Friday’s fixture between last place Watford and second to last Norwich kicks off Matchday 12 in the Premier League. Here are my score predictions for each one, as well as a small description of each game.
Norwich 1 vs. Watford 2
First season win
Friday’s only game will see last place Watford travel to Norwich as both teams fight to escape the relegation zone. Watford is coming off a thrilling match with Chelsea that saw Ben Foster, their goalkeeper, have a huge game with eight saves, as well as almost scoring a late equalizer. Norwich, on the other hand, hasn’t won a game, let alone at home, since their thrilling win over Manchester City back in mid-September. I am predicting Watford to finally earn their first win of the season as they take this game two goals to one.
Chelsea 2 vs. Crystal Palace 0
Holding the gap
Chelsea currently sits in 4th with a six-point buffer between 5th place Arsenal. For them to maintain this gap, they will seek to earn a positive result from their Saturday game against Crystal Palace. The Glaziers, however, are a good team and have put up fights against other teams in good form. Nevertheless, home-field advantage for the Blues will give them the upper hand as I am predicting that Palace will suffer their second 2-0 defeat in a row. The win could send Chelsea into the top three.
Burnley 1 vs. West Ham 2
Bounce back week
As West Ham look to forget about their shocking home loss to then 17th place Newcastle last week, they now look to their match away, against Burnley. The Clarets, on the other hand, have lost their previous three games in league play and now look to turn things around against a recently troubled West Ham side. I am predicting a 2-1 win for the Irons as they try to climb back up to the positions they sat in just a few weeks prior.
Newcastle 1 vs. Bournemouth 1
Just don’t lose
These are two teams coming off surprising wins over West Ham and Manchester United. However, Newcastle and Bournemouth have had very different seasons thus far. Newcastle currently sits 15th with a tough schedule still ahead. Bournemouth, though, might have just as tough of a schedule if not tougher, has shown promise against strong teams so far this season. I am predicting a 1-1 tie at Newcastle, which could send both sides down a few positions on the table.
Southampton 1 vs. Everton 0
Who’s going down
Down to the south coast, 17th place Everton and 18th place Southampton clash to see who will go up and who will go down. With Everton’s key midfielder, Andre Gomes, out with the horrific injury he picked up in last weeks 1-1 tie with Tottenham, Everton will be weakened in the midfield. With this, I am predicting a 1-0 win for the Saints as they come back from a quality performance last weekend against defending champions Manchester City.
Tottenham 3 vs. Sheffield United 2
Goals, goals, goals
Sheffield United currently sits 6th place with an away game at 11th place Spurs in their way of top five dreams. However, don’t put away Tottenham’s chances yet, with Son Heung-Min’s red card revoked by the FA, he is back for Premier League action. Spurs have also looked in good form recently as a 4-0 win over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League showed improvement. I am predicting a goal-fest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the late game expertise of Spurs winning it for them in the final minutes with a score of 3-2.
Leicester City 3 vs. Arsenal 1
Foxes show dominance
Leicester are back! Now that they are back in the top three for the first time since their title-winning season, they will try to further cement their place with a win over a troubled Arsenal. Although the Gunners sit in 5th, their recent form in all competitions would show that a juiced Leicester side would steamroll them and their top five ambitions. I am predicting a comfortable 3-1 win for the Foxes as they travel further down the road back to Champions League football.
Wolves 1 vs. Aston Villa 0
Still turning around
Wolves are slowly but steadily turning things around as they come back from their dreadful start to their season. Now sitting in 12th place, Wolverhampton faces Aston Villa, who showed promise last weekend in their injury-time loss to 1st place Liverpool. I am predicting an uneventful match as a mid-game goal sending the final result at Molineux in favor of the hosts. A Villa loss wouldn’t do to much harm to their position as 18th place Southampton and 17th place Everton play on Saturday, meaning the lowest they would fall would be 17th.
Manchester United 2 vs. Brighton 0
Premier League improvement
It is common knowledge that United are having the worst start to a season in 30 years. Nevertheless, they have shown at certain points this season that they can bounce back. With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job on the chopping block, a positive result on Sunday against Brighton is essential for the former Red Devil. Brighton, on the other hand, has shown in recent weeks that they can win games against struggling teams. However, they haven’t won an away game since Matchweek 1 against Watford, and some would wonder if that even counts. Old Trafford has always been a hard place to win at as the away side, and though its stature has faltered in recent years, I do see United coming out on top this weekend. I am predicting a 2-0 win for United as their recent Europa League success this week has shown promise of positivity.
Liverpool 2 vs. Manchester City 2
Top table slug-fest
The most anticipated game this weekend. Manchester City visiting Liverpool will be the match to watch this weekend as the top two teams in the league battle for the top spot. Though we aren’t even to the halfway point in the season, games like this can be the turning point clubs need. A loss for Liverpool could see the gap between them and the rest of the pack shrink to just three points. A Manchester City loss or tie, however, could put them in danger of losing their top three spot as Chelsea and Leicester are both favorites in their games this weekend. I am predicting a draw to be the result as the two sides will trade goal for goal with it finally ending 2-2.
Match of the weekend
Matchday 12 features some big games for certain clubs as some could even make or break their season. However, as I mentioned previously, I am going to give my predicted Match of the weekend to Liverpool vs. Manchester City. There is too much at stake for both sides, with a draw or a loss this weekend potentially sending City out of the top three. Other games to watch this weekend would be Leicester vs. Arsenal and Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace. Positive results for both Leicester and Chelsea could slide them in front of Manchester City should they lose. All three of the games mentioned have separate kick-off times, so it will be easy to see them all in their entirety.
Player to watch this weekend
For Matchday 12, I would look out for Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy. The English striker is already the first player this season to reach ten goals and has shown off his form in the Foxes past couple of matches. Leicester host Arsenal this weekend, and with the defensive side of the Gunners in shambles recently, Vardy should have no problem adding more goals to his already double-digit tally. King Power might once again have a Vardy Party!
Make sure to come back on Tuesday to read my review of this weekend’s matches and see how accurate my predictions were. Thanks for reading.