Premier League Picks Of The Week 30

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 30

The 30th week of the Premier League action saw:

261 shots - most by Chelsea = 24
19 goals - most by Liverpool = 3
229 fouls - most by Liverpool = 17
41 bookings - most by Stoke = 4
0 red cards
1 penalty - 0 scored (Harry Arter missed that one for Bournemouth sky-high!)

What a game! The Merseyside derby was a feisty, competitive encounter that more than entertained. The goals were top quality, from Sadio Mané's stubborn, strong, low left-footer, to man of the match Philippe Coutinho's right-foot curler into the corner of the net. Matthew Pennington's first senior goal for Everton had not levelled the score for long. And substitute Divock Origi put the icing on the cake for Liverpool soon after coming on for an injured Mané, making it 3-1. Both Ross Barkley and substitute Gareth Barry were lucky to escape further bookings and dismissals with a lot of misplaced, mistimed, over-physical challenges. Any more chances Everton had, Simon Mignolet kept solid for the rest of the match. And the man in form Romelu Lukaku was kept mute throughout. Reds manager Jürgen Klopp is the first Liverpool boss to win his first three league derbies. Toffees boss Ronald Koeman left Anfield less happy, more annoyed with the officials, but his side were outclassed in the end and haven't seen an away win here since 1999.

What a team! Crystal Palace surprised everyone, especially Chelsea, recording their fourth consecutive league win against the league leaders. It was a top quality, mind-blowing performance. Everyone thought it would be an obvious result after Cesc Fàbregas opened the scoring and gave the Blues the lead. But man of the match Wilfried Zaha was scorer and then provider to Christian Benteke seconds later, turning the home defence, fans and scoreline on their heads in an explosive start at Stamford Bridge, which saw three goals in the opening 11 minutes! The Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey was outstanding too, keeping the scoreline at 1-2 and making Big Sam the first boss to win a Premier League match against Chelsea with four different clubs!

What a man! And United boss José Mourinho drew all the attention onto him again with a dismissive, bewildering post-match interview after his side's goalless draw against West Brom at Old Trafford. Yes, his side had more possession and chances. But, and that's a big but, they did not score! It's the Red Devils' 11th draw, a top-flight record. They are now 19 games unbeaten, but the Portuguese's points tally after 28 games doesn't read well against his predecessors at United = his 53 v David Moyes' 59 v LVG's 63! So, maybe that's why the Special One is being more like the Stroppy One!

What a goal! Both Leicester's goals against Stoke were fantastic! Wilfred Ndidi opened the scoring out of the blue with a cracking beauty, a right-foot shot into the top corner. Jamie Vardy doubled the score for the defending champions with his right foot, Potters defender Glen Johnson just standing and watching on like frozen. Both goals were set up by a glowing Danny Simpson. The Tigers keep flying high with their fourth consecutive win under Craig Shakespeare, making him the first British manager to win his opening quadruple and taking his side up to 13th.

What the hell?! Arsenal came back twice against Manchester City earning them a point with their 2-2 draw at the Emirates. Sounds good, competitive and quality, but it wasn't. The game was everything else but not good, competitive nor quality. The Gunners lost their coordination and connection, were just not on the ball, it was more than evident that something isn't right. The Sky Blues were not much better but seemed to be more content with the draw. Especially the first equaliser by Theo Walcott was peculiar as it did not cause much celebration. It didn't help that the home side conceded again seconds later, but the whole feel and atmosphere to the goal and the whole game... Weird... Bad... Sad... Just negative! Amongst the players and fans! They should be very ashamed! For or against Arsène Wenger, you should always be in it and play the game to win it. Reminds me a bit of Leicester and Claudio Ranieri this season. Shame on all of them!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Liverpool 3:2 Everton - 3:1
Burnley 1:1 Tottenham - 0:2
Chelsea 2:1 Crystal Palace - 1:2
Hull City 1:1 West Ham - 2:1
Leicester 3:1 Stoke City - 2:0
Man United 2:1 West Brom - 0:0
Watford 0:0 Sunderland - 1:0
Southampton 1:1 Bournemouth - 0:0
Swansea 0:0 Middlesbrough - 0:0
Arsenal 2:2 Man City - 2:2

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All stats and pictures are taken from MOTD and the BBC match reports.