Matchday 12

Read Austen’s Coverage of Matchday 11 here. 

Matchweek 11 offered up some excellent football matches. The battle between rivals Liverpool and Manchester City was brilliant, a good Brentford side picked apart a struggling Potter-less Brighton side, and the Mason Mount show gave Chelsea a win against Aston Villa. Matchday 12 promises to be just as exciting. 

This week will be a midweek round of matches. Most of us will be at work when these games are going on but there’s nothing wrong with streaming a game at the top right corner of your work computer. The main event Arsenal versus Manchester City has been postponed, but there should be plenty of other exciting matches to look forward to.

So, with that being said, let’s take a look at our Matchweek 12 fixtures.

Newcastle United (6th) vs Everton (14th) 

Date: Wednesday, 10/19/2022 at 2:30 PM EST

Pitch: Newcastle – St. James’ Park, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England

Odds: | HOME: -160 | TIE: +290 | AWAY: +470 |

Current Form: | Newcastle United (DWWDD) | Everton (LLWWD) |

Head to Head: 

The Word

Newcastle is playing well on both ends of the pitch. Offensively they’re putting up goals even without Alexander Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin. Defensively, the back four of Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier, and Fabian Schar have been excellent and it showed when they held Manchester United goaless this past weekend at Old Trafford. They are unbeaten in their last 5 Premier League matches with 3 wins in their last 4.

Everton on the other hand  are coming off two straight losses. While Everton’s defensive stats have not been as good as their goals conceded record implies, they have only given up an average of just over one goal per game. Everton is no slouch. Frank Lampard’s side will go down fighting but it will not be enough.

PREDICTION: Newcastle United 1 – 0 Everton

Brentford (9th) vs Chelsea (4th) 

Date: Wednesday, 10/19/2022 at 2:30 PM EST

Pitch: Brentford – Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford, England

Odds: | HOME: +380 | TIE: +280 | AWAY: -140 |

Current Form: | Brentford (WLDLW) | Chelsea (WWWWW) |

Head to Head:

The Word

Home field advantage? Not in this matchup. Last season, the away team came out victorious in all 3 matches ending with Brentford beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge 4-1. Although, Brentford have not beaten Chelsea back to back since 1939. Chelsea seem to be a new team under Graham Potte and have won 4 Premier LEague matches in a row, while Brentford has only 1 win in its last 4 Premier League outings. 

I expect Chelsea to dominate possession, but Brentford is no stranger to lack of possession. They had only 27% of possession in their 2-0 win over Brighton last weekend. Chelsea will have a depleted defense with the absence of Reece James, which makes me believe that Ivan Toney and Brentford will extend their streak to 5 goals in their last 6 home matches. However, the addition of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the resurgence of Mason Mount have made Chelsea’s attack dangerous and less predictable. Chelsea will find a way to win.

PREDICTION: Brentford 1 – 2 Chelsea

Manchester United (5th) vs Tottenham (3rd)

Date: Wednesday, 10/19/2022 at 3:15 PM EST

Pitch: Manchester United – Old Trafford, Manchester, England

Odds: | HOME: +140 | TIE: +250 | AWAY: +190 |

Current Form: | Manchester United (DWWWL) | Tottenham (WWWDL) |

Head to Head: 

The Word 

When you look at history, this match does not look promising to Tottenham fans. Old Trafford has always been a fortress. Manchester United have won the last 3 fixtures between the two sides, and another interesting fact…Tottenham have lost more games to Manchester United than any other Premier League team.

Not so fast though. Old Trafford is not the fortress it used to be and Manchester United have had a spotty home record this season with 3 wins, 2 losses, and a draw. Machester United have a -2 goal differential this season and Tottenham know how to score goals, averaging over 2 goals per game. Although, Manchester United have played 2 of the big 6 so far this season and have wins over both of them (Liverpool and Arsenal). This match could get interesting but I think Antonio Conte’s team will continue their winning ways.

PREDICTION: Manchester United 1 – 2 Tottenham 

Fulham (11th) vs Aston Villa (16th)

Date: Thursday, 10/20/2022 at 2:30 PM EST

Pitch: Fulham- Craven Cottage, London, England

Odds: | HOME: +190 | TIE: +23 | AWAY: +145 |

Current Form: | Fulham (DLLWL) | Aston Villa (LDDWD) |

Head to Head:

The Word

The pressure is still mounting on Steven Gerrard and his Aston Villa team as they drop closer to the bottom 3. I’ve also read rumors being spread that Mauricio Pochettino could be the new Aston Villa manager if Gerrard were to get sacked. 

In last weekend’s loss to Chelsea, Aston Villa showed signs of an attack and had their chances on goal. They had 18 shots and 41% of the possession. With a Fulham defense that allows an average of 2 goals per game, Aston Villa should continue this promising potentia lof an attack this Thursday. Aston Villa has won the last two meetings between these clubs but Fulham have never lost back-to-back home games to Aston Villa. This will be a tight game but in the end it will come out as a wash.

PREDICTION: Fulham 1 – Aston Villa 1

Leicester City (19th) vs Leeds United (15th)

Date: Thursday, 10/20/2022 at 2:30 PM EST

Pitch: Leicester City – King Power Stadium, Leicester, England

Odds: | HOME: +125 | TIE: +250 | AWAY: +200 |

Current Form: | Leicester City (DLWLL) | Leeds United (LLDLD) |

Head to Head:

The Word 

It’s the battle of the L’s. L is for Leicester and Leeds…not for Losses. Although both of these teams have seen a lot of losses as of late. Not much to say about this one. Both teams are in desperate need of a win. Leicester City have the team to be middle of the table and Brendan Rodgers swears he is the man to get this team back to glory. Well here is his chance to get some points.

Leeds United are struggling at the moment. They are winless in their last 5 Premier League matches and have only scored 4 goals in their previous 6. They are not scoring goals and they have not had a clean sheet against Leicester City in the last 16 matches between the two clubs. So, here’s your chance for glory Leicester. Go get it.

PREDICTION: Leicester City 1 – Leeds United 0