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This is a big weekend coming up in the Premier League. A few of the results during midweek have changed the complexion surrounding the upcoming games. None more so than Brentford performing the way they did against Manchester City, which now means Liverpool will face a stern challenge on Saturday.
I still think Liverpool will win the title, but pressure can do weird things to the best of teams. We've seen that with Manchester City already and Liverpool need to be extra careful after that draw against Nottingham Forest. As I always say, things change very quickly in this league and it would be naive to think Liverpool will have plain sailing from here till the end of the season.
On that note, let us dive straight into my predictions for gameweek 22 in the Premier League:
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Newcastle United vs Bournemouth
I know Bournemouth have been playing really well, but I have a strong feeling about Newcastle winning this game. Bournemouth were blown away by Chelsea in the first half of that 2-2 draw in midweek. Newcastle are playing much, much better than Chelsea and they will be more ruthless in front of goal!
In my opinion, Alexander Isak is the best no.9 in the Premier League right now. You look at Erling Haaland, and his body language isn't as good as Isak. Of course, you can never count Haaland out because he can just score back-to-back hat-tricks and we will all be talking about him again. But honestly, it's not looking like that at the moment.
I believe Isak's success is also due to the midfielders playing behind him at Newcastle. Sandro Tonali has returned to that midfield and formed a great partnership with Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton. Every single one of them is playing at the top of their game.
It would be the perfect month for Newcastle if they can progress to the semi-final of the EFL Cup and consolidate their grip on top four in the coming weeks. Some teams get into the top four and they go three games without a win before eventually falling behind. Newcastle must avoid doing that and I'm confident they will get the better of Bournemouth in a big win.
Prediction: Newcastle United 3-1 Bournemouth
West Ham United vs Crystal Palace
If I'm being honest, I thought West Ham were quite fortunate to beat Fulham in the last game. Fulham had chance after chance at the start and then shot themselves in the foot later. That 3-2 win is definitely a case of the result covering over the cracks at West Ham in my opinion!
Graham Potter will need time to make West Ham play the way he wants. It's completely different, and certainly positive football, compared to what we saw them play under David Moyes and Julen Lopetegui. Potter has good talent in that squad so that ticks one box. Now he needs time and I hope the board will give him that. For now, I see West Ham as a team that will score goals while letting in quite a few at the other end as well.
Even Crystal Palace were quite lucky to win 2-0 and keep a clean sheet against Leicester in the last game. But they have too much quality and won't get relegated. Palace desperately needed that win over Leicester though, beating teams in and around them in the table is what will help them at this stage.
I think this will be a hard-fought game where both teams share points in the end.
Prediction: West Ham United 2-2 Crystal Palace
Brentford vs Liverpool
Brentford vs Manchester City, what a game that was! Like I said, that performance from Brentford makes this clash all the more difficult for Liverpool. Honestly, I thought Liverpool were atrocious in the first half against Nottingham Forest. But the gulf was massive in the second half though, they did show their quality.
We all know how Brentford play and that makes this game a banana skin for Liverpool. I wouldn't be surprised if Brentford cause Liverpool a few problems early on, however, I'm backing the Reds to come away with the win in the end.
If Liverpool win, that is a huge result and it puts massive pressure on Arsenal. The Gunners play late on Saturday and that is a really hard game against Aston Villa, which they must win at all costs.
I would play Diogo Jota as the centre-forward for Liverpool in the game against Brentford. He is a more natural goalscorer than Luis Diaz and for me, the Portuguese has to be in the starting line-up. But as I always say with Liverpool, whoever plays in that front-three, we can always expect them to get goals. That quality is the thing that makes them strong title contenders!
Liverpool have had some issues at left-back with Andy Robertson struggling to find form. I don't think they will bring in a new player to replace him in January though. They will most likely switch between Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas till the end of the season and then look for a replacement.
Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Liverpool
Leicester City vs Fulham
Nothing but a Fulham win here because Leicester cannot win a football match at the moment! I thought Fulham were really unlucky against West Ham, they had plenty of chances but still ended up losing that game. I don't see how they won't score against Leicester, they have too much quality to not do that.
Leicester have now lost six league games in a row and in that run, they haven't shown enough for us to think it won't be seven this weekend! I'm backing Fulham to win comfortably here.
Prediction: Leicester City 1-3 Fulham
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
This is a huge game for Arsenal. If Liverpool win like I predicted, Arsenal will be seven points behind the league leaders before this game kicks off! And that can be a huge psychological block for some players, especially since the risk of dropping points will keep running inside their heads.
Aston Villa stopped Arsenal from winning the league title last season and that will still be in the players' minds. Villa are grinding out some results and they have enough firepower to trouble Arsenal in the form of Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins. They will fancy their chances at the Emirates because Arsenal will have a go and it will open up spaces for them.
Arsenal have had two difficult games in the space of a few days. If they can follow up that derby win over Tottenham with a win against Villa, that will be massive. Arsenal are not out of the title race, they have very little margin for error, yes. But they are not out of it at all!
I'm going to go with Arsenal here, but only just. This will be a tight game.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest vs Southampton
Nottingham Forest are on a dream run and I expect that to continue this weekend. The atmosphere against Liverpool at the City Ground was rocking to say to the say the least. It was truly wonderful to see the fans rallying behind this team.
Everybody is now expecting them to beat Southampton and that's a different challenge. When expectations are involved, it's never easy for any team. I don't believe Forest can become title contenders so they should look to consolidate that top four berth. If they win this game, they can do exactly that and I fully expect them to.
Even a 1-0 win works fine if you're Forest, but I think Southampton have no chance and will get well beat here. This is a good game to have after that draw against Liverpool and they will make best use of it!
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 3-0 Southampton
Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur
Nothing changed with Everton the other day, I said that before didn't I? It's not like Sean Dyche left a lot of players out in the cold and David Moyes could just come in and be like, 'I'll just fine tune this guy to perform a miracle'.
Tottenham are always Spursy, but I believe they will have too much for Everton in this game. Spurs will open the game up and I don't think Everton have the firepower to outscore the visitors. The hosts can only hope of keeping it tight at the back, but I'm not sure they can do that for long here.
Ange Postecoglou's men have suffered due to their two first-choice centre backs being unavailable. If both Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero were fit to play, I wouldn't mind James Maddison starting ahead of Dejan Kulusevski. But with both of them not playing, Spurs need some steel in midfield and that's why I'd prefer Kulusevski in there.
Everton will be dreading at the possibility of an open game here and that will play into Spurs' hands.
Prediction: Everton 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
It's a hard game to guess because both Manchester United and Brighton are playing tonight (Thursday). I expect Manchester United to beat Southampton, but I wouldn't be shocked if they didn't win either because we're talking about Manchester United after all!
I actually think Brighton will win this game at Old Trafford. It's a big pitch there and I expect Brighton to go through them with ease. This is a game that really suits Brighton and that's why I think United are in trouble here.
No one expected Ruben Amorim to win against Liverpool and Arsenal, so they had that freedom to play like they wanted. But this is a different game and even if Brighton are above them in the table, it's a game they should win. I think that could be a problem for Manchester United. It wouldn't shock me if they slip up at home again this weekend.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Ipswich Town vs Manchester City
No one is scared about Manchester City anymore! They don't intimidate teams like they used to and that is quite evident now. Usually when you watch City, even if they don't win, they end up destroying the other team. But just look at how Brentford opened that game up in midweek, that's not the City we've known over the years.
Even the West Ham game was a false result. All of Newcastle, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, and don't forget Villa, are actively involved in the race to finish in third and fourth this season. It's going to be a tough battle and I don't think City will finish inside the top four! They have some terrible fixtures coming up after this, including a Champions League clash against PSG. City are a bit all over the place and If they continue to play like this, good luck to them!
If Ipswich beat Brighton later tonight, then they will have a real go at City. And if that's not the case, then I don't think they have a chance against City to be honest. Out of Leicester, Wolves and Ipswich, I will always back Ipswich as the team with the best chance to avoid relegation though. In fact, I think they will avoid the drop!
I'm not buying it when people say City are back. They don't look like their old self at all. But they will win here.
Prediction: Ipswich Town 1-2 Manchester City
Chelsea vs Wolves
I'll be there to watch this game at Stamford Bridge on Monday night and I can't see anything but a win for Chelsea. Wolves have gone back to being where they were before. They did enjoy a bit of a run but that has now stopped. If Chelsea play anywhere near like how they played in the first half against Bournemouth, they will be easy winners.
It hasn't worked out for Christopher Nkunku at Chelsea even though he's a top player. There are rumors of him leaving the club but the problem is that you can't ask for £70 million to sell him because nobody is paying that amount of money! That asking price just tells me that Chelsea don't want to get rid of him. Nkunku sort of plays in the same position as Cole Palmer, who has to start every game, so it's unlikely he has a future here.
Chelsea also need a new centre forward. Nicolas Jackson gets on the end of a lot of chances but he doesn't take them all! Even though he does brilliant work away from the goal, he just can't score consistently and that's a problem Chelsea must look to fix. It's ideal if they can sell Nkunku and reinvest that money in a new centre-forward, but if they ask for silly money it will only derail chances of a move.
This is a must-win game for Chelsea. I expect all their top four rivals to win this weekend and if Chelsea end up losing, they could fall down to sixth or seventh in the table. When I looked at their fixtures six weeks ago, I thought they were in the title race. But they have completely messed up these winnable games and if they drop points again, that top four berth could come under serious threat.
Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Wolves
