Liverpool vs Swansea
Saturday 21st January 2017, 12.30
Liverpool have drawn their first two league matches of 2017 after a 1-1 tie at Manchester United last Sunday. Swansea remain bottom of the league after a 4-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
I thought that Liverpool were very good at Old Trafford. They took a deserved lead through James Milner's penalty after Paul Pogba's handball, and never really looked troubled until the last ten minutes when United started ramping up the pressure. Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed home an equaliser, but a point at Old Trafford is still a very good result for Jurgen Klopp's side when you consider that it ended a run of six straight league wins for the Red Devils. Klopp was also forced to hand Trent Alexander-Arnold a start at right-back in place of the injured Nathaniel Clyne, and the teenager gave an assured performance up against Anthony Martial. Arnold was again outstanding as the Reds progressed in the FA Cup with a 1-0 replay victory at Plymouth on Wednesday night.
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| Milner has never lost a Premier League game in which he has scored, winning 37 and drawing 9 (Getty Images) |
New Swansea boss Paul Clement lost his first league game in charge of the Swans and he will have immediately realised the problems that his side have at the back. Jack Cork and Kyle Naughton both scored own goals in a 4-0 thrashing, and it doesn't get any easier for Clement as the Welsh club visit league top scorers Liverpool at Anfield this weekend.
Liverpool should pick up their first league win of 2017 in Saturday's early kick-off. Swansea leak goals for fun, and I see this being a comfortable home victory.
Prediction: 3-0
Bournemouth vs Watford
Saturday 21st January 2017, 15.00
Bournemouth's two-game unbeaten run came to an end in a 3-1 defeat at Hull, whilst Watford are winless in six after a 0-0 draw at home to Middlesbrough.
Saturday 21st January 2017, 15.00
Bournemouth's two-game unbeaten run came to an end in a 3-1 defeat at Hull, whilst Watford are winless in six after a 0-0 draw at home to Middlesbrough.
Bournemouth took the lead at Hull after just three minutes thanks to Junior Stanislas' early penalty after Ryan Fraser was fouled in the box. Hull rallied, however, and had too much for Eddie Howe's men on the day. The Cherries' defence couldn't live with Abel Hernandez, who scored twice, and Tyrone Mings scored an own-goal on his first league start as the match ended 3-1. If the game at Hull was anything to go by, Bournemouth are going to badly miss Nathan Ake, who was recently recalled from loan by Chelsea.
Watford are struggling for goals and failed to find the net for the second successive game as they drew at home to Boro. The Hornets have failed to score in the first half of 14 out of their last 16 Premier League matches, a statistic which needs addressing quickly by Walter Mazzarri.
Despite a disappointing loss for Bournemouth at Hull, I fancy them to return to winning ways this weekend. They're a good side at the Vitality Stadium and should have too much for a Watford side who have declined in recent weeks.
Prediction: 2-0
Crystal Palace vs Everton
Saturday 21st January 2017, 15.00
Palace lost their third league match on the bounce as they were walloped 3-0 at West Ham. Everton had one of, if not the result of the season so far as they crushed Manchester City 4-0 at Goodison Park.
Sam Allardyce is still yet to win in the league as Eagles boss following a 3-0 defeat against former side West Ham last weekend. Big Sam will have been furious to have conceded three; West Ham only took the lead on 68 minutes, leading to Palace's capitulation. There was some good news for Allardyce in midweek though, a Christian Benteke brace seeing Big Sam pick up his first in a 2-1 FA Cup replay victory over another of his former clubs, Bolton Wanderers.
Everton were unplayable against City, and could have scored more than the four they managed. Belgian duo Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas gave the Toffees a comfortable lead, before impressive teenage midfielder Tom Davies scored an incredible first professional goal, dinking the ball over Claudio Bravo after a fine run from midfield. It got even better for Ronald Koeman, too, as new signing Ademola Lookman made it 4-0 just four minutes after coming on as a sub in his first appearance for the Merseysiders.
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| A day to remember for Davies and Lookman (Getty Images) |
This is a tough game to call. Everton have been a little inconsistent this season, but confidence should be sky-high after their remarkable result against City and I think they'll edge out Palace on Saturday.
Prediction: 1-2
Middlesbrough vs West Ham
Saturday 21st January 2017, 15.00
Middlesbrough enter this one on the back of a 0-0 draw at Watford, whilst West Ham battered Crystal Palace 3-0 last time out.
An away point in the Premier League is never a bad one for a point at the bottom of the league, so I think that Aitor Karanka will be fairly satisfied with his team's draw at Vicarage Road. Boro are four points clear of 17th-placed Crystal Palace, but have failed to score in five of their last seven league matches. Karanka will have been working on his attack this week and will be hoping to put a couple past West Ham on Saturday.
West Ham did just fine without controversial Frenchman Dimitri Payet last weekend, battering Big Sam's Palace 3-0 at the London Stadium. Sofiane Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini scored either side of Andy Carroll's goal-of-the-season contender. All three goals were created by Michail Antonio, who is the Hammers star-man in the absence of free-kick maestro Payet.
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| What a goal by Andy Carroll! (Getty Images) |
This should be another close game. West Ham are five points better off than their hosts on Saturday, and I think Slaven Bilic would be happy with a point on the road.
Prediction: 1-1
Stoke vs Manchester United
Saturday 21st January 2017, 15.00
Stoke were comfortable 3-1 winners at Sunderland last Saturday, their second Premier League win on the spin. United rescued a 1-1 home draw against Liverpool, a result which ended a run of six successive league victories.
A Marko Arnautovic brace and a Peter Crouch header were enough to see Stoke past struggling Stadium at the Stadium of Light. Crouch's goal was his 99th in the Premier League, and the former Liverpool man would love to make it a century against Man United. There are even rumours that his famous robot celebration could be coming back out when he nets his 100th in the competition.
Jose Mourinho's men struggled at home to Liverpool, but managed to get a late equaliser through that man Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede is popping up with some really important moments for the Red Devils, but Paul Pogba had a difficult game against Liverpool. The Frenchman's marking at corners was heavily criticised by pundits, and eventually led to a handball which gifted Liverpool a penalty from which James Milner duly converted.
Mark Hughes will take great confidence from the fact that his side haven't lost at home to United since 2013. The Potters are a strong outfit at home, and I think United will have to settle for a draw on Saturday.
Prediction: 2-2
West Brom vs Sunderland
Saturday 21st January 2017, 15.00
West Brom's two-game winning run came to an end as they were battered 4-0 at Tottenham. Sunderland were easily beaten 3-1 at home to Stoke and remain 19th in the league.
Tony Pulis' men couldn't live with Harry Kane last weekend. The England forward netted a brilliant hat-trick, whilst Gareth McAuley scored an unfortunate own-goal as Spurs ran riot at White Hart Lane. West Brom are usually good at getting defeats out of their system though, and remain 8th in the table. They should be confident of returning to winning ways against Sunderland.
The Black Cats were poor against Stoke, and rightly found themselves 3-0 down after just 34 minutes. It was no surprise to see Jermain Defoe net the consolation for David Moyes' side - he absolutely has to remain at the Stadium of Light in January if Sunderland are to have any chance of staying in the top-flight. Sunderland also exited the FA Cup in midweek, losing their replay 2-0 at Burnley.
West Brom are a solid outfit at home, and it would take some performance by Sunderland to get a result at the Hawthorns. I don't think the visitors are capable of getting anything here, and I'm backing the Baggies to earn the three points.
Prediction: 3-1
Manchester City vs Tottenham
Saturday 21st January 2017, 17.30
This is the big game of Gameweek 22. City enter it on the back of that humiliating 4-0 defeat at Everton, whilst Tottenham won by the same scoreline at home to West Brom.
Manchester City's defending was abysmal at Goodison Park as the Toffees earned a deserved 4-0. Much of the criticism was directed at former Everton man John Stones in the aftermath, but for me he is playing in an absolutely useless defence and is an easy target due to the large fee paid by City for his signature. Senior players Bacary Sagna, Nicolas Otamendi and Gael Clichy all had dreadful games, whilst goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was calamitous in goal. Bravo has now conceded 14 goals from the last 22 shots that he's faced in the Premier League, leaving City fans pining for a Joe Hart return in the summer.
Spurs were far too good for West Brom, new-dad Harry Kane scoring a hat-trick to make it a week to remember for him. Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli both put in excellent performances in midfield, providing a couple of wonderful assists for Kane, whilst Eriksen's shot was deflected in by Gareth McAuley for an own-goal. Spurs have now won their last six in a row, and are chasing a club record seventh Premier League win in a row.
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| Harry Kane with the match ball after a superb hat-trick vs West Brom (Getty Images) |
City were so bad against Everton that I'm backing the visitors to earn a massive victory here. Mauricio Pochettino's men are in fine form, and I think that his side will dump Pep Guardiola's out of the title race in Saturday's late kick-off.
Prediction: 1-2
Southampton vs Leicester
Sunday 22nd January 2017, 12.00
Southampton suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Burnley, their fourth straight league defeat. Leicester were comfortably beaten 3-0 at home to leaders Chelsea, leaving last year's champions 15th in the league.
Southampton failed to scored for the second league match running, and are massively missing the injured Charlie Austin. The Saints enjoyed a strong start to the season but are now below West Ham in the table, which is astonishing when you remember the Hammers' dreadful start to the season. Claude Puel's men did manage to pick up a midweek win in the FA Cup, though, Shane Long's goal seeing them progress past Norwich with a 1-0 win at St Mary's.
Leicester are not the first team to have been played off the park by Chelsea this season, nor will they be the last. If you'd have watched the game not knowing who won the league last season, there would have been no doubt about which side you'd have guessed, highlighting the extraordinary achievement by the Foxes. They couldn't live with Chelsea on the day, but Claudio Ranieri will be hopeful of achieving a first away victory of the season at struggling Southampton.
If I were Claude Puel, I'd be looking to bring in a striker before the end of the season. The Saints have tailed off a little, and I think this is Leicester's best chance of winning their first away match of the campaign.
Prediction: 0-1
Arsenal vs Burnley
Sunday 22nd January 2017, 14.15
Arsenal are unbeaten in four after an easy 4-0 win at Swansea, whilst Burnley beat Southampton 1-0 at Turf Moor to pick up yet another home win.
Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez were scorers again for Arsene Wenger, with a couple of own goals adding to the Gunners' 4-0 victory at the Liberty Stadium. Arsenal were far too strong, and are starting to look back to their best after a little wobble in December.
The returning Joey Barton was the Clarets' hero against Southampton, the rebellious midfielder's free-kick enough to clinch three points against the struggling Saints. It has been a good week for Burnley, who beat Sunderland 2-0 in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday to progress to the fourth round.
Burnley are so good at home that they don't really need to worry about games like this. Sean Dyche's men usually have a go against the big boys, but I can only see them leaving the Emirates empty-handed on Sunday.
Prediction: 2-0
Chelsea vs Hull
Sunday 22nd January 2017, 16.30
It was another good win for leaders Chelsea as they dismantled Leicester 3-0 at the King Power Stadium. Hull enjoyed a very good 3-1 home win over Bournemouth.
Marcos Alonso netted a brace and Pedro added a third as Antonio Conte's Blues comfortably beat Leicester away from home. It was a fine display from start to finish, and it really looks as though Chelsea are going to take some stopping from winning the league this season.
Marco Silva won his first Premier League game in charge of Hull, as an Abel Hernandez-inspired Tigers side beat Bournemouth 3-1 at the KCOM Stadium. It was a nightmare start for Hull after Harry Maguire conceded a third-minute penalty, but a fine turnaround earned a deserved victory for the new Hull gaffer.
Silva has made a promising start as Hull boss, but they don't come any tougher than Sunday's game. Chelsea should make light work of the Tigers at Stamford Bridge.
Prediction: 4-0
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