Premier League: Round 16 Predictions

This season's Premier League continues to be incredibly entertaining with lots of high scoring games, plenty of late goals and City actually not being quite as good for a couple of weeks which means we have a title race at least for the moment.

Like many others, I had 5/10 in midweek - getting all of the expected results correct but none of the ones that were picked by < 50%. With basically no time at all between that midweek round and yet another one here, it's time to get predicting!

Here are my thoughts on each Round 16 game.

Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool

Palace were really disappointing against Bournemouth, and their fans are clearly getting a bit restless, but it's hard to see anything other than a similar result here. Injuries certainly haven't helped them but Liverpool would likely be too strong regardless as it's very difficult to stop the Reds from scoring. Crystal Palace 0-2 Liverpool

Brighton vs. Burnley

I was quite impressed with Burnley at Wolves where they were unlucky to lose but Koleosho's injury is a big blow for them and I think their style of play might work in Brighton's favour. The Seagulls almost enjoy being pressed as it gives them an opportunity to play out intricately and create overloads in the attacking third so I'm going with the favourites here. Brighton 3-1 Burnley

Manchester United vs. Bournemouth

They were up against a pretty poor Chelsea performance, but Manchester United looked much improved on Wednesday and this is now another game they should be winning despite Bournemouth's excellent recent form. I think United should be able to score at least a couple against the Cherries and I'm not sure the visitors will match that. Manchester United 2-0 Bournemouth

Sheffield United vs. Brentford

I'm wondering if Sheffield United might just manage a point here. They were always unlikely to win Chris Wilder's first game back against Liverpool but they stayed in that game for a while and this is a slightly more winnable fixture where Brentford could struggle without Bryan Mbeumo in my opinion. The Bees are certainly still favourites, but I think Sheffield United may just sneak something. Sheffield United 1-1 Brentford

Wolves vs. Nottingham Forest

I'm a little surprised Steve Cooper is still in charge of Forest for this game because that really was a terrible result at Fulham. I know he has plenty of support from fans and found himself in a similar position last season before getting a new contract, but it sounds as if Cooper needs to win this match to save his job based on media reports and I'm not sure that's going to happen. Wolves were unconvincing against Burnley but still got the job done and not too many teams win at Molineux. Wolves 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal

What an unbelievable display we saw from Villa against Manchester City! It's been a long time since we've seen a Guardiola team outplayed like that and I'm frustrated that I talked myself out of picking Villa despite all the ingredients being there. This is a similar fixture right behind it though and it's a really tough prediction, I've not got a clue what to go with really.

Villa have won every home game they've had since losing to Arsenal last season and I just wonder if the Gunners are able to win at Villa Park again with Emery's team surely unlikely to repeat that level of performance in the space of a few days? It feels incredibly harsh to go against Villa after that though so I think I'm going for the draw. There never seems to be a stalemate between these two but maybe that means one is due! Aston Villa 1-1 Arsenal

Everton vs. Chelsea

Similarly, I should have shown more faith in Everton in midweek as I though they'd get a result against Newcastle but only backed them for a draw rather than a 3-0 win! The Toffees were excellent and I think they could well win this game too as Chelsea just look so far off what we've all come to expect from them. If the visitors play to their maximum, as we saw in patches against Manchester City, they'll win this game but they've been quite ordinary far more often and Everton are on a mission after that points deduction so I think the hosts might just be too powerful. Everton 1-0 Chelsea

Fulham vs. West Ham

Two teams that are on the up after their midweek results and I don't think there'll be much between them so I think this could easily be a draw. Jarrod Bowen's remarkable record of scoring in every away game continues so assuming he does so again here, Fulham will need to find one themselves which suddenly doesn't seem like a problem after months of failing to show any real attacking threat! Fulham 1-1 West Ham

Luton vs. Manchester City

This one will be fun as it's such a rare thing to see City under pressure in this way and perhaps a little short of confidence which is something Luton can take advantage of if they play as well as they did against both Liverpool and Arsenal. I'd usually suggest City will use this game as a way to get back to their best and hammer Luton but those two previous performances from the Hatters suggest they can make this a battle and so while I think you have to stick with City, I think Luton will keep it respectable. Luton 1-3 Manchester City

Tottenham vs. Newcastle

A fairly good team that suddenly can't win at all vs. a good team that are really struggling away from home. Another match that will have the Superbru community split as it's so tough to call the outcome but I think Newcastle are tactically sound enough to cope with Spurs, even if they don't quite have the energy and sharpness to take all three points. Eddie Howe is struggling to rotate due to so many injuries but Spurs aren't really in a great position to mix things up either so I'm going with a high scoring draw with both teams making a mistake or two defensively. Tottenham 2-2 Newcastle



Good luck with your own Round 16 predictions and feel free to leave your own predictions in the comments!