Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 13
These are the Premier League Picks Of The Week 13:
27 goals - most by Man City = 4
251 shots - most by Arsenal = 20
86 on target - most by Tottenham = 9
95 corners - most by Man United = 10
197 fouls - most by Tottenham = 19
25 bookings - most by Brighton, Cardiff, Southampton & Chelsea = 3 each
2 red cards - Maddison for Leicester, Henderson for Liverpool
1 penalty - 1 scored (Vardy for Leicester)
What a game! Claudio Ranieri’s first match as Fulham boss after replacing first sacking of the season Slaviša Jokanović had everything in it, the best and worst, the ups and downs, leaving Southampton reeling and losing 3-2, their manager Mark Hughes on very thin ice wondering what the hell his side have to do to get a win. Stuart Armstrong had given the Saints the lead (18’), but Aleksandar Mitrović’s brace (33’, 63’) ended his six-game league goal drought and completed the perfect comeback with André Schürrle (43’), nullifying Armstrong’s equaliser in-between all of that (53’). It was an eventful encounter between the two struggling sides, Craven Cottage a very relieved and much happier and more hopeful place with their new boss, reducing the climb to safety to barely a point.
What a team! Liverpool are nowhere near their best (yet) but are still unbeaten after ending 0-3 winners at Watford, thanks to Mohamed Salah’s opener (67’), Trent Alexander-Arnold’s stunning free-kick (76’) and Roberto Firmino’s tap-in (89’). It was far from comfortable for Jürgen Klopp’s men though, with captain Jordan Henderson sent off for two daft yellows (82’) and Andy Robertson escaping a penalty shout after fouling Will Hughes as the score was still level. But the records keep tumbling for the Merseyside club, unbeaten after 13 league games with 33 points, only five goals conceded, just two points behind leaders Manchester City, the only other unbeaten side left in the league and country, who thrashed a sorry West Ham side 0-4 at the London Stadium. Chelsea meanwhile, totally derailed and crashed against Tottenham, just 3-1 at Wembley, it could and should have been 7 or 8-1 to Mauricio Pochettino’s side. The result sees Spurs replace the Blues in third, two points ahead of their London rivals, three points behind the Reds.
What a man! Man of the match Jamie Vardy was a game changer at the Amex Stadium. Leicester were second best for most of the first hour, not least thanks to James Maddison’s early sending off after two quick consecutive yellows for a foul and a stupid dive (28’). Glenn Murray had put Brighton ahead early on with his 101st goal for the club on his 100th Premier League appearance (15’). But Vardy injected some energy into the Foxes and life into the game after coming on 11 minutes into the second half. His equaliser from the spot, his first goal since September ending a run of 468 league minutes without a goal, earned his side a point on the road, keeping Claude Puel’s men in 10th place, three points clear of the Seagulls in 12th.
What a goal! Gylfi Sigurðsson’s crucial winner for Everton against Cardiff (59’) made it four home league wins in a row for his side and saw them move into the top six, whilst the Welsh side remain in the bottom three.
Bournemouth Jefferson Lerma’s own goal was gob-smacking (30’), banged in, no chance for anyone to stop it, and with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s eighth strike of the season (67’) secured Arsenal’s fourth league away win of the season, stretching their unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions, but still leaving Unai Emery expecting more. Eddie Howe felt rightly hard done by after seeing David Brooks' strike disallowed and Lerma hit the post (the correct side of the pitch this time), his side not sinking easily after their winning start to the season, but momentum has stalled a bit. After losing just two of their opening 10 league games (W6 D2), the Cherries have lost their last three in a row, dragging them down to 8th, whilst the Gunners sit strong in 5th, five points ahead of Everton in 6th and just one point behind Chelsea in 4th.
What the hell?! Manchester United’s goalless draw against Crystal Palace was hard to watch and takes their run to just three wins out of their nine games at home this season. Roy Hodgson’s men had several chances to make it even worse for the Red Devils, coming close to secure not just their first league point but also win at Old Trafford since 1989. José Mourinho was left moaning about his players’ heart and desire, or more the lack of it. Has he ever wondered why? Has he ever looked at what the reason could be = in the mirror?!?!?!
There were loads of #WTF and #ZZZ moans on social media about the Super Sunday match between Wolves and Huddersfield and not much to be expected from it. Same with the Monday Night Football fixture, Burnley against Newcastle. Fool all of them, both matches were cracking to watch, competitive and entertaining, lots happening. Aaron Mooy’s double (6', 74') helped the Terriers off the bottom of the table, whilst Nuno Espírito Santo has watched his side collect just one point from the last 15, their worst run under the Portuguese. The Magpies secured their third successive league win, Sean Dyche left absolutely fuming about his side’s frailty, having won just one of their past nine league home games (D2 L6) after gifting the goals and result, which takes the sides to 13th and 17th respectively.
My Predictions - Actual Results
Brighton 1:2 Leicester - 1:1
Everton 3:1 Cardiff - 1:0
Fulham 2:1 Southampton - 3:2
Man United 1:0 Crystal Palace - 0:0
Watford 1:2 Liverpool - 0:3
West Ham 1:1 Man City - 0:4
Tottenham 1:1 Chelsea - 3:1
Bournemouth 1:2 Arsenal - 1:2
Wolves 1:1 Huddersfield - 0:2
Burnley 0:0 Newcastle - 1:2
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