Matchday 15
Let’s recap what happened last week on Matchday 14. If you’re not interested in the past then skip to the next paragraph for a look at this coming weekend’s fixtures. If you’re not interested in the future then this isn’t the blog for you. Graham Potter walked back into the Amex and got stomped by his former club. Newcastle continue to impress. Liverpool continue to disappoint. Everton and Fulham are somewhere in the middle, not impressing, not disappointing, just drawing. Arsenal jumped back into first place with a big win and once again Manchester United win in a close one.Â
Match week 15 should be a good one with a few big name clubs going head to head. Mayyybeee you should consider skipping church this Sunday because there is fun to be had from 7:00 AM to 1:30 PM. The only game on Saturday that we will be covering is Everton vs Leicester. On Sunday Chelsea will look to bounce back against Arsenal, the evenly matched squads of West Ham United and Crystal Palace will fight for some points, Aston Villa will be glad to be back home at Villa Park as they take on Manchester United, poor Southampton will run into a castle wall as they welcome Newcastle United to St. Mary’s Stadium, and Tottenham will face off against a struggling Liverpool side.
So, with that being said, let’s take a look at our Matchweek 15 fixtures.
Everton (12th) vs Leicester City (18th)Â
Date: Saturday, 11059/2022 at 1:30 PM EST
Pitch: Everton – Goodison Park, Liverpool, England
Odds: | HOME: +135 | TIE: +230 | AWAY: +200 |
Current Form: | Everton (DWLLL) | Leicester City (LWWDL) |
Head to Head:Â
| Leicester | 1-2 | Everton | 05/08/2022 | Premier League |
| Everton | 1-1 | Leicester | 04/20/2022 | Premier League |
| Everton | 1-1 | Leicester | 01/27/2021 | Premier League |
| Leicester | 0-2 | Everton | 12/16/2020 | Premier League |
| Everton | 2-1 | Leicester | 06/01/2020 | Premier League |
The Word
Leicester City are back in the relegation zone after losing at home to Manchester City last weekend. Although, they did only lose 1-0 to the champions with Danny Ward looking excellent in goal for Leicester. Meanwhile, Everton moved up to 12th in the table after drawing against Fulham extending their unbeaten streak to two in the Premier League. Everton’s defense is still proving to be a tough nut to crack and they have not conceded a goal in their last two matches.
I could see this one playing out as a draw, but it’s hard for me not to go with the home side here. Especially since Everton is unbeaten against Leicester in their previous 5 Premier League matchups, with 3 wins and 2 draws. Very rare for both teams not to be on the score sheet though.
PREDICTION: EVERTON 2 – 1 LEICESTER CITY
Chelsea (6th) vs Arsenal (1st)Â
Date: Sunday, 11/06/2022 at 07:00 AM EST
Pitch: Chelsea – Stamford Bridge, London, England
Odds: | HOME: +160 | TIE: +240 | AWAY: +170 |
Current Form: | Chelsea (WLWDD) | Arsenal (WLDWW) |
Head to Head:
| Arsenal | 4-0 | Chelsea | 07/23/2022 | Friendly |
| Chelsea | 2-4 | Arsenal | 04/20/2022 | Premier League |
| Arsenal | 0-2 | Chelsea | 08/22/2021 | Premier League |
| Arsenal | 1-2 | Chelsea | 08/01/2021 | Friendly |
| Chelsea | 0-1 | Arsenal | 05/12/2021 | Premier League |
The Word
This is arguably the biggest game of the weekend. Chelsea look to get back into Champions League places and Arsenal will be looking to stay at the top of the Premier League table. Arsenal has had a bit of success in league play against Chelsea, winning 3 of the last 4 meetings and back to back wins at Stamford Bridge.
Graham Potter faced his first defeat as Chelsea manager last weekend so you know he will be doing what it takes to get the taste of winning back in his mouth. I feel like he showed too much confidence against Brighton by fielding a weaker side, and two own goals by his team also didn’t help. Chelsea have not loast a game at home so far this season and I think that trend will continue. Potter will not get a win, but he will get a point.
PREDICTION: CHELSEA 2 – 2 ARSENAL
West Ham United (13th) vs Crystal Palace (10th)
Date: Sunday, 11/06/2022 at 09:00 AM EST
Pitch: West Ham United – London Stadium, London, England
Odds: | HOME: -110 | TIE: +240 | AWAY: +320 |
Current Form: | West Ham United (LWWLD) | Crystal Palace (WLWDW) |
Head to Head:Â
| Crystal Palace | 2-3 | West Ham | 01/01/2022 | Premier League |
| West Ham | 2-2 | Crystal Palace | 08/28/2021 | Premier League |
| Crystal Palace | 2-3 | West Ham | 01/26/201 | Premier League |
| West Ham | 1-1 | Crystal Palace | 12/16/2020 | Premier League |
| Crystal Palace | 2-1 | West Ham | 12/26/2019 | Premier League |
The Word
Crystal Palace picked up a narrow win last week against Southampton, while West Ham United saw their win streak come to end at Old Trafford. Both of these teams have been pretty even all season and they are only separated by two points in the standings so expect a tight one!
West Ham have only lost to Crystal Palace once in their last 5 league meetings and that loss came in 2019 at Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace will not be at Selhurst Park this time and unfortunately for them, they have not won a single away game this season. I expect a low scoring, hard-fought, match that West Ham will come out of victorious.
PREDICTION: WEST HAM UNITEDÂ 1 – 0 CRYSTAL PALACEÂ
Aston Villa (16th) vs Manchester United (5th)
Date: Sunday, 11/06/2022 at 09:00 AM EST
Pitch: Aston Villa – Villa Park, Birmingham, England
Odds: | HOME: +240 | TIE: +250 | AWAY: +110 |
Current Form: | Aston Villa (LWLLD) | Manchester United (WWDWD) |
Head to Head:
| Man. United | 2-2 | Aston Villa | 07/23/2022 | Friendly |
| Aston Villa | 2-2 | Man. United | 01/15/2022 | Premier League |
| Man. United | 1-0 | Aston Villa | 01/10/2022 | Eng. FA Cup |
| Man. United | 0-1 | Aston Villa | 09/25/2021 | Premier League |
| Aston Villa | 1-3 | Man. United | 05/09/2021 | Premier League |
The Word
Manchester United have found a rhythm, Aston Villa have not. Yes, Aston Villa have a new coach in Unai Emery but the Spaniard has not had enough time with his players for his tactics to have an impact just yet.Â
Manchester United are currrently on an 8 game unbeaten streak and have also had success against Aston Villa in Premier League play, going 11 in a row without a defeat at Villa Park. I expect Manchester United to extend their steak to 9 games unbeaten, but once again it’ll be a close one.
PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA 0 – MANCHESTER UNITED 1
Southampton (17th) vs Newcastle United (4th)
Date: Sunday, 11/06/2022 at 09:00 AM EST
Pitch: Southampton – St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, England
Odds: | HOME: +290 | TIE: +270 | AWAY: -110 |
Current Form: | Southampton (LDWDL) | Newcastle United (WWWDW) |
Head to Head:
| Southampton | 1-2 | Newcastle | 03/10/2022 | Premier League |
| Newcastle | 2-2 | Southampton | 08/28/2021 | Premier League |
| Newcastle | 3-2 | Southampton | 02/06/2021 | Premier League |
| Southampton | 2-0 | Newcastle | 11/06/2020 | Premier League |
| Southampton | 0-1 | Newcastle | 03/07/2020 | Premier League |
The Word
Newcastle are probably the most in-form team in the Premier League at the moment. They have only lost 1 game this season and are currently on an 8-game unbeaten streak. Meanwhile, Southampton have only one win in their last 8 matches. Newcastle are 4th in the league in goals scored this season and Southampton have the 3rd worst goal differential in the league.Â
The stats just keep on stacking up against Southampton and I don’t expect this game to be very close. Newcastle have won 4 of the last 5 Premier League meetings between the two teams and have also picked up 2 of the last 3 at St. Mary’s Stadium.Â
PREDICTION: SOUTHAMPTON 0 – 3 NEWCASTLE UNITED
Tottenham (3rd) vs Liverpool (9th)
Date: Sunday, 11/06/2022 at 11:30 AM EST
Pitch: Tottenham – Tottenham Hostpur Stadium, London, England
Odds: | HOME: +220 | TIE: +260 | AWAY: +115 |
Current Form: | Tottenham Hotspur (WWDLL) | Liverpool (WLWLW) |
Head to Head:
| Liverpool | 1-1 | Tottenham | 05/07/2022 | Premier League |
| Tottenham | 2-2 | Liverpool | 12/19/2021 | Premier League |
| Tottenham | 1-3 | Liverpool | 01/28/2021 | Premier League |
| Liverpool | 2-1 | Tottenham | 12/16/2020 | Premier League |
| Tottenham | 0-1 | Liverpool | 01/11/2020 | Premier League |
The Word
Tottenham were coming off of 2 Premier League losses in a row and were extremely close to making it 3 losses in a row last week against Bournemouth. They have 3 losses in the Premier League this year and all of them are to teams in the top 5 of the table. Could they lose to another one of the Big 6 teams in Liverpool? I think so.
Liveprool are unbeaten in 9 previous meetings against Tottenham, winning on 6 of those occasions. After suffering two losses in a row, the pressure is on Liverpool and they need to get things somewhat back on track. I might regret this decision but I could see Liverpool picking up much needed 3 points this weekend.Â