Manchester United’s victory over Manchester City was the highlight of GW16. Everton shocked Chelsea with 3-1 victory which saw Duncan Ferguson make an instant impact while Ljungberg too got his first victory as Arsenal beat West Ham by 3 goals to 1. Son scored a brilliant goal, running and dribbling past Burnley players from his half as Spurs thumped the Clarets 5-0. GW16 was really exciting but we’ve got a few exciting fixtures in GW17 too. Also, with the Champions League and Europa League group stages coming to an end we’ll somewhat have a clear picture of how much players will feature for their respective clubs and a potential PL winner over the festive period that is if Leicester can manage to cut short that lead and Liverpool falter to the amount of fixtures they play.
1. AFC Bournemouth
M. Wilson (6.0)
Vs Chelsea (A)
Harry Wilson missed out on Bournemouth’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool as the loanee couldn’t face his parent club. Wilson has scored 6 times in 14 appearances for the Cherries who have been struggling this year. Chelsea’s last clean-sheet was against Palace on 9th November and put on a disaster-class of a performance against Everton.
2. Arsenal
M. Pepe (9.1), F. Lacazette (9.3), F. Aubameyang (10.8)
Vs Manchester City (H)
I’m just going to go with Arsenal’s forwards only as the Gunners are going to get battered at the back. Lacazette played the whole game while Martinelli came off the bench. I’m not sure who’s going to start among the two against City but if Martinelli starts it could be a gamble.
3. Aston Villa
M. Grealish (6.1)
Vs Sheffield United (A)
Aston Villa will face their Championship companions in what I personally feel could be a thrilling encounter. Jack Grealish has been dominating the headlines after being outdone my teammate McGinn in midfield. Grealish’s form has seen his price but facing Sheffield away will be a tough task for the 24 year old.
4. Brighton And Hove Albion
Vs Crystal Palace (A)
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5. Burnley
Vs Newcastle United (H)
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6. Chelsea
M. Pulisic (7.4), M. Kovacic (5.3), M. Mount (6.6), M. Willian (7.0), F. Abraham (7.9)
Vs Bournemouth (H)
Chelsea fielded they’re best eleven against Lille to make sure that the Blues qualified for the CL knock-out rounds. The players were extremely poor against Everton. Kovacic has been one of Chelsea’s stand out players this season. Pulisic has also upped his game and I’m expecting Chelsea to put on better a performance. The Blues have been strengthened at the back as Rudiger is fit and the German was crucial to Chelsea’s defence the last time he played.
7. Crystal Palace
M. Zaha (6.8)
Vs Brighton (H)
Wilfred Zaha can be quiet explosive but he has to remain focused. Palace have a good run of fixtures until New Years. I’m going to stick with Zaha because he’s got a good goal scoring record against Brighton.
8. Everton
M. Richiarlison (7.8), M. Sigurdsson (7.4)
Vs Manchester United (A)
Everton looked mean every time they threatened Chelsea’s defence. Richiarlison has scored 4 times in 5 games and should be the biggest threat Man Utd. Sigurdsson has been another player who’s always troubled United and along with Richiarlison the duo could create serious problems for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
9. Leicester City
GK. Schmeichel (5.4), D. Pereira (6.5), M. Maddison (7.8), F. Vardy (10.1)
Vs Norwich City (H)
I don't think I can say much about the foxes as they have surprised a lot of the big teams. Brendan Rodgers will have to be focused to keep putting pressure on Liverpool and every game will be like a must win game if they want to win the title once again. Vardy, without a doubt will be captained by most of the managers. Maddison and Pereira are the other players tipped to do well in GW17.
10. Liverpool
GK. Allison (6.0), D. Alexander-Arnold (7.3), M. Mane (12.3), M. Salah (12.2)
Vs Watford (H)
Liverpool play thrice in the space of 5 days and you could expect some heavy rotation. Trent, Salah and Mane will cause a lot of problems for Nigel Pearson who'll be facing the reds in his first game in charge. Salah has a good scoring record against Watford and all eyes will be on the Egyptian.
11. Manchester City
M. KDB (10.2), M. Mahrez (8.3), M. B. Silva (7.9), M. Sterling (11.8), F. Jesus (9.6)
Vs Arsenal (A)
Manchester City have the guns to completely tear up Arsenals midfield and defence. After the loss to United I don’t think Pep will want to slip down anymore and will prepare well for this game. Sterling featured for only a few minutes and De Bruyne was rested, Jesus scored a hattrick as ManCity beat D. Zagreb 4-1. This game could be a treat for the eyes.
12. Manchester United
M. James (6.1), M. Martial (7.6), F. Rashford (8.9)
Vs Everton (H)
United’s front three destabilised Manchester City’s midfield and defence last week and if they continue to play this way they could pose a threat to any defence in the world. But the attack lacks consistency as Martial often gets injured. United will have to once again be defensively solid as Everton were pretty scary while attacking and have seemed found back their enthusiasm to play football. Rashford is one of the hottest players in PL at the moment and his price is only going to rise if you don’t get him now.
13. Newcastle United
Vs Burnley (A)
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14. Norwich City
Vs Leicester City (A)
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15. Sheffield United
D. Lundstram (5.1)
Vs Aston Villa (H)
The ‘defender’ has blacked in his last 3 games but could provide his owners with points as the Blades are quiet strong at home games. Lundstrams tendency of moving up front while the attackers are in the box makes him dangerous to any opposition side and Villa have conceded in each and every away game.
16. Southampton
F. Ings (6.4)
Vs West Ham (H)
Danny Ings has scored in 5 consecutive games and could stretch that run to 6 as the Saints face West Ham who aren’t the best when it comes to away games and have a knack of putting on an average or below average performances against clubs in the bottom half of the table.
17. Tottenham Hotspurs
M. Alli (8.7), M. Moura (7.0), M. Son (10.0), F. Kane (10.9)
Vs Wolves (A)
A very, very tricky fixture for any club, especially those that belong to the ‘Top 6’ to play at the Molineux. However, Spurs beat Burnley 5-0 in GW16 and Jose had several key players either rested or had them feature for lesser minutes. Kane, Alli and Aurier were absent and Son started on the bench in the CL. The four of these players should be fully fit and in top shape. Kane was just absolutely brilliant against Burnley and could be one of the reasons for Spurs to bag all 3 points against Wolves at the Molineux.
18. Watford
Vs Liverpool (A)
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19. West Ham United
Vs Southampton (A)
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20. Wolverhampton Wanderers
F. Jota (6.1), F. Jimenez (7.5)
Vs Spurs (H)
Diogo Jota came off the bench to score a hattrick against Besiktas in the Europa League. Jota will garner a lot of attention after the Portuguese not only scored a hattrick in the UEL but also a double against Brighton last week which makes it 5 goals in 2 games. Playing at home will be a huge advantage for Wolves but I still feel Spurs can pull this off.
