GameWeek 19 PL Preview

Half the season is gone within no time. The Premier league is in its most important stage of the season. The results in this crazy run of fixtures have decided many titles and relegation too. Its the Boxing Day and blockbuster contests are lined up. Let’s have a look at the teams as we approach GameWeek 19 in the league.

SPURS VS BRIGHTON

WILL THE SPURS BOUNCE BACK AFTER THE HURTING LOSS AGAINST CHELSEA?

The tie against Chelsea went from bad to worse and ended in a ugly loss to Frank Lampard’s side who went full on celebration with the fans after the game. A brilliant goal from Willian broke the deadlock before Gazzanigga took out Alonso with a poor attempted clearance to allow Willian to score from the spot and win the game. Jose would have been furious with his side and would like to see a proper response this boxing day.

The Seagulls on the other hand were narrowly edged out by the determined Sheffield side last time. They were good in large parts of the game but still ended up on the wrong side of the result. Being only 5 points off the drop zone will keep them on their toes and would like to get a favourable result against Spurs.

Last season ended 1-0 to the home side with Dele Alli scoring late on to settle the tie. The Spurs will be looking to get a similar result to get back on track.

SCORE PREDICTION: 3-0

BOURNEMOUTH VS ARSENAL

ONE STARTS HIS TERM WILL ANOTHER’S BE ENDED?

The cherries were very good against Burnley but their finishing let them down. They lost to a superbly headed finish by Rodriguez in the 89^th minute. The game was pretty ugly with half a dozen players receiving yellow cards in the game. They were able stop the rut last week with a win but again fell this time around. They would cherish meeting Arsenal at this point in time since this would be Mikel Arteta’s first match at the helm.

The Gunners have turned to one of the former players like Chelsea with Mikel Arteta coming in. He watched on from the stands last week against Everton where ironically, they were able to keep a clean sheet in the last game for Ljungberg. Arteta knows it isn’t an easy task to turn this Arsenal but he’s all they go right now. He will like to start off with a good result. The players know how important it is a game for them to impress the new boss.

Last season the fixture produced a classic with the result going the Gunners way but the game was a good watch for the neutrals with Aubameyang scoring the winner to give them a 1-2 win.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-2

CHELSEA VS SOUTHAMPTON

WILL DANNY INGS AND CO STOP THE BLUES AT THE BRIDGE?

Stamford Bridge will be buzzing this weekend especially after last week’s result. Willian had one of his best games in a Chelsea shirt and will be into many managers’ FPL teams now. Frank had his tactics spot on against Jose nullifying his full backs and hence attacking on the counter.  The apprentice outplayed the master and mustered an important win which was seen with his celebration post-match.

Southampton played one of their best games last weekend to get their much-needed win against the Villa side. Ings with two sublime finishes has already 11 for the season. With 3 wins in the last five the Saints are on the move up the table finally managing to get out of the drop zone last week. They would like Ings to keep firing to keep them in the Premier League.

The game here last season ended 0-0 largely thanks to the debutant Angus Gunn who saved Southampton numerous times to get the draw. Its not expected to remain the same this time.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-0

EVERTON VS BURNLEY

WILL CARLO BE THE MAN?

Welcome back to the Premier League Carlo Ancellotti! It was a long time in the offing as soon as he was sacked at Napoli. But this seems like a hurried decision from the Everton Board. If Carlo turns it around none of this will be spoken about but for now nobody is sure about this appointment. Ancellotti would like to get the teams rolling straight away at home. Just like Arsenal all the Everton players have a huge task in impressing the two-time PL winning manager.

Sean Dyche has his team where they have to be in the top half of the table. The late late win last time around was very important and their attitude is to be recognized. This side never gives up and somehow ends the season is a respectable position. They have a good chance to take points off the Everton side who earned a hard-fought clean sheet last time. This will be an interesting watch especially since the reverse fixture has Leighton Baines sent off with Burnley earning a hard-fought win at Turf Moor.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1

MANCHESTER UNITED VS NEWCASTLE

CAN OLE GET CONSISTENCY?

OGS: ” Pogba is the best all-round midfielder in the world“

Just like the we asked in the preview last week United continue to be the Robinhood for the Premier League. They were so poor last time losing 2-0 to the bottom side Watford. De Gea with a costly mistake with Aaron Wan Bissaka with a needless challenge giving the Hornets a penalty which Deeney slotted home easily to get the win. Their only benefit is the return of Paul Pogba who got a run out for 25 minutes. They will need him to provide the much-needed spark this week against the Magpies.

The Toon side won last week at home against Palace with Miguel Almiron finally scoring his first goal for the side after 9 months. The player who came from the MLS could not hide his happiness back and went on a wild celebration. Steve Bruce would be hoping this gives him much needed confidence to go on and score many more starting against the United of Manchester.

SCORE PREDICTION: 3-1

LEICESTER CITY VS LIVERPOOL

WILL BRENDAN DERAIL LIVERPOOL TITLE SURGE?

The boxing day fixtures comes to a close with this blockbuster fixture. The leaders didn’t play last week and it was a good chance for the Foxes to close the gap on them but they were outplayed by the City side who were hungry for a win. In spite of taking the lead with Vardy scoring again, they let in 3 goals to lose the tie hence still remaining 10 points behind the leaders having played one game more. They know very well that a loss on Boxing Day all but ends their title leaving Liverpool the sole proprietors of the Premier League. They will be hoping to pounce on the fatigue of the Liverpool players who returned to Liverpool after playing in Qatar for the Club World Cup.

The league leaders are over the moon with the win in the Club World Cup. They became the first English side to win the continental treble in the same season. This adds to their trophy cabinet with this trophy being one of the two missing. Now they have only one trophy that hasn’t been in their cabinet, the most elusive one that they are after. In spite of not playing last week their lead remains in tact and they know that a win against Leicester will extend their lead to 13 points putting them in the drivers’ seat to win the title. But nothing is done until its firmly done and dusted. Jurgen will be telling this to his team on a daily basis to keep them on their feet.

The reverse fixture was edged by Liverpool 2-1 in the dying minutes via a penalty which Milner slotted home with nerves of steel to seal the tie.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-2 

WOLVES VS MANCHESTER CITY

Just when we all though the gas in the tank of the Wolves players is about to run out, they came back from behind to win at Carrow Road last week with goals from Saiss and Gimenez. This Wolves side never backs down to any challenge and always give it their best. That was evident in the reverse fixture as well where they beat the City side to hand them their first loss of the season. Nuno’s team are well drilled and oiled to face any team and they are ready to do the double against City for the first time ever.

Pep Guardiola was urging the fans to drive his team forward last week against the Foxes and that they did. They outplayed the Foxes to get the win with Mahrez and De Bruyne shining again for the Cityzens. De Bruyne is producing a masterclass every game giving the City side with an outside chance at the title. They will be hoping that Liverpool drop off just like they did last time around so that they can pounce. But for now, City needs to keep registering wins and hope for the best.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-3

TAP INS

1. Villa vs Norwich is an important match for both the teams with both needing wins to get out of the drop zone.
2. West Ham are only four point above the drop zone and need a win themselves to move above in the table. Palace are nearly in the top half of the table in spite of having no wins in the last three. They would love to stop the rut.
3. Sheffield vs Watford promises to be a good watch since the Hornets are coming into this game on the back of a good win against United. They will try to stop the high-flying Sheffield side.

With blockbuster matches to look forward to I hope the preview gave you a fair view of how the teams are placed for GameWeek 19. We’ve also got a host of other stuff for GameWeek 19 with the differential picks and captain picks. Be on the lookout for that and have a Great Christmas. Don’t forget the deadline for GameWeek 19.