Bournemouth vs Leicester
Tuesday 13th December 2016, 19.45
Bournemouth have now won two and lost two in their last four after a 3-2 defeat at Burnley on Saturday. The Cherries found themselves 2-0 down after 16 minutes, before Benik Afobe gave Eddie Howe's men some hope from the spot. Burnley extended their lead, though, and Charlie Daniels' fantastic 92nd-minute strike was only enough to provide the travelling fans with some late optimism.
Leicester won for the first time in five in emphatic style. Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick, his first goals for three months, as the Foxes blitzed Manchester City 4-2 at the King Power Stadium. Andy King scored with a brilliant strike to give Claudio Ranier's men a 2-0 lead after 5 minutes, and they never looked back as they won for the first time since October.
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| Vardy bounced back in some style, netting his first Premier League hat-trick (Getty Images) |
Leicester looked back to their best against City, and if Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy are on the same wavelength again on Tuesday, I can see them winning away in the league for the first time this term.
Prediction: 1-2
Everton vs Arsenal
Tuesday 13th December 2016, 19.45
Everton are without a win in five Premier League matches following a 3-2 defeat at Watford on Saturday. The Toffees will have been disappointed at how the game panned out after Romelu Lukaku gave them the lead on 17 minutes. Lukaku also scored Everton's second at Vicarage Road, but the latter was a mere consolation following an impressive turnaround by Watford. Ronald Koeman will find some comfort in the fact that the Belgian is holding his own this season - he already has nine league goals this campaign.
Arsenal came from a goal behind to beat Stoke 3-1 at the Emirates. Goals from Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi turned the game on it's head, and the Gunners now sit second outright in the Premier League. Arsene Wenger's men are looking like Chelsea's closest competitors for the title right now, but will be aware that Goodison Park is not an easy place to win at.
Everton aren't enjoying their best spell, but usually perform against the big boys, Chelsea aside this season. I think Arsene Wenger would be content with a point on Tuesday night, and I think that's what he'll leave with.
Prediction: 1-1
Middlesbrough vs Liverpool
Wednesday 14th December 2016, 19.45
Middlesbrough lost 1-0 at Southampton on Sunday, and have now won just twice in their last thirteen league games. Viktor Fischer could have given his side the lead at St Mary's, but hit the post from a tight angle, and Aitor Karanka's men were made to pay by the hosts in the second half.
Liverpool dropped points again on Sunday, and have taken just one from the last possible six despite scoring five goals in that time. Goals from Adam Lallana and Divock Origi weren't enough to earn Jurgen Klopp's side the three points, as mistakes from Loris Karius and Joel Matip allowed West Ham to leave Anfield with a point. The Reds must win on Wednesday if they want to keep up with pacemaker's Chelsea.
These are traditonally the sort of matches that let Liverpool down, and for me they are too prone to defensive errors to be labelled title contenders. The goalkeeper is struggling massively at the moment, and I wouldn't be surprised if Middlesbrough held them to a draw at the Riverside.
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| Loris Karius has endured a tough couple of weeks, and has been involved in a public spat with pundit Gary Neville (Getty Images) |
Prediction: 2-2
Sunderland vs Chelsea
Wednesday 14th December 2016, 19.45
Sunderland dropped back to the foot of the table with a 3-0 defeat at relegation rivals Swansea. It was a bitter blow for David Moyes' men who had actually won three of their last four league games before Saturday's match, but defeat at the Liberty leaves them rooted to the bottom of the league, with leaders Chelsea at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.
Chelsea met a stubborn West Brom side at Stamford Bridge, but did exactly what aspiring champions have to do as they snatched a 1-0 win courtesy of talisman Diego Costa. The Spaniard nicked the ball from Gareth McAuley to smash home and make it nine successive league wins for Antonio Conte's Blues.
I think Sunderland should just have a go against Chelsea here, as if they defend and defend as they did at Anfield a few weeks ago they will eventually get broken down, espeically with the quality that Chelsea possess. As it is, I think that the visitors will have too much for Sunderland regardless of the tactics Moyes deploys.
Prediction: 0-2
West Ham vs Burnley
Wednesday 14th December 2016, 19.45
West Ham earned a very decent point at Anfield, and could have had all three had Darren Randolph not gifted Divock Origi an equaliser for Liverpool. However, the Hammers benefited from a couple of errors themselves; Loris Karius could have done better from Dimitri Payet's free-kick, before Joel Matip was slow to react, allowing Michael Antonio to get in behind and prod past Karius. West Ham defended well at Anfield, and were worthy of a point, with Winston Reid particularly impressive at the back.
Burnley enjoyed an entertaining 3-2 win over Bournemouth at Turf Moor, ending a run of three straight league defeats. Jeff Hendrick opened the scoring with a goal-of-the-season contending volley, before goals from Stephen Ward and George Boyd wrapped up the three points.
Slaven Bilic will hope that West Ham's point at Liverpool can kick-start their rise up the table over the festive period. Despite a good win over Bournemouth, Sean Dyche's Clarets are yet to win away from home in the Premier League this season, and I think West Ham will go within a point of Wednesday's opponents with a win at the London Stadium.
Prediction: 2-1
Crystal Palace vs Manchester United
Wednesday 14th December 2016, 20.00
Alan Pardew will be wondering how his side have managed to score ten goals in their last three games, but only taken four points from nine in the process. They drew 3-3 at Hull in a thrilling match, Fraizer Campbell grabbing a point from the bench with an 89th-minute header. Christian Benteke was on the scoresheet again, from the penalty spot, and Wilfried Zaha capped a fantastic display with a thunderbolt of a strike.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan followed up a first Manchester United goal in the Europa League last week with his first Premier League goal for the club in a 1-0 victory over Tottenham at Old Trafford. That was a very good win for Jose Mourinho's side, who are unbeaten in six in the Premier League.
I can see United going on a decent spell over the Christmas period following that victory over Spurs, starting at Selhurst Park on Wednesday. I can see Palace scoring, but I fancy the Red Devils to win comfortably on the road.
Prediction: 1-3
Manchester City vs Watford
Wednesday 14th December 2016, 20.00
City have now lost back-to-back league matches for the first time under Pep Guardiola. They were ripped apart by Leicester and Jamie Vardy, and found themselves 4-0 nil down before Aleksander Kolarov and Nolito halved the deficit, the match finishing 4-2. John Stones came in for some criticism following a poor back pass which let Vardy in for his hat-trick, but I don't think the England defender is being helped by the fact that Guardiola is constantly rotating his defence; Bacary Sagna and Kolarov started either side of Stones at the King Power, but being offensive full-backs they're just not solid enough to be playing in a back-three.
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| John Stones is another player who has endured some criticism in recent weeks (Getty Images) |
Watford won in a very good game against Everton, Stefano Okaka scoring his first Premier League goals since 2010, with a Sebastien Prodl header sandwiched in between the Italian striker's brace. That victory ended a run of two straight defeats for Walter Mazzarri's Hornets, and saw them up to 7th in the league table.
Impressively, Watford are just three places behind City at the time of writing, and could go to within six points of them with a surprise win at the Etihad. As it is, I think City will overcome a tricky test on Wednesday to gain the three points.
Prediction: 2-0
Stoke vs Southampton
Wednesday 14th December 2016, 20.00
Stoke's two-game winning run came to an end at Arsenal despite Charlie Adam giving the Potters the lead from the spot on his 31st birthday. The Scot was perhaps lucky to get away with what looked a potential stamp on Alexis Sanchez, the FA announcing that no action would be taking following a retrospective viewing on Monday.
Southampton bounced back from a 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace a fortnight ago with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at St Mary's on Sunday. It took a moment of brilliance to win the match, record signing Sofiane Boufal hitting a rocket of a shot from outside the box which wrong-footed Victor Valdes. Southampton now sit 10th in the league, a place and a point above Wednesday's opponents Stoke.
I'm expecting a really tight game at the Bet365 Stadium, with two tactically astute managers in Mark Hughes and Claude Puel going head-to-head. Given the league positions of these two clubs, I have to go for a draw in this one.
Prediction: 0-0
Tottenham vs Hull
Wednesday 14th December 2016, 20.00
Mauricio Pochettino will be disappointed that his side left Old Trafford empty-handed on Sunday, particularly when you consider the chance that Victor Wanyama had to equalise, but he fluffed his header from six-yards and Spurs didn't get a better chance all game. In truth it was a fair result, with United enjoying the better chances despite Tottenham's dominance of the ball.
Mike Phelan will have been thrilled to have seen his side score three goals at the KCOM on Saturday, but devastated that they weren't enough to earn the Tigers all three points against Crystal Palace. Goals from Robert Snodgrass (p), Adama Diomande and Jake Livermore looked to have given Hull the three points, but they crumbled with a minute left as Fraizer Campbell nodded past David Marshall. The big talking point from the game was Robert Snodgrass' dive which won the penalty from which he converted, but justice was done as he conceded a penalty which allowed Christian Benteke to make it 1-1 earlier in the game.
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| Snodgrass has since apologised for diving against Palace (Getty Images) |
Despite an improved attacking display from Hull, they are still suspect defensively and Tottenham will be fired up to win after a disappointing result at Man United. I can only see an easy win for the home side a White Hart Lane.
Prediction: 3-0
West Brom vs Swansea
Wednesday 14th December 2016, 20.00
West Brom lost at Chelsea following a run of four league games without defeat, but it was a typically dogged defensively display from Tony Pulis' side and it was unfortunate that a defensive mistake cost the Baggies the game. Gareth McAuley hesitated on the ball, allowing the razor-sharp Diego Costa to intercept and rifle home with just 14 minutes left to play. Pulis can be proud of West Brom's display, though, and will be looking to bounce back immediately against Swansea.
Swansea enjoyed a fine 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Sunderland as Bob Bradley earned his second victory in charge at the club. Gylfi Sigurdsson's penalty set the Welsh side on their way, before a brace from Fernando Llorente put the result beyond doubt. Llorente has popped up with some crucial goals in recent weeks, and Swansea's supporters will be hoping that the Spaniard can help fire them to safety in the second half of the season.
I seem to say it every week, but I really admire what Tony Pulis has done with West Brom. They play to their strengths, particularly at the Hawthorns, and use their resources so well. Despite some good results for Swansea in recent weeks, I'm going with the home team here.
Prediction: 1-0
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