Good day everyone,
I hope you are all well and had an excellent week so far, welcome to CryptoGod-1’s blog on all things sports. This midweek round of fixtures will see Arsenal visit Kenilworth Road, Brighton host Brentford, Liverpool travel to Sheffield United, Emery will test his side against Pep, while Pochettino and Ten Hag will battle it out in a huge clash for both of these struggling clubs.
Fixtures — Times are shown as U.K. Time
This weeks round of fixtures will see the games spread out across three days, from Tuesday evening until Thursday evening.
Tuesday 5th December 2023
Wolves - Burnley 7.30pm KO
Luton - Arsenal 8.15pm KO
Wednesday 6th December 2023
Brighton - Brentford 7.30pm KO
Crystal Palace - Bournemouth 7.30pm KO
Fulham - Nottingham Forest 7.30pm KO
Sheffield United - Liverpool 7.30pm KO
Aston Villa - Manchester City 8.15pm KO
Manchester United - Chelsea 8.15pm KO
Thursday 7th December 2023
Everton - Newcastle 7.30pm KO
Tottenham - West Ham 8.15pm 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 week matches. Remember this is just my fun analysis and should not be taken as advice or a guarantee.
Wolves - Burnley
Wolves are currently sitting in thirteenth with 15 points as they host nineteenth placed Burnley, with 7 points, at Molineux.
O'Neil's side narrowly lost 2-1 against Arsenal over the weekend and will look to end a run of back to back defeats in this one. With three defeats in their last four league games O'Neil will need his side to turn positive performances into positive results. An eight point cushion sits between the club and the relegation zone and being tighter at the back will be imperative for the side. They have both scored and conceded in their last 12, but they have managed to avoid defeat in their last four games at Molineux.
Burnley produced a massive performance against Sheffield United last time out in their 5-0 win at Turf Moor, and in doing so recorded their first home league win of the season. Having lost their previous seven at home, they secured a vital three points in their relegation battle to leave them two points from safety. A run of seven defeats in a row across all competitions has ended but following up the Sheffield United result with another positive performance and, most importantly, getting points on the board will be the focus for Kompany.
Wolves will be without Hodge and Otto, while they also have to assess Sa, Neto, and Ait Nouri. Burnley will be missing Foster, Cork, and Beyer, while they also have to check on Muric and Cullen.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: WDLWLL
Away: LLLLLW
These sides last faced off in the league during the 2021/22 season, where Burnley managed a 1-0 home win in April 2022 and the two sides played out a 0-0 draw at Molineux in December 2021. Burnley have avoided defeat in their last seven Premier League matches with Wolves. While Burnley will be full of confidence going into this one, O'Neil's side are difficult to beat at home and therefore I fell they should have enough about them to deflate the elevated mood at Burnley.
Final score: 2-1
Luton - Arsenal
Luton sit in seventeenth with 9 points as they prepare to welcome top of the table Arsenal, with 33 points, to Kenilworth Road.
The Hatters lost away to Brentford last time out but they produced a good performance as the Luton defence frustrated the Brentford attack. However once again they were second best throughout and now sit only two points above the relegation zone. They are still waiting for their first clean sheet of the season, and the club have also failed to score in the opening 45 minutes from 13 of their 14 games so far. Their first home win of the season was secured the last time Luton played at Kenilworth and they will need similar luck to secure another home win.
Arsenal held on to beat Wolves at the Emirates over the weekend and will look to further consolidate themselves at the top of the table here. Sitting two points clear of Liverpool and three of Manchester City, Arteta will be looking to build on their current run of five wins in a row in all competitions. With only three goals conceded in six away league games Arsenal will need to maintain these levels to continue leading the way. Arsenal have to build on the experience of last season and be weary of a ground where Liverpool drew and Spurs only won by a single goal.
Luton will be missing Potts, Andersen, and Burke, while they need to check on Woodrow, Lokonga, Marvelous Nakamba, Mengi, and Lockyer. Arsenal will be without Vieira, Partey, Smith Rowe, and Timber, while they also need to check on the fitness of Tomiyasu.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: DLDLWL
Away: DWLWWW
The last encounter between these clubs was in the old Division One back in December 1991 when Luton managed a 1-0 home win. Arsenal did managed to win their home encounter 2-0 against Luton in August 1991, and Arsenal have won 4 of the last seven league encounters between these sides. Luton are unbeaten in 11 against Arsenal at Kenilworth Road and something about this game screams upset. I am going to back this game to end in a draw as part of a very tense and cagey encounter.
Final score: 2-2
Brighton - Brentford
Eight place Brighton, with 22 points, will be looking to get back to winning ways as they welcome eleventh placed Brentford, with 19 points, to the Amex Stadium.
Chelsea held on to beat Brighton 3-2 over the weekend and De Zerbi will look to pick his side up domestically as they continue their poor run of just one win in their last eight league games. The Seagulls will be hoping to extend their unbeaten home run to six matches as they sit seven points off the top four. They have scored in each of their last 30 league games although they have both scored and conceded in each of their previous 18 league fixtures. During their five unbeaten at the Amex Brighton have draw the last three and could drop into the bottom half with a defeat in this one.
The Bees secured a solid 3-1 home win over Luton over the weekend, getting back to winning ways following loses to both Liverpool and Arsenal. Sitting five points off the European places and only three behind Brighton going into this, but Brentford have only managed one win of their previous five away league games, which was against Chelsea in late October. Their form in midweek games is also alarming, with only one win from their previous five midweek Premier League games. Frank will be eager to get through this winter period with the return of Ivan Toney due back from the 16th of January assuming no transfer is completed inbetween.
Brighton head into this game missing Estupinan, Lamptey, Fati, Welbeck, Enciso, Dahoud, Dunk, Webster, and March. Brentford will be without Toney, Henry, Hickey, Schade, Collins, and Norgaard. They also need to check on Damsgaard, Ajer, Jensen, and Dasilva.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: LDDDWL
Away: WWWLLW
The Bees managed a 3-3 draw at the Amex in April of last season, while they recorded a 2-0 home win over Brighton back in October 2022. With only two wins from their last nine trips to Brighton, Brentford will fancy their chances to build on the draw from last season. Frank's side will be up against it with his sides recent slump in form, but both these sides should have enough to cancel each other out.
Final score: 3-3
Crystal Palace - Bournemouth
Crystal Palace sit in twelfth with 16 points as they gear up to play sixteenth placed Bournemouth, who have 13 points.
Hodgson will be disappointed with his sides recent form as they have only one win in their last seven and drew against West Ham over the weekend. The Eagles will be encouraged by the result against the Hammers and retain a nine point cushion to the relegation zone but results need to improve. They have been better away from Selhurst, with three of their four wins arriving on their travels. Five home defeats in the league and only one home win from their last seven in all competitions is painful reading for the fans. They have also seen both sides score in 3 of their 5 most recent home league games.
The Cherries held Aston Villa to a draw over the weekend following a recent upturn in form which has seen them remain unbeaten in their previous three league games, including two wins. Sitting six points clear of the relegation zone, Iraola will want them to push as far away from the dotted line as possible. After their awful start of six defeats and no wins in their opening nine games, the club will need to maintain this upward trajectory. They have only managed three wins in their last 18 Premier League games and have only one win from their last eight away Premier League games.
Palace will be without Doucoure, Rak-Sakyi, Holding, Henderson, and Eze, while Schlupp is being assessed. Bournemouth will be without Adams, Aarons, Scott, Kelly, Fredericks, Marcondes, and Randolph.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: LLWLLD
Away: LWLWWD
Crystal Palace have won each of their last five matches against Bournemouth in the Premier League while keeping a clean sheet in four of those games, including winning 2-0 both home and away last season. The Cherries will be underdogs but going off form they should be confident. Hodgson needs a reaction from his squad, especially at home, and I expect plenty of goals in this one. I will back an away win here in tight conditions where Iraola's side will have just enough about them.
Final score: 1-2
Fulham - Nottingham Forest
Fulham sit in fourteenth with 15 points as they host fifteenth placed Forest, who have 13 points.
The Cottagers were beaten at Anfield last time out although Marco Silva will be delighted with his sides performance even though they suffered a late collapse. They remain eight points clear of the relegation zone, and some may feel justice was served on Fulham following their VAR advantage against Wolves before their trip to Anfield. They have won three and lost three at home in a win-loss pattern thus far this season, meaning they will need to break that to get anything from this game. Silva will need his side defence on form to also end a run of ten games in all competitions without a clean sheet.
Forest lost at home to Everton over the weekend and sit two point off Fulham going into this one. Cooper's men are six points clear of the relegation zone but have lost their last three in the league. They have only managed a single point from their last four away days in the Premier League as they failed to score in three of them games. The pressure is on Cooper as the club will need to push up the table over the winter schedule. Bar a shock win over Villa the club have not been performing as expected given their investment and the City Ground was full of boos over the weekend following their loss to Everton.
Fulham enter this game without Muniz, Diop, and Adama Traore. Forest will be missing Awoniyi while they need to assess Boly.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: LDLLWL
Away: DLWLLL
Fulham managed a 2-0 home win over Forest last February, while they a secured a 3-2 away win back in September 2022. Fulham fans will be fearful of their loss-win-loss pattern but Silva's side should have enough about them to overcome a Forest side who struggle to score on the road. I think it will be close but overall the Cottagers should secure a narrow home victory.
Final score: 1-0
Sheffield United - Liverpool
Sheffield United sit bottom of the table with 5 points as they prepare to welcome second placed Liverpool who have 31 points.
The Blades were humbled 5-0 by relegation rivals Burnley over the weekend and will be feeling the pressure going into this one. With the worst defence in the league, the club has now conceded 34 times in their 14 league games so far. Sitting four points from safety and wounded from their last match, Heckingbottom’s side are without a league win since beating Wolves at the start of November. Form has somewhat improved as they record a draw with Brighton, but avoiding another large thrashing similar to the 8-0 against Newcastle earlier in the season will be the aim for this game.
Klopp's men produced some late drama to comeback and beat Fulham 4-3 at Anfield over the weekend and will be licking their lips heading into this one. They sit two points off league leaders Arsenal and are unbeaten in their last seven league games since the defeat against Spurs in late September, the best current run in the division, although they are yet to keep a clean sheet away from Anfield this season. Salah has been key to their impressive away form, having scored or assisted in four of their six away league games so far. Dreams of a title push could become a reality if Liverpool can continue to put points on the board, and winning here will be imperative to keeping hot on Arsenal's heels.
The Blades enter this fixture without Basham, Norrington-Davies, Egan, Davies, Jebbison, McBurnie, Brewster, and Baldock. Liverpool will be without Thiago, Robertson, Jota, Alisson, Bajcetic, and Matip.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: LLWDLL
Away: WWDWDW
Liverpool won both encounters against Sheffield United the last time they met in the Premier League, winning 2-1 at Anfield and 2-0 at Bramall Lane. While Sheffield United will hope to cause an upset here, I cannot look past Liverpool. Their attack will want to rack up the goals here with Nunez, Salah, Diaz, and Gakpo all likely to cause problems for the Blades defence. A resounding win for Liverpool should be on the cards.
Final score: 0-4
Aston Villa - Manchester City
Fourth placed Aston Villa, with 28 points, will welcome third place Manchester City, with 30 points, to Villa Park in this clash.
Aston Villa are showing their capability to battle with the big teams for Champions League football, although it took a late equaliser last time out to get a points against Bournemouth. Villa are on a 13 game home winning run and will be hoping to extend that here. Sitting fourth and two points clear of fifth placed Spurs, Emery side are undefeated in their last five games in all competitions. They have also scored first in each of their previous four home Premier League games and Emery will push his side to make a fast start and impose themselves from the off here.
Manchester City were held to a draw at home by Tottenham over the weekend, making it three league games in a row where Pep's side have dropped points following draws with Liverpool and Chelsea. They have managed just three clean sheets in their last 18 games in all competitions as Pep's side seem to be showing complacency this season. One win in their last four away games has seen the club slip to third and two points off league leaders Arsenal. Haaland will be the danger man with 8 goals in seven away fixtures so far this season, while City have managed to score at least 2 goals in five of their last seven away league games.
Aston Villa are missing Buendia, Mings, and Bertrand Traore. City meanwhile will travel without the services of Nunes, De Bruyne, Rodri, and Grealish, while Doku needs to be assessed.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: WWLWWD
Away: WWWDDD
Last season Manchester City managed a 3-1 home win in February, while Villa held City to a 1-1 draw at Villa Park back in September 2022. The three league encounter before that save Manchester City win each by a single goal, meaning this game is likely to be a close contest. I can see Villa having their tails up and looking to capitalise on the Citizen's recent poor form. Pep will have his troops fired up and while it seemed unlikely at the beginning of the season, I feel Pep's side will drop points for the fourth game in a row with another draw here.
Final score: 2-2
Manchester United - Chelsea
Manchester United are sitting seventh in the table with 24 points as they host tenth place Chelsea, with 19 points, at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag's side put out a meek performance over the weekend when they lost 1-0 away to Newcastle and the club will be looking for an immediate response here. While United are known for their current injury issues, its nothing compared to Newcastle and the Red Devils were still outplayed throughout the match. They have the worst attack in the top half with only 16 scored and they have only managed to win in two of their last five at Old Trafford. Questions remain over Ten Hag and the direction of the team / club as United are lacking grit and determination in over the season thus far.
Pochettino oversaw his side beating Brighton while down to ten men over the weekend and will hope to build more momentum and form as they look to push towards the European places in the league. While the results have been mixed, Chelsea have managed to score 12 times in their last four Premier League games, although they conceded 11 in that time. Having won three of their last four away games, only losing to Newcastle at St James Park. The Blues will want to make a statement here and put themselves in a position to potentially overtake United in the table over the coming weeks.
Manchester United Malacia, Casemiro, Martinez, Evans, Eriksen, Sancho, and Amad Traore. They also need to assess the fitness of Mount. Chelsea meanwhile will be missing Wesley Fofana, Gallagher, Chilwell, Chalobah, and Chukwuemeka. They will also need to check on the fitness of Nkunku, Malo Gusto, and Lavia.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: WLWWWL
Away: DLWDLW
United managed to beat Chelsea 4-1 at Old Trafford back in May, but these sides have played out 5 draws in a row before that including a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in October 2022. Chelsea last beat United in the FA Cup Semi Final by a score of 3-1 back in July 2020, although that game was played behind closed doors. Pochettino will see that as a perfect opportunity to get a win over United and I am backing Chelsea to cause United plenty of problems at the back with their pace.
Final score: 2-3
Everton - Newcastle
Everton remain in the bottom three as they sit in eighteenth with 7 points and host sixth place Newcastle, who have 26 points, to Goodison Park.
It was a huge win for Everton over the weekend when they beat Nottingham Forest as in doing so they moved to within two points of safety. With four wins in the last six games across competitions the Toffees will need to improve their home to get something from this game. They have only managed one win with five defeats at home this season from seven games. The fans will most likely be out in full protest against the Premier League for their 10 point deduction so the atmosphere in this one is bound to be electric once again.
Newcastle emerged with a win against Manchester United on the weekend as Howe's men go marching on. They are sitting three points off the top four but suffered another injury setback when Pope had to be taken off. Their away form has been poor, with only one win in six away Premier League games this season. Injuries and tired legs could play a big part here as Howe will need to keep one eye on their final Champions League game in a week's time as he looks to juggle the hectic winter schedule.
Everton will be without Andre Gomes and Alli, while they also need to assess Calvert-Lewin and Onana. Newcastle meanwhile will be missing Tonali, Pope, Murphy, Burn, Wilson, Anderson, Longstaff, Botman, Willock, Barnes, Manquillo, and Targett. They will also need to check on Gordon.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: LWDWLW
Away: WDWLWW
Newcastle won both the fixtures between these sides last season, emerging with a 1-4 win at Goodison back in April having beaten Everton 1-0 at St James Park in October 2022. Newcastle have four wins in the last five league clashes between these sides but Dyche knows an injury hit Newcastle could be vulnerable here. The Geordies have been excellent thus far but with limited squad players available they may just run out of legs thanks to their hectic schedule. Therefore I am backing Everton to hold the visitors to a draw.
Final score: 1-1
Tottenham - West Ham
Spurs occupy fifth with 27 points as they host ninth place West Ham, who have 21 points.
Spurs emerged with a point from the Etihad following their late draw with Manchester City and in doing so ended a run of three straight league defeats. They remain two points behind Villa in fourth and will need to get back to winning ways to ensure they maintain a top four push at the minimum. Spurs have managed four home wins from six games in the league this season as Son continues to push this side on with his goalscoring efforts. Ange will maintain his famous style here and Spurs will be primed to run riot following their heroics over the weekend.
The Hammers drew with Crystal Palace over the weekend and Moyes will be eager for a return to winning ways here. The Hammers are known for their poor away form under Moyes as they remain three points off the top seven. They have just six wins from their last 26 away Premier League games as their only clean sheet this season has been against Sheffield United. Moyes will need to ensure his side are solid at the back against Spurs, but they have shown enough determination that Spurs should not underestimate this side.
Spurs will be without Perisic, Bentancur, van de Ven, Maddison, Sessegnon, Solomon, and Whiteman. They also need to check on the fitness of Sarr and Dier. West Ham meanwhile will be without Antonio while they also need to check on Zouma.
Form Last Six League Games:
Home: WWLLLD
Away: LLLWWD
Tottenham managed a 3-2 home win back in February while these sides played out a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium back in August 2022. Spurs should have more than enough firepower to get the win here, but their open natures means Bowen and co will be primed to pounce on the counter. Therefore I think there will be lots of goals in this, but Ange's side will have just enough to get over the line.
Final score: 3-2
Match Prediction Summary
Wolves 2-1 Burnley
Luton 2-2 Arsenal
Brighton 3-3 Brentford
Crystal Palace 1-2 Bournemouth
Fulham 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Sheffield United 0-4 Liverpool
Aston Villa 2-2 Manchester City
Manchester United 2-3 Chelsea
Everton 1-1 Newcastle
Tottenham 3-2 West Ham
Check out my 2023/24 Season Predictions here: Predictions 23/24 Season
Have a great day, I hope you enjoyed the preview of the matches and get to see the games.
Peace. CryptoGod-1.
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