My predictions for all of Thursday’s Premier League games

Thursday’s fixtures will get underway at 5:30PM (GMT). Two ties will take place, beginning with Crystal Palace vs Fulham, Liverpool against Leeds will be the other fixture. We then have the final two games kicking off at 8PM. Brentford will host Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland will welcome Manchester City.

Crystal Palace vs Fulham

The first of two London derbies to take place today. Palace have certainly played a lot of football in recent weeks and the performances are catching up with that. They’re on a three game losing streak in the league and without a win in five games in all competitions. It’s fair to say that this Palace side need a break to compose themselves. However, they’re not going to get that as Fulham will be travelling to Selhurst Park. The South London outfit have now fallen down to 11th in the league, considering they were 5th only a couple of weeks ago. It’s also now two defeats in a row on home turf.

Fulham are in much better form than they were earlier in the season. Plenty of people had written them off and assumed that Marco Silva’s reign was coming to an end. They’re now two points off of 7th, the traditional threshold for European football. What makes this even better for Fulham is that they’re on a three game winning streak and are doing it without a trio of starters. Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Samuel Chukwueze are all away at the African Cup of Nations. Although, Silva will recognise the fact that Fulham are leaving the results on a knife edge. The last time Fulham had a game that wasn’t decided by a single goal was way back on November 8th. This is a stretch of eight games in all competitions. It’s just that recently the single goal has fallen in their favour. Fulham will come to frustrate Palace and I can see them capitalising on tired legs.

Predicted Result: Palace 1-1 Fulham

Liverpool vs Leeds

The last time Liverpool faced Leeds they were held to a 3-3 draw, so revenge will be on the menu for Arne Slot. But, since these two sides met, Liverpool have turned the dial up on their form. They’re won all four games since. This has seen Liverpool rise to 4th in the league and that’s more like it for the Merseyside club. They still sit 13 points behind the league leaders, but they’re positioning themselves for a solid top four challenge. Despite the turn of form, Slot will be worried that his side aren’t blowing teams away. All but one of the four wins they’ve had have been separated by a goal. Even the Wolves fixture at Anfield, at the weekend, a game they actually struggled in.

Leeds themselves have also seen their form turn a corner. They’ve remained unbeaten throughout December and have grabbed two wins in the process. They’d only picked up three wins in the 3 and half months prior to this. Daniel Farke has got his side playing some open and expansive football, spearheaded by an inform Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He’s now scored for the sixth game in a row. It’s an incredible run of form and it doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. Leeds’ run of form has seen them score 12 times in their last four games, conceding seven in the process. Based on current data it’s fair to say this game will have goals in it, for both sides, I just feel as though Liverpool will score the most.

Predicted Result: Liverpool 3-2 Leeds

Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur

Brentford will be welcoming back Thomas Frank for the first time this season. The former manager will return to the dugout where his Premier League tenure began. However, his successor has proven to be more than worthy to fill his boots. Keith Andrews has got Brentford firing of late and it’s seen them reach 9th in the league, but with a chance to land in 7th with a win. The reverse fixture saw Spurs beat them 2-0, but Brentford, at home, is a completely different beast. The Bees have the fourth best home form in the league with only Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa above them. Outside of Arsenal and Manchester City, they’ve also scored more goals at home than any other side. The Gtech Community Stadium is a tough ground to visit.

Spurs were rather down on their luck in the last couple of weeks, but managed to grab a vital win against Palace at the weekend. It’s probably bought Frank a little bit more time, so he’ll be hoping for another victory to keep the momentum going. Despite defeats to Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, prior to the Palace game, they’ve actually won three out of their last five in all competitions. The North London side will also be delighted to be playing away from home as they’ve got the best form in the league in that sense. Only Arsenal and Aston Villa match them for points gained on the road. This game essentially is superior home form up against excellent away form. What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force?

Predicted Result: Brentford 1-1 Spurs

Sunderland vs Manchester City

Sunderland have had an incredible return to life in the Premier League. At the halfway point in the season they can boast sitting in 7th place and fully deserving of that spot. In comparison to the other two promoted teams who sit down in 16th and 19th respectively. What has given Sunderland the edge this season is that they’ve made themselves very hard to beat, especially at home. Only two teams in the league can say they’ve not lost at home yet, Sunderland and Arsenal. In fact, they’ve only lost four times across the entire campaign. A sum which is on par with Manchester City and Aston Villa. While all this is very impressive, Regis Le Bris will be slightly concerned about the fact that his side keep drawing games. They’ve earned 7 draws so far, only Brighton have more. While it does show an element of being hard to beat, it also shows that they sometimes struggle to get the job done.

Manchester City are doing enough to see them through pretty much every game they play. They’re not setting the world alight with completely dominating performances, but they don’t need to. They have this extreme ability to be able to grab a goal whenever they need it. When you think their opponents could get something, they’ll turn up the heat and suddenly you’re down two goals. This is the reason why they’ve now won eight games on the bounce, in all competitions. Nottingham Forest certainly gave them a scare, but again they produced a goal when they needed it. Another tricky away day awaits and they’ll have to dig deep again. I can’t ever bet against City to win a game, no matter what kind of form Sunderland have at the Stadium of Light.

Predicted Result: Sunderland 1-2 Manchester City