Previews & Predictions: EPL Match Day 19

Predictions, Previews

Merry Christmas folks. Apart from the church services, the sweets overload, the never-ending arrivals of “long-lost” relatives, and the bombardment of Christmas memes and pics on your Whatsapp, there is one more thing that is unavoidable when it comes to this time of the year.

So sit back, relax and get a preview of the selected matches you can binge watch this upcoming Wednesday.

Ho, ho, ho, and to all FPL players worldwide, some tips for the selected matches will be provided. Yeah, I know. I’m nice like that.

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Leicester v Manchester City

15:00 GMT

This should be an absolute cracker. Leicester would be on a high after their win against Chelsea, with key players such as Kasper Schmeichel and Jamie Vardy seemingly back in top form.

Vardy has a knack for scoring against the big six, his lightning pace and his small frame might be a problem for which ever defenders Guardiola picks for this game.

City should have learnt a valuable lesson from their shock defeat against Crystal Palace, and will not want to slip even further behind Liverpool in this hot title race in which Spurs have suddenly become contenders.

The arrival of Kevin de Bruyne should add some creativity in the Sky Blues midfield and the probability of Fernandinho being reintroduced or Phil Foden being named in the line up is likely. Expect a lively match come Wednesday.

FPL Tip: Buy: James Maddison (6.8 pounds)

Maddison creativity in midfield should be crucial in a game where Claude Puel is unlikely to sit back and allow City to press forward. His assist last Saturday should have won over the doubters. Plus, he’s cheap.

Prediction for this match: I’d say a 3-1 victory to the Cityzens

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“Spotted your mum eh, Virgil?”

Liverpool v Newcastle

15:00 GMT

A return to Anfield for Rafa Benitez, a man loved by the Kop, won’t change the fact that the Toon might be massacred by the leaders come Wednesday.

Liverpool look like a well-oiled machine at the moment, with Alisson protecting their goal, Van Dijk a towering beast of a defender and their front three preying on frightened defences.

Klopp might be tempted to rotate due to the fixtures rolling thick and fast, but still expect a good win for the Reds.

However, though as good Virgil is, the Dutchman might finally meet his match in the form of Salomon Rondon, a bulky striker who can hold up play better than most and scores some beautiful headers.

If Rafa gets his tactics right, Newcsatle might take the fight to Anfield.

FPL Tip: Don’t be assured about any Liverpool midfielders and Liverpool full-backs you own. Klopp might rotate, so it might be safe to bench Fabinho, Robertson and co.

Predictions: A 4-1 win for L’pool.

 

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Spurs v Bournemouth

15:00 GMT

Spurs are on a roll so far. Their 6-2 trouncing over the Toffees announced them as a potential title threat and they will certainly won’t hope to slip up against the Cherries.

Harry Kane, their “deadly” striker, is amongst the goals again, Christian Eriksen, a force to be feared and Son, just magical.

Their defence however, hasn’t been at their absolute best, especially with the absence of Jan Vertonghen, something Eddie Howe will be keen to exploit.

Callum Wilson has recovered from his earlier niggles, and David Brooks is improving steadily, so expect a fine match from the Wembley.

FPL Tip: Sell Dele Alli. His hamstring might be a problem to Mauricio Pochettino and your mini-league.

Prediction: Spurs to win 3-2

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Man Utd v Huddersfield

15:00 GMT

Solskjaer will be looking to build on his fine victory in Wales. He delivered what Manchester United have been craving for for years, fluent attacking football from the first minute.

Fans will want this mentality to continue when Old Trafford welcome the Baby-faced assassin to OT on Wednesday afternoon, with his troops set to face a much stiffer test against a team which possess better defensive capabilities, topped with a good keeper in the form of Lossl.

However, with Pogba, Lingz, Rashford, and Tony Martial seemingly back to form, expect an exciting match at Manchester on Wednesday.

FPL Tip: Buy Marcus Rashford (7.0 pounds). Solskjaer style of football suites Marcus playing in the middle and expect him to reap rewards on Wednesday.

Prediction: 3-0 to Man United

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Watford v Chelsea

19:30 GMT

To crown it all off, The Hornets welcome the Blues to Vicarage Road, a match set to be a deciding factor to whether Maurizio Sarri can handle the festive period.

Players haven’t really been consistent during the past 30 days, with names including David Luiz, Jorginho, Kante, Giroud, Morata and Willian.

Watford will be a stern test to the Blues, with arguably the Leagues best keeper this season in goal, Doucoure marshalling the midfield and Troy Deeney back to full fitness.

Can Sarri and his men deliver what Chelsea needs? Or will Watford gain an extra three points as they hunt for a place in Europe.

Prediction: 1-1

FPL Tip: Buy Ben Foster (4.5 pounds). With Chelsea lacking the clinical edge in the final third, count on the English stopper to hand you some needed points.

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Merry Christmas to you all! Ho ho ho from Sergio and us! Keep reading.

HAZARDous: Chelsea’s most dangerous player?

Player Profiles, , ,

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Real Madrid fans still cringe when they here the sound of this name. After the departure of the world’s second best player (at least that’s what Francefootball says), many Los Blancos followers felt that Eden will be donning the famous royal white. Instead the bearded wizard succumbed after a talk with a chain-smoking, casual-wearing jolly tactician by the name of Sarri.

Hazard is still here, dazzling Stamford Bridge with his absurd pace, dazzling dribbles and deadly finishing Alvaro Morata’s been praying so earnestly for. Hazard has single carried the Blues so many times. It’s almost impossible to imagine them without the Garden of Eden.

Hazard follows the pack of the top scorers with 8 goals,6 with his right and two with his left, and leads the assists charts with 9, the highest in the league. He averages 51 passes per game,has created 12 chances and whipped in 39 crosses. This season he has a goal rate of 0.50, and a shot accuracy of 42%. He’s had two penalties and converted all two. He’s only missed 3 big chances, 3!!! His efforts have not gone unnoticed, as September Player of the Month was handed to him in, well, September.

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“Not your best picture pal.”

This year might not mean Hazard might win his third PL Crown, but it doesn’t mean that he’s not entitled to entertain. Should he keep his form up as a lethal finisher, Roberto Martinez might start playing him as a false nine. (Beware Romelu Lukaku!)

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“You wish bro”

The new baby-faced assassin: Everton’s Richarlison

Player Profiles, , , ,

 

The old holder of this title, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer (Remember him Bayern fans?), may not care about this prestigious title anymore, now he is the caretaker manager of Manchester United, so we feel we can hand his crown down to Everton’s number 30, Richarlison.

Arrived from Fluminense as a young, acne-invaded faced teen, the Brazilian flourished under the guidance of Portugal’s new Mourinho, Marco Silva at Watford, until said manager got tempted with the offer of managing the Toffees. We all know what happened next: The Hornets refused, Marco got his vengeance on the pitch, Marco got the sack, Richarlison’s performance dipped massively.

Then Marco got his dream job, and brought the son he never had to Goodison Park, and things are peachy for them at the moment, with the Toffees sitting comfortably in a Europa spot, and Richarlison banging the goals. He’s got 8 at the moment.

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The Brazilian also has a frightening goal rate of 0.53 per match. He’s scored 5 of those goals with his deadly right foot, two with his left and one header, showing he’s the full package. He’s had 37 shots so far, and 15 of them have been on target, meaning a shooting accuracy of 41%. He’s whipped in 20 crosses as well, and his eagerness for getting into attacking positions shows: He’s got 11 off-sides. He’s had three big chances missed, and his defensive stats are pretty decent too: 18 tackles, 7 interceptions and 19 clearances.

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The stats can safely say that the man’s doing just fine (and has got Cenk Tosun biting his fingernails.) We expect bigger things of this man who is impressing the blue side of Merseyside with goals, pace, trickery, consistency, flair and ice-cool finishing Ruud van Nistelrooy will be proud of. If he form keeps up, the goals will continue to flow, clubs will be knocking on his agent’s door, and he may be the answer for Brazil’s forward position as they bid for world domination. Ain’t that right Bobby?

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“Fat chance Ricky”

“Mour” needed: How it all went wrong for Jose

Manager Profiles

 

Forgive us, fans of other teams than Manchester United. You read enough about Manchester United yesterday, but this topic is too hot to ignore. This won’t happen again. I a“Shaw” you.

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That was horrible dude.

 

Eddy Woodward has given the Special One the boot. Who ever saw this coming should just raise their hand. It was like that story in the Bible, when a pagan king  saw strange writings on the wall, warning him of his inevitable ruin. Mourinho had it coming for him, with his terrible man-management of his biggest stars, splashing out huge sums of money each season, and his awful bus parking  tactics. Let’s dive in to see how it all went wrong for Mr. ‘Respect’.

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Mourinho arrived in Manchester United with big expectations. His new Instagram account had over 200 million followers in the space of nine hours, with it’s only photo a pic of his contract. He immediately set about buying big name stars: Zlatan, Pogba, Mkhitaryan and Bailly. Fans expected big of a new side with a new man at the helm, but he wasn’t able to take the Reds to the ultimate. They did conquer Europe, if by Europe, one means the Europa League, and won an action-packed League cup final against Southampton.

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“Happy”-Pharell Williams

 

Mourinho’s second season was not a total failure, but it did give hints of the end that was yet to come. United splashed 75 million pounds on Romelu Lukaku, and acquired Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof as well. United started with a bang, scoring for fun and playing well as a unit, but that faded off soon enough, and they virtually handed the title to their light blue wearing neighbours at the derby in December 2017. They were content with a second place finish on the PL table, but this success was due to solo performances from one player, not as a team: Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea, Paul Pogba at Man City, Jesse Lingard for the whole of December 2017, Ashley Young and Marcus Rashford at Liverpool, David de Gea almost every matchday.

Mourinho showed his grumpy side during the Christmas part of the season, when he grumbled about the transfer money not being enough, and City spending “striker money on full backs.”

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This current season was a season Man United fans were expecting to go trophy-hunting, but instead, they had to be the sufferers of Mourinho’s third season syndrome. He complained bitterly during pre-season, and got himself into a huge spat between the club’s biggest star. His relationship with Ed Woodward crumbled, and embarrassing results against the Hammers, Spurs, Brighton, Man City, Wolves and Liverpool along with his press conference outbursts got him the sack. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer now comes into the picture. Let’s see what the baby-faced assassin has to offer.

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Stole my dream job Ole.

 

 

“Pogbad?”: The Prem’s most inconsistent midfielder?

Player Profiles

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Take a good long stare at 21, or 22 year old Paul Pogba as a Bianconeri. Looks happy eh? Why shouldn’t he be? He won Serie A titles, Coppa Italias and played in a Champions League final. He also had the luxury of playing with some of the finest midfielders in the world back then: Marchisio, Vidal, Pirlo, the list goes on and on.

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Now feast your eyes on our man in red. Looks glum. This might probably change now that the Grumpy, erm, cough, I mean Special One has parted ways with the Red Devils, but it is safe to say that so far, “Pogbance” is not having the best of seasons.

Man United fans may have not predicted such a slump in form when the season started. Paulie scored a beaut of a penalty and bossed the midfield. Then things went downhill. A poor performance at the Amex, a horrible showing at the wings against Spurs, playing hollywood passes against West Ham, failing to mark Antonio Rudiger against Chelsea and not even featuring against the leaders when he was fit. There have been brighter days, like against Newcastle, The Toffees and Bournemouth, but its safe to say that this ain’t Paul.

If you unbelievers don’t take my honest word for it, ask Opta. He’s had 18 crosses this season, and only 17% have been successful. He’s lost a stunning 105 duels, and despite his powerful physique, has only won 27 duels. He has had 4 big chances missed, wheres N’golo Kante, who’s playing in a new role, has only had one. He has also created as many big chances as said Kante. He has also lost the ball constantly, sometimes due to showboating, like against Everton.

Pogba is a world class player, one of the best in the business. Probably his problem, might be pride, a low work ethic, or being managed by the wrong guy. We’ll see whether one of France’s best performers can find his form once more. United need him to.

Oh, and by the way, despite his dip in form, his Instagram is still top-notch .

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Rubbing it in, eh?

EdersONE: The EPL’s best keeper?

Player Profiles

For nine whole years (2007-2016), Joe Hart was Manchester City’s no.1, impressing the Etihad with superb reflex saves and his awesome ability to marshal the defenders in front of him, from Joe Lescott to Vincent Kompany.

Then Pep Guardiola came along, and for a reason I can’t comprehend (actually I do, Pep wanted a sweeper keeper), decided that Joe wasn’t to be his no.1, ans shipped him off to Turin, then to West Ham before offloading him to Burnley, where he is enjoying being the Clarets No.1. (Heaton, Pope, look on the internet on how to find new jobs. For your own careers sake).

During that period of time, the Tiki-Taka master had a pick of emerging sweeper keepers and first bought Claudio Bravo (Not the best signing you’ve made Pep) and then splashed 35 million pounds on a heavily tattooed, braces-wearing custodian by the name of Ederson Moraes.

Was it worth the gamble? Well, City won their third Premiership and Ederson added a new dimension to City’s game with his long-range passing and his calmness when on the ball. Go figure.

And this year, Mr Tattoos has proven that he ain’t no one-season wonder. This season, in terms of the keepers in the “Big 6”, he has allowed the second fewest goals(10), only bettered by Alisson(7).

He also has the 2nd most sweeper clearences(8), only bettered by Papa Hugo. He is the only keeper in PL History to have an assist after that long punt that reached Aguero against Huddersfield.

Ederson has had no errors leading to goals, whereas his compatriot ahead of him on the clean sheet list Alisson, has had two. He has the most high claims amongst the top six(9).

Because of the excellence of his defence, and his ability to read attacks before they happen, like that superb one against Citizen Kane, Ederson has made a few 29 saves, compared to his predecessor Hart’s 61. These are but a few reasons why Mr. Moraes is one of the best goalies in the league.

Other reasons why Brazil’s no.2 is one of the best in the biz:

  • His assist, obviously.
  • His emoji tattoo.
  • His wicked hairdo
  • His calmness on the ball.
  • He holds a Guinness World Record.

 

Data provided by Opta

Some info also from Wikipedia (Heh, heh,I rhymed.)

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Wicked tats man!