VERY TRICKY THIS WEEKEND: I’ve looked at all 10 games this week and bar Man City against Swansea (which I will leave out), I think they are all extremely tough calls! There really are no sure bets this season in comparison to years past. It has become very difficult for us punters with the amount of upsets there has been.
The Premier League looks to be stronger than ever from top to bottom, but the top teams have regressed in comparison to other top teams across Europe. This leads to more and more upsets each week, but that adds to the enjoyment of trying to win some money.
GOALS TO BEAT DEFENCE
I like Everton to go to Norwich and get a win this weekend. This Everton side has goals galore in it, between the finishing of Lukaku and Kone as well as the trickery on the wing of Delofeu and the creativity of Barkley in the centre of the park. On the other side, you have Norwich, who essentially have none of these things.
Norwich have really tried to shut up shop in every game since shipping six against Newcastle earlier this season, and I think their results have showed that. They have had some good draws against the likes of Arsenal, but could you actually back them to go and win a game? I don’t think so. The defensive approach won’t work against this Everton side who look to go all out attack regardless of the opposition.
While that all out attack approach can is great to watch, it has lead to some very frustrating results for Everton fans and punters alike. There are many games they have completely dominated and not being able to eek out a win. Teams have pegged them back too often this season, as I really believe they have the quality to be challenging for a Champions League spot. Palace last Monday is a perfect example of this, they had so many chances, played excellently and only came out of the game with a draw. They were unlucky with so many chances, but they gave up an incredibly soft goal and ended up chasing the game and struggling to get the draw.
Despite these frustrations I still fancy them to beat Norwich. The norwich approach will really struggle against teams like Everton, they need to offer something going forward if they are to compete, because it will be extremely difficult to stop Everton from scoring.
CHAMPIONS OVER LEADERS
I will accept I was wrong about Leicester last weekend. I expected their run to come to an end against a bit of a sleeper team in Swansea, but after five minutes in that game I knew my prediction had gone out the window. Then you look at Chelsea, and you expect them to beat Bournemouth as they looked like they were coming to form, and they end up being beaten at home (somewhere that has been a fortress in years past).
This Chelsea team is crazy this year, they have looked like coming back to form on numerous occasions, only to disappoint. All the same, watching them recently I think it is clear they are playing better football than they were at the start of the season. If I was to pick one manager who was to do a tactical number on Leicester it would be Mourinho. Sure things aren’t right, but he is without a doubt a great manager. I think he will leave Terry out because of Vardy’s pace, and I don’t expect to see Fabregas either (I think he will sit a lot for the rest of the season).
Having bundles of energy in midfield seems to be what is working best for Chelsea, so I expect to see much more of Ramires and Matic in the centre from here on out. This is exactly what Leicester have in there team as well, but it is an area that I think Chelsea can have the edge. I am also going to go out on a limb and say I see Hazard breaking his deadlock this weekend. He has been much more interested in games recently, and it is only a matter of time before his class shows through.
I would really like to see Leicester win again, they have been so refreshing this season. There have been so many teams who have had excellent starts and then tailed off towards Christmas, and I would love it if Leicester don’t fall into that bracket. But my feeling is that Chelsea will make it tough on Leicester and scrape a big win.
BOURNEMOUTH HAVE ANOTHER SHOCK IN THEM
Although Bournemouth are in the midst of a relegation battle at the moment they seem to be somewhat flying high after a draw against Everton and a big win at Stamford Bridge last weekend. All seemed lost for them a couple of weeks ago, but now there is hope for them to stay in the top flight.
Now on to Man United, I’ve been trying to convince myself all year that they are more than just an average team, but by now I am done trying to convince myself. They are very groggy in midfield, which leads to them being poor going forward. I think Martial is a good player, I am not convinced by Depay as of yet, and we all know how Rooney has suffered this season.
They are also riddled with injuries (as are Bournemouth), and even with the resources of United, with the list of players they have out it would be difficult not to struggle. Smalling looks like he could struggle to be fit for the weekend which makes their defense very average, considering they are already missing Rojo, Shaw and so many already. Schweinsteiger is out in midfield which could actually benefit them as he is a shadow of his former self.
I’ve seen Bournemouth a few times this season, against Newcastle, Everton and Chelsea last week, and if they play to their ability they definitely have the beating of what is left of this United team.
