West Ham 0 – 2 Southampton
Leicester City vs Manchester City
Ladder leaders Leicester went scoreless for the first time this season against Liverpool on the weekend, and Claudio Ranieri’s men have a tough task rebounding from defeat as they welcome Manchester City to the King Power Stadium. Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez reportedly struggled with a virus during that match, but Ranieri expects them to be at 100% for this one. The Foxes struggled to really get into that match, but will have plenty of counter-attack opportunities against a side that gets forward like City.
The visitors ruthlessly dispatched Sunderland in their Boxing Day encounter, and Kevin De Bruyne was in imperious form during the match. Sergio Aguero could return to the fold for this clash, however Wilfired Bony may also have done enough to give himself the starting spot once more. A win here would pull the visitors level on points with Leicester at the top, and Manuel Pellegrini is likely to drum home just how important that is. Sure to be an exciting and open match, but can Leicester overcome City’s firepower?
Prediction: Leicester 2 – 2 Manchester City
Sunderland vs Liverpool
Liverpool returned to winning ways with their 1-0 defeat of Leicester in their last match, and this time out will travel to the Stadium of Light to face struggling Sunderland. Jurgen Klopp’s side won courtesy of a Christian Benteke strike, and the big Belgian may find himself starting if Divock Origi’s hamstring injury is something to be worried about. A win against Sunderland would help them to begin a streak, something they will need to break out of the mid table clutter that exists.
For the Black Cats, four consecutive defeats have them firmly rooted in second last place, and Sam Allardyce’s job of keeping them up is becoming more and more improbable by the week. They have managed to score in each of those defeats, but scoring once does very little when you concede three or four goals. Liverpool’s patchy form means their could be cause for an upset here, however the Reds’ should do the business, even away from home.
Prediction: Sunderland 0 – 2 Liverpool