Good day everybody,

Welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things sports. Today we are going to look at the upcoming round of fixtures in the English Premier League. This weekend will see a return after the FA Cup last weekend, and sees two of the top three battling it out in Man City against Chelsea. There are some interesting clashes near the bottom of the table also and a North London Derby to finish out the weekend. So far one game has been postponed in Burnley vs Leicester due to injuries and Covid-19.

Fixtures - Times are shown as U.K. Time

This weeks fixtures take place over 3 days, from Friday evening until Sunday evening.

Saturday 14th January

Brighton - Crystal Palace 8pm KO (Kick Off)

Saturday 15th January

Man City - Chelsea 12.30pm KO 

Burnley - Leicester 3pm KO - Postponed

Newcastle - Watford 3pm KO

Norwich - Everton 3pm KO

Wolves - Southampton 3pm KO

Aston Villa - Man Utd 5.30pm KO

Sunday 16th January

Liverpool - Brentford 2pm KO

West Ham - Leeds 2pm KO

Tottenham - Arsenal 4.30pm KO

Predictions

Now for the most exciting part, as I go through the latest info regarding each team to make an attempt at predicting the results for this weekends matches. Remember this is just my fun analysis and should not be taken as advice or a guarantee. 

Brighton - Crystal Palace

The weekend kicks off with an exciting Friday night encounter. Brighton sit ninth in the table, while Palace are in twelfth with four points between them. Both teams saw victory in the FA Cup last weekend, with Brighton starting to see wins instead of draw as their form has begun to pick up. The Seagulls have the least amount of defeats in the league this season when you exclude the top three sides. Vieira's team are in mixed form having lost two of their last three games, although they have been in strong form at Selhurst Park this season but struggling away from home with just one win from nine league fixtures away from home. Brighton will be without Sarmiento and could welcome back Dunk and Mwepu, while Bissouma is away at AFCON. For Palace, McArthur is still out but Gallagher should return along with the inform Olise. Zaha, Kouyate, and Ayew are all away at AFCON for this fixture. Based on the Eagles poor form away from home mixed in with the fact Brighton at times just cannot be beaten, this game has a draw written all over it. Palace will miss Zaha's influence but have a strong attack, while Brighton will look to control proceedings and looking to continue their form of seven points from their last three games. With no more than two goals in this fixture since March 2019 I can see this match finishing as a 1-1 stalemate.

Man City - Chelsea

The top two face off in this mouth watering clash. Man City sit ten points clear at the top and will be refreshed after a week since their FA Cup victory. Chelsea also won in the FA Cup, and in the midweek beat Tottenham to get to the Carabao Cup final. Pep's team are on fire with their form in the league seeing them win their previous eleven league fixtures, with Guardiola's side winning in each of their previous seven games at home across all competitions. A loss for Tuchel's side would see Chelsea fall thirteen points off the top and effectively end their title challenge. Their away form has seen them win six of their last eight league matches away from home while only conceding a league-low six goals. Man City's recent COVID-19 outbreak saw an unnamed total of seven first-team players isolating and its unsure who will return and be available. Foden and Zinchenko are suspected to be part of that group, while Ederson and Laporte will be expected to return if they are not affected. For Chelsea, Chillwell, James, and Chalobah will all be absent but they should have no new injury concerns. With City having the last week off to recover, and even if they are missing some stars, they will be determined to end Chelsea's title challenge. They are near unstoppable at home, although Tuchel will hope to give them a real challenge. This game should be close and if Chelsea get their tactics right, like in the Champions League final last season, they could sneak a win here. Its a tough call but I will go for a 2-2 draw in this game.

Burnley - Leicester - Postponed

This game was announced as postponed on Friday morning due to ongoing Covid-19 and injury related issues at Burnley. Leicester had their midweek game against Everton, which was a rearranged match, postponed once again. This postponement will be a big issue for both teams as Burnley will now have five league games to make up later in the season, and Leicester will have four. The Clarets have had a difficult week up to now, being knocked out of the FA Cup last weekend and then seeing main striker Chris Wood moving to relegation battlers Newcastle for £25million. With money in the bank, Sean Dyche will hope to make more astute signings similar to the Cornet one from the summer to beef up his squad. As for Leicester, they won in the FA Cup last weekend and should be seeing the return of a number of players who had been side-lined over the recent weeks, but will still have questions to answer over their capability to fulfil their fixtures.

Newcastle - Watford

These match sees two relegation contender who are two points and two places apart in the table. Newcastle are currently 19th with just 11 points, and suffered a humiliating defeat in the FA Cup last weekend. After bringing in Chris Wood and Kieran Trippier, Newcastle will be expected to improve from that last result. More signings will be expected, and its certainly an interesting time for their fans. As for Watford, Ranieri has not seen his side win a match since they beat Man Utd in November. They have lost their last six Premier League matches and are in awful form, but face three relegation rivals over this month in Newcastle, Norwich and Burnley. For Newcastle, Wood will be expected to lead the line this weekend, but Lewis, Hayden, Wilson and Fernandez will be missing along with Manquillo through suspension. For Watford, Baah, Etebo, and Nkoulou will all miss through injury. Louza, Masina, Troost-Ekong, and Sarr will be away at the AFCON. They will hope Dennis and King will be fit to return and lead their attacking threat. A six-pointer for the relegation candidates, and based on how Newcastle played against United in their last league game I think they will sneak a 1-0 victory at home.

Norwich - Everton

Since the beginning of December Rafa has not overseen a victory but this is the perfect fixture to change that. The Toffees are currently 15th, eight points clear of the relegation zone, while Norwich are stuck on bottom of the table with just 10 points from their 20 games so far. The Canaries mangaed to win in the FA Cup on the weekend, but lost during their rearranged game against West Ham in midweek. The six teams sitting above Norwich all have at least one game in hand, and they look certain for relegation. Everton managed a win in the FA Cup at the weekend but their league form has been abysmal. One win and four losses in their last six is not what the Everton fans had hoped for, but with Digne gone to Villa, new boys Mykolenko and El Ghazi will hope to cement themselves into the side. Norwich will be without Zimmerman, Gilmour, Rupp, Normann, and Omobamidele; while Cantell remain a doubt. For Everton, Davis will be absent and Richarlison,Mina, Delph, and Branthwaite remain doubts. Iwobi will also be missing due to participation at the AFCON. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin back leading the line and getting games under his belt I think Everton should record a comfortable victory at home with a 0-2 scoreline.

Wolves - Southampton

Both these sides enter this match in very impressive form. Wolves are eight in the table with Southampton eleventh, with Wolves only three points off Man United in seventh. Their seven points from their last three league games, which included against United and Chelsea, shows their upturn in form. Wolves also recorded victory in the FA Cup last weekend, and have tasted victory in their previous two games against The Saints. Southampton looked impressive in their midweek victory during the rearranged game against Brighton, and also won in the FA Cup last weekend. They are unbeaten in their previous five games in all competitions, but have three tough fixtures after this with league encounters against Man City, Tottenham, and Man United. They have also struggled on the road this season, with only nine points from their 10 matches away from St. Mary's. Wolves will be without Saiss and Boly who are at AFCON, while Mosquera, Neto, Castro, and Hwang will be out with injuries. For Southampton, they will be without Djenepo who is at AFCON, and Livramento, Smallbone, Walker-Peters, and potentially McCarthy will be out injured. This will be a close game as both teams are on good form. If Southampton can score free flowing like they did during the week then they will emerge with a victory as Wolves are not known for scoring many. I can see a draw as the result at Molineux with both teams cancelling each other out and a final score of 2-2.

Aston Villa - Man Utd

The Villians will be looking for revenge after their cup defeat last weekend, in which United were somewhat fortunate to survive as Villa pressed for an equaliser and dominated for large parts of the game. With Gerrard and his team boosted through the signings of Digne and Coutinho, they will be pushing to get into a top half position before the end of the season. Villa beat United 1-0 away back in September and will hope to eliminate a record of not beating United at Villa Park since 1995. With United being lucky to win in the FA Cup and loosing their previous league match at home to Wolves, rumours of discontent are rife within Old Trafford once again. The 20-time English league champions have three big matches against Villa, Brentford and West Ham this month and Rangnick will need three points from all to show he is the man for the job. Ronaldo has already spoken of a need to finish in the top three but that seems very unlikely this season. Villa will be without McGinn through suspension and Bailey and Nakamba will miss out through injury. Traore and Trezeguet will also be absent due to AFCON. For United, Pogba is the only serious injury while Bailly is at AFCON. I think a lot of factors will be on Villas side for this game, not least their managers desire to beat United and their impressive new signings. Coutinho will want to come back to the Premier League with a bang and I expect him to start and impress. With the lethargic displays of United, I think Villa will get the double over them in the league this season and pick up a 3-1 win at home.

Liverpool - Brentford

During the week Liverpool showed how much they will be missing both Salah and Mané due to their AFCON commitments. They were against ten men Arsenal for over and hour but could not break them down at Anfield. They managed to win in the FA Cup last weekend even after going a goal down, but the level of opposition in the league will be of a higher standard. When these sides met earlier this season it ended in a thrilling draw. Brentford started the season brightly and have had mixed fortunes since but have seemingly found their level of mid table in the league with them currently sitting in thirteenth. The Reds will be without Keita, Mané, and Salah who are all at AFCON. As for injuries, Phillips, Elliot, Thiago are out and also possibly Origi will be unavailable due to injury. The Bees will be without Raya, Henry, and Fosu with injury while Onyeka will be at AFCON. Liverpool's form has dived recently, with only two wins in six games in all competitions, with both in the cups against Shrewsbury and a penalty shootout victory over Leicester. Brentford meanwhile have lost four of their previous six games in all competitions but managed a victory in the FA Cup last weekend. While this will be a tough battle and a close encounter, I do feel that even with their stars out Liverpool will have enough about them to win this match. Jota and Firmino can get amongst the goals, and they have a strong defence and midfield which will help to see them through with a 2-1 victory at home.

West Ham - Leeds

After The Hammers picked up three points in their midweek rearranged fixture against Norwich, they will be looking to continue their excellent start to 2022 against Leeds. Having already beaten them in the FA Cup last weekend, the Hammers will expect another victory at home. David Moyes has his side in good contention for getting European Football again next season, as they sit in fourth in the table above Arsenal. Leeds meanwhile, find themselves in sixteenth and eight points above relegation. Their form has been patchy, although they have earnt seven points in their previous six league games with two wins and a draw. West Ham are on a run of three league wins on the bounce and will be looking to make that four. The Hammers will be without Benhrama who is at AFCON, while Noble, Ogbonna, and Soucek will all miss out. Zouma is also a doubt. As for Leeds, they will be without Cooper , Cresswell, Gelhardt, Phillips, Roberts, Shackleton, Struijk though injury and Llorente with suspension. This will be a big task for Leeds with some many players out and Bielsa will need to work some magic to get the victory as The Hammers have beaten his side in all four encounters across both league and cup since Leeds got promoted back to the Premier League. I can only see a West Ham win, especially if Bowen is on form and Antonio get a chance or two, and I expect this game to finish 3-1 at the London Stadium.

Tottenham - Arsenal

This fixture is generally a very exciting affair, and expect this North London Derby to be no different. Both of these teams will have a real hope of pushing for a top four finish in what seems to be one of the most exciting races for fourth in years. With twelve points between fourth and tenth, and all the teams below West Ham in fourth having games in hand, it is really impossible to call who will get that final Champions League spot assuming the top three maintain their positions. Conte has managed to get his team clicking, and bar the loss in the Carabao Cup to Chelsea, have looked very impressive. Harry Kane has found his form again, while Lucas Moura is looking a top class player. Spurs have two games in hand on Arsenal and a win here would put them in a strong position to finish above them. Arsenal are in a rough patch of form, having lost to City in the league and then Forrest in the FA Cup last weekend before a draw in midweek with Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. For Spurs, they will be missing Romero, Bergwjin, Son, and also potentially could be without Reguilon and Dier. Arsenal will be without Aubameyang, Elneny, Partey, and  Pepe due to AFCON, while Xhaka will be suspended after his red card at Anfield. Smith-Rowe and Tomiyasu are also doubts. Neither team will be at full strenght but Arsenal will be seriously depleted in the middle of the park, and I can just see Conte getting his team over the line in this one. I believe they will be able to get the win at home with a 2-1 result.

I hope you enjoyed the read and found it of interest, have a wonderful day.

Peace. CryptoGod-1.

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