My Premier League predictions for all games kicking off on Tuesday.

Premier League fixtures are coming round thick and fast and will continue to be unrelenting until the break for the FA Cup in a couple of weeks. As I’ve said previously, whoever can survive this stretch of games will find themselves able to kick on for the rest of the season.

We have six games on Tuesday. Four games will kick off at 7:30PM (GMT). The first of which will be Burnley vs Newcastle, we’ll then see Chelsea host Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest against Everton and Brighton travelling to West Ham. Two fixtures follow at 8:15PM. Arsenal vs Aston Villa and Manchester United vs Wolves.

Burnley vs Newcastle

Burnley are enjoying the slowing down of defeats. They haven’t turned defeats into wins, but baby steps for Scott Parker. The last two outings have seen Burnley draw against Everton and Bournemouth. It’s not making much of a difference on the table, but it’s lifting the mood and that can only be good for the club. If they do beat Newcastle then they can leapfrog West Ham and move themselves within 3 points of Nottingham Forest. Of course to do that then they need to do something they haven’t done since the 26th October, win. Parker will also be delighted to be facing Newcastle on home turf as the form is significantly better at Turf Moor. In terms of home form, they’ve conceded the least amount of goals out of the bottom six. Just 10 have slipped through. However, it’s going the other way that’s the problem. They’ve only scored seven, a number matched only by Wolves.

Newcastle’s miserable run of form continues after defeat at Old Trafford on Boxing Day. That loss makes it one win in five games and sees them way down in 14th. However, a win over Burnley could lift them to 8th which shows how tightly packed the mid-section of the table is. But, in order to start climbing the ladder, they’ll need to address their away form. Eddie Howe’s men have only one win on the road, losing five. They’ll take comfort from the fact that they don’t concede many away from home, but they also don’t score many either. Only two teams have scored less, Wolves and Sunderland. This game has all the makings of a bore draw. Newcastle have the individual quality, but the mentality of that group of players is dwindling.

Predicted Result: Burnley 0-0 Newcastle

Chelsea vs Bournemouth

Chelsea were left shell-shocked by Aston Villa on Saturday night. Chelsea were heading for a nice 1-0 win with a dominant performance to match, but Ollie Watkins had other ideas. His double sunk Chelsea. This leaves the West London side 13 points behind the league leaders, Arsenal. Enzo Maresca’s men have been dragged into a fight for the top four and will have to put things right against Bournemouth. If Chelsea were to lose, they could drop out of the top 5. Considering this fixture will be played at Stamford Bridge, that’s entirely possible. Maresca’s home form has been so far below the expectations that he’s set for the club. Of the nine home fixtures played, the Blues have dropped points in five of them, including three defeats. This isn’t anywhere close to Premiership winning form. This fixture last season generated a 2-2 draw, so that will play on Maresca’s mind. Outside of home form, Chelsea have just one win in five games.

The good news for Chelsea is that they’re facing a team in far worse form. Bournemouth are slipping down the table and don’t appear to have a solution. They could also be losing their best player, in Antoine Semenyo, as early as January 1st. Andoni Iraola is also reluctant to sign a new deal at the club, prompting a rather awkward situation. There’s no real project there anymore and the players are responding in kind. The Cherries sit 15th in the league and haven’t won a game since the 26th October, they haven’t won an away game since August 31st. Although, that did come against a London side. Iraola has turned his team into draw specialists as they lead the league with 7 stalemates. Only Sunderland have as many. As it stands, it’s average against poor. The average team has the home advantage and has shown their capabilities in actually winning games. Chelsea will win this one.

Predicted Result: Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth

Nottingham Forest vs Everton

Forest were left reeling after their narrow defeat to Manchester City at the weekend. Sean Dyche lamented the officials and suggested they lost his side the game. They went toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola’s men and almost came away with a point. Unfortunately, you don’t get anything for just playing well and they still sit 17th in the league. Too close for comfort with West Ham and Burnley in pursuit. Albeit very slow pursuit. Dyche knows his team has the ability to beat anyone on their day, they stuffed three past Liverpool with no reply. But, three defeats in five games is looking less like the form of a side steering clear of the relegation zone. The outfit they’re up against beat them 3-0 a few weeks ago. They also succumbed to a 1-0 loss in this fixture last season. In fact, since 2022, Forest have only beaten Everton once. They’ve lost four and drawn twice.

Everton are really struggling to maintain consistency through an extended period of time. They’ll have a block of five fixtures that they’ll do really well in and then throw it all away in the next five. They’re in the stage of throwing it away as they’ve now lost twice and drawn once in the last three games. Prior to this they had four wins in five games. So, David Moyes needs to find the middle ground. He is without some key players in Iliman Ndiaye, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall and Idrissa Gueye. But, every team will lose their star players at some point in the season. It seems like Moyes doesn’t yet have an answer to the problem and they face another game without that trio. I think it will be the same kind of result for the Toffee’s again, I don’t think they’ll win.

Predicted Result: Forest 1-0 Everton

West Ham vs Brighton

West Ham are becoming their own worst enemy right now. They have a chance to create some daylight between them and Burnley, with that they can close the gap between them and Nottingham Forest. However, the Hammers aren’t taking any of the chances presented to them. They’ve lost three in a row now and haven’t won a game since November 8th. The early change in direction from Nuno Espírito Santo was short lived and now they’re settling for the odd point here and there. What needs to change immediately is the leaky defence. Only one team has conceded more goals in the league than West Ham and that team haven’t won a game this season.

Brighton mirror West Ham’s last five league games in that they’ve lost three times and drawn twice. Fortunes were much different between November and October as they only lost one game in the league across those two months. However, they don’t have a single win throughout December and that’s seen them drop down to 13th. If Fabian Hurzeler can mastermind a win then the Seagulls can rise to 8th. It proves that not all is lost despite the treacherous form. These two sides met in the early stages of December and it resulted in a 1-1 draw. The fact that West Ham were able to avoid a defeat away from home suggests they have what it takes to win this tie. However, on current form, I don’t think either side will take three points.

Predicted Result: West Ham 1-1 Brighton

Arsenal vs Aston Villa

Arsenal will be looking for redemption in this fixture as the reverse saw them lose 2-1. Emiliano Buendia’s 95th minute winner was a gut punch. However, they haven’t lost a single game since and have technically won them all. They beat Crystal Palace in a penalty shootout, but the game ended 1-1. The Gunners will be looking to open a five point gap over Manchester City, who play Thursday. Odds are stacked in their favour as they haven’t yet lost a game at the Emirates this season, they’ve won every single game apart from one. A 1-1 draw against City. Mikel Arteta’s men have a slight finishing issue at the moment, but will be happy that the creativity isn’t an issue. They’ve created over 9xG in their last three games with only one goal scored outside of a penalty and own goals. The chances are there, the players aren’t taking them.

Aston Villa have a record that every team across Europe will be envious of. 12 wins in a row that leaves them just three points behind Arsenal. Considering the start they had to the season, that is incredible. The only issue that presents itself to Unai Emery is that the range of selection he has is decreasing. Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara will both miss the game through suspension. Two players that have started almost all of Villa’s ties this season. Emery has had the luxury of not having to tinker with his team too much, but will be forced to tonight. It’ll be a tactical battle, both managers will have a game plan to deploy. I do think Arsenal will edge this tie, purely down to home advantage and some key players missing for Villa.

Predicted Result: Arsenal 2-0 Aston Villa

Manchester United vs Wolves

United are in a groove right now, even if some of the results they’ve got haven’t quite reflected that. They’ve enhanced their attacking potential and often walk away from games feeling like they could’ve scored a number of goals. Despite missing Bryan Mbuemo and Amad Diallo, they’ve haven’t let their attacking output drop too much. In the past five fixtures, United have only lost once. That’s good on paper, but the other four games have been split evenly between wins and draws. Ruben Amorim knows his team is playing well enough, but need a little extra to get them over the line in certain matches. Having said that, they’re 6th in the table and a win can take them up to 4th.

Wolves are still in the same place they’ve been since the start of the season. In 18 games, all they’ve mustered is 2 draws. They’ve scored the lowest amount in the league and conceded the most. However, they have put in some respectable performances of late. They forced Arsenal into needing a last minute winner, as well as giving Liverpool some issues in a 2-1 defeat. They all mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, but they’re in a unique position. They’re pretty much guaranteed relegation at this stage, so they have the opportunity to play without fear. That could mean another 18 games of defeats, or it could mean a decent 2nd half of the campaign. It’s a chance to let some youth players establish themselves as well. It’s a dire situation, nothing can take that away, but it’s a situation they have to make the best of. However, the reverse of this fixture saw United smash them 4-1 and I fear that could be repeated.

Predicted Result: United 4-0 Wolves