My take on the upcoming Premier League fixtures

The Premier League is back in action and teams will be ramping up their preparations to see out the year in style. Arsenal remain top of the table, despite a stumble against Aston Villa. Manchester City have closed the gap to just two points, on Arsenal, after a convincing win against Sunderland. Wolves and Burnley remain the bottom dwellers, with Wolves still yet to pick up a win.

There’s no early kick off this weekend so the first set of games will be at 3PM (GMT) on Saturday. Two games will kick off at this time with Chelsea hosting Everton and Brighton traveling to Liverpool. Burnley vs Fulham will be the 5:30PM fixture. Then to conclude Saturday’s football will be Arsenal up against Wolves, this will kick off at 8PM. Sunday will see four fixtures kick off at 2PM. Crystal Palace will face Manchester City, Nottingham Forest will welcome Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland will go to war against Newcastle and West Ham will lineup against Aston Villa. Super Sunday will conclude with Brentford against Leeds at 4:30PM. To end this game week will be Manchester United versus Bournemouth on Monday night, this will kick off at 8PM.

Chelsea vs Everton

The West London side had a brilliant November, this resulted in Enzo Maresca earning the manager of the month award. His side went unbeaten and really began to establish themselves as a title contending outfit. The conclusion of November saw them hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, despite going down to 10 men. This was almost the cherry on top of a wonderful month, but December has delivered numerous hammer blows. Maresca’s side haven’t won a game all month with two defeats and a draw to their name. Leeds United dispatched them with relative ease, Bournemouth held firm to ensure a goalless draw and then Atalanta came from behind to beat them 2-1. Chelsea need to put this rut behind them and start picking up wins again. They currently sit 5th in the league, eight points behind Arsenal in top spot. A win can take them into the top four, but they won’t be able to crack the top three.

Everton have been in excellent form though. David Moyes has really transformed his side after a disappointing start to the season. They were languishing down in 14th a few weeks ago, but now find themselves 7th. Four wins in five game is a brilliant return and Moyes will be hoping for more of the same. Everton’s previous two away games have resulted in wins, so that’ll give the Merseyside club that extra bit of confidence. They’ll also be hoping to expose Chelsea’s poor home form as well, they’ve dropped points in four out of the six home games they’ve played. In spite of Everton’s brilliant form, Chelsea will be seeking redemption as soon as possible. Cole Palmer is back around the team and he certainly comes back with a point to prove.

Predicted Result: Chelsea 2-0 Everton

Liverpool vs Brighton

The red side of Merseyside will be in action at 3PM too, but with an entirely different perspective. Arne Slot’s men have been ever so slightly better than before the international break, but are still struggling to string together a set of victories. They were able to beat West Ham a couple of weeks ago, but have since been held to two draws. The Champions League offered a glimmer of hope as they beat Inter Milan away from home, a team that hardly ever lose at the San Siro. The draw against Leeds will be particularly gutting as they were 2-0 up at half time, but sloppy defending ensured a late Leeds revival. This has left them in 10th, but with the opportunity to rise to 5th with a win.

Brighton were doing very well for themselves in recent weeks, picking up a variety of wins. But, they’ve stuttered in their previous two home encounters. Aston Villa beat them 4-3 while West Ham held them to a 1-1 draw. The Seagulls do have a respectable away record and a decent record against the traditional ‘big 6’ of the league. They’ve beaten Manchester City and Chelsea, drawn with Tottenham Hotspur and have only lost against Manchester United. So, despite home advantage, Brighton will be tricky customers. I do think Liverpool will bring that winning element into this fixture as they professionally dispatched Inter Milan. That’s the kind of win the squad needs, amidst the Mohamed Salah news.

Predicted Result: Liverpool 3-1 Brighton

Burnley vs Fulham

Burnley have been struggling big time. They’re almost on the same number of consecutive defeats as Wolves, A defeat to Fulham will give them their 7th loss in a row. The difference between Burnley and Wolves is that the former can still score goals. They’ve scored double the amount. Burnley have found more success at Turf Moor, but still nothing that’s really anything to shout home about. Scott Parker will also be without a trio of suspended players; Kyle Walker, Lucas Pires and Hannibal Mejbri. This will certainly affect planning, something Fulham will look to pounce on.

Fulham had picked up some very important wins recently which has relieved some of the pressure surrounding Marco Silva. However, he knows that the job is far from done and he’s someone that always demands more from his team. They picked up good wins over Sunderland and Spurs, but have seen three defeats mixed in with those last five games. Fulham’s away from leaves a lot to be desired though as they’ve only won once. Although, that win came in their last league game. Burnley vs Fulham isn’t the most attractive of weekend fixtures, but holds a lot of importance. Burnley are in danger of losing sight of other relegation contenders, whereas Fulham are desperately trying to escape the clutches of a relegation scrap. I think Burnley can hold for a draw.

Predicted Result: Burnley 0-0 Fulham

Arsenal vs Wolves

The Gunners lost a game for the first time since the end of August, a run that stretched for 18 games. Aston Villa were the ones who threw down the gauntlet and made Arsenal pay for their defensive fragility. The defeat leaves Manchester City within two points of the North London side, however, they can temporarily open the gap to five points with a win over Wolves. Everything is pointing towards a comfortable win for Arsenal, but nothing is ever truly comfortable. The Gunners are still facing a defensive crisis, but the attack is looking refreshed and ready for action. Mikel Arteta needs to keep the wins coming after beating Club Brugge in the week, this will be a perfect opportunity to do that.

Wolves are in the worst form of their Premier League existence. They’ve lost nine games on the bounce and scored for the first time, against Manchester United, since the end of October. Rob Edwards has a huge task on his hands and the Emirates is the worst possible destination for him to try and recover form. However, a win against Arteta’s men would prove to be monumental lift in morale. It could be a turning point in the season, Edwards can claim to do something that not even Manchester City or Bayern Munich could do. Having said that, I can’t really see a world that Arsenal lose to Wolves, though the away side would probably think a 1-0 defeat is some kind of success.

Predicted Result: Arsenal 5-0 Wolves

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City

Palace have been riding the storm of playing domestic football alongside European fixtures. They sit just outside the automatic qualification positions in the Europa League and sit fourth in the Premier League. Oliver Glasner has given his side a great level of consistency and is making use of the entirety of his squad in doing so. They’ve only lost once in five games, winning three of them. However, their home form has seen them struggle to really put games to bed. They’ve experienced four draws at home in seven fixtures, but that also tells another story, they’re hard to beat. They’ve only lost once at home, and that came against City’s Manchester rivals. Glasner will just be hoping to turn solid performances into wins.

City have well and truly revived their season and are playing some of the best football in the league. Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland have all contributed to that. The defeat to Newcastle would’ve been tough to take in hindsight, but they now face another stern away test. Away from home is where City have struggled the most. Pep has only seen his side win three times in seven games away from the Etihad, what’s worse is that they’ve lost three times in those seven games. One of those wins was the 5-4 against Fulham, there they almost gave up a four goal lead. But, they did see themselves beat Real Madrid in the week, a great result. You can’t bet against City when they’re in form, they’re almost impossible to stop, but Glasner has devastating quality in his team that can hurt the away side.

Predicted Result: Palace 2-2 City

Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur

Sean Dyche had seen his side recover in form pretty well, but recent results suggest a more turbulent future lies ahead. This Forest side went to Anfield and took all three points home with them, as well as a clean sheet. But, it’s been rocky since then, suffering defeats to Brighton and Everton. The win over Wolves offered momentary respite in the midst of that. Forest came out on top in this fixture last season, but both of these teams are in completely different places. Despite lingering around the relegation zone, Forest have the chance to push up to 15th in the league. However, home form has been lacking for the Nottinghamshire side. They’ve only won twice at The City Ground.

Spurs have enjoyed their last two home games with wins over Brentford and Slavia Prague. Five goals scored, zero goals conceded. A very welcome change of pace compared to what they’ve been used to this season. Even still, it’s only one win in five games for the North London side, who now sit 11th in the league. What will make Thomas Frank happy, though, is the away form. They sit with the third best in the league, having only lost once on the road. Spurs will be confident that they can start combining their awesome away record with their underwhelming home form. Forest will be a difficult challenge, but Spurs should be able to overcome it.

Predicted Result: Forest 1-2 Spurs

Sunderland vs Newcastle

The Tyne-Wear derby gets its first instalment of the season with the Stadium of Light hosting this time around. Sunderland find themselves in a much better position than their rivals and won’t let them forget it when they meet. Sunderland sit 9th in the league, separated by two clubs with Newcastle. However, Sunderland have seen a dip in form and it’s come at the worst possible time. Perhaps fatigue is starting to catch up with Regis Le Bris’ men, but they’ll forget about fatigue when Newcastle arrive at their home. The Stadium of Light has become a fortress this season and the Black Cats still haven’t tasted defeat. But, it’s draws galore for Sunderland. They sit on five which is the most in the league, tied with four other teams.

Newcastle have had the most recent laugh against Sunderland as they beat them back in January 2024 in the FA Cup. That win was actually at the Stadium of Light. The last time these two sides met in the Premier League was way back in 2016, Newcastle were held to a 1-1 at St James Park. Since 2010, these two sides have only played each other 13 times with Sunderland winning the majority. But, Eddie Howe will just be using this game as a chance to keep the momentum going. The Tyneside club haven’t lost in four games and that contains two wins. Although, they’ve only won one game away from St James Park and that came against Everton a couple of weeks ago. Things are looking more promising for Howe, but Sunderland will be a tough battle. There’ll be cards, fouls and probably a few handbags, but this is a proper rivalry.

Predicted Result: Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle

West Ham vs Aston Villa

West Ham have changed their destiny somewhat. They appeared to be a club that wouldn’t be able to escape the jaws of relegation, but Nuno Espírito Santo has made them tough to beat. They’ve only lost once in four games, drawing three of them. However, they’re still kicking their feet around in the relegation zone due to the form of the other teams around them. But, a win can see them leapfrog Forest and Leeds. But, if they’re to see off a team like Aston Villa then they need to stop conceding. The East London side haven’t kept a clean sheet since the end of August. That’s a run of 11 games without a clean sheet. Nuno will be aware that his side is making progress, but a complete defensive performance has been lacking.

Aston Villa are the form team right now. They’ve won eight games in a row and claimed a special win against Arsenal last weekend. Unai Emery has come up with a fix for his team and now they’re unstoppable. The Villains have only conceded five goals in their last five league games, scoring 13 in the process. Only Manchester City have scored more in this period of time. Emery will be confident of getting another win, but will be wary that his side have had a huge output recently and could end up suffering from fatigue. West Ham didn’t play in the week, so have had a full seven days to rest. As much as fatigue might set in, I can’t see Emery’s men falling at this hurdle.

Predicted Result: West Ham 1-3 Aston Villa

Brentford vs Leeds

Brentford have suffered identical, back-to-back defeats against the boys from North London. Two trips, two 2-0 defeats. I don’t think Keith Andrews will want to see the number 2 for a while. Despite two defeats away from home, Brentford still maintain the fourth best home record in the league. They’ve only lost once at home this season, despite hosting; Chelsea, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Liverpool. The defeat came against City. Igor Thiago has also taken the player of the month for November, which proves how well Brentford are doing. Two defeats, away from home, against top Premier League sides is nothing to be worried about. They stayed competitive in both and that’s all that can be asked of them.

Leeds have had a hectic schedule as they’ve faced Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool in their latest fixtures. I think if you asked their fans if they expected to walk away with four points from those games then they would absolutely say no. Even the game they lost against Manchester City saw them come from two goals down, City needed a last minute goal from Foden to win 3-2. However, four points were picked up at home where Leeds have been most competitive. It’s their away form that’s a cause for concern. They’ve only won once away from Elland Road and suffered six defeats. They’ve shipped 18 goals in those ties, the 3rd highest in the league. It seems like Daniel Farke knows where he’ll get his points from, but will try their hardest to pick up some on their travels. I do think Brentford will be just too strong for Leeds though.

Predicted Result: Brentford 2-1 Leeds

Manchester United vs Bournemouth

Another Monday night fixture for Ruben Amorim. But, this will be more of a test than their previous encounter. 4-1 win away to Wolves felt like a training session more than a league match, but Amorim will be happy his side eventually buried Wolves. However, form has been up and down for the Manchester side as they’ve only tasted victory twice in the last five games. Two draws and a loss fill the remaining results. United have been decent at home, but not quite the fortress that Amorim would like. Four wins, two defeats and a draw. It’s certainly better than last season, but still work needs to be done. They’ll be hopeful that Bournemouth’s bad form will see them continue the hard work they’re putting in.

As mentioned above, Bournemouth are in a terrible rut. Andoni Iraola currently doesn’t have any answers, but his team are slipping down the table. 13th, compared to 2nd over a month ago now. The Cherries away form has been down with the relegation contenders and their leaky defence has been the issue. 19 goals conceded away from home, this makes it the 2nd highest in the division. Goals have also dried up at the other end, scoring just four in their last five fixtures. That’s compared to the 17 they scored in the first 10 games of the season. Clearly Iraola has a lot of work to do. I think United will be tough to overcome, but they’ve struggled at home in their previous two matches. Everton claimed a win and West Ham earned a draw. Bournemouth could capitalise on that faltering home form.

Predicted Result: Manchester United 1-0 Bournemouth