Bournemouth v Leicester (7:45pm)
Leicester retain the dubious honour of being the worst team in the league away from home, with just one point from seven games away from the King Power. So despite their excellent win against Manchester City, the Foxes will very much be the underdogs for this game against a Bournemouth side that have pretty good home form, losing just two games at the Vitality Stadium and recently turning over Liverpool on the South Coast. If you look at the course of the season as a whole, and take Leicester's away form out of the picture, there's still a case to be made that Bournemouth edge it, but you can't ignore how poor Leicester have been away from home, despite African Footballer of the Year and 7th place Ballon D'or nominee Riyad Mahrez and 8th place Jamie Vardy returning to form in a big way against Manchester City.
Prediction: 2-0 Bournemouth
Everton v Arsenal (7:45pm)
Everton are one of just three teams unbeaten at home this season, Arsenal are the only team unbeaten away from home, you would think that something would have to give. Whilst on paper 1-1 might not be a bad prediction, the truth is that Everton are in wretched form, now winning just one of their last ten games, and they simply look no match for the Gunners. I think a draw is very possible if the Gunners aren't quite at their best, but it would be doing Arsenal a disservice right now to suggest that they won't walk over Everton if they play well.
Prediction: 3-1 Arsenal
Middlesbrough v Liverpool (7:45pm Wednesday)
Liverpool have hit a sticky patch without Phillipe Coutinho, throwing away a 3-1 lead at Bournemouth and then faltering at home to West Ham. But whilst Boro have been pretty solid in recent weeks, picking up good results against City and Arsenal, this is still a game that Liverpool will fancy themselves to win. Boro offer an excellent chance to keep a clean sheet, and whilst the hosts don't let in a lot of goals, Liverpool will feel that they'll be able to get at least one on the night.
Prediction: 1-0 Liverpool
Sunderland v Chelsea (7:45pm)
Does this one really need justifying? The team top of the league takes on the team at the bottom of it. Sunderland don't even have the advantage of being at home, since they have the worst home form in the division, and are fresh off the back of a 3-0 spanking to Swansea. It's really hard to make any sort of argument against Chelsea winning this game, except that it's the Premier League, and Chelsea have to make a mistake at some point. Just...probably not in this round of fixtures.
Prediction: 3-0 Chelsea
West Ham v Burnley (7:45pm)
West Ham are only out of the relegation zone by the skin of their teeth. Fortunately, they have a home game against a team almost as bad away from home as Leicester, with Burnley scoring just one goal and picking up just one point from six games away from Turf Moor. West Ham's last home win came against Sunderland almost two months ago, but if they can score an early goal in this one, then Burnley might melt and we could see a return to form for the Hammers. On the other hand, West Ham's defence is very prone to implosion, so Burnley might see this as their chance to finally register a win on the road, and at the very least I think they'll add another goal to their tally.
Prediction; 3-1 West Ham
Crystal Palace v Man United (8pm)
What's this? A game where Man United might score than one goal for only the second time since 24th September? Surely you'd think United will run riot to some extent, so poor is Palace's defence. But without Henrik Mkhitaryan, who has been the catalyst for most of United's better performances in recent weeks, United may not have the same level of incision. It's also worth noting that Palace have scored significantly more goals than United this season. Nevertheless, Palace are one of only three teams with a better away record than a home one, and United also have a superlative away record. You'd have to say United will win, but Palace should make a game of it. Prediction: 2-1 United
Man City v Watford (8pm)
This one for me is really interesting. City's home form is decidedly average, with Boro, Southampton and Everton all picking up draws at the Etihad Stadium this season. But Watford's last two away games were a 6-1 butchering at Anfield and a 3-1 defeat at the Hawthorns. Nevertheless, Watford are playing well and look in good form, whilst City have lost back to back league games, so it's hard to gauge. But, truthfully, I think the fact of the matter is that if City get going, they're good enough to sweep aside Watford, who haven't picked up any remarkable results this season.
Prediction: 2-1 Man City
Stoke v Southampton (8pm)
The two teams slap bang in the middle of the table. Neither is in particularly brilliant form, but neither is in terrible form either, with both securing seven points from their last five games. Stoke have shored up their defence massively in the last couple of months, with just three goals conceded in the seven games prior to their defeat to Arsenal at the weekend. And Southampton have three clean sheets in their last four games. Neither team is particularly high scoring either, with the Saints the second lowest scorers in the league and Stoke only scoring three more. So I think I might go for a 0-0 here, but I'd fancy Stoke to be the ones to nick the winner.
Prediction: 0-0
Spurs v Hull (8pm)
If Chelsea v Sunderland is the most straightforward prediction of this gameweek then this one is not far behind either. Only Liverpool and Leicester City have picked up anything at White Hart Lane, where Spurs are unbeaten this season. Hull have won just one of their last ten games and are looking increasingly like relegation fodder. After their 5-0 win over Swansea, I could easily predict Spurs doing something similar in this game. Anything less than a big Spurs win would be surprising.
Prediction: 4-0 Spurs
West Brom v Swansea (8pm)
Nobody outside the top four has beaten West Brom in over three months. Only Everton and Manchester City have beaten them at the Hawthorns this season. Prior to their narrow defeat against Chelsea, they had ten points from four games. Swansea, meanwhile, haven't won away from home since the opening day of the season. So I think it would be a bit odd to predict an away win in this one. The Swans have improved but only against teams with dismal defensive records, and West Brom are no slouches at the back. Hard to predict anything other than a West Brom win given their recent form.
Prediction: 2-0 West Brom
The Hard and Fast Section
- England humilated. 3-0. Series over.
- Ronaldo wins Ballon D'or after a brilliant year.
- Hartley might miss Six Nations after red card. Captain material.
- Karius needs to step his game up. Quickly.
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