No more international breaks this year, thank goodness. I’m sick of watching players get injured in these glorified friendlies and I’ve seen enough of Malta vs Andorra for the year.
Brace yourselves – this week kicks off the start of a hectic period of Premier League football with 90 games in 45 days!
Man United start a new life under Rúben Amorim, Man City are in hot water as rumours are emerging that Pep might be on his way out and Chris Wood was in the shortlist for best player of 2024/25 (so far)
Now that we’re back, let’s see where we’ve landed for match week 12.
The fun gets under way as Chelsea head to Leicester for their lunch date with the Foxes.
For Leicester, it will be their first reunion with Enzo Maresca, the man that helped them to promotion last year.
Chelsea have been one of the more exciting teams to watch so far and are unbeaten in their last three games. They’ve lost just once on the road this season but the good news for Leicester is that Chelsea do struggle to keep a clean sheet.
With their 21 goals on the season and 13 conceded, I’m taking the Blue to win this one but not without conceding at least one.
An entertaining game in my eyes as two teams who have seen a high volume of goals.
Fulham, who have not lost at Craven Cottage this season have had a decent run of form with seven points in their last three games before the break. They’re sitting in 7th spot and a push for European football is definitely a possibility for this team.
Wolves have took a long time to get their first win, but it came over Southampton who are dead last.
I’m not looking too much into that win for Wolves and back the Cottagers to continue on their winning ways.
Arsenal are winless in their last four games and have dropped to fourth on the ladder, nine points adrift of league leaders Liverpool.
Arteta will be pulling his hair out at the realisation that during his pre-match press conference he’ll need to answer injury questions about Saka, Rice, Calafiori, Odegaard, Tomiyasu and now Trossard as well, who was forced off in Belgium’s 1-0 defeat to Israel.
Nottingham Forest have been one of the biggest surprises this year sitting tied with Arsenal on 19 points. Chris Wood has been the stand out for the Trees but they do face a tough test at the Emirates, a place where they’ve lost their last five meetings.
Infront of a home crowd, I like the Gunners to get back on track despite the injury concerns.
Everton are winless in their last three games but get a home fixture against the Bees this weekend. While Everton have struggled, Brentford’s away form is much worse.
The Bees have lost all five of their away games this year and have not kept a clean sheet all season.
This is a game where I don’t have a lot of confidence in the Toffees but also Brentford haven’t been able to keep the ball out of the back of the net. Anything could happen in this one, but purely for value, the draw seems like a good bet in this one.
Aston Villa had a tough stretch leading into the International break and it seems that the hectic schedule may be too much for Unai Emery’s side.
They’ve lost four on the bounce across all competitions but similar to the Gunners, they have a good chance to get back on track in front of a home crowd.
Crystal Palace have shown early signs of relegation football, sitting with one win through 11 games. Goals have been hard to come by for Crystal Palace and without Eze I’m not sure how much of a threat they pose.
With a struggling Villa side and the Eagles lacking creativity I don’t see the goal total getting above two.
Bournemouth saw rare success over Brighton last season with a 3-0 win back in April. Apart from that one win, they haven’t had much luck when it comes to playing the Seagulls.
Both of these teams had historic wins over Man City in recent weeks but the Cherries have also knocked off Arsenal and drew with Aston Villa showing they’re no joke this year.
Out of their last 10 meetings, the home side has won seven of those fixtures. I’m not over complicating things here and just backing the Cherries to take down another top six club.
There can’t have been too many times where Man City are staring down the barrel of five straight losses across all competitions. They’ll have to beat the team that kick started their losing streak.
Spurs have shown flashes of brilliance at times but ultimately their inconsistency has been their undoing. At times they can be one of the most exciting teams in the league with their style of play, but they can also be super stale.
They have the all the ingredients to beat City again this weekend but it the reality is they haven’t won at the Etihad since 2016.
As much as it pains me, I would love to see Spurs get up this weekend… but from a betting front, I’m staying away from the head-to-head.
A match-up of complete opposites. Liverpool flying high at the top of the table and Southampton stinking it up right at the bottom.
Liverpool have been the best team in the Premier League at both ends of the pitch. A win for Liverpool is almost a lock, but we’re pushing the boat out and backing a multiple correct score with Liverpool winning to nil.
In two of their last three games, Liverpool have kept two clean sheets and Southampton have failed to score in two of their last three. A match made in heaven.
The Tractor Boys got up over Spurs to register their first win in the top-flight but now they’ll have to face a new look Man Utd team.
Rúben Amorim takes charge of United for the first time this weekend after a successful stint with Sporting FC. We’ve heard this story too many times but even still, fans are hopeful he’s the man for the job.
United had a good stretch under interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy going unbeaten through four games before the break.
Amorim will be trying to figure out his best XI so I’m expecting a big performance from his players who will be trying to impress the big man.
Match week 12 wraps with the Magpies hosting the Hammers at St. James Park.
This fixture has historically favoured the home side so I’m backing the Magpies to get the job done with Alexander Isak finding his way onto the score sheet.
The striker has scored in each of his last three games. He should see plenty of chances come his way against a side that has struggled to keep clean sheets.