Premier League Predictor: Round 20 Picks

It's time for yet another Premier League round and the incredibly tight turnaround means many of you won't get a chance to read this before the Brighton game starts!

Round 19 was pretty ordinary for me (5/10) so I could do with some Exacts before the new year. Here's what I'm picking for the final round of 2019! Let me know how your picks compare in the comments.

Brighton vs. Bournemouth

The first two or three picks of this round are tough. I see Brighton as favourites here but wouldn't be surprised to see a draw. I'm guessing Lewis Dunk will be back from illness to start and that's important for the hosts. They should have enough to quality to beat this out of form Bournemouth side. Prediction: Brighton 2-1 Bournemouth

Newcastle vs. Everton

Very tricky. Newcastle have been winning games and haven't lost at home since Round 1 but weren't great at United and Everton have been heading in the right direction under Ferguson and now Ancelotti. It's hard to tell how quickly Ancelotti can improve their away form and this entire round is a slight lottery due to the inevitable squad rotation caused by the ridiculously busy schedule. I'm going to sit on the fence. Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Everton

Southampton vs. Crystal Palace

Southampton feel like they've turned a corner since finding their first home win. This is another game that they perhaps should win after picking up six points from their games at Villa Park and Stamford Bridge but it often doesn't work that way and you instead see teams lose to a lesser team after pulling off an upset. Palace are solid, picked up a decent win against West Ham on Boxing Day and should be good for a point in my opinion. Prediction: Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace

Watford vs. Aston Villa

Villa got the win they desperately needed over Norwich but this will be a tougher test. Watford have had two decent results against Man United and Sheffield United and they'll know that a win here puts them right back in the mix after being far beneath almost every team for the entire first half of this season. I'm backing Pearson to find another home win and massively boost Watford's chances of survival. Prediction: Watford 2-1 Aston Villa

Norwich vs. Tottenham

We're only halfway through the season but Norwich already look very unlikely to stay up which is understandable because of their budget. The Canaries are on track for just 24 points this season and I can't see them upsetting Tottenham because they're unlikely to cope with the attacking quality of Alli, Kane and Moura. Prediction: Norwich 1-3 Tottenham

West Ham vs. Leicester

It'll be interesting to see how Leicester respond after their toughest run of the season so far. They looked nowhere near the level of City and Liverpool but that's understandable and they can still easily finish at least third if they maintain their consistency in matches like this. I think Rodgers will shuffle his pack a little and possible rotate the likes of Maddison and Vardy but that wouldn't necessarily be the worst thing and I think they'll win. Prediction: West Ham 0-2 Leicester

Burnley vs. Manchester United

United probably showed enough against Newcastle to justify picking them here, especially since Pogba will surely finally start now? Turf Moor hasn't quite been the fortress we've known it to be in previous years so I'm going for an away win but with some hesitation. Prediction: Burnley 1-2 Manchester United

Arsenal vs. Chelsea

Another tricky one! Chelsea's overall recent form has been dreadful but then performances like the one at Spurs make you feel like they'll win this. Plus, this is at the Emirates which is probably preferable for the Blues at the moment. I think Arsenal will compete in Arteta's first home game though and there's certainly goals to be had against Chelsea. I'm going for an entertaining draw. Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea

Liverpool vs. Wolves

Liverpool are looking as strong as ever so you have to back them really. Their performance against Leicester was very impressive - I hadn't been 'that' impressed with many of their displays for much of the season (their ability to grind out wins was of course amazing though!) but against Leicester they totally dominated from the first minute til the last. They'll win the title and will be very hard to stop again in Europe as well since they have such a lead domestically. Wolves obviously arrive off the back of an incredible result over City, doing the double over the champions is incredible. But having City and Liverpool in the space of 2 days is surely too much for any team? Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Wolves

Manchester City vs. Sheffield United

A test for City but one they should pass. I expect this to be Sheffield United's first away loss of the season but even if it is, what an achievement to go unbeaten this far! I'm really excited to see how Wilder's team fare against Guardiola but would be surprised to see them win. I know you can't really trust Man City at the moment but they were of course down to 10 men for almost all of that loss at Wolves. Aguero should start again and play more than 10 minutes this time! Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Sheffield United

Best of luck in Round Twenty!