Watford vs Everton
Saturday 10th December 2016, 12.30
Watford enter Saturday's early kick-off on the back of two defeats in a row following their 3-1 loss at West Brom a week ago. Everton scored an 89th-minute penalty to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United last Sunday, but are without a win in four in the Premier League.
Watford enjoyed the lion's share of possession at the Hawthorns last weekend, but were not the first team to be undone by Tony Pulis' direct style of football. West Brom were 2-0 up inside 34 minutes, and although Christian Kabasele pulled one back for the Hornets, Matt Phillips wrapped up the three points for the Baggies in injury time. The game was marred by a red card for Watford's Roberto Pereyra following a push on James McClean - both clubs have subsequently been charged by the FA for failing to control their players in an incident which saw Watford boss Walter Mazzarri actually stepping onto the field in an attempt to restrain his player. The Argentine play-maker will be missing from Saturday's clash with Everton, a match in which Troy Deeney will hope to finally net his 100th goal for the club.
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| Can Deeney finally hit a century for the Hornets? (Getty Images) |
Everton left it late to earn their point against Manchester United at Goodison Park last Sunday, thanks in no small part to former Toffee Marouane Fellaini. The Belgian was introduced with five minutes to play with the score at 1-0 to United, but on his 100th appearance for the Red Devils Fellaini tripped the impressive Idrissa Gueye in the area, allowing Leighton Baines to slot home an equaliser from the spot. Ronald Koeman's men had trailed since the 42nd-minute, goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg making a bizarre decision to leave his line, allowing Zlatan Ibrahimovic to beat him with a delicious chip. Though a good point for Everton, the Merseysiders are winless since October in the league, something they will be looking to put right on Saturday.
This should be a decent game to kick-off Gameweek 15, with both sides playing some exciting, attacking football this season. Although Everton have suffered some disappointment this week with the news that Yannick Bolasie will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, I'm backing them to earn an away win at Vicarage Road.
Prediction: 1-2
Arsenal vs Stoke
Saturday 10th December 2016, 15.00
Arsenal remain unbeaten in the league since opening day defeat to Liverpool and enter this match on the back of a scintillating 5-1 victory at West Ham last Saturday. Like the Gunners, Stoke are on a two-match winning run, thanks to a 2-0 victory over Burnley last weekend.
Arsene Wenger's men were inspired by Alexis Sanchez at the London Stadium a week ago. The Chilean netted a stunning hat-trick and also put one on a plate for Mesut Ozil, before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made it five with a fine strike from distance. Sanchez is the best player in the league at the moment and has already hit eleven Premier League goals this season, level at the top of the charts with Diego Costa. Arsenal had another hat-trick-hero on Tuesday night - Lucas Perez's treble helping Arsenal to a 4-1 victory in Basel in the Champions League, a result which saw them through to the last sixteen as group winners.
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| Alexis Sanchez is in terrific form for Arsenal (Getty Images) |
Stoke now sit 9th in the league following their 2-0 win at home to Burnley in Gameweek 14. Jon Walters set the Potters on their way to victory, before Marc Muniesa continued his adventurous run from defence to finish coolly past Paul Robinson for his first ever Premier League goal. It's been a remarkable turnaround by Mark Hughes' men, who have lost just one of their last nine league matches after taking a solitary point from their opening five, and they could leap above the likes of Everton and Manchester United if results go their way this weekend.
Unforunately for Hughes, I can't see anything other than an Arsenal victory on Saturday. The Gunners are on a thirteen-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League, and I think they'll have too much for Stoke at the Emirates.
Prediction: 2-0
Burnley vs Bournemouth
Saturday 10th December 2016, 15.00
Burnley host Bournemouth on Saturday on the back of three league defeats on the spin, the most recent of which was their 2-0 defeat at Stoke, whilst Bournemouth will be brimming with confidence following an astonishing 4-3 victory over Liverpool last Sunday.
Burnley didn't have much to shout about at the Bet365 Stadium last week, with Stoke thoroughly deserving of their 2-0 success. Three defeats in a row leaves the Clarets 15th in the table, and now just three points clear of the relegation zone. Only Hull have scored less than Burnley's twelve league goals this season, and Sean Dyche needs to address this problem as soon as possible in order to keep his side out of the bottom three.
Bournemouth enjoyed the result of Gameweek 14, earning a stunning victory over Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. Substitute Ryan Fraser played a massive part, earning a penalty for Callum Wilson to convert earlier in the game, before making it 3-2 in the 76th minute. He then crossed for Steve Cook to smash home for 3-3, before Cook's effort from distance troubled Liverpool keeper Loris Karius, allowing Nathan Ake to bundle home in the 93rd-minute to complete an historic comeback for Bournemouth. The Cherries became only the second team to defeat the Reds in the league this season; Saturday's opponents Burnley are the other.
I'm expecting a close game here. Burnley are heavily reliant on their home form, whilst Bournemouth are in good form and great spirits after last week's fantastic result. I can see Eddie Howe being happy with a point at his former club, and I think Sean Dyche would take that also.
Prediction: 2-2
Hull vs Crystal Palace
Saturday 10th December 2016, 15.00
Hull lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough on Monday night, their ninth defeat in fourteen games this season. Crystal Palace ended a run of six straight league defeats with an excellent 3-0 win over Southampton at Selhurst Park.
Hull were very disappointing at the Riverside on Monday. They allowed Middlesbrough all of the ball and although they kept them out for an hour, they only looked like getting themselves back into the game in the last five minutes from a few long balls into the box. Mike Phelan's men look to be in real trouble, sat 19th in the table, just two points ahead of bottom-placed Swansea.
Alan Pardew will have been thrilled with Palace's performance over his former side Southampton on Saturday. Christian Benteke scored twice on his 26th-birthday to ease the pressure on his manager, with James Tomkins scoring for the second game in a row in the Premier League to help set the result in stone. Pardew will hope his side can build on this success over a good Southampton side and earn back-to-back league wins for the first time since September.
Hull need to be winning these games if they are to have any hope of remaining in the top flight this season. Unforunately for them, they face a Palace side on the up, and I can see the Tigers going down to the Eagles at the KCOM.
Prediction: 0-1
Swansea vs Sunderland
Saturday 10th December 2016, 15.00
Swansea's unbelievable 5-4 victory over Palace a fortnight ago was put firmly behind them at Tottenham last weekend in a 5-0 hammering. Sunderland enjoyed a 2-1 victory over champions Leicester at the Stadium of Light, their third victory in four league matches.
Swansea were run ragged at White Hart Lane. Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen both netted braces for Spurs, and Son Heung-min continued his impressive start to the season with a brilliant acrobatic effort. Swansea need to put this defeat behind them as quickly as possible - they face five of the league's bottom twelve in their next six - Sunderland, Middlesbrough, West Ham, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace. There are some winnable games in there for the Swans, but Bob Bradley will need to motivate his players quickly in order to gain some positive results during the festive period.
Sunderland were worthy winners over Leicester last Saturday, Robert Huth's own goal and Jermain Defoe's finish putting them 2-0 ahead. Although Shinji Okazaki pulled one back for the Foxes, David Moyes' men defended well and hung on for a deserved victory, meaning they have now taken nine points from their last possible twelve to move off the foot of the league table.
I can see this meeting being a tight, nervy affair at the Liberty Stadium. Neither side will want to give the other any ground in the fight for survival, and I can see this being a goalless draw in Wales.
Prediction: 0-0
Leicester vs Manchester City
Saturday 10th December 2016, 17.30
Leicester are without a win in five league games following a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland last matchweek. Manchester City lost for the first time in six games, 3-1 at home to Chelsea.
Leicester are massively struggling domestically this season, and have already lost half of their first fourteen games this season. The most recent of these came last Saturday at the Stadium of Light in a 2-1 loss to Sunderland. The Foxes look a shadow of the side they were last season, and whereas this time a year ago Jamie Vardy was celebrating beating Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in ten consecutive Premier League games, he has now gone sixteen games without scoring for Leicester. Leicester lost 5-0 at Porto on Wednesday night in the Champions League, but that doesn't look as worrying when you see that Claudio Ranieri made ten changes with his side already through to the knockout phase as winners of Group G.
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| Jamie Vardy will be desperate to end his drought (Getty Images) |
City lost a massive game at home to Chelsea last weekend, a game which was marred by two sendings-off for Pep Guardiola's side in the closing stages. Sergio Aguero received a straight red for a wild lunge at David Luiz, whilst Fernandinho was also given his marching orders for grabbing and pushing Cesc Fabregas. It was a shame to see a good game of football ruined by such behaviour, and Guardiola will be as disappointed with his players' behaviour as he will be with the result. City were also in Champions League action in midweek, playing out a 1-1 draw at home to Celtic. Guardiola made changes to his side with City able to finish no higher than second, and he'll have been pleased that Kelechi Iheanacho found the net - he is the obvious choice to replace Aguero, who is banned for four games following his antics against Chelsea.
Leicester might have gained the lowest points of any team at this stage of a title-defending season, but I think that they're still a very good team and it won't be easy for City this weekend. Aguero and Fernandinho will be big misses for the visitors, and I'm backing the champions to hold Guardiola's men to a draw in Saturday's late kick-off.
Prediction: 1-1
Chelsea vs West Brom
Sunday 11th December 2016, 12.00
Chelsea won for the eighth succesive league game with a brilliant 3-1 win at title-rivals Manchester City in last Saturday's early match. West Brom are unbeaten in four Premier League games followng a 3-1 home victory over Watford.
It would have been easy for Chelsea to capitulate at the Etihad following Gary Cahill's own-goal on the stroke of half-time which gave Pep Guardiola's City the advantage at the interval. However, Chelsea came out all guns blazing in the second half. Diego Costa was unplayable on the day, and he levelled on the hour mark before feeding Willian to turn the game on it's head. Man-of-the-match Eden Hazard put the game beyond any doubt in the dying stages, and City's frustrations soon boiled over with both Sergio Aguero and Fernando being dismissed. Chelsea are now three points clear of second-placed Arsenal, who were the last team to beat the Blues, back in September.
West Brom have enjoyed a brilliant start to the season, and sit 7th following a 3-1 victory over Watford at the Hawthorns last weekend. Tony Pulis' men are so good at absorbing pressure, and although Watford enjoyed more of the ball and had more efforts at goal, West Brom's physical nature paid off, goals from Jonny Evans, Chris Brunt and Matt Phillips enough to see off the Hornets. Phillips is in great form for the Baggies of late, scoring three and assisting three in his last four Premier League appearances.
Though I'm a big admirer of Tony Pulis and his charges, I believe Stamford Bridge is a step too far for them on Sunday. Antonio Conte's men are the best side in the league right now, will be buzzing after victory at City, and are correctly title favourites.
Prediction: 2-0
Manchester United vs Tottenham
Sunday 11th December 2016, 14.15
Manchester United have drawn three consecutive matches in the league following last Sunday's 1-1 draw at Everton. Spurs bounced straight back from their first league defeat of the season at Chelsea with a 5-0 thumping of Swansea at White Hart Lane.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first-half strike looked like it was going to be enough for Jose Mourinho's side at Goodison Park, but former Blue Marouane Fellaini's clumsiness allowed Leighton Baines to snatch a point a minute before time. The Red Devils have now drawn three on the spin in the Premier League, and face another tough test on Sunday. They were victorious in the Europa League on Thursday night, however - goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ibrahimovic in a 2-0 win at Zorya Luhansk enough to see United through to the round-of-32 as Group A runners-up.
Harry Kane inspired Spurs to a 5-0 success over Swansea last weekend, bagging himself a brace. Christian Eriksen also got two, and Son Heung-min the other as Spurs annihilated the Swans. Kane was also on target in a 3-1 Champions League success over CSKA Moscow at Wembley; the English striker has now scored nine in his last nine appearances for Tottenham in all competitions. Dele Alli was also impressive in that game, scoring Tottenham's first before his effort was turned into his own net by Igor Akinfeev to guarantee Spurs' victory. It was impossible for Spurs to qualify for the Champions LEague before that match kicked off, but their 3-1 win saw them safely into the Europa League as a result of finishing third in Group E.
This is a really close match to call, and it would be an easy option to call a draw. However, I've seen enough of United to see that they've improved in recent weeks, and I can see them edging out Mauricio Pochettino's men at Old Trafford.
Prediction: 2-1
Southampton vs Middlesbrough
Sunday 11th December 2016, 14.15
Southampton have had a terrible week, getting smashed 3-0 at struggling Crystal Palace before crashing out of the Europa League on Thursday after a 1-1 draw with Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Middlesbrough are unbeaten in two in the league, and climbed to 13th thanks to a 1-0 win over Hull on Monday night.
Fraser Forster's mistake set the trend for Southampton for Selhurst Park. His sliced clearance gifted Christian Benteke a tap-in, and things didn't get any better from thereon in. James Tomkins was then presented with a free header from three-yards, before Benteke tapped in with five minutes to play to make it three. It was an unusually poor defensive display from Claude Puel's men, and they failed to beat minnows Be'er Sheva at St Mary's, a lacklustre performance seeing them crash out of the Europa League after finishing third in Group K.
Boro were dominant against Hull at the Riverside, and it was fitting that Gaston Ramirez scored what proved to be the winner for Aitor Karanka's men - the Uruguayan midfielder was terrific all game, and made a terrific run to the back post to nod home Viktor Fischer's corner. It was only Middlesbrough's second win since August, but followed up a very good point at Leicester the week before to send the Teesiders above Palace, Burnley and Leicester.
This should be a close game due to both club's recent form, but I expect Puel to get stuck into his players following their Europa League exit, and I think they'll bounce back with a win against Middlesbrough on Sunday.
Prediction: 2-0
Liverpool vs West Ham
Sunday 11th December 2016, 16.30
Liverpool lost for the first time since August in all competitions last weekend, in that mad 4-3 defeat at Bournemouth. West Ham were thumped 5-1 at home to Arsenal, and are without a win in five in the league.
Jurgen Klopp will still be scratching his head wondering how his side managed to throw away a 3-1 lead at the Vitality stadium with just fifteen minutes left to play. Goals from Sadio Mane, Divock Origi and Emre Can had put the Reds firmly in the driving seat, but Bournemouth's super-sub Ryan Fraser pulled one back, before creating the equaliser for Steve Cook, who later forced a mistake from Loris Karius which allowed the Cherries to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Karius has come in for some criticism this week, some believing he is not the upgrade to Simon Mignolet that Liverpool needed, but I think the fans need to give him time to adjust the demands of the Premie League; compare David de Gea's first year in England to where he is now - one of the best in Europe.
West Ham are really struggling, and now sit just a place and a point above the relegation zone. I don't think the move from Upton Park to the London Stadium has helped Slaven Bilic's team at all, and the fans saw more disappointment there last Saturday as Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil ran riot for the Gunners. Bilic will have been pleased that Andy Carroll found the back of the net on his return from injury, and I'm sure the Geordie will be fired up ahead of a return to Anfield.
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| Andy Carroll will be hoping to haunt his former side (Getty Images) |
Despite Liverpool's collapse at Bournemouth, they still sit third in the league table and have performed well this season, particularly at Anfield. The last time the Reds suffered a shock defeat in the league, 2-0 at Burnley in Gameweek 2, they went their next eleven Premier League fixtures unbeaten, and I can see them returning to winning ways against the Hammers this weekend.
Prediction: 3-1
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