Round 16
I only predicted one result correctly...wow. There were a lot of upsets okay!
Saturday Dec. 14
Manchester City vs Arsenal
Probably the current best two teams in the EPL at the moment will go head to head Saturday. They both had Champions League matches midweek but these teams have such deep benches that I don't think it will affect them too much. Manchester City pulled off a miracle by beating the current champions, Bayern Munich, 3-2 on their home turf, truly stunning. Arsenal are playing Napoli at home while I am writing this and it is 0-0 but I think Arsenal should just win that one. Manchester City have not been good away from home in the EPL this season and it showed by tying Southampton at St. Mary's 1-1 last week. Arsenal slipped a little bit by tying an on fire Everton side 1-1 as well but they were at home. City looks like a completely different team when they are motivated and at home and I think they will bring their best on Saturday, so I am going to go with a City win, and they will do it pretty comfortably I think.
Prediction: 2-0
Cardiff vs West Brom
Both of these teams suffered losses that will have put them in the dumps for a while. Cardiff lost to current promotees Crystal Palace and WBA at home to Norwich. Both of these teams are in desperate need to get a win this weekend. Cardiff are beginning to lose the edge they had at the beginning of the season. WBA are in a slump but I expect that they will get out of it eventually and push for a top half finish. I am going to go with a narrow WBA win as Cardiff will continue to slip down the table to relegation.
Prediction: 0-1
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
Chelsea suffered heartbreak due to a goal from on-loan winger Assaidi from Liverpool/Stoke which made Mourinho admit that they are in a defensive crisis. I agree with him, the only part of the squad that is looking good is the wings at the moment. That said, I still think they have it in them to get all three points against a resurgent CP. Palace beat Cardiff at home 2-0 last week which I'm sure has them on cloud nine but they will be put back down after this week. Chamakh and Jerome are beginning to show their worth but I don't think they have the quality to score against Chelsea at home, even in their current funk.
Prediction: 2-0
Everton vs Fulham
Both of these teams got good results last week. Fulham beat a sad Aston Villa side at home 2-0 thanks to some amazing work by Berbatov. Everton did not win but they got a deserved point from their match at the Emirates. Everton are very strong at home currently and I expect them to keep on their current streak for at least a while. Fulham are still poor and unless Berbatov pulls off another amazing performance I think this will be an easy win for Everton.
Prediction: 2-0
Newcastle vs Southampton
This week has quite a few interesting games and this will be one of them. Both teams are vying to finish in the top 6 and securing a spot in next season's Europa Cup. Southampton started really strong but after going head to head with the league's best they are beginning to falter a little bit recently. Newcastle started poor but are now enjoying the best form they've had in years. This usually happens with Newcastle though, they have one hot streak and then end up losing a bunch of games in succession but I think they will continue to do exceptionally for at least until the new year. Southampton need to get back on track. They have been playing very well still but not able to get the results they needed. They did well last week to get a home tie against Man City thanks to a fantastic goal from Osvaldo. This one is hard to call but I am going to play it safe and go with a tie.
Prediction: 1-1
West Ham vs Sunderland
Another six pointer here as both teams are vying to avoid relegation this season. West Ham started well but without a proper center forward besides the reject Carlton Cole they have suffered. Sunderland are beginning to play to their potential but are still not getting the right results. Their defense is to blame I believe as their forwards are finally beginning to put enough goals in, but the leaky defense is making it hard for them to win. West Ham suffered a humbling 4-1 loss at Anfield last week but they did not play horrible, they just fell victim to another fantastic performance by Luis Suarez. This one is also hard to predict and I am going to have to play it safe on this one as well by predicting a tie.
Prediction: 0-0
Hull "Tigers" vs Stoke City
Hull announced that they are indeed applying to change their name to "Hull Tigers," a change from Hull City A.F.C. with the nickname the Tigers. I blame the Americans for this bullshit. It just sounds stupid and I would expect such nonsense from my own countrymen but not in the U.K. Enough about that though. Hull are actually continuing to surprise everyone. They surprised Liverpool when they visited two weeks ago and won 3-1. They did a little worse this week with a 1-1 tie at the Liberty Stadium against Swansea, still a decent result though and Danny Graham, who hasn't scored in God knows when, finally got a goal and against his old team. Stoke weren't doing too hot but showed they are still a force to be reckoned with by beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge thanks to my bhoy Assaidi. Stoke will be full of confidence going into this match. Both of these sides are very organized, especially in defense. I expect this match to be very boring due to both teams' cautious approach to football. I am going to go with a win for Stoke though because of the confidence they have right now.
Prediction: 1-2
Sunday Dec. 15
Aston Villa vs Manchester United
I of course would love Villa to win this match but after they lost to a very poor Fulham side last week I just don't see it happening. United lost at home for the second time in a row, the first time for that to happen since 2001, last week against Newcastle. Both of these teams will want to bounce back but I don't think Villa have it in them. Benteke is looking a shadow of last season's performances and the team is beginning to slip down the table again. Man U barely beat Shahktar Donetsk in the Champion's League 1-0 thanks to a Jones strike but were a bit lucky to take all three points. Despite their lack luster performances they finish as their group leaders. I expect this to be a boring game as well and I expect United to take all three points.
Prediction: 1-3
Norwich vs Swansea
Is it just me or does it seem like Norwich are constantly on a rollercoaster ride? One week they are terrible(Liverpool) and the next they are brilliant(WBA). Swansea are a bit more consistent but they haven't been doing great so far this season, just doing enough to get by without too much trouble. Swansea tied Hull at home last week, a game they should have won on paper. Norwich should have lost but thanks to some good strikes and some good defense they defied the odds and bounced back after a beating at Anfield. When I think back to previous matches between these two I just have to go with the Swans, I don't exactly know why, but I am. Michu is back for them and will probably score in this match.
Prediction: 1-2
Tottenham vs Liverpool
Here it is, the really important and entertaining game of the round! Three points currently separate these two teams with Liverpool sitting in second on goal differential over Chelsea. Liverpool had a great two games at home winning 4-1 and 5-1 in a row with Suarez scoring 6 and causing one own goal as well. Last time Liverpool were away they lost to Hull 3-1 so that will be worrying. Liverpool will also we without Gerrard as he was injured last match and Henderson is a doubt as well, though I think he will recover in time. Flanagan has been starting as left back but I hope that Martin Kelly takes the spot as he came as a late sub for Flanagan last match. Tottenham played poorly but got the away win at Sunderland. I thought it should have been a tie but they got the job done. Things still aren't really clicking for the Spurs and they aren't that intimidating at home so this will be a pretty even match. I expect a lot of pointless possession from Tottenham but some good counters from Liverpool's Luis Suarez should produce a goal. If Liverpool can stay focused and strong defensively I think they will leave with all three points and will be on their way to a top 4 finish. These are the games that Liverpool must win in order to do so and will be a good indicator to see if we can do it this year or not.
Prediction: 0-1
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