10 th – 11 th December 2016

Saturday 12.30pm

Watford are going into this after back to back defeats. They're very hot and cold and last week they were well beaten at West Brom. When they've showed up this season they have looked good and that is what makes them a hard team to judge because turn up here and they would have it in them to win this even without Pereyra but if they perform like they have done in the last couple of weeks Everton are going to have too much quality for them. Everton managed a point last week in the last minutes against Man United. It was a gift of a penalty from Fellaini but Koeman will feel on the balance of the game his team deserved that and he'll hope it proves to be a turning point because they haven't been up to scratch recently. This is a very tough game to call, if both teams play their stuff it should be a really good game but I'm just backing Everton with that extra bit of quality and perhaps more of a spring in their step after last week's late equaliser.Prediction: Watford 1-2 Everton

Saturday 3.00pm

It's been a blinding week for Arsenal thrashing West Ham last week and then also scoring for fun during the week in the Champions League which saw them top their group. In this form they're serious

My Premier League 2016/17 Predictions

Watford Everton

Arsenal Stoke City

contenders but the problem every season with Arsenal is the not being able to maintain that form when it matters. But with an Alexis Sanchez in the form he's in they are a different beast, West Ham were very poor last week but his performance was mesmerising. Arsenal at home should be winning this but I think Stoke should be giving them a game here. They had a setback against Bournemouth a few weeks back but have responded to that with back to back wins. And that's what matters with a team like Stoke, not letting one bad result turn into several and getting right back on track so they're in good shape going into this. If they keep playing like they have then they should be testing Arsenal but I'd still back the hosts.Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Stoke City

Saturday 3.00pm

These are the games that matter for Burnley. Their away record is appalling, let's be honest, only one goal away from home and a point they got by a minor miracle at Old Trafford. But their home form is what's keeping their heads above water so far, they seem a good match for anyone at Turf Moor and these are the vital games against the teams that will be looking to seal survival with them. How do you put into words what Bournemouth did last week against Liverpool? You can't give them enough credit for continuing to fight for the win they got. They could've let their heads drop after going two down, they could've really let their heads drop when they went two goals behind again after the penalty gave them hope. But to continue believing they could get something is what gave them what has to be up there with the cup upset over United thirty odd years ago as the greatest wins in their history. Normally I'd back Burnley at home in a game like this but with the

Burnley Bournemouth

belief last week's game would've injected in the Bournemouth players I'll say they get a decent point here.Prediction: Burnley 1-1 Bournemouth

Saturday 3.00pm

These are the games Hull badly need points from. They were beaten at Middlesbrough on Monday night, they won't expect to pick up many points away from home like most sides battling relegation but these are the games Mike Phelan will be pointing towards as the vital ones they need results from. Last week's win against Southampton was a very big win for Palace. Badly needed doesn't begin to cut it, if they had been beat again Alan Pardew might not be Palace manager going into this game. It wasn't just sneaking a win either, it was a dominant victory and restores much needed confidence. After last week's result and with that bit more in quality I'm going for Palace to edge this.Prediction: Hull City 1-2 Crystal Palace

Saturday 3.00pm

Swansea were totally trounced at Tottenham last week and I feared it would happen. It was one of the most one sided games I've ever seen, they were unlucky with the penalty and Alli's clear dive but after that it was a case of how many. They beat Palace the week before in that crazy game because Palace were one worse than them meaning they somehow conceded four but still were able to win but you can't go to Spurs with their quality and survive conceding chances like that. This is a massive game at the bottom of the table, I don't see both these sides avoiding relegation so this could make a lot of difference. Sunderland go into this in good form

Hull City Crystal Palace

Swansea City Sunderland

after three wins from their last four. They seem to have turned a corner after another awful start to the season, in this form they're capable of pulling it off and surviving again. They'll be confident they can go to Swansea and win and I'm backing them to do so. Swansea are conceding a lot of goals and with Defoe leading the Sunderland line I think they're going to take advantage of that.Prediction: Swansea City 1-2 Sunderland

Saturday 5.30pm

It's been a bad week for Leicester and looking at the table they've got reason to be fearful now. They lost at Sunderland last week and just have their heads above water at the moment. Because they raised the bar so incredibly high last season many including myself didn't expect them to hit the same heights but would've thought they'd have more than enough quality to survive. And to be honest they should, even without Kante they still have the likes of Mahrez and Vardy in the squad and even though they're not playing to the same standard as last season they should still be steering their team to safety. Champions League football and two games a week affects them because they don't have the luxury of choice the top teams have which is why I think Ranieri took the hammering in Portugal midweek on the chin because until the Champions League returns they have to get the ship steady in the league again. But this is a tough game against a City side that took a bad defeat against Chelsea last week and now need to be winning. They were the better team and took the lead but after De Bruyne missed that golden chance it all went downhill. They didn't cover themselves in glory after the game and have now lost Aguero for four games, it was a bad, bad day for them. As the weeks have gone on its been more and more of an education for Guardiola how tough this

Leicester City Manchester City

league is even with the squad he has. They were caught by three Chelsea sucker punches after being largely dominant, they had a number done on them and now they go to a Leicester side just as badly in need of points without Aguero. Still though they should have enough quality, Leicester are not in good form and I think City will increase their problems.Prediction: Leicester City 1-3 Manchester City

Sunday 12.00

Last week was a massive statement win from Chelsea, it laid down a real marker in the title race. To go to their main rivals for the title and be second best for large periods but hit them on the break one, two, three and take the points was a massive result. Conte deserves a lot of credit, this is his first time in this league but he's already made this Chelsea team his own and right now they're the team to beat. The winning run continues and they couldn't possibly be in better form right now so this makes it very hard work for West Brom. Although they themselves have been flying of late and continued their good run with the win over Watford last week. They're in a position now West Brom where if they maintain this form they could be competing for Europe, so much for Tony Pulis only guaranteeing you survival and not producing much else. However this is the toughest fixture they could've asked for at this moment in time and even in the form they're in Chelsea are probably going to be too strong.Prediction: Chelsea 3-1 West Bromwich Albion

Chelsea West Bromwich Albion

Sunday 2.05pm

Man United just can't win games at the moment. They drew yet again last week, they looked set for an important away win but the decision to bring Fellaini on cost them big time with his clumsiness costing them two points. Mourinho obviously brought him on to try and defend the balls into the box his side were trying to deal with but he's an accident waiting to happen is Fellaini. That leaves United nine points off top four going into this and the consistent failure to win league games is a big problem. They're actually playing pretty well, they're doing enough to win these matches but they can't put anyone to bed and it's costing them big time. Failure to win here would all but end their chances of getting into the top four even with such a long way to go, the gap cannot keep getting bigger. Spurs have looked more like their old selves this week hammering Swansea and then seeing off CSKA in the Champions League. That win midweek sees them into the Europa League but I think most Spurs fans would agree with me that it isn't a good thing for them going into that competition. But at the moment they don't need to worry about that, they'll look to continue building momentum here with a big scalp over United that might kill off their top four hopes as I said. United also will have a Europa League assignment three days prior in freezing cold Ukraine so that's going to benefit the away side too. United so badly need to start winning in the league but I don't see it happening here, in fact they'll do well to get a point.Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United Tottenham Hotspur

Sunday 2.15pm

Last week was a disappointing result for Southampton. They've been playing well and created a decent amount of chances last week at Palace but in the end were comfortably beaten so it was a setback for them. And this isn't going to be an easy game for them against a Middlesbrough side with growing momentum. Boro secured an important win on Monday night, they've got to be winning their home games especially against the teams fighting for survival. They're in a decent position in the table looking to build some breathing space between themselves and the bottom three. Any points they can get on the road is a bonus and they should be confident here after recently going to the Emirates and Etihad and getting points from both games. I'm backing them to get something here too, I think they'll be a match for the hosts.Prediction: Southampton 1-1 Middlesbrough

Sunday 4.30pm

How Liverpool lost last week will still be giving Jurgen Klopp sleepless nights. They can't afford to throw away games like that if they have ambitions to be champions. They fall that bit more behind Chelsea and now behind Arsenal in the league, they're still very much in the race but that could be a hugely damaging result when you consider they should've comfortably saw the game out. The goalkeeper got a lot of stick and he did make some mistakes that proved costly but you can't judge him in his first season because people did that with David De Gea and look at him now. Liverpool should be getting back on track here though, West Ham are shipping goals for fun right now and even without Coutinho

Southampton Middlesbrough

Liverpool West Ham United

you'd think the hosts will have too much going forward for them to handle. West Ham were torn to shreds by Arsenal last week and it was no surprise to me Slaven Bilic was summoned after the game by the board. He needs to turn it around quickly because his position will come under more scrutiny, his team are in a relegation scrap and it doesn't get any easier here. As I said the defence is letting a barrel load of goals in at the moment, if Liverpool are on their game then it could be a case of how many.Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 West Ham United