Premier League Predictor: Round 16 Picks

I was pretty pleased to get 7/10 with 3 Exacts in Round 15. There were more green arrows for me on the global leaderboard (it makes a nice change to have two good rounds in a row!) and the community average was far more healthy thanks to results being a bit more predictable.

Let's hope that continues with this weekend's round. With so little time to train between games, momentum is more likely to stick with teams regardless of whether that momentum is negative or positive so I'm hopeful that we can continue calling things correctly.

Here are my thoughts on each Round 16 game. Let me know which I've got wrong in the comments!

Everton vs. Chelsea

Marco Silva’s sacking was pretty inevitable, it felt as though they were just waiting to get through the Leicester and Liverpool games before getting rid of him so that they can now try and pick up three points with a new (or rather interim) manager bounce. Duncan Ferguson is the caretaker boss for the Toffees against Chelsea but I still see them struggling. The lack of a full-time manager makes things a little more unpredictable but at such a busy stage of the season there’s very little time for things to change at Goodison Park. If they do win, it’ll be because Chelsea have played badly rather than Everton suddenly being brilliant so I’m sticking with the visitors. Prediction: Everton 1-3 Chelsea

Bournemouth vs. Liverpool

Bournemouth are in trouble, in my opinion. They’ve now lost four on the bounce and their main strength which was quality attacking football seems to have disappeared, which leaves them as a very ordinary side that couldn’t beat Palace who were down to 10 men for more than 75% of Tuesday’s match. Fans are beginning to worry about relegation and injuries are also a concern with Steve Cook and Josh King out of this one. Liverpool should find this pretty comfortable. Prediction: Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool

Tottenham vs. Burnley

I wasn’t surprised to see Manchester United raise their game and compete with Tottenham on Wednesday but I was surprised to see Spurs lose. Questions are going to remain over their defence until Mourinho finds a couple of clean sheets and I see this game returning to their pattern of winning, but conceding a stupid goal or two as well. Prediction: Tottenham 3-1 Burnley

Watford vs. Crystal Palace

There’s a bit of a rivalry between these two teams which may lead to Watford finally showing a bit of fight this season but Palace are the clear favourites. Like Arsenal, Watford are in a position where they need a new manager and a new direction as soon as possible but they also can’t rush the appointment as failure to get the right person would be catastrophic. I think they might manage a goal in this one but the struggles will likely continue. Prediction: Watford 1-2 Crystal Palace

Manchester City vs. Manchester United

Barring the shock 2-3 comeback win for United a couple of seasons ago, City have dominated the derby for a few games now and whilst I think this will be fairly competitive, it should be another win for Guardiola. I’ll be regretting picking City if United score in the first-half and cause the hosts’ backline to be anxious for a long period of the game but City’s midfield is just so, so much better. They *should* control this match and win comfortably if they’ve prepared properly to stop United’s counter-attacks. Prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Manchester United

Aston Villa vs. Leicester

This won’t be easy for Leicester. Aston Villa are tough to play against at Villa Park but my concern for the hosts is that even when running big teams close, like Liverpool, they’ve faded at the last and lost. Villa have dropped a lot of points from winning positions this season and Leicester have shown in recent games that they’re capable of scoring late goals. Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Leicester

Newcastle vs. Southampton

Newcastle have a good recent record against Southampton and have been picking up better results than most of us expected under Steve Bruce. They haven’t lost at home since their opening game of the season and I make them the most likely side to win this game despite Southampton’s recent wins over Watford and Norwich. The hosts will be reliant on returns from Saint-Maximin and Almiron if their good form is to continue - both had been very wasteful in the final third up until recently. Prediction: Newcastle 1-0 Southampton

Norwich vs. Sheffield United

Sheffield United's unbeaten run is finally over and that surprise loss has made me question my pick for this game. The Blades keep drawing away from home and I'm starting to think a point each is likely in this game rather than an away win. Chris Wilder will be eager to ensure that the loss against Newcastle doesn't snowball into a poor run and if they manage to avoid defeat here then they have some attractive looking home fixtures coming up where they can look to target victories. Prediction: Norwich 1-1 Sheffield United

Brighton vs. Wolves

Wolves have been excellent recently and are on a very impressive unbeaten run but I have a sneaky feeling Brighton could turn them over in this game. The Seagulls have impressed at both Anfield and the Emirates, winning at the latter, and are a difficult team to beat at the Amex. Willy Boly is a big loss for Wolves in my opinion and I feel we could see a slightly surprising result. Prediction: Brighton 2-0 Wolves

West Ham vs. Arsenal

I picked a draw for Arsenal vs. Brighton in midweek and feel really frustrated to have not been brave enough to back Brighton because Arsenal have just been dreadful for weeks now. The problem with this pick is that West Ham have also been very average with the exception of their win at Chelsea last weekend. It's really hard to back Arsenal to win at the moment and I feel like West Ham will be really up for this. The Hammers won this fixture last season so let's go with them doing the same again. Prediction: West Ham 1-0 Arsenal

Best of luck in Round Sixteen!