GameWeek 23 PL Preview

The Premier League is back with GameWeek 23. All the teams had a fair share of time to train after the hectic festive fixtures ended. The leaders won against Spurs last time to extend their lead with Leicester losing to the Saints and being overtaken by City. The Midfield pretty much remains the same but Watford have climbed out of the drop zone for the first time. Lets have a look at the teams ahead of GameWeek 23.

Watford vs Spurs

Watford are on a dram run after the appointment of Nigel Pearson and that continued last week too when they beat Bournemouth at the vitality. They have won 4 and drawn 1 of their last five. This has brought them out of the drop zone for the first time in 3 months. Troy Deeney has 4 goals in his last five PL appearances and looks set to continue that run. Doucoure has scored twice and assisted once in the last two matches. On the other hand, they have let in only two goals in the last five matches keeping 3 CS in the process. Nigel seems to be the man now.

Jose dropped dead on the ground when Lo Celso couldn’t divert the cross into the net. His team played very little football and wanted to nick something towards the end. Kane’s injury has added to the problems as well and he doesn’t Son to the striker role. They have only won 1 in the last five in the PL with three losses as well. This team is in transition but will need to show much more than the last game for the fans to get behind Jose and his squad.   They have conceded 7 goals in the last five league games. The cheque book bill be sent for the verifications.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1

Arsenal vs Sheffield

Mikel Arteta has been the right appointment as far as the initial signs are considered. Lat week they ended up drawing with Crystal Palace where Aubemeyang picked up his read card and will be suspended for 3 games. Now Arsenal have to do with Lacazette to lead the attack. This time they face a stern test against the Blades who are above them in the table. The Gunners have been drawing games too often and will need to rectify that.

The Blades were lucky to win the last game since a goal-keeper error let McBurnie in on goal. The have had a tremendous season. They have only lost twice in the last 5, the losses being against the top two teams. Chris Wilder’s team have been fluent in attack and off late their defence has not been up to the mark. They have shipped in 6 goals in the last 5 games and are failing to keep clean sheets.  With Arsenal short of firepower with Aubameyang being absent, it will be a good time for the Sheffield defence to grind out a result at the Emirates.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1

Man City vs Crystal Palace

The City team have picked up steam again after the minor setbacks last month. They dismantled Aston Villa last weekend with Aguero getting a hat-trick, making it the most hat-tricks in the PL. Although their defence is not at its best but the impending return of their CB Laporte will shore it up. Their attack is full of fire at the moment and have no intentions of stopping. De Bruyne has the most assists with 13 already this season, while Mahrez and B.Silva are producing stellar performances week in week out. MAN CITY: Juggernaut!

This Crystal palace team are in the top half of the table. But draws in all their previous 3 games have hampered their good season a bit. The oldest nad most experienced manager has his team right where they need to be with attack and defense but they’ve been leaving it late frequently to get the draw. They would like to cause an upset just like they did last time with that Townsend goal of the season. With Ayew and Zaha having 9 goals and 4 assists combined, Benteke is finding it hard to get into the team, the man they bought back for £32m. But they don’t need him at the moment. Eagles are flying high.

SCORE PREDICTION: 3-2

Newcastle vs Chelsea

Newcastle did stop the rot last time out when they earned a draw at the Molineux. Miguel Almiron seems to be at the form of his life with 3 goals in his last 4 games after going a year without scoring. Steve Bruce’s side have all their steam taken out and now have no wins in the last four games. This week might be a good time to get a win with Chelsea not very good on their travels. The Magpies defence have been letting in a lot of decisive goals lately. They have let in 9 in their last 4 games. They need that to stop to get a few results in.

Chelsea have been flying off late again. They are managing to stay ahead of United in the race for the top 4. Tammy Abraham is back at the goals and they have started to get tight at the back again. They have kept 4 CS in the last 7 games conceding only thrice in the process. Lampard would like this to continue with FA Cup and the Champions league to look forward to as well.

SCORE PREDICTION: 0-3

Burnley vs Leicester

Burnley are hanging in the balance just out of the drop zone because of their early season performances. They have lost all their last four games and find themselves only 3 above the drop. Sean Dyche is the next in line to get the sack if things doesn’t change at Turf Moor. With the game being at home, Burnley desperately need something to keep their manager for little longer. They have let in 8 goals in the last four games and its almost been a month since they last won.

Leicester had a surprise loss last time against Southampton who were flying. The saints were just too powerful for the Foxes, who dismantled them last time 9-1 at St. Mary’s. Vardy came back into the team last weekend after taking a break for two days. This loss allowed Man City to go above them in the table and are now 16 points behind the leaders. They need Vardy to fire again this weekend to get back to winning habits against the Burnley side struggling to get wins.  

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-2

Liverpool vs Manchester United

The biggest rivalry in the world of football is back. Liverpool are flying away with the title, now have a 16-point lead with a game in hand. Their attack is not at its fluid best but they score decisive goals and their defence takes care of the rest.  They have kept 6 CS in a row, their first such in a decade. They are air-tight at the back now and with peak performances yet to be touched this encounter promises to be a cracker. Last time when Liverpool faced United Ole got his tactics spot on as he nullified the impact of both the full backs and stopped the crosses coming in. Liverpool were lucky to get the draw at Old Trafford. This time Liverpool with the form that they are in would like to put United to the sword.

United on the other hand will bank upon MGR once again to get them a win at Anfield and hand Liverpool their first defeat of the season. They cut open Norwich last week with Rashford getting a brace. Rashford has already scored 14 goals and has 5 assists this season. He is a doubt for the game with a fitness test late on Sunday expected. United haven’t won at Anfield for a long time and would like to change that record. Will they take down their arch rivals?

SCORE PREDICTION: 4-1

TAP INS:

• Brighton have been blowing hot and cold off late with a couple of wins in their last 5. They sit 14^th in the table and welcome Aston Villa this weekend who dropped into the relegation places after Watford went above them. Villa have to start getting results now. Brighton as well are only 3 points above the drop and Graham Potter would want his team to do well.
• Norwich welcome the Cherries in the battle of the drop. Both the teams need wins to get their season rolling again else both are destined for the drop.
• The Saints welcome the Wolves to St. Mary’s where they’ve been nothing short of phenomenal this season. They have won 4 and drawn one in their last 5 games in the PL. Danny Ings has been the man. They face the Wolves side who are wounded after getting only one point from their last 3 games. Nuno would like his team to get back to winning ways and stay within the Europa places.
• The Hammers welcome Everton being only a point above the drop zone. They dismantled Bournemouth in Moyes’s first game but lost last time due to an error by their GK. They need wins desperately.  

LAST TIME THEY MET

With blockbuster matches to look forward to I hope the preview gave you a fair view of how the teams are placed for GameWeek 23. We’ve also got a host of other stuff for GameWeek 23 with the differential picks and captain picks. Be on the lookout for all FPL related content on the website.