'The Game Plan' - Matchday 21 preview
The short turnaround between Game week 20 and Game week 21 raises questions around player fatigue, rotation, and overall match intensity, so we may not be lucky to see the same volume of goals as in Game week 20, which produced 32 goals across 10 matches. That said, this is the Premier League a competition full of surprises, where even if David doesn’t beat Goliath, he’s almost guaranteed to give him a tough battle.
1/7/20264 min read
Tuesday night's solitary game is...
West Ham v Nottingham Forest
The London Stadium reunites West Ham's Nuno Espírito with his former club Nottingham Forest. Languishing in 17th and 18th This six point class sees both teams in desperate need of three points as the gap them 16th is gradually getting bigger and bigger game by game.
Score prediction 1 - 1
Wednesday is a night filled with action,
Bournemouth v Tottenham
Bournemouth host Spurs in a game where we may see Antoine Semenyo wear a Bournemouth jersey one last time before his proposed £65million move to Manchester City I'm sure he'll be looking to sign off on a high note. Thomas Frank's Tottenham have performed very well from home this season winning six of their 10 games on the road and will be confident of spoiling any planned Bournemouth farewell parties.
Score prediction 2 - 2
Brentford v Sunderland
The black cats of Sunderland make their first trip to the G tech stadium to play a resurgent Brentford, both team are level on points and are well poised to battle it out for a European place come the end of the season. Brentford's in form striker Igor Thiago will be hoping to add to his hat trick against Everton earlier on in the week while Sunderland are looking to get back to winning ways having drawn their last 4 Premier League matches.
Score prediction 3 - 1
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Winless on the league at home since 1st November the Crystal faithful will be screaming out and banging their drums as loud as possible to help their team rediscover some form as they welcome the all conquering Aston Villa are back to winning ways after a minor blip against Arsenal, aiming to win their 13th game from their last 14 matches. The omens do not look too positive though as Villa have lost 3 of their last four games away to Crystal Palace and drew the other.
Score prediction 0 - 2
Wolverhampton v Everton
Fresh from their resounding 3 - 0 first home win of the season against West Ham, Wolves are now aiming to record their first away win as they travel up to the blue half of Merseyside to face Everton. Everton will need to up their tools having lost their last two home fixtures. The Toffees last suffered three successive home league defeats in September 2023. T Barry has scored in Everton's last two defeats and will be aiming to be one the score again but be on the right end of the result.
Score prediction 1 - 3
Fulham v Chelsea
West London rivals Fulham and Chelsea meet at Craven Cottage with local bragging rights and three crucial points at stake. Fulham arrive in strong form, unbeaten in their last five league matches, recording three wins and two draws. Their resilience was on full display last time out against champions Liverpool, where a stoppage-time equaliser secured a 2–2 draw and underlined Marco Silva’s side’s growing belief and organisation. Chelsea, by contrast, enter the fixture amid a period of transition. Winless since December 13th and currently without a manager, the Blues will look to draw confidence from their most recent outing, a hard-fought 1–1 draw against Manchester City. Despite missing several key players, Chelsea produced an encouraging second-half performance, showing intensity and defensive discipline.
Score prediction 1 - 2
Burnley v Manchester United
Burnley remain in deep trouble, sitting 19th with just 12 points from 20 games and increasingly adrift of safety. Scott Parker will look to galvanise his side and encourage a more aggressive approach as they attempt to capitalise on any uncertainty at Manchester United. United, led by interim coach Michael Carrick following Ruben Amorim’s departure, have climbed to sixth and sit three points off the top four. Despite the absence of captain Bruno Fernandes, the Red Devils should have enough attacking quality to break down Burnley as they continue their push for Champions League football.
Score prediction 0 - 2
Newcastle v Leeds
Both Newcastle United and Leeds United arrive in strong form. Newcastle have won their last two matches to climb to ninth, recovering well from a difficult Christmas period in which they collected just one point from a possible nine. Leeds, meanwhile, have been revitalised since switching to a 5-3-2 system in mid-October and are currently on a seven-game unbeaten run, winning two and drawing five. Notably, draws against Liverpool and Manchester United have pushed them closer to the Europa League qualification places than the relegation zone.
Score prediction 2 - 2
Arsenal v Liverpool
Champions Liverpool travel to north London to face their leading title contenders Arsenal in a fixture that could see the leaders pull even further away from the chasing pack. Unbeaten in their last nine matches, the Reds will be looking to make it ten in a row and potentially complete the double over Arsenal after their August victory. Arsenal, however, have evolved significantly since that defeat, losing just once in the league since and surging to the summit. The Gunners are the only side to have won all their fixtures over the Christmas and New Year period and will be keen to avenge their earlier loss, as they did against Aston Villa, the only other team to beat them this season. Liverpool face the challenge without several key attackers, including their entire front line, Salah, Isak and Ekitike, leaving them needing a reshuffle and a disciplined defensive performance to contain Arsenal’s in-form attack.
Score prediction 1 - 0
Manchester City v Brighton
Manchester City have hit a wobble, scoring just once and taking only two points from their last two games after a long unbeaten run. Just 16 days after briefly climbing above Arsenal at the summit, Pep Guardiola’s side now trail the Gunners by six points. Haaland and company will need to respond fast before the gap becomes too big to close. Brighton, meanwhile, kicked off the new year by snapping a six-game winless streak with a convincing 2–0 victory over Burnley. While they’ve never beaten City away in the league in 15 attempts, the Seagulls have recent history on their side unbeaten in their last three Premier League meetings with City, winning two and drawing one.
Score prediction 3 - 0