Week 19 of Premier League action is upon us and with the each New Year brings new hopes for teams and fans alike. With the first half of the season gone, clubs will ready themselves for the second half. With cup action out of the way for the time being, the focus of this weekend’s games returns to League. Things have tightened up at the top of the table with the only four points separating the first three clubs. My pick for match of the week has to be Manchester United at Birmingham City, as City looks to preserve their 11 game unbeaten streak. Here I take a look at this weeks match ups giving you insight on making your EPL soccer wager a winner.
#1 Chelsea had a difficult December winning only two of their last six league matches. The slide has narrowed the gap between them and second place Manchester United to just two points. However, the Blues did pick up a win in their last outing defeating Fulham 2-1. It was by far not the best performance from Chelsea, but it was enough to net them three points allowing them to preserve their spot at the top of the table. This week Chelsea will travel to # 19 Hull City. The Tigers, who have managed just two draws in their last five, have dropped to the bottom of the table in recent weeks. Even with home advantage I cannot see Hull taking anything from this game and I expect Chelsea to pick up the win and all three points.
#2 Manchester United have picked up two wins in their last two matches and have narrowed the gap to two points between them and the top of the table. They netted five goals on their way to shutting out Wigan in their last match, but gave up an opportunity to claim the top spot by being shutout by Aston Villa and Fulham in December. They will travel to # 8 Birmingham City who has yet to be defeated in their last 11 games. This will be a good match for Birmingham and should Aston Villa lose this weekend, they could find themselves in sixth spot at the end of Saturday. They are coming off a draw with Chelsea at home in their last game and I expect them to repeat this against United and take a point from this game.
#3 Arsenal closed in on the leaders with a 4-1 win over Portsmouth on December 30, making it five wins from six games with a game in hand. Their midweek match against Bolton was postponed negating any opportunity to leapfrog over second place ManU to start the weekend. The Gunners are playing well and will host #12 Everton who have moved up the table in recent weeks and are undefeated in their last five league games. After a rough start to the season, due primarily to injuries, Everton seems to have gained some much-needed momentum. However, I don’t see them toppling Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. Expect Arsenal to pick up three points with a win.
#4 Tottenham Hotspur reclaimed fourth place with a 2-0 victory over West Ham in their last match. They will travel to Anfield to #7 Liverpool on Sunday. Liverpool’s position on the table remained unchanged, despite picking up two wins in their last two league games. The Reds won three of five in December and are in better form as of late. This should prove to be a tight contest with Liverpool having home advantage. The crowds at Anfield can be intimidating as well as deafening. Look for the teams to play to a draw in this one.
# 5 Manchester City’s new boss Roberto Mancini believes winning the Barclays Premier League is a realistic target for his side after the team wrapped up a successful December with a 3-0 win against the Wolves. The win has moved them up the table with this weeks game against the struggling # 13 Blackburn Rovers on Monday being an opportunity to pick up some much needed points. Blackburn has picked up two draws in their last two league games and has slid on the table due to poor performances to end the first half of the season. I expect that Manchester City is to strong for the Rovers and pick up all three points in this one.
#6 Aston Villa has fallen two spots on the table after to consecutive defeats in league play. The two straight losses allowed Tottenham and Manchester City to leapfrog over them. They will be looking to snap their losing skid when they travel to #16 Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Wigan did not post a single win in all of December and recorded a goal differential of 5-10. They will be looking to gain some confidence with a win on their home pitch, but I am afraid the Villans will be too much for them to handle. Look for Villa to win this one 3-1.
#9 Fulham have lost to successive matches and are in jeopardy of falling out of the top 10 should they lose to last place Portsmouth this weekend. Fulham plays well at home with a record of 6-2-2. They will host Portsmouth who is awful on the road with just three wins and seven losses. They have struggled all season and I see no reason for that to change this weekend. With home advantage Fulham will be too much and pick up all three points in this game.
# 11 Sunderland closed out the first half of the season with three losses and two draws in their last five league matches. Their lackadaisical play has caused them to slide down the league table in recent weeks. They will have a chance to turn things around when they host # 18 Bolton on Saturday. The third to last Wanderers have posted just one win in their last 12 league matches, with four losses and seven draws. With a 2-2-4 road record I don’t expect the Wanders to take anything from this game as Sunderland picks up the points.
# 14 Burnley has played mediocre at best and has been awful on the road posting nine losses and one draw. However in the league, their home form has kept them mid table thus far. They will host close rival # 10 Stoke City this weekend. Stoke has not played well away from home, but Burnley has played pitiful on their home pitch with only 10 wins of 20 matches at Turf Moor. This should balance out the clubs making for a more interesting game. With the season halfway completed, both teams desperately need a win to stop from slipping any further in the standings. Expect a draw in this one.
The final match of the week is #15 Wolverhampton Wanderers at # 17 West Ham United. West Ham lost their last league match to Tottenham 2-0 to close out the first half of play. Their only win in the month of December was a home win against last place Portsmouth on Dec.26. The Wolves hasn’t posted a win away from home since beating Tottenham 1-0 on Dec. 12. This will be a close low scoring match with West Ham taking advantage of the home crowd to walk away with the win and the points.
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