EPL - 2018/19 - Game Week 17

Tis the season to be jolly! December and the Christmas can make or break teams as the fixtures pile up. There will be injuries and suspension among others. Last weak brought some interesting situation and results. Liverpool up the ante with an impressive 4-0 away win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. 

The Reds were full of vitality and the result was vital. Bournemouth has been at their best this season so it can't be an easy place to visit but Liverpool were in control but firstly Alisson Becker showed what Liverpool has been missing all this time and should have been here few seasons ago. Virgil van Dijk has been the other reason and even with Joe Gomez injured they now have the best defence in the Premier League as the stats showed. 16 matches and 6 conceded and now owned their best record in a season with 42 points. If their defence were impregnable, their midfield displayed the potential with James Milner collecting his 500th games in the Premier League. Naby Keita and Fabinho started together the first time and are capable of more. Bobby Firmino did not scored but he has two assists. Shaqiri did his job with aplomb and oh Mohamed Salah is finally back to his brilliant best! His second was trademark and his third was incredible. Even when he was tripped he did not go down but determined to finish the job. He drew and beaten the goalkeeper twice before flicking into goal past Ake. This should be their best game so far. They went again...to Anfield for their biggest match in the Champions League against Napoli where they have to win to qualify and it is no easy task as Napoli are a strong team. The Reds have shown in this 1-0 win to make it to the last 16 that they are now a big team with pedigree to make magical European nights at Anfield and perhaps win their first title after so many years but there are another 22 matches to go. 

Meanwhile Arsenal wobbled a little as Huddersfield played almost the perfect game to get at least a point until Aubameyang managed to cross over a yawning goal for Lucas Torreira to score with an acrobatic bicycle kick. Torreira is now the Gunners' most important and in-form player.

There was no Sarri-ball at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea showed that Manchester City could be beaten thus ending City's unbeaten run this season. Only Liverpool remains unbeaten. This is significant. Will City have the same belief of invincibility. Will Chelsea be lifted up high from here on? Can Liverpool maintained their unbeaten run inspired bu their Napoli win? 

Manchester City v Everton - City played well but lost at Chelsea. They will not suddenly become a bad team and shall go on to play well and win again. Everton are good this season but could not find a way to beat Watford even as Richarlison scored and Digne curled a free-kick special. The Toffees have dangerous players like Sigurdsson and Richarlison who could score. Though Everton have not won in three matches, they have previously held Chelsea 0-0 at Stamford Bridge, the same venue that City faltered (0-2). City could not afford to drop points again and would seek to get three here at home. Everton could actually surprise but City should get a win here. 2-1. 

Crystal Palace v Leicester - Palace are nowhere near their best of last season. Even Zaha has faded into oblivion. It is tough for Roy Hodgson as his team lies two points above relegation. Leicester played 4-3-3 last week against Spurs without the injured Jamie Vardy and lost 0-2. While the Foxes are in 9th, they didn't do too well in their last two matches. However, they are more likely to me to score and to win. 1-2. 

Huddersfield v Newcastle - Huddersfield played to an almost perfect plan to foil Arsenal last week but fell 0-1 away when Lucas Torreira scored a special goal from Aubameyang's hard work. They were rather unfortunate. Newcastle surprisingly faltered at home (1-2) to Wolves after a series of wins. The Terriers are 18th with 10 points and they have lost all their last three matches by one goal margin. They will need a little luck. The Magpies' 3 wins came to nought and have not won in three, they have even lost to Wolves at home last week. It is very important for Huddersfield to win here and they should. 1-0.

Tottenham v Burnley - Tottenham continued their march and won 2-0 at Leicester. They have just held Barcelona 1-1 away to qualify for the Champions League last 16. Their only blip was the loss to Arsenal recently. Burnley have not won in four matches before their 1-0 home success against Brighton and they are not at the level of last season. Spurs are too strong right now for Burnley to visit. Harry Kane should look to increase his tally. 3-1.

Watford v Cardiff - Watford played well to hold Everton away. Cardiff were even better as they won 1-0 over Southampton. Now they are the best team under 20 points. The Hornets have forgotten how to win as their last five read DLLLD while Cardiff's is WLWLW. While Watford have the tools to win at home, Cardiff are tough to crack. 1-1.

Wolves v Bournemouth - Wolves' win away to Newcastle lifted them back to 10th position. Bournemouth should not be faulted when they lost 0-4 at home to Liverpool as it was an exquisite performance by the Reds especially Salah and Bournemouth have always set up to play positive, passing and attacking soccer. They did give Liverpool a few frights. Wolves have returned to winning ways with two wins in a row including Chelsea at home and Newcastle away. They are going to be strong at home hosting visiting Bournemouth. The Cherries despite doing so well have lost four and won only one in five matches and need to work on their belief to regain confidence. But then their defeats were caused by Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool. Eddie Howe remains a very good English and young manager with a bright future. Bournemouth will always score. So I think it is a high scoring draw. 2-2.

Fulham v West Ham - This London Derby offer little reprieve for Fulham who got crushed 1-4 by Manchester United and now facing a West Ham side that have won three in a row - a feat that has not happened for quite sometime. The Cottagers did well when they held Leicester 1-1 at home two matches ago so unless the Hammers raised their away game like they did against Newcastle (3-0 away) they may have some difficulty but they not only won their last three but in each they have scored 3 goals per game - 3-1 v Cardiff and 3-2 v Crystal Palace. It is only Claudio Ranieri's few game in charge. He certainly needs a bit more time to ring in change. 2-3.

Brighton v Chelsea - Brighton succumbed 0-1 to Burnley last week and now host Chelsea who became the first team this season to have beaten Manchester City (2-0). Kante and David Luis stepped up to score against City last week with Hazard providing both assists. Chelsea have only lost twice till now 1-3 to a splendid Tottenham and 1-2 surprisingly to a resurgent Wolves both away. Brighton at home could pose a challenge to any team so Chelsea will be made to work hard. 1-2.

Southampton v Arsenal - Southampton fell short when they went down 0-1 away to Cardiff and now host unbeaten Arsenal (since they lost their 2 opening games). The Saints are second from bottom and now face a gigantic task. Arsenal are on such a fine run and in fact I think they are the most attractive side in the league now. You will know what I mean if you had watched their game against Tottenham where the Gunners were magnificent. They are one of the best attacking team in the league. Saints new boss Austrian Ralph Hasenhuttl certainly have a tough challenge at hand. He was signed to keep them up and to rebuild the team for the future. Huddersfield made Arsenal sweat last week. Not this time for the Saints. 1-3.

Liverpool v Manchester United - Everything worked perfectly in that away game against Bournemouth. Salah's quality shone brightly and now has 10 goals in 16 matches. His first was opportunist reacting fast to a Firmino shot that was parried out. The second was typically Salah but the 3rd was gloriously Messi-ish. Alisson is a title-winning kind of goalkeeper as he saved Liverpool during critical moments and did it again against Napoli. The result will spur the Reds. They now have officially the best defence in the league having conceded only 6 goals in 16 matches while United has shipped 26 goals. You do expect them to keep a clean sheet each time but now they face injuries with Gomez and Matip out. You are also seeing Fabinho and Keita ready at a critical stage. Salah was at his brilliant best last week. 

Manchester United put on a professional performance against Fulham for a 4-1 win but they have been leaking goals. David De Gea has been their best player for a few seasons which summed up their problem. Do note that United always raise their games when they face Liverpool and they will look to try and be the first team to defeat Liverpool. In their last two visits to Anfield ended 0-0 and that was Jose Mourinho's plan - not to play. I reckon this time Liverpool will be too strong playing a United that have just lost 1-2 to Valencia away. 2-0.