EPL 2021/2022 - Game Week 16

When I predicted that West Ham could do a Liverpool to Chelsea, I took into consideration that the Blues have been very good defensively and hardly concede a goal so I went for a draw instead and very few people believe me. Not only did the Hammers not lose, they won and scored three times to clinch a win despite going behind twice! Well played and they have beaten Manchester United, City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea! The Hammers will go places. Newcastle have not won in 14 matches and I said they would beat Burnley and get their first win and it finally happened. A first win for Eddie Howe and the Magpies! 

The prediction for a 1-1 draw between Southampton and Brighton was also spot on. Liverpool could have won by more at the Molineux but as I have mentioned Wolves played so well and were nearly impossible to break down and at the end the Reds won by the narrowest 1-0 thanks to their talismanic striker Divock Origi who broke the deadlock in the 94th minute. Origi is so important and a proper legend in his own right having scored important goals like against Barcelona in the Champions League few seasons ago, against Everton and many more and now this! Liverpool and Origi have the penchant for dramatic late and precious goals. Each season he was expected to leave but he stayed and each season he produces magic like this! What a player!

While others were saying that City would easily march to a comfortable big win since they have beaten Watford previously 6-0, 8-0 and 4-0. Again I was spot on for the 3-1 win and what a player Bernado Silva is!  Meanwhile, after 15 games, Newcastle finally got their first win. What a relief for sure and maybe they are inspired now but the problem is their fixture list  next is a visit to Leicester then to Anfield to face Liverpool and next to host Manchester City followed by United. Extremely tall tasks ahead. Ralf Rangnick got off to a winning start and you could see the organization of the team and how they played although it was just 1-0 over Palace. 

Conte' Spurs finally won big but Harry Kane is having a very strange season. Top scorer and top assist provider of last season is having a drought. How good is Steven Gerrard to inspire Aston Villa from a winless team to a winning team in such a short space pf time. Everton won a very important tie over Arsenal which also suggested that the Gunners' run have been poorer of late. Let's have a great weekend of soccer!

Brentford v Watford - The Bees fighting qualities are always there but with Ivan Toney out there is a heavier burden for Mbeumo to carry. Even as the lost to City (1-3), the Hornets fought well with 11 shots and created 10 chances. Bees versus Hornets, who will come up winners? Both sides will miss key players in Sergi Canos and Ismaila Sarr respectively but Watford's Emmanuel Dennis and Joshua KIng has been quite prolific. Draw. 2-2.

Manchester City v Wolves - City are leading the table just a point more than Liverpool. They are just like doing their own things and collecting points. Last season, Wolves lost 1-4 and 1-3 but the previous season, Wolves won both ties - 3-2 at the Molineux and 2-0 at the Etihad. Wolves also served up a defensive masterclass at the Molinuex against Liverpool recently so Bruno Lage and his pack can make things difficult again here if they could maintain that form and Adam Traore can cause any team problems with his with incredible speed and power. City have no clean sheets conceding a goal in their last five matches. Wolves can surely surprise if City gets caught on an off day but they are too good and will probably get a win. 2-1.

Arsenal v Southampton - The rise of Arsenal has been halted with two back to back defeats at the hands of United and then Everton but they have a decent record versus the Saints. The Gunners record was 3-1, 0-1, 1-1, 2-0, 2-2, 2-0, 2-3 that was 3W2D2L. Arsenal will again be without their talisman Emile Smith-Rowe who is injured. Southampton have Romeu suspended and Bednarek injured. In the time Arsenal lost twice, Southampton drew twice so they are competitive and it won't be a stroll for the host. 1-1.

Chelsea v Leeds - Chelsea's defeat had to come sometime and it had to be West Ham who inflicted it. Mendy so often their hero was the villain. Meanwhile, Jorginho so highly-rated so often has been strange of late. Is he overrated? To make things worse, there was report of Kovacic being Covid-positive. Leaders in the Champions League group, Chelsea ended up second as they were held 3-3 away to Zenit, the second time in a row where they have conceded three goals in a single match. All is not well. Leeds dropped points at Elland Road despite having the lead and then they were trailing and it took Patrick Bamford in first appearance after such a long time to score in the 95th minute to salvage some pride. How Leeds must have missed him! If Bielsa could conceive a plan to overcome Chelsea's depleted midfield which has been their forte (Jorginho, Kovacic and Kante injured), they have a chance. Is Chelsea having a mini crisis? 3-2.

Liverpool v Aston Villa - Divock Origi did Divock Origi things. There is none like him. Wolves put on a defensive masterclass but Origi and the Reds broke their hearts. It was difficult at 0-0 and with the clock ticking away where even Jota so magnificent often when he squeezed past the goalie and a defender and had only two defenders guarding the goal, shot hard into a defender instead of placing it at the corner. Meanwhile, the Reds created history yet again when they defeated AC Milan away (2-1) and of course Salah and Origi scored (again a winner) while fielding Minamino, a very young Tyler Morton, Chamberlain in midfield and a totally changed back four of Tsimikas, Konate, Nat Philips and Neco Williams. They have won all six matches having scored 17 goals and conceded six, the first English team to have ever qualified with a 100% record of wins! Even with 8 changes, they dominated Italian League leaders Milan with 22 shots to 8 and created 15 chances to 6. You should all watched how Nat Philips did a Cruyff turn in his own penalty box which sent Franck Kessie and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (of all players) the wrong way. Just wow! You could talk about so many players at Liverpool but watch this name - Tyler Morton who at only 18 have already played in the Premier League and Champion League and never looked out of place. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgdyXkZ17fk (Tyler Morton)

Steven Gerrard is special ain't he? Villa was a mess without a win for so long with 5 straight defeats and in his first game Villa got a 2-0 win then another. Losing to City 1-2 was not bad and then beating Leicester 2-1 after going down early was a great result in a pulsating match. Will the Liverpool legend create problems for their host here? It appeared Gerrard made Villa hard to beat and they are scoring goals but Liverpool are different especially at Anfield or even away. They have been to two of the most difficult away venues and won at Atletico Madrid and AC Milan. 2-0.

Norwich v Manchester United - The Canaries were undefeated in four games (winning two of them) crumbled at Spurs (0-3) and yet again Harry Kane did not score. Ralf Rangnick had a perfect start - to win and to control. There was some structure and there was pressing and then there was Fred. I mentioned Fred last week that he has been excellent and there he was showing that and scoring a beauty, the only goal to win the match. However, Rangnick put in his young boys and were held 1-1 by the Swiss Young Boys meaning his side had a good rest over the week. Norwich did quite well with two wins and two draws before their crash at Spurs but the Red Devils are now five games unbeaten having won three of them. Mason Greenwood's scissor-kick goal was so instinctive and good that you wonder if he will be fielded here. At his young age he has already got 8 goals to his name in Europe. 0-2.

Brighton v Tottenham - The Seagulls have drawn six times in their last seven games. The bright start has slowed down. They are capable but just short on scoring. Tottenham finally had a comfortable win. Then as fate would have it, it was reported that eight players and five staff members were hit by Covid. Even if Conte plays himself it is not enough. This was just after they have kept two clean sheets and scored more than once with 2-0 and 3-0 wins. If this game is carried on, it may just be hard for Spurs. So a draw may be it. 1-1. (Looks like this game will be postponed).

Burnley v West Ham - The Clarets are without a win in four games with 3 draws and a defeat. Still Turf Moor can be a tough place to visit. If fortune favours the brave then West Ham were brave not fortunate. Not many teams could beat Chelsea but then the EPL is where every game is different. I just feel that the Hammers are onto a very good momentum and coul djust squeeze a win. 1-2.

Leicester v Newcastle - Brendan Rodgers' Leicester have been on a roller-coaster ride. Their winning position became draws and draw became defeat. Their failure to defend set pieces has been their Achilles heel. Now they are depleted due to Covid and other illnesses. The must-win saying have been going around for too long before they finally did it. It was a very important win but Burnley were poor on the day. Eddie Howe will need to plot well to get something here as the matches to come are going to be very difficult ones - Liverpool (Anfield), Man City (St. James Park), Man Utd (St. James Park), Everton (Goodison Park). 2-2.

Crystal Palace v Everton - The Eagles' 7-match unbeaten streak came crashing after a defeat to Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa (1-2) followed by 0-1 defeats to Leeds and United. The Toffees' fortunes were reversed. After eight match without a win, they stunned Arsenal 2-1 and there was a sigh of collective relief. Palace could improve to change their slim margin of defeat. 1-1.