Arsenal vs Watford
Tuesday 31st January 2017, 19.45
Arsenal sit second in the Premier League table thanks to a last-gasp penalty earned them a 2-1 win over Burnley in their last fixture. Watford have drawn their last two league matches after a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.
Shkodran Mustafi's header was the first goal in what turned out to be a thrilling game at the Emirates against Burnley. The Gunners looked comfortable until Granit Xhaka's straight red card on 65 minutes, and it looked as though Burnley had snatched an impressive draw when Andre Gray converted a 93rd-minute penalty. There was another twist in the tale, however, as Ben Mee fouled Laurent Koscielny in the area, allowing Alexis Sanchez to score a 98th-minute winner from the spot for Arsene Wenger's side. It could come to be a massive result for Arsenal who face Chelsea after this one; they look to be the Blues' main title rivals following Liverpool's dismal January. The hosts also had an excellent result at the weekend in the FA Cup, smashing Southampton 5-0 at St Mary's courtesy of a Theo Walcott hat-trick and a brace from Danny Welbeck.
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| Sanchez kept his cool with 98 minutes on the clock vs Burnley (Getty Images) |
Watford led twice at Bournemouth in their last league outing, but goals from Christian Kabasele and Troy Deeney were only enough to earn a point for the Hornets at the Vitality Stadium. Walter Mazzarri's men are now without a win in their last seven in the Premier League, and suffered an FA Cup upset on Saturday as they lost 1-0 at League One Millwall.
Arsenal are back on form after a slight blip in December, and a midweek victory would set them up nicely for a trip to Stamford Bridge at the weekend. Watford are in poor form in the league, and I can only see a home win at the Emirates.
Prediction: 3-0
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace
Tuesday 31st January 2017, 19.45
Bournemouth are winless in three in the league following their 2-2 draw against Watford last time out. Sam Allardyce is still without a Premier League victory as Palace boss after his side lost 1-0 at home to Everton.
Eddie Howe will be pleased at the spirit his side showed to come from behind twice against Watford. Josh King scored the Cherries' first before Benik Afobe grabbed the equaliser with just eight minutes left on the clock.
Crystal Palace are really struggling, and lost to Everton thanks to Seamus Coleman's 87th-minute goal. The loss sent the Eagles down into the bottom three, and they were ripped apart by Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday, losing 3-0 at Selhurst Park.
Bournemouth didn't feature in the cup at the weekend, so should be fresh ahead of the visit of Palace. Allardyce's team are in terrible form, and I don't see him picking up his first league win as Palace boss on Tuesday night.
Prediction: 2-1
Burnley vs Leicester
Tuesday 31st January 2017, 19.45
Burnley were unlucky losers at Arsenal as they went down 2-1 in injury time, whilst Leicester were battered 3-0 at Southampton.
Ben Mee will have been devastated at his decision to raise his boot with Laurent Koscielny attacking the ball with his head in the dying moments at the Emirates. It was a certain penalty, but cruel on Burnley who fought so hard to get back into the game following Xhaka's dismissal. Sean Dyche can take encouragement from his side's performance, though, and will be pleased to have progressed to the FA Cup Fifth Round after beating Championship Bristol City 2-0 at Turf Moor.
Leicester were comfortably beaten at St Mary's, and are still withouart an away win in the league this season. It's a worrying time for Claudio Ranieri's men, and the Italian will know just how difficult this game at Burnley will be. His side were in FA Cup action on Friday night,drawing 2-2 at neighbours Derby thanks to Wes Morgan's late equaliser. They will play out a replay at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester's away form has been puzzling this season, but the champions have looked a shadow of the side that blew us all away last campaign and I suppose sit roughly where we'd have expected them to be at the same stage last year. Burnley's home form is so strong, and I see them enjoying a comfortable night against the Foxes.
Prediction: 2-0
Middlesbrough vs West Brom
Tuesday 31st January 2017, 19.45
Boro suffered a disappointing 3-1 home defeat against West Ham in their last encounter, whilst West Brom ran out easy winners as they enjoyed a routine 2-0 home victory over Sunderland.
Aitor Karanka will be so disappointed at how his side defended at the Riverside against West Ham. Middlesbrough couldn't live with Andy Carroll, who opened the scoring, but got themselves level through Christhian Stuani. However, Carroll was on hand to put the visitors back in the lead before the Hammers made it three in injury time. The Teesiders enjoyed an FA Cup victory on Saturday though, Stewart Downing netting the only goal in a 1-0 home success over League Two Accrington.
Two fantastic finishes saw West Brom comfortably beat Sunderland. Darren Fletcher volleyed the Baggies into the lead, before Chris Brunt smashed home a second to make the points safe for Tony Pulis. The Welshman's side remain 8th in the table, and have been the unsung club of the season for me.
This is the sort of game in which Pulis would take a draw, and I think his side are more than comfortable of getting one at the Riverside. I don't believe that Middlesbrough's attack is good enough to punish a defensively minded West Brom side.
Prediction: 1-1
Sunderland vs Tottenham
Tuesday 31st January 2017, 19.45
Sunderland dropped back to the foot of the table after their 2-0 defeat at West Brom, whilst Spurs came from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at Manchester City.
It's been another bad week for David Moyes, who lost left-back Patrick van Aanholt to relegation-rivals Crystal Palace after the 2-0 defeat at West Brom. The Dutchman has been one of the best players of Sunderland's season, alongside Jermain Defoe and Jordan Pickford, and to lose the one player capable of scoring a goal besides Defoe is a real worry for the Black Cats. Moyes was quick to replace him with Bryan Oviedo from Everton, as well as signing Joleon Lescott and Darron Gibson, but I'm not convinced by the Scot's January dealings.
PVA going, Anichebe injured, Sunderland's remaining squad have scored 13 PL goals - 12 have come from Jermain Defoe. ⚽đŸ˜³— DAVID JONES (@DavidJonesSky) 27 January 2017
Spurs bounced back brilliantly at Manchester City, with goals from the ever-reliable Dele Alli and Son Heung-min earning a point for Mauricio Pochettino's men. Tottenham also progressed to the FA Cup Fifth Round after a thrilling 4-3 victory over League Two side Wycombe, Alli and Son again netting late goals to the benefit of Spurs.
I'm worried about Sunderland this season and I'm amazed that they haven't signed another striker to take the goal scoring burden off of Jermain Defoe. This should be an easy win for the away side.
Prediction: 0-3
Swansea vs Southampton
Tuesday 31st January 2017, 19.45
Swansea enjoyed a shock 3-2 win at Anfield in their last match, whilst Southampton were easy 3-0 winners over reigning champions Leicester.
A Fernando Llorente brace put Swansea into an unexpected lead at Liverpool, but they were soon pegged back to 2-2 by the home team. Step forward Gylfi Sigurdsson, who kept his cool to slot beyond Simon Mignolet and earn Paul Clement a first win as Swansea boss, ending Liverpool's 17-match unbeaten streak at Anfield and lifting the Swans out of the bottom three in the process. Swansea have made a fast start to life under Clement, and will be looking to build on that stunning victory on Merseyside.
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| Swansea shocked Liverpool at Anfield (Getty Images) |
Southampton have had a bit of a mixed bag recently, comfortably defeating Leicester before Shane Long's goal sent them to the EFL Cup final, beating Liverpool 1-0 on the night at Anfield and 2-0 on aggregate. However, they were less successful in the FA Cup, Claude Puel's side humbled 5-0 at home to Arsenal. He will be hoping that his side can take the positives from their semi-final victory over Liverpool to Wales, rather than Saturday's battering.
This is a really tough game to call. Both have beaten Liverpool recently and both should be full of confidence despite Saints' FA Cup blow - they do have a Wembley final against Manchester United to look forward to, after all. I'm predicting this one to be an entertaining score draw.
Prediction: 2-2
Liverpool vs Chelsea
Tuesday 31st January 2017, 20.00
Liverpool's dire start to 2017 continued with that 3-2 home defeat to Swansea, whilst Chelsea marched on with a 2-0 home success over Hull.
What has happened to Liverpool? They threw it away against Swansea after Roberto Firmino's brace got them back into the game, before exiting the EFL Cup to Southampton and the FA Cup to Wolves, who won 2-1 at Anfield. I think that Jurgen Klopp's side are worn out, and I'm shocked that the German hasn't dipped into the transfer market in January - his side have looked completely lost without Sadio Mane, who has been away at the African Cup of Nations. This is now a season defining game for Liverpool - the Premier League is their last chance of silverware this season, but it is some ask to catch Tuesday's opponents.
Chelsea have enjoyed their start to the New Year, which continued with a 2-0 victory over Hull in their last league outing and a 4-0 win against Brentford in the FA Cup, both results coming at Stamford Bridge. Antonio Conte's men will arrive at Anfield brimming with confidence, but will be wary that Liverpool were victorious in the match at the Bridge earlier in the season.
If Chelsea win here, I think that we can safely call them champions. However, football can change in the blink of an eye and a defeat at Anfield could be costly with another big game against Arsenal to follow at the weekend. I think Conte's side are too good to be beaten at Anfield, but I don't think that they'll win either.
Prediction: 1-1
West Ham vs Manchester City
Wednesday 1st February 2017, 19.45
West Ham enter this one on the back of a good 3-1 win at Middlesbrough, whilst Manchester City threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Tottenham.
Andy Carroll was fantastic against Boro, hitting a brace, and Slaven Bilic will be relieved that the big Geordie has found some form this month following Dimitri Payet's transfer to Marseille. Bilic will be happy to see the back of Payet and the negative atmosphere he had created at the club, and I'm a fan of his replacement Robert Snodgrass who joined the Hammers this week. He should have no trouble becoming the Hammers' new free-kick maestro!
Goals from Leroy Sane and Kevin de Bruyne should have been enough for City against Spurs, but defensive errors again cost Pep Guardiola's team. They now trail leaders Chelsea by twelve points, and I don't see them coming close to winning the league this year. They have a real chance in the FA Cup, though, after a 3-0 win at Crystal Palace sent them into the Fifth Round.
West Ham will be looking to avenge the 5-0 defeat they suffered at the London Stadium against City earlier in the month, and I see it being closer this time around. However, the Hammers are still far from convincing at home and I fancy the visitors to collect all three points on Wednesday.
Prediction: 1-3
Manchester United vs Hull
Wednesday 1st February 2017, 20.00
These two sides meet for the third time in January. United drew 1-1 at Stoke in their last league match, whilst Hull lost 2-0 at Chelsea.
Wayne Rooney became Manchester United's all time top-scorer with his late free-kick at Stoke, a remarkable achievement for the Red Devils' skipper. Rooney will finish his career as United and England top scorer, and without a doubt one of the best players to grace the Premier League. His side face Hull on Wednesday, a team against whom they lost 2-1 on the night last Thursday but beat 3-2 on aggregate to reach the EFL Cup final where they will face Southampton. Jose Mourinho's men also progressed in the FA Cup thanks to a 4-0 win over Championship side Wigan at Old Trafford.
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| Wayne Rooney is a Manchester United record-breaker (Getty Images) |
Hull's result at Stamford Bridge was sort of irrelevant following Ryan Mason's head injury, but it's great to see that he was released from hospital on Monday. His side have had a couple of games in his absence, obviously beating United in the EFL Cup but crashing out of the competition, before exiting the FA Cup in a poor 4-1 defeat at Championship Fulham. However, I've been impressed with the way they've played under new boss Marco Silva.
Despite Hull's improved performances, I still think United will be far too strong at Old Trafford. Mourinho has good options in the squad and progressed in both domestic cups in the last week, and his side's good form will continue on Wednesday in my opinion.
Prediction: 2-0
Stoke vs Everton
Wednesday 1st February 2017, 20.00
Stoke drew 1-1 with Manchester United last time out, whilst Everton enjoyed a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace.
Stoke had the lead against United thanks to Juan Mata's own-goal, but Lee Grant could do nothing to keep out Wayne Rooney's spectacular 94th-minute free-kick. Mark Hughes' men sit 9th following that point, and face 7th-placed Everton on Wednesday.
The visitors also won their last game thanks to Seamus Coleman's composed 87th-minute finish at Selhurs Park. They arrive at Stoke in good form, and this should be a really good game with both sides having had a nice break thanks to a lack of cup football.
I'm expecting goals in this one. Stoke is a tough place to go but Everton are playing very well, so I'm predicting another score draw at the Bet365 Stadium.
Prediction: 2-2
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