Premier League Predictor: Round 21 Predictions

More than a full week between Premier League rounds is quite a rest in the modern schedule so it feels like Round 20 was a while ago but I kept up my run of 7/10 correct picks and had 3 Exacts in that round including Brighton 1-1 Arsenal which gave me some big green arrows on various leaderboards.

Let's hope my (much needed) strong festive form can continue throughout the second half of the season.

The reason for the gap between rounds was of course the FA Cup third round. On Superbru, we begin an FA Cup Predictor game with the fourth round, so look out for that as a new tournament to join in the next couple of days.

Here are my thoughts on each game in Round 21. Drop your own in the comments!

Click here to join the Premier League Predictor and make your own predictions.

Brentford vs. Manchester City

Brentford had been going so well at home but after a couple of league defeats and then the weekend's result against Plymouth, it's hard to back them against an improving Manchester City side. The respective form of each of these teams only a few weeks ago means there's certainly some doubt over this game but I think City will pull through. Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Manchester City

Chelsea vs. Bournemouth

Chelsea aren't in great form at the moment and it feels as if the focus is always more off the field as soon as we're in a transfer window because the new ownership's sporting directors just love making signings, but this is an opportunity to beat a good Bournemouth team since the Cherries have been so unlucky with injuries. It's hard to tell how much the lack of a recognised centre forward will hurt Bournemouth as they have plenty of other players capable of fulfilling the defensive pressing side of things, but I'm going with a Chelsea win on the basis that they really need the points. Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth

West Ham vs. Fulham

We'll obviously have to wait and see if things work out, but I think the appointment of Graham Potter by West Ham is a great move for both parties. At the start of the season there was wide belief that West Ham had 'won' the transfer window and that talent is obviously all still at the club so if given a bit of time I think Potter will get the Hammers playing some good stuff. I'm not sure he's the kind of manager to bring a particularly big initial 'bounce' though and with so many of West Ham's strikers currently injured, this might end up as a draw, I think (like most Fulham games). Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Fulham

Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool

This wasn't a fixture I was expecting to be quite excited for at the start of the season, but Nottingham Forest's excellent season so far which obviously included a win at Anfield means this should be a great watch. If Liverpool are again beaten by Nuno's side, the title race is suddenly wide open but I think they'll get some revenge for that Anfield defeat. I reckon Forest can cause problems and quite possibly score a goal down Liverpool's right side but the visitors should manage a couple of goals themselves. Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Liverpool

Everton vs. Aston Villa

I'm also a big fan of Everton's decision to re-appoint David Moyes (albeit under different owners this time) as he should offer something extra without losing the stability we've seen from the Toffees under Sean Dyche, while the idea of him being the man to lead Everton into their new stadium is quite a nice one in my opinion after such a successful and long first spell with the club but I'm not an Everton fan so I apologise if I'm way off the mark with that! This is a tough opening game for Moyes but Aston Villa haven't been good on the road for a while so I'm going with a draw. Prediction: Everton 1-1 Aston Villa

Leicester vs. Crystal Palace

It's been quite a while since Crystal Palace have been beaten away from home so I'm backing them to continue that solid form and win here. It feels as if the only boost Leicester really get towards staying in the Premier League this season is from news reports saying they won't get a points deduction for PSR breaches, but they're not showing enough on the pitch for me to consider picking them to win at the moment. This is a good fixture in which to try and change that but Palace have been pretty solid as I say. Prediction: Leicester 0-2 Crystal Palace

Newcastle vs. Wolves

On current form, Newcastle should win this comfortably. It sounds as if Alexander Isak's fitness is in question so it will be interesting to see if Eddie Howe risks him, but I can only see a home win either way because of the Magpies' current momentum and Wolves have some fitness question marks over their best striker too in Matheus Cunha. Prediction: Newcastle 3-0 Wolves

Arsenal vs. Tottenham

This has the potential to be an interesting North London derby with neither side in a particularly strong place in terms of momentum, but it's hard to go against Arsenal given their superior league form and recent record in this rivalry. Just as in the reverse fixture, set pieces might well be a problem for Tottenham without their first-choice centre backs, and even though Arsenal have been pretty poor in front of goal outside of those situations, they're solid enough defensively to get through this game and find a way to win in my opinion. Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham

Ipswich vs. Brighton

This is one of the toughest picks in the round. I was going to go with a home win because of the improvement we've seen in Ipswich and because of Brighton's poor run of results, but it sounds as if Danny Welbeck is back fully fit for the Seagulls and he does tend to do a good job of converting the chances that Brighton otherwise don't when he's not available. On that basis, I'm going with a narrow away win. Prediction: Ipswich 1-2 Brighton

Manchester United vs. Southampton

It's amusing that the form streaks for each of these teams on the Superbru picks page are actually quite similar barring United's one win away at City in the derby, but surely the Red Devils can beat Southampton at home after knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup on Sunday? We're still yet to really see United dominate a game that they're supposed to under Ruben Amorim but Southampton are by far the weakest team in the division and I'm going with a comfortable home win because of that rather than because of United really. Prediction: Manchester United 3-0 Southampton

Good luck with your own picks!

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