Crystal Palace vs Burnley
Rarely does this match carry so much appeal. Two English gaffers very much at the peak of their powers. Did you know Crystal Palace hadn’t scored a goal this decade or won a game since Terry Venables was in charge before Roy came in and saved the day? And as for what Sean Dyche has achieved so far at Burnley, wow. The club were bankrupt before he personally carried out a “bob-a-job” fortnight and saved them, before turning them into a half decent football team that even once had Joey Barton in it behaving himself. As the season wears on, there is every chance that Palace and Burnley will find themselves side by side in the table as Palace will continue to improve and Burnley will no doubt fade away. But, until then, enjoy the fact that a little town in Lancashire can dream of finishing higher than Arsenal.
Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Burnley
Chelsea vs Leicester City
Hey Alvaro, why can’t you finish 1v1? It seems that the very expensive Spaniard is only capable of scoring when Cesar crosses it in and Morata gets to put his head on it. Anything else may as well be Chris Sutton. Claude Puel is getting the best out of Riyad Mahrez which still makes me think he will be off in January. Ideally, we would just fast forward this match to the post-match presser so we can hear what Antonio has to say about Jose this week.
Chelsea 2 – 0 Leicester City
Huddersfield Town vs West Ham United
Can we still say West Ham are revived under David Moyes after they drew 0-0 with Shrewsbury Town? Let’s look at a few quick facts – Javier Hernandez is hardly benefitting from it and everyone was saying how he was the signing of the summer. Joe Hart is hardly loving life under Moyes. But none of that matters when he has turned Marko Arnautovic into a player that almost looks a bargain at £25m or whatever they paid for him. Huddersfield Town are decent at home though, so I reckon Moyes might be going home with no more than a point.
Huddersfield Town 1 – 1 West Ham United
Newcastle United vs Swansea City
Most clubs look forward to January as it is a chance to refresh their squad. Poor old Rafa must hate it. He will have the same conversation over and over with prospective signings. “Yes, I want you. I just don’t know if I can have you”. It’s the 12th January today and Rafa claims he still has not been told if he has a transfer budget or not. How can you run a club like that? As for that takeover, what’s happening there Mike? As for Swansea, Carlos Carvalhal is giving us quotes not heard since Ian Holloway spent a year in the top flight or Eric Cantona was still learning English. That doesn’t mean he will keep them up though.
Newcastle United 2 – 0 Swansea City
Watford vs Southampton
I am pretty sure neither manager wants to be there right now. Watford haven’t really looked the same since the Everton speculation around Marco Silva and Mauricio Pellegrino must understand that if he is getting booed when Southampton have won then something isn’t quite right. I reckon Watford will win this though.
Watford 2 – 1 Southampton
West Bromwich Albion vs Brighton & Hove Albion
One manager is nice, respectful and humble. The other is, well, Alan Pardew. I had nothing against WBA before Pardew went in and now I am looking forward to waving them off to the Championship at the end of the season.
West Bromwich Albion 0 – 1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
Big Sam has waited a long time to lead a team out at Wembley. Hell, he didn’t even get the chance when he was manager of England. The thing is, Sam, doing it this way makes you no better than Marco Silva which I know you will hate. Everton need to pick up some momentum again as they’ve been pretty bobbins recently. Tottenham will keep doing what Tottenham do, chugging away getting results.
Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 1 Everton
AFC Bournemouth vs Arsenal
Eddie. Eddie. Eddie. Try and play a bit different, like. Arsenal are there for the taking as long as you don’t play like Bournemouth.
AFC Bournemouth 1 – 3 Arsenal
Liverpool vs Manchester City
You know what? This is the first City game in a long time where I cannot say hand on heart I expect them to win. Liverpool are unpredictable at home and I’d imagine they want to show the world they can cope without Coutinho. There could be an upset here, you never know. And, no, the upset wouldn’t be Liverpool taking all their chances and keeping a clean sheet.
Liverpool 2 – 2 Manchester City