Premier League Picks Of The Week 33

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 33

The 33rd week of the Premier League action saw:

29 goals - most by Man United & Arsenal = 3 each
220 shots - most by Chelsea = 23
74 on target - most by Southampton = 8
96 corners - most by Bournemouth = 11
188 fouls - most by Stoke City = 19
34 yellow cards - most by Man City = 6
3 red cards - Pröpper for Brighton, Stephens for Southampton, El Neny for Arsenal
0 penalties

What a game! The weekend started with Merseyside derby disappointment, a goalless training game at Goodison Park, click here for my full match report! To Manchester madness in the evening, it was a game of two halves all right!!! City were bossing it in the first half, Vincent Kompany and İlkay Gündoğan putting the Citizens on top and it could have been so much more, no reply whatsoever from the Red Devils. Until the second half, two goals in two minutes by man of the match Paul Pogba (53' & 55') and Chris Smalling with just over 20 minutes to go completed the comeback for the visitors. Pep Guardiola's men had more chances, including substitute Sergio Agüero and Raheem Sterling, but the woodwork and David de Gea saved the day for José Mourinho's team. That's the blue side of Manchester's title celebrations postponed for now, whilst the red part widened the gap to their Scouser rivals in third place.

What a team! Newcastle recorded their third Premier League win on the trot beating Leicester thanks to goals from Jonjo Shelvey and Ayoze Pérez, Jamie Vardy pulling one back late on. More below. Boss Rafa Benítez feels his side are "nearly" safe, in tenth place, ten points from the drop zone, with a game in hand, I think Rafa is right with his assumption. Muy bien. The Foxes meanwhile, have lost momentum, remaining stuck in eighth, six points behind Burnley in seventh after their 1-2 comeback at Watford. The two sides meet next weekend, a win is a must for Claude Puel's side if they want to stay in the race for Europa League qualification. A far cry from the title-winning side two years ago... Très triste!

What a man! Christian Eriksen's brace helped Tottenham to their sixth consecutive league win consolidating their place in the top four by beating Stoke 1-2 increasing the home side's relegation fears stuck in 19th, four points from safety. Swansea meanwhile came from behind to grab a point at West Brom, the Baggies ending their eight-game run of straight defeats in Darren Moore's first match as caretaker manager in place of Alan Pardew after just 21 matches in charge (W3 D5 L14).
Joe Hart made a couple of top-class saves for West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, taking two points off Chelsea and bagging their own thanks to sub Chicharito's goal seconds after coming on. The point took the Hammers four points clear of the drop zone in 14th.

What a goal! Joshua King's last-minute goal for Bournemouth nicked a point against Palace after the London side had come back twice at Dean Court! The draw keeps the Eagles in 17th, widening the gap to the drop zone ever so slightly but crucially to three points. A crazy couple of minutes at the Amex Stadium saw Jonas Lössl give Brighton the lead seeing the ball rebound off his head and into his own net before Steve Mounié pounced on Shane Duffy's back pass to equalise for Huddersfield. Davy Pröpper's late sending off gave the visitors some hope of grabbing a late winner, but it stayed 1-1, a crucial point in the relegation battle for the sides in 13th and 16th respectively.
Danny Welbeck scored two and made one, sealing the win for Arsenal, just, 3-2 against Southampton on Sunday, which saw both teams reduced to ten men in injury time. Both sides scraped and scratched, punched and hit, the Gunners dealing the Saints the final blow, it was not an easy watch for either side.

What the hell?! The referees did not make many friends again this weekend!!! Foxes defender Harry Maguire was lucky not to be sent off for his hand on Toon Dwight Gayle's face. The following bust-up didn't help either side. And Leicester's penalty appeal for Paul Dummett's collision with Riyad Mahrez was overlooked/ignored as well. You could argue things evened themselves out... There was a handball before West Brom's goal, which could/should have been a red card in the end. Was it just a bit of luck for the caretaker boss?! And City should have had a penalty after Ashley Young's two-footed tackle on substitute Agüero. Various booking decisions by the officials were very questionable at the Etihad. The derby is a difficult and challenging clash to officiate and keep control over, but come on! The Merseyside derby saw no bookings for the first times since 1992, but there were numerous questionable decisions there as well, clashes, fouls, etc. It was like the referees were just reluctant to make any decisions!!! Did they have any bets on?!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Everton 1:1 Liverpool - 0:0 or my match report
Bournemouth 2:1 Crystal Palace - 2:2
Brighton 2:1 Huddersfield - 1:1
Leicester 1:1 Newcastle - 1:2
Stoke City 1:3 Tottenham - 1:2
Watford 1:1 Burnley - 1:2
West Brom 1:1 Swansea - 1:1
Man City 3:1 Man United - 2:3
Arsenal 3:0 Southampton - 3:2
Chelsea 3:1 West Ham - 1:1

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter and SFR coverage.