It’s almost the weekend, so that means it’s time for The Big Kick Off to bring you our match predictions for Matchweek 19 of the Premier League.
We’re officially coming up to the halfway point of the 2021/22 Premier League season, but with numerous postponements of late, we’re still a few matches away from that stage at this point!
Liverpool v Leeds, Wolves v Watford and Burnley v Everton have already gone this weekend, and the fixture list is descending into chaos.
All have fallen victim to the Covid-pandemic….. and I suspect more will soon follow.
Despite all the call-offs, there was some action last weekend, and it was significant at the top end of the Premier League table.
City starting to look unstoppable
Manchester City were the beneficiaries, as their two closest rivals, Liverpool and Chelsea could only manage draws.
City’s 4-0 win over Newcastle has seen them open a 3 points gap over Liverpool, and a 6 points gap over Chelsea.
As a result, in the betting, the Cityzens are now into 3/10 (1.30) to win the title. City were 1/2 (1.50) before their assisted victory over the hapless Newcastle last Sunday.
The last thing that Man City needs is a helping hand, especially the sort given by Newcastle’s defence last weekend. It really was a staggering display by Eddie Howe’s team!
On the back of their 2-2 draw with Spurs, Liverpool has drifted from 11/4 (3.75) to 7/2 (4.5).
While Chelsea are now out to 11/1 (12.0) after dropping yet more points. This time away to Wolves.
- Man City 3/10 (1.30)
- Liverpool 7/2 (4.50)
- Chelsea 11/1 (12.0)
- Man Utd 175/1 (176.0)
- Spurs 200/1 (201.0)
- Arsenal 250/1 (251.0)
I think we can forget about anybody beyond the first three. Anyway, it’s now time for our match predictions for the first instalment of festive football.
Premier League Matchweek 19 Match Predictions
Man City v Leicester – 3pm Sunday
Man City is now officially on a roll. They’ve won their last eight Premier League fixtures in a row.
As for Leicester, it’s been the oddest of seasons for Brendan Rodgers’ team. Every time you think they’re about to get going, they seem to have a setback.
I just get the feeling something isn’t quite right at the club. Whether that be on the pitch, or off it, I don’t know. But something seems amiss!
I can only see a win for Pep’s team on Sunday.
- Verdict – MAN CITY WIN
Norwich v Arsenal – 3pm Sunday
In their last performance, Norwich was taken apart by Aston Villa.
In the match before that, the Canaries were the better team against Manchester United, but still lost!
Arsenal seems to have mastered the art of beating the average to poor teams in the Premier League and losing to the good teams.
Norwich certainly is one of the poorer teams, so it’s obviously an Arsenal win for me.
- Verdict – ARSENAL WIN
BONUS TIP – Arsenal is flying at the moment and scoring goals for fun. Over 2.5 Goals is an appealing-looking 5/6 in this match, and I’m getting on that!
Spurs v Crystal Palace – 3pm Sunday
Antonio Conte’s side probably should have beaten Liverpool in their last match, and are now five fixtures unbeaten in the Premier League.
Crystal Palace halted a three-match losing run a couple of fixtures back with a 3-1 win over Everton.
Since then they have drawn 2-2 at home to Southampton, and by most accounts, were lucky to get a point.
I can only really see a Spurs win in this match.
- Verdict – SPURS WIN
West Ham v Southampton – 3pm Sunday
The Hammers season has been a funny one. They started off like a house on fire, but have had a poor run of late.
That’s the problem with David Moyes’ side now. They’re just becoming hard to predict.
They’ve won one in their last six, and that was against Chelsea! Just underlining the point about how hard it is to predict the Hammers’ results!
As for the Saints, they are like the opposite of Leicester. Just when you think they are gone, they go and produce a performance.
They looked down and out after the recent 3-0 defeat to Arsenal and followed that up with a dominant display away to Crystal Palace, where they were unlucky to not leave with more than a point.
This match fits right into the category of one that West Ham should win, but you just know that something will probably go wrong.
The Saints seem to be fighting at the moment, and I’m backing them to get a point at the London Stadium against the unpredictable Hammers.
- Verdict – DRAW
Aston Villa v Chelsea – 5.30pm Sunday
Aston Villa has looked the part since Steven Gerrard took over as their new boss.
Last weekend’s last-minute postponement against Burnley would have been a blow, as the Villans would have expected to get 3 points from that match in their current form.
Instead, they take their excellent form into Sunday’s match with Chelsea, who have been anything but in form of late.
Thomas Tuchel’s team has won just two of their last six, and they were lucky to win them!
One was the 2-1 win away to Watford, and the other the last minute 3-2 victory over Leeds (who have been utterly useless lately), in which they needed two penalties!
They are now 6 points behind City and really can’t afford to drop any more points.
I suspect that they will find a way to somehow overcome Villa, but I think it will be a close call.
- Verdict – CHELSEA
Brighton v Brentford – 8pm Sunday
I wouldn’t worry too much about being asleep in the chair by the time his match kicks off.
Brighton doesn’t seem to know what a goal is, and for all their decent football, they are lacking a cutting edge.
In all fairness though, the Seagulls play some good stuff, and their fans would have been happy with this league position at the start of the season.
The problem is that they had such a good start, expectations went through the roof.
As for Brentford, Thomas Franks’ team really do give it a good go. The Bees certainly play for their manager.
Brentford is doing okay of late. They have won two of their last five, and sit in midtable.
I don’t think any Brentford fan would complain about that. They are 9 points clear of the relegation zone, and as things stand, look safe!
This is a difficult one to call. Brighton will see this match as winnable, but confidence must be low without a win in 11 matches.
I’m going to stick my neck out though and go with the Seagulls to win this one.
If nothing else, they are due a win by the law of averages.
- Verdict – BRIGHTON WIN
Newcastle v Man Utd – 8pm Monday
I’ve said before, Newcastle’s main objective across this difficult run of fixtures must be to still be intact with the rest of the bottom three at the end of it.
Boy, they’ve taken some punishment lately, and a lot of it against Manchester City was self-inflicted.
As unpredictable (and useless at times) as Manchester United can be, they are four unbeaten now and also have won their last three.
I expect them to make it four wins in a row on Monday.
- Verdict – MAN UTD WIN
This article is written by Dean Etheridge, you contact him on LinkedIn, or see more of his work on his football betting website.