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Last weekend was pivotal in the Premier League title race. Liverpool getting that late win at Brentford and Arsenal bottling a 2-0 lead in the draw against Aston Villa could define the season for both clubs. It's certainly Liverpool's title to lose now. Some people say there are still 16 games to go, but they forget there are only seven or eight guaranteed wins in the remaining fixtures.
I believe Liverpool don't get enough credit. They are still in the running for a quadruple and no one is batting an eyelid! If this was Manchester City, everyone would be going crazy. Liverpool have been unbelievable and unless they suffer a huge drop off, they should be champions quite easily. I just can't see Arsenal or Manchester City being consistent enough.
Without further ado, let us dive straight into my predictions for gameweek 23 in the Premier League.
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Brighton & Hove Albion vs Everton
Everton had a good result against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. In a month's time, it would have been a completely different game with Spurs welcoming their injured players back into the team. But football is all about timing and this was Everton's time to take advantage of the missing pieces at Tottenham.
It may have been the perfect time for Everton to play Spurs, but what on earth was Ange Postecoglou thinking when he decided to go with three at the back? Everton are not the best attack in the league, why would you do something like that? That decision played into Everton's hands in my opinion and credit to them for taking full advantage.
Brighton are starting to click now. They played well against Manchester United and got the win like I expected them to. I think they will follow that up with a strong reality check for Everton here!
David Moyes still has a lot of work to do if Everton need to stay up, but they won't be needing a lot of wins considering the teams around them in the relegation battle. Wolves were atrocious the other day and I have a feeling Everton will be safe, but they must not get carried away.
Prediction: Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 Everton
Liverpool vs Ipswich Town
Liverpool just need to keep winning. After their late win at Brentford and the midweek triumph over Lille in the Champions League, they couldn't have asked for a better fixture than Ipswich at home next! If you are part of the chasing pack, you look at this fixture and go, "oh, no" because this is a game Liverpool can win.
Ipswich must write this game off and focus on the next game against Southampton. I know it sounds unfortunate, but that is the only way they will avoid relegation in my opinion. When you are languishing towards the bottom of the table, you need to know which games you can have a go at and Liverpool away from home isn't one of them.
I know Darwin Nunez produced an incredible cameo off the bench against Brentford. But I'm still now sure he should start this game as the centre-forward. Mohamed Salah is a better player when Nunez is not in the team! Nunez stays up front and when he does that, it makes Salah a bit claustrophobic in my opinion.
When it's open play, Nunez is a good player. We saw that against Brentford at the end when it was like a basketball game with end-to-end action. In a game like the next one against Ipswich, where the visitors are likely to put 10 men behind the ball, I don't think it's wise to play Nunez.
If Liverpool turn up with a good attitude, they should win this game quite easily. Honestly, the scoreline does not matter for them. They should only focus on the result.
Prediction: Liverpool 3-0 Ipswich Town
Southampton vs Newcastle United
Newcastle losing 4-1 at home to Bournemouth shows how difficult it is to make accurate predictions in the Premier League. Let's be honest, even a loyal Bournemouth fan did not see that coming! But if you're Newcastle, you can't ask for a better game than this to get back on track.
If Southampton had taken their chances, they could have gotten a result against Manchester United. But that shows how bad United are and not the other way around. I expect Newcastle to slaughter them. I just can't see Alexander Isak not scoring against Southampton.
Eddie Howe wouldn't have been happy with the loss to Bournemouth. If you look at Liverpool or Arsenal, you wouldn't expect them to lose 4-1 at home when they are in the middle of a dream run. Newcastle must change that about them and I expect them to bounce back in style.
Prediction: Southampton 0-4 Newcastle United
Wolves vs Arsenal
I was at Stamford Bridge the other night and Wolves were atrocious against Chelsea. They will get relegated! Wolves' performance in that loss to Chelsea will give so much belief to Leicester City and Ipswich. They were a better team under Gary O'Neil and I strongly believe they are about to lose their best player in Matheus Cunha!
There is no way the manager picked on Cunha after the game if he thinks the player will stay. He's their only top player and this news will turn a lot of heads. Arsenal are in need of a centre-forward but I doubt they will sign someone new in the January transfer window. You can't get so much in this window anyway though.
Let's look at this way, if you have played an extra game, are six points behind Liverpool and are still yet to play them away from home, what are their chances? No point in a panic buy if they have to settle for second place or top four in the end.
Cunha will not be a panic buy though. He has proven himself in the Premier League and is a good fit at Arsenal because he can play multiple roles in attack. Cunha ticks the box as a good signing, however, he must pick his game up if he joins Arsenal. But I still don't think Mikel Arteta will buy a centre-forward just for the sake of it.
Prediction: Wolves 0-3 Arsenal
Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest
Wow, who would've thought we would be talking about Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest with this much weight in January? Two of the most in-form teams, who have been absolutely unbelievable this season and I don't know who wins! This is the toughest game to predict his week!
Forest are good away from home and Bournemouth are flying at the moment. No disrespect to Forest, but some big teams have face Bournemouth and suffered defeats this term! If Forest end up winning this game, you would have to back them to finish in the top four. Why wouldn't they? They will then have every chance and momentum to do it.
Even if it's a draw, it's not a bad result for the visitors. Can Bournemouth secure a European spot this season? Based on form, definitely. But all their players are now performing to the best of their ability. This is a level they have not replicated consistently over a long time so the question is whether they can keep it up for the next three or four months.
Prediction: Bournemouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Manchester City vs Chelsea
I told you last week, you cannot get carried away by Manchester City winning 6-0 against Ipswich. You saw them against PSG, there is nobody who can win the ball back in that midfield! Ipswich were atrocious that is why they lost that game not because City are back to their best form!
Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic are all ageing and it was so evident against PSG. City couldn't live with PSG when they started having a go in that second half. Chelsea can do the same in my opinion. If Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson can run at them, I think they will cause City some serious problems. Pep Guardiola's men may not be able to live with that kind of pace and energy.
City now face a massive challenge to get into the top four this season. They face Arsenal after this game and all the six fixtures starting with Chelsea on Saturday are crucial. If they lose to Chelsea, you can't expect them to beat Arsenal.
It's not looking good for them in the Champions League either after that loss to PSG. If they can't beat Club Brugge at home next week, they shouldn't even be in Europe! This new format is designed to ensure all the big teams progress and they are still struggling in it. Even if you told Celtic you can forget about all the other games and you just need to beat Brugge to go to the next round, they would take it. That just shows where Manchester City are right now!
Prediction: Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City
I often watch Leicester play and they are now seven games without a win. They start well at times but just can't find the first goal. Then half-time comes and they get disheartened before losing it all in the second half. Leicester are not getting battered like Southampton, they are a decent team.
If they can find that opening goal in games, they will start getting better results. I don't know if it's a confidence or a concentration issue, but that is holding them back now. Leicester still have a chance in the relegation battle in my opinion and this is the perfect game because they're playing Tottenham!
Considering how Spurs play, Jamie Vardy can cause them a lot of problems in this game. If Leicester can ride their luck and Tottenham have an off day, even if it's just in front of goal like against Ipswich earlier this season, they have a chance. If Leicester and Vardy can trouble Tottenham with their counter-attack, we might witness a result that will set the cat among the pigeons!
I hope Ange Postecoglou doesn't leave. If you take Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate out of Liverpool or William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes out of Arsenal, those teams will face problems. I know Micky van de Ven and Christian Romero are not considered to be at that level just yet, but Spurs are a different team when they both play. Bit unlucky with their injuries, so I would like Postecoglou to get another year in this job.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace vs Brentford
In that Liverpool game last week, during the last 10 minutes I thought the only team going to score was Brentford. They were playing so well, but got caught up in the emotions during the end-to-end football. When that happens, the team with the better players will always win!
Crystal Palace secured an impressive win away from home to West Ham. I know West Ham have many problems, but it was still a hugely important result for Palace. This should be an exciting contest coming up. Brentford and Palace are two of the most dangerous sides in the Premier League.
If you beat either of them towards the end of the season, then it's a top result because these are two teams capable of beating anyone, including the big boys! There will be goals in this game, surely.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-2 Brentford
Aston Villa vs West Ham United
West Ham were coming off the back of a good result but Crystal Palace beat them quite comfortably. It was a good result for Aston Villa last time out, but honestly, they were never in that game against Arsenal. If that game had gone on for another five or 10 minutes, Arsenal would have won 3-2 or even 4-2!
This is an interesting fixture because West Ham were knocked out by Villa in the third round of the FA Cup earlier this month. I don't expect the result to be any different this weekend.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham United
Fulham vs Manchester United
Nothing but a Fulham win, no I'm not joking here! It sounds crazy because we are still in an era where Manchester United dominated England. But this team isn't like that. They don't turn up to games like Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester City. I know they did not lose to any of those three teams under Ruben Amorim. In the Arsenal game, Martin Odegaard missed a penalty. City shot themselves in the foot in the derby and if not, they could have lost that game too!
Liverpool game is the only exception with Harry Maguire missing that golden chance to get the win. So you could say these results don't really paint the accurate picture about where Manchester United are as a football club. Amorim isn't wrong, this is one of the worst United teams. But he has to be more flexible though. If you keep playing three at the back when you don't have the right players, you will be in trouble.
There's a life lesson that I follow - If you keep doing the same things and expect a different result every single time, it is insanity! Amorim has done a good job in terms of getting rid of players he doesn't want, but he also needs to adapt to the league and change his system when required.
This rebuild will take years because they are a million miles away from Liverpool and Arsenal. Manchester United are chasing the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton, Forest and Chelsea now. I think the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rule will limit Manchester United so much. You just can't go and throw money around whoever they want, there is a huge element of risk involved. They will have to operate on hope and luck when getting players, more like fantasy football!
Take Viktor Gyokeres for example, he struggled in England and went to Sporting and became a success. That doesn't mean he will set the stage on fire if he returns now.
I don't think Amorim knew the size of the job he had in his hands when he first arrived. In Portugal, it's just three big clubs fighting each other but it's not the same here in England. This is a massive club in a massive league.
Jim Ratcliffe must be sitting there thinking, 'what have I done buying this club?'. Manchester United are one of the most famous sports teams ever, but if they don't start winning, they will not be in that conversation anymore. Kids who grow up watching football will now start to support Liverpool or Arsenal because no one wants to support a team that's losing!
Manchester United are 13th in the table for a reason and I think they will lose again.
Prediction: Fulham 3-1 Manchester United
