Premier League Round 14 Predictions!

I was relatively pleased to manage an average 6/10 in Round 13 with my exact 1-1 prediction for Brighton vs. Leicester handing me an extra boost. With so much Premier League football coming up this month, there are a lot of points to be had so if you can start nailing a couple of exact picks in each of the next few rounds, pool standings can change very quickly.

This week’s round features plenty of difficult picks early on before what’s set to be a cracking Sunday of football with three derbies taking place - two of them huge. Here are my thoughts on each game, let me know your own in the comments as usual. It’s been great to have plenty of you telling me where I’m right and wrong!

Cardiff vs. Wolves

Wolves have made this a difficult pick for me after losing 2-0 at home to Huddersfield last weekend. They had been looking really strong before Nuno got hit with the ‘Manger of the Month curse’ and they’ve now had enough bad results for you to question whether they can win this match. Cardiff have been quite competitive in their last five games and I think they can come away with a point at least. Wolves aren’t clinical enough and with home advantage I expect Cardiff to score. Prediction: Cardiff 1-1 Wolves

Crystal Palace vs. Burnley

This is the one for Palace, surely. They haven’t won in eight games and things were looking pretty bleak before last week but after getting a well-deserved point at Old Trafford last time out, they now have a very winnable home game. Burnley haven’t been convincing defensively and if Palace can keep getting the ball to Zaha I feel there’ll be plenty of set piece opportunities as the Clarets will likely keep going in too hard on him. Hodgson will make it very clear to his team that this must be three points. Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-0 Burnley

Huddersfield vs. Brighton

Huddersfield are suddenly getting results and Brighton are so much better at home than they are away so in contrast to what would have been the case a few weeks ago, this match is suddenly tilting towards the hosts in my head. It will be tight as neither side is really capable of blowing the other way and the question over Huddersfield’s goal scoring ability is still there in my opinion. Brighton will be well organised if not too threatening in attack so I’m going with a brave goalless pick here. Prediction: Huddersfield 0-0 Brighton

Leicester vs. Watford

I’m going with Leicester as the home side for this one. The Foxes are always difficult to beat and Watford, like Brighton, are far more dangerous when they have the home advantage. Gray, Vardy, Iheanacho, Pereira and Maddison have all proven themselves to be dangerous going forward and I think they should have enough to defeat the Hornets. Keep in mind that Maddison is available this weekend as his suspension for that silly red card against Brighton last week was served during a midweek Carabao Cup tie. Prediction: Leicester 2-0 Watford

Manchester City vs. Bournemouth

Obviously City are the team to pick here. If anything, Guardiola’s side are better than they were last year and Bournemouth don’t tend to threaten the big clubs, especially when away from home. People are probably right in saying attacking Man City like Lyon have in each of this year’s Champions League ties is the way to get a result against them but if you haven’t got a squad of Champions League quality, you’re going to struggle regardless. Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth

Newcastle vs. West Ham

Somehow, Newcastle now can’t stop winning and the only hesitation I have about picking them to win again here is that it seems crazy that a team as bad as they were for the opening quarter of this season can suddenly win four on the bounce! West Ham are so hard to read this year and with the players they have there’s certainly a chance they can win. But with Newcastle bouncing and the Hammers far from convincing, let’s go with Benitez’s managerial skill and the team’s momentum resulting in another victory. Prediction: Newcastle 1-0 West Ham

Southampton vs. Manchester United

Manchester United continue to be the most difficult team to predict this season. It’s hard to tell the XI and formation Mourinho will pick and harder still to judge whether they will actually get a result but the pattern they’ve been experiencing suggests they are due a PL win. Danny Ings is still out for the Saints which weakens their chances of scoring further so I’m going for an unconvincing United victory that may be capped off with a late second when Southampton push forward. Prediction: Southampton 0-2 Manchester United

Chelsea vs. Fulham

Chelsea were dreadful at Spurs last weekend and the worry after a defeat as convincing as that one is that other teams will take note of the way in which Spurs won so easily. Fortunately for the Blues, they are a much better team than their SW6 neighbours and won’t be outplayed in midfield like they were last time out. In addition to the Europa League game vs. PAOK, Sarri is demanding a reaction from his team here. Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Fulham

Arsenal vs. Spurs

A North London derby is always box office and Tottenham come into this one after an excellent week. Beating Arsenal away would be massive at any time but especially after beating Chelsea and Inter at home. This is Unai Emery’s first NLD and he’ll no doubt have been told this a ‘must not lose’. As the hosts, the onus is on the Gunners to go out and try and win this game and whilst I think Spurs will play for three points, if it’s tight late on I’ve no doubt they’d take a draw. Both sets of fans will be quite confident going into this game but like the players, I think they’d all secretly be relieved not to lose even if it means not winning. Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham

Liverpool vs. Everton

Another monster derby but the difference in this one is that Liverpool need to win both because of their higher status in the city and because of how poor they were in Paris on Wednesday. The Reds are lucky to still be in with a chance of qualifying in the Champions League having lost all three away games but they have of course been strong in the league and I don’t think Everton will be able to hold out. The Toffees will sit deep in hope of a huge point at Anfield knowing they will get chances on the break as well but I’d be shocked if Liverpool fell to a first defeat of the campaign in a match that means so much. Prediction: Liverpool 1-0 Everton

Best of luck to all in Round 14! Don't forget to make your picks in time for the early Friday night game and be aware of the midweek round of matches that follows next Tuesday and Wednesday.