Premier League Picks: Matchday 16

Matchday 16

Time for the Matchday 15 recap. On Saturday, Leicester City shocked Everton with a 2-0 win to lift themselves out of the bottom 3. Sunday consisted of Arsenal edging out Chelsea to remain at the top of the table, Crystal Palace earning their first away win of the season with a goal deep in stoppage time against West Ham United, Unai Emery having a wonderful debut for Aston Villa as they downed Manchester United, Miguel Almiron scoring again as the Newcastle United train keeps on rolling, and Liverpool shocking Tottenham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a pair of goals from Mohamed Salah.

Match week 16 wont have too many big name clubs playing each other, but it is the last match week before the World Cup break so if you want your fix of Premier League soccer then you better turn that TV on. On Saturday, Liverpool head back to Anfield to take on a struggling Southampton team, Tottenham will look to rebound against Leeds United, Newcastle United and Chelsea will go head to head at St. James’ Park for the match of the week, and top ranked Arsenal will head to Molineux Stadium to take on a bottom of the table team in Wolverhampton. On Sunday, Brighton and Aston Villa will be ready to play as they both are coming off of big wins and Fulham will face its’ second Manchester team in a row as they look to give Manchester United its’ second consecutive loss. 

So, with that being said, let’s take a look at our Matchweek 16 fixtures.

Liverpool (8th) vs Southampton (18th) 

Date: Saturday, 11/12/2022 at 10:00 AM EST

Pitch: Liverpool – Anfield, Liverpool, England

Odds: | HOME: -450 | TIE: +550 | AWAY: +1100 |

Current Form: | Liverpool (WWLWL) | Southampton (LLDWD) |

Head to Head: 

The Word

Liverpool are in the top 4 in average goals per game and Southampton are in the bottom 4 in average goals per game. Statistics show only one winner, but with the inconsistency Liverpool are having, you just never know. 

Liverpool have only lost once this season at Anfield and before that they seemed unstoppable at home. After Liverpool’s back to back Premier League losses, they responded with a big win at home against Napoli and a big win away at Tottenham. Liverpool’s title hopes are pretty much out of the question but they are definitely still in the race for top 4. Southampton only have 2 away wins this season, and I don’t expect them to make it a 3rd at Anfield. I have a feeling that Liverpool will make a statement before the break.

PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL  3 – 1 SOUTHAMPTON 

Tottenham (4th) vs Leeds United (12th) 

Date: Sunday, 11/12/2022 at 10:00 AM EST

Pitch: Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England

Odds: | HOME: -160 | TIE: +320 | AWAY: +420 |

Current Form: | Tottenham (LWWDL) | Leeds United (WWLLL) |

Head to Head:

The Word

The Tottenham Hotspur curse continues as they continue to struggle against the Premier League heavyweights. On a postivive note they are playing extremely well against teams from the bottom half of the table and especially at home. 

Leeds are coming off two Premier League wins in a row. However they conceded 3 goals in their win against Bournemouth (a team that only averages 1 goal per game). If their defense plays like that against Tottenham, Harry Kane will have a field day. With that being said, I expect Tottenham to have a dominating win at home on Saturday.

PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM 3 – 0 LEEDS UNITED 

Newcastle United (3rd) vs Chelsea (7th)

Date: Sunday, 11/12/2022 at 12:30 PM EST

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

Odds: | HOME: +130 | TIE: +240 | AWAY: +210 |

Current Form: | Newcastle United (WWWWD) | Chelsea (LWLWD) |

Head to Head

The Word

Newcastle are in top form right now and have 4 consecutive Premier League wins. In fact, they haven’t lost a Premier League game since August. Chelsea on the other hand have managed only 2 points in their last 4 Premier League games, with 2 consecutive losses.

Newcastle have a +11 goal differential in 7 home games this season while Chelsea are -4 in away games. Chelsea’s stacked roster is hard to overlook though and it would be extremely unlikely for them to have 3 Premier League losses in a row. I can see this one ending in a draw. 

PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE UNITED  1 – 1 CHELSEA

Wolverhampton (19th) vs Arsenal (1st)

Date: Sunday, 11/12/2022 at 2:45 PM EST

Pitch: Wolverhampton – Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England

Odds: | HOME: +500 | TIE: +330 | AWAY: -185 |

Current Form: | Wolverhampton (LDLLW) | Arsenal (WWWLD) |

Head to Head:

The Word

Arsenal remain at the top of the Premier League table with another win in the London Derby against Chelsea and if they want to stay in first then they’ll have to continue to win. 

Winning this weekend shouldn’t be a monumental task for Arsneal though as they are facing a Wolverhampton side that are in horrible form, winless in their last 4 Premier League matches, and are currently sitting second to last position in the Premier League table. Wolverhampton are only averaging around 0.5 a goal per game while conceding nearly 2. However, both of their 2 wins this season were at home. I don’t think being at home will be enough for them though. Arsenal will win. 

PREDICTION: WOLVERHAMPTON 0 – ARSENAL 2

Brighton & Hove Albion (6th) vs Aston Villa (13th)

Date: Sunday, 11/13/2022 at 09:00 AM EST

Pitch: Brighton & Hove Albion – Amex Stadium, Brighton, England

Odds: | HOME: -125 | TIE: +270 | AWAY: +340 |

Current Form: | Brighton & Hove Albion (WWLDL) | Aston Villa (WLWLL) |

Head to Head:

The Word

This is a tricky game to predict. Both teams are coming off wins with Brighton having won 2 league games in a row. Brighton sort of lost it’s fire when they lost manager Graham Potter, but somehow they are doing just enough to remain in the top half of the table. Aston Villa are also coming off a big upset win against Manchester United in what was the debut of new manager Unai Emery. Brighton have only lost one game at home and that was to Tottenham. I don’t think they’ll lose this weekend but I also don’t think they’ll win. 

PREDICTION: BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION 1 – 1 ASTON VILLA 

Fulham (9th) vs Manchester United (5th)

Date: Sunday, 11/13/2022 at 11:30 AM EST

Pitch: Fulham – Craven Cottage, London, England

Odds: | HOME: +280 | TIE: +280 | AWAY: -115 |

Current Form: | Fulham (LDWWD) | Manchester United (LWWWD) |

Head to Head:

The Word 

Manchester United are coming off a shocking loss to Aston Villa which ended their impressive streak of 9 games unbeaten in all competitions. This Sunday, they’ll be going against a recently promoted Fulham side that has played rather well this season. Fulham have only lost once this season at Craven Cottage and both teams have been statistically very even this season. I do expect Manchester United to get back on track this weekend and sneak away from Craven Cottage with a win though. 

PREDICTION: FULHAM 1 – MANCHESTER UNITED 2