Premier League Picks Of The Week 32

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 32

The 32nd week of the Premier League action saw:

29 goals - most by West Ham, Man City, Arsenal & Chelsea = 3 each
231 shots - most by Arsenal = 24
79 on target - most by Arsenal = 13
95 corners - most by Man City = 11
196 fouls - most by Watford & Southampton = 16 each
29 yellow cards - most by Leicester, Huddersfield & Watford = 4 each
1 red card - Wilfred Ndidi for Leicester
5 penalties - 4 scored (Milivojevic for Palace, King for Bournemouth, Aubameyang & Lacazette for Arsenal)

What a game! Glenn Murray's first penalty miss for Brighton cost his side dearly, Kasper Schmeichel guessing right and saving it, equalling his dad Peter's record of three penalty saves (3 in 14 v 3 in 21 attempts respectively, not bad at all!!!). Late drama in the last ten minutes and stoppage time saw Vicente Iborra head the visitors ahead after the spot kick miss and Jamie Vardy doubling the lead and sealing the win deep into injury time after Wilfred Ndidi was sent off for a second bookable offence. Not his day. But the Foxes still ran away with the win in the end.
Spot kicks is what saved the game and day for Arsenal on Sunday, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette netting both soft penalties, the prior's brace completing the scoreline in-between. Three goals in the last 16 minutes against Stoke at the end of a boring encounter, the visitors will have felt very hard done by at the Emirates, the result seeing them stay 19th, three points from safety.

What a team! West Ham were very happy 3-0 winners against sad Southampton, as I read on BBC, what a difference three weeks, three goals and three points make after all the fan trouble!!! João Mário and Marko Arnautović with a brace, Hammers' first win since February made David Moyes' life so much easier. "The crowd were good." one of the scorers said in the post-match interview. A bit patronising, no? (Despite the added security after all the trouble last time in the London Stadium.) The win has taken them up to 14th. And breath.
Leroy Sané's left-footed smacker gave league leaders Manchester City the lead at Goodison Park after just about four minutes played. Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling added to Everton's misery. Yannick Bolasie did pull one back for the home side but it was too little too late, the visitors enjoying 90% possession at times, the highest FT total of 81% ever held in a PL match by any side. Pep Guardiola recorded his 50th PL win and his men can win the title against arch rivals Manchester United at the Etihad next week. Wow.

What a man! Top scorer Mohamed Salah was on the scoreboard once again, topping the Premier League list and nearing Cristiano Ronaldo's 2007-08 record to help Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 1-2 at Selhurst Park. More to that difficult win on Saturday lunchtime below.
Romelu Lukaku scored his 100th Premier League goal with just over four minutes on the clock helping Manchester United to a comfy 2-0 win against Swansea in the evening match at Old Trafford. Alexis Sánchez doubled the Red Devils' lead with under half an hour gone and David de Gea made a couple of brilliant saves, but they won't have it that easy at the Etihad next weekend, that's for sure!!!

What a goal! Ayoze Pérez left it late to net the winner for Newcastle against Huddersfield at the end of a frustrating encounter for the home side at St James' Park. An important goal for an important win as manager Rafael Benítez put it bang on.
A spectacular full body volley by Ashley Barnes helped Burnley to their win at West Brom, keeping his side's European hopes alive with their third successive win, whilst sealing his opponents' misery condemning them to a Premier League record eighth successive defeat keeping them rock bottom.
Tottenham's Christian Eriksen's stunning equaliser from 25 yards out, up and over Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero, woke everyone up at Stamford Bridge, levelling out Álvaro Morata's opening header. Dele Alli then put the visitors ahead just past the hour-mark with a lovely touch and shot, the Blue defence just watching, leaving free space to score. And the England forward pounced on the stunned hosts again seconds later off Son Heung-min, both Spurs players not giving up after some ping pong in the box and in eventually to make it 1-3. And then Harry Kane came on... But it was all sealed by then, Spurs' first league win at Stamford Bridge in 28 years! Too easy! Chelsea shambles!

What the hell?! Jermain Defoe was the super sub with an injury-time equaliser, his first goal since December, for Bournemouth at Watford, the Cherries never give up, comeback kings! José Holebas' daft punch away handball that gave the visitors the penalty for their first leveller didn't help the home side either. How stupid can you get?! And Sadio Mané diving, whining, being flagged offside, scoring, handling the ball - the Senegalese was one lucky man to stay on the pitch at Selhurst Park!!! Click here for my full match report. Jürgen Klopp and some of the reporters covering said there was contact and it should have been a penalty - contact doesn't mean foul and he did dramatise it! And then handling the ball before the ref whistled, he was pushing it!!! His German boss cannot defend that! If the Reds play like this in the big Champions League clash against City on Wednesday, they'll get thrashed!!!

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

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks Of The Week.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Sky Sports, SFR and BT Sports match coverage.

Liverpool Boss It 0-4 At Bournemouth

Sports - Football - Premier League - AFCB 0:4 Liverpool

Liverpool bossed the show and cruised to a 0-4 win at Bournemouth to move up to fourth in the Premier League table on Super Sunday.

Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a bit of magic after hitting the post with a free-kick earlier on.

The Brazilian made it five goals in five games after a fine run, moving too quick for the Bournemouth defenders, before slotting the ball past Asmir Begović.

Dejan Lovren doubled the score for the visitors at the Vitality Stadium soon after with a fine header.

Star man Mohamed Salah made it 0-3 before half-time after Jermain Defoe had hit the post for the home side.

The great Egyptian produced one of his excellent quick runs before netting his 11th goal in 11 games, and his 20th of the season.

The man of the match became the first Liverpool player to score at least 20 league and cup goals in a single season since Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge in 2013-14, and the first to score 20 goals before Christmas since the great legend Ian Rush in 1986-7.

Roberto Firmino got the deserved fourth with a diving header to seal the win 0-4 and extend the Reds' unbeaten run to 12 matches in all competitions.

The convincing victory was much needed after disappointing draws at home against Everton and West Brom and took Jürgen Klopp's men up to fourth, above Arsenal and Burnley, but still 18 points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Eddie Howe's side meanwhile, stay 16th in the table, only one point above the relegation zone, after their sixth game without a win (3D, 3L).

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last nine league games (6W, 3D), their best run since an 11-match run ended in November 2016.

They are the first team in top-flight history to win four consecutive away games by a margin of at least three goals.

Next for the Reds is a trip to London on Friday night, where they will face Arsenal at the Emirates.

One can only hope they keep the confidence from this win and if they play against the Gunners as they did in the reverse fixture or last season's stunning opener, they should be fine and able to extend that thrashing away record.

Liverpool Goals: Coutinho 20', Lovren 26', Salah 44', Firmino 66'.

Bournemouth Team: 27 Begovic; 15 Smith, 2 Francis (c), 5 Aké (booked 10'), 11 Daniels (3 S Cook 56'); 33 Ibe, 16 L Cook, 6 Surman, 7 Pugh (24 Fraser 45'); 17 King (19 Stanislas 31'); 18 Defoe. 4-4-1-1
Subs not used: 1 Boruc, 4 Gosling, 8 Arter, 9 Afobe.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 12 Gomez, 6 Lovren, 17 Klavan, 26 Robertson; 21 Oxlade-Chamberlain, 14 Henderson (c), 5 Wijnaldum; 11 Salah (20 Lallana 71' (booked 73')), 9 Firmino (29 Solanke 76'), 10 Coutinho (28 Ings 87'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 7 Milner, 10 Mané, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

HT Match Stats: AFCB 0-3 LFC
Possession: 45%-55%
Shots: 3-11
On target: 1-5
Corners: 1-2
Fouls: 4-3
Yellow cards: 1-0

FT Match Stats: AFCB 0-4 LFC
Possession: 44%-56%
Shots: 6-21
On target: 2-7
Corners: 2-3
Fouls: 5-10
Yellow cards: 1-1

Referee: Andre Marriner
Man of the match: Mohamed Salah
Ground: Vitality Stadium
Attendance: 10,780

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report and Twitter.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 16

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 16

The 16th week of the Premier League action saw:

27 goals - most by Tottenham = 5
237 shots - most by Crystal Palace = 24
85 on target - most by Tottenham = 11
102 corners - most by Tottenham & Liverpool = 12 each
216 fouls - most by West Brom = 18
39 yellow cards - most by West Ham, Crystal Palace & West Brom = 5 each
1 red card - Zeegelaar for Watford
3 penalties - 2 scored (Milivojevic for Palace, Rooney for Everton)

What a game! Brilliant goals, breath-taking football, action-packed, entertaining, the game had everything at St James' Park. But Newcastle once against ended up on the losing side, 2-3 against Leicester this time, a late Ayoze Pérez own goal costing the Magpies dearly. Foxes boss Claude Puel is doing what Rafael Benítez is looking for, getting the team together and the best out of his players.  The Spaniard has seen his side slump down to 16th collecting just one point from the last seven matches, whilst the Frenchman can be very happy with 14 points taking them up to eighth.
After all the massive build-up all week to the Double Derby Super Sunday - both games weren't the thrillers of the century but certainly hard-fought and no love was lost between any of the sides, that's for sure. Everton got a lucky point at Anfield after utter dominance from Liverpool. Top scorer Mohamed Salah could and should have had a hat-trick, team mate Sadio Mané blew a handful of chances, too. And after all that, it had to be Wayne Rooney who grabbed the point netting his first ever goal against the Reds in the derby from the spot off a very controversial penalty, which both managers disagreed about, to say the least. Click here for my match notes, a lot happened!
League leaders City bossed the show at Old Trafford beating United 1-2 in the later kick-off. The Red Devils only had 35% possession, their lowest figure at home in the Premier League since 2003-4. Brazilian stopper Ederson's stunning double-save topped the lot for me. Everyone is always on about David de Gea, this time the other side stayed in the game and collected the points thanks to the top keeper. More below.

What a team! Tottenham have become the first side in English top-flight history to win four consecutive league games against the same opponent by four or more goals. They must love Stoke City for that, this time crushing their favourite opponent 5-1 at Wembley, including a Harry Kane double. Home sweet home, just when everyone thought Mauricio Pochettino's side were struggling.
City's win at Old Trafford took their winning run to 14 games which is the record best for the most consecutive wins in a single Premier League season and joint-best in the English top-flight alongside Arsenal's run between February and August 2002. United's first home defeat in 41 games takes Pep Guardiola's men 11 points clear at the top. Unstoppable? José Mourinho apparently/allegedly tried to stop the Citizens' party but failed...

What a player! West Ham keeper Joe Hart must have sank in his seat watching his replacement Adrián make some brilliant stops against the champions, more to that game below.
Huddersfield record signing Steve Mounié's double ended his side's run of four consecutive defeats with a 2-0 win against Brighton, leaving manager David Wagner full of praise and deservedly so.
And Wilfried Bony found a late winner to lift Swansea off the bottom of the table after beating West Brom to bank three precious points and ease the pressure on boss Paul Clement.
Charlie Austin made it eight in his last 11 league starts for Southampton, four in his last three, capitalising on Per Mertesacker's giveaway. Arsenal were shambles in the first half in the earliest kick-off on Sunday and could have been four or five goals down at the break. Oriol Romeu hit the bar in the second half. And then of course substitute Olivier Giroud levelled the score in the 88th minute with a superb header, equalling Red Devil Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's record for the most goals by a substitute in the Premier League. It ended 1-1 but could and should have been 6 or 7-1. Lucky lucky lucky Arsène Wenger.

What a goal! It was a sweet finish by Marko Arnautović that gave West Ham the lead against Chelsea and deserved as well. The Hammers stunned the Blues who were all over the place and the home side stayed strong when Antonio Conte's men did recover and form a threat. And unlike against Manchester City, David Moyes' men were able to hang on to their first win under the former Everton and United boss.
Jermain Defoe's equaliser for Bournemouth against Palace was something else. The angle, the distance, it all looked against him, but he tapped it up and in to make it two for him and 2-2 on the scoreboard.
Salah's opening goal for Liverpool was a cracker, his 13th league goal and 19th in all competitions, topping all charts and awards for the Reds, but it was not enough to win it for them as mentioned above. Manager Jürgen Klopp certainly thought Everton's equaliser should have never happened... The German failed to admit his side could and should have killed off the game way before that incident after dominating the derby through and through.

What the hell?! All the diving and whining and complaining by Chelsea at the London Stadium made me sick! The Blues were so lucky just to get away with one booking! Both Mancunian sides were just as bad as each other on Sunday as well being drama queens, and as mentioned above it continued after the match. And I was also annoyed by all the discussions and doubts about Watford's Marvin Zeegelaar's sending off, manager Marco Silva criticising the decision like blaming his side's defeat at Burnley on it. It was a two-footed, dangerous tackle! Accidental or not, it is a red.
Both penalties for Palace against Bournemouth were softer than soft, but what was Christian Benteke thinking?! His boss Roy Hodgson was not happy. First penalty taker and scorer Luka Milivojević and team mate Jeffrey Schlupp were wondering and questioning the striker's decision. Why did they let him take the injury-time spot kick? The Belgian striker has yet to score for the London side this season and it was his third miss out of five from the spot for Palace. And I hope and think it was the last as it cost them two crucial points in the relegation battle.

My Predictions - Actual Results
West Ham 1:4 Chelsea - 1:0
Burnley 1:0 Watford - 1:0
Crystal Palace 1:1 Bournemouth - 2:2
Huddersfield 2:1 Brighton - 2:0
Swansea 0:0 West Brom - 1:0
Tottenham 1:1 Stoke City - 5:1
Newcastle 1:1 Leicester - 2:3
Southampton 2:2 Arsenal - 1:1
Liverpool 4:0 Everton - 1:1 or here are my match notes
Man United 3:4 Man City - 1:2

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 5

Sports - Football - Premier League Week 5

The 5th week of the Premier League action saw:

21 goals - most by Manchester City = 6!!!
267 shots - most by Liverpool = 35!!!
73 on target - most by Manchester City = 10
100 corners - most by Liverpool = 12
206 fouls - most by West Brom, Arsenal & Manchester United = 15 each
30 yellow cards - most by Crystal Palace = 5
1 red card - David Luiz for Chelsea
1 penalty - 1 scored (Anthony Martial for Manchester United)

What a game! Laurent Depoitre woke everyone up with the opening goal at the John Smith's Stadium, but Jamie Vardy levelled the score from the spot minutes later, Huddersfield 1-1 Leicester, Andy King making the most of nothing by Chris Löwe to get the penalty. It was end-to-end stuff after that, the home side dominating but unable to take advantage in the end. Swansea's back five frustrated the hell out of Tottenham and earned the clean sheet and well-deserved point at Wembley. Spurs are still waiting for a league win at the NW London ground, having already dropped more points there this season than at White Hart Lane the whole of last season. Arch rivals Arsenal performed so much better, fighting out a point at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's first league draw at home in 16 months. Both sides came close, creating a lot, but the Blues looked that bit more sloppy, giving the ball away too many times, whilst the Gunners stayed on top, covering and tackling well. David Luiz' stupid sending off late on added to the home side's clumsy and frustrating display and they will be relieved to have squeezed out a point. Antonio Conte's men have had as many red cards in their last five PL games as they had in their previous 73 games combined (3). Arsène Wenger meanwhile will just have felt that hint of disappointment his side couldn't capitalise and walk away with all the points after a het-up, intense, entertaining derby! 👊🏻👏🏻👊🏻👍🏻👊🏻

What a team! Crystal Palace are breaking all records - the Eagles suffered their fifth consecutive opening league defeat without having scored a goal! That's a first in top-flight history! And the longest run without scoring was broken after the 78th minute - a dry run of 439 minutes beating Newcastle's 438 minutes set in 2005-6. The rainy weather fit the mood at Selhurst Park on Roy Hodgson's return after 51 years. Next on the former Liverpool and England boss' fixture list: Man City away, United away, Chelsea at home. Will the 70-year-old still have a job end of next month? Frank de Boer's record shows that should and most probably will not be the case. Will Sam Allardyce be back in October? 💩🙈💩🙈💩

What a man! West Brom's Gareth Barry made a record-equaling 632nd Premier League appearance (Ryan Giggs the former king, now having to share the crown, surely to be beaten next week). How his keeper Ben Foster didn't see red for his full-on sliding tackle on Javier Hernández, I don't know. I think West Ham boss Slaven Bilić is still shaking his head now as I type. There's nothing more to write about the goalless draw. 😴😑😴😑😴
Wayne Rooney's return to Old Trafford was the most discussed topic this weekend, replays of his many top goals shown again and again. The Evertonian had a couple of chances but did not have much to shout about before he was substituted under great applause from both ends of the ground and even a handshake from United boss José Mourinho. The striker has never beaten the Red Devils in the Premier League. 🙈👏🏻⚽️👍🏻🙈

What a goal! Jermain Defoe scored his first goal since arriving at Bournemouth to make it 2-1 and a fine turnaround-win against Brighton. The match-winner came after a nice turn in the box and drill home by the former Sunderland forward. Substitute Jordan Ibe had set up both the winner and leveller, the latter with a clever backheel to Andrew Surman, who tapped it in easy. Solly March had given the visitors the lead ten minutes into the second half after Dale Stephens headed against the cross bar, Shane Duffy saw his header cleared and Davy Pröpper his follow-up blocked off the line by Surman. All that action and the goals after the interval made up for a dismal first half. ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️
Each of Xherdan Shaqiri's last six Premier League goals have been from outside the box, including the whacker that levelled the score for Stoke at Newcastle, nice one! 👏🏻⚽️👌🏻⚽️👍🏻 And Jamaal Lascelles' header off Matt Richie's corner gave the home side the lead and winner as it ended 2-1, a proper hard-fought win for the Magpies! 👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻
Antonio Valencia's opener for United against Everton in the fourth minute was a smacker! Edge of the box, right foot, smash, boom, bang, left corner of the net, Jordan Pickford had no chance! Unstoppable beauty! The 4-0 result was very harsh as the Toffees did come back stronger after the break, but just buckled under the pressure in the final minutes. Romelu Lukaku's goal and celebration added insult to misery. Either way, there are very happy Red Devils in second place, level on points and goals with City at the top, just the alphabet separating the two rivals. ⚽️😵👌🏻😵⚽️

What the hell?! SEVEN CHANGES FOR LFC! 34 SHOTS ON GOAL! But Burnley remained unbeaten away in the Premier League, after winning at Chelsea and drawing at Tottenham, but haven't won at Anfield for 43 years, Liverpool having won all three previous home games against the Clarets. Man of the moment Mohamed Salah equalised three minutes after Scott Arfield had given the visitors the lead with a nice volley. Ben Mee came close to net a winner, Joël Matip clearing off the line. Clarets keeper Nick Pope kept well and strong to deny Jürgen Klopp's men. The Reds were frustrated once again, similar to the Sevilla game on Wednesday. Argh! Just ARGH for all Red fans! 🙈😡🙈😡🙈
Loved seeing Elton John and Pep Guardiola chatting before the game at Watford! Only in England... "1-0 to the referee" chant by the Hornets fans was a brilliant response to Sergio Agüero's goal that gave Man City the lead at Vicarage Road. It was so close, even the Argentine was looking back at the linesman to make sure the flag wasn't up... But the game was sealed soon after, the same striker doubling the score a couple of minutes later, making it eight consecutive away games he has started and scored in (only RvP has a longer run of 9). Gabriel Jesus made it 0-3 before the break, another dodgy offside- looking one. What was the flag there for again??? Nicolás Otamendi added to the home side's misery in the second half and Agüero completed his hat-trick to make it 0-5 (his sixth in the PL, the only guys left to beat are Alan Shearer with 11, Robbie Fowler 9, Michael Owen and Thierry Henry with 8). Add a Raheem Sterling penalty to seal the deal 0-6, it was all too easy and ended Watford's unbeaten run. Why couldn't Liverpool do that?!?!?! City fans' reaction: "We're taking the piss!" -  with 15 goals to nil in three games for the Citizens, yes, you are taking the piss! Lol! 😂👏🏻👊🏻👍🏻😂
Oh, and how could I forget the Super Sunday clash between the Red Devils and the Angry Birds! 😈 v 🕊 yep, you read right! LMAO! 😂😈😂🕊😂

My Predictions - Actual Results
Bournemouth 1:2 Brighton - 2:1
Crystal Palace 0:1 Southampton - 0:1
Huddersfield 1:0 Leicester - 1:1
Liverpool 2:0 Burnley - 1:1
Newcastle 1:1 Stoke City - 2:1
Watford 1:1 Man City - 0:6
West Brom 1:1 West Ham - 0:0
Tottenham 3:1 Swansea - 0:0
Chelsea 2:0 Arsenal - 0:0
Man United 4:0 Everton - 4:0

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 24

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 24

The 24th week of the Premier League saw:

268 shots - most by Liverpool = 22
34 goals - most by Everton = 6!
211 fouls - most by West Ham = 15
39 bookings - most by Watford = 5
1 red card - Hendrick for Burnley
2 penalties - 2 scored (Kane for Spurs & Barnes for Burnley)

What a game! NINE GOALS! Yes, there were nine goals in one game, which saw Everton beat Bournemouth 6-3 at Goodison Park, leaving the visitors still winless in 2017 and reporters and fans struggling to keep track and count. Crystal Palace were shocked by Sunderland, conceding three goals in six minutes, ending up being thrashed 0-4 at Selhurst Park, all goals falling in the first half, stunning their former boss Big Sam, much to David Moyes' relief.

What a team! It's all about form! For the first time since 1954, Liverpool haven't won in the opening five league games of the calendar year after losing 2-0 at Hull, having only recorded one win in ten games in all competitions (5L, 4D). Bitter rivals United on the other hand are unbeaten in the last 15 after a comfortable 0-3 win at Leicester, their longest unbeaten run since 2013, their last title winning year, when they went 18 games without losing. But too many draws still sees them dropping too many points to keep up with the top.

What a man! Romelu Lukaku was unstoppable at Goodison Park! The way the Belgian striker created and converted was like an art exhibition on football and how to beat your opponent! Jermain Defoe and Gabriel Jesus also bossed their shows for Sunderland and City respectively, with a couple of goals each. It was a good day to be a striker, goals galore!

What a goal! As mentioned, plenty of goals were scored this weekend, most by Everton. Local rivals Liverpool recorded most shots, but all in vain, see above, manager Jürgen Klopp left really angry. No discrediting Hull though! Great work rate, well earned and deserved win and a great debut goal for Alfred N'Diaye, unforgettable for the youngster!

What the hell?! After their impressive win against champions Leicester last week, Burnley's strong home form was like a distant memory or dream watching them this week. They were unrecognisable losing 2-1 down to ten men at Watford. Their miserable away form has not seen them win on the road since May last year! Schizophrenic or what?!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Chelsea 2:1 Arsenal - 3:1
Crystal Palace 0:0 Sunderland - 0:4
Everton 2:1 Bournemouth - 6:3
Hull City 2:1 Liverpool - 2:0
Southampton 0:0 West Ham - 1:3
Watford 0:1 Burnley - 2:1
West Brom 0:1 Stoke City - 1:0
Tottenham 3:1 Middlesbrough - 1:0
Man City 4:1 Swansea - 2:1
Leicester 1:1 Man United - 0:3

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks 

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match reports 

Premier League Picks Of The Week 17

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 17

The 17th week of the Premier League action saw:

245 shots - most by Tottenham = 30!
23 goals - most by Southampton & Middlesbrough = 3 each
216 fouls - most by Chelsea = 15
45 bookings - most by Leicester = 5
1 red card - Vardy for Leicester
3 penalties - 3 scored (Krkic for Stoke, Negredo for Middlesbrough & Noble for West Ham)

What a game! It was a game of two halves at the Etihad. Theo Walcott had given the Gunners an early lead after just five minutes, in a dominant display by the visitors. But the second half saw that change and reversed by Manchester City. Leroy Sané levelled the score a couple of minutes after the break, off David Silva's pass, who looked offside, Arsène Wenger left furious. But instead of fighting back, Arsenal crumbled, the Sky Blues took over. Raheem Sterling scored the winner off Kevin de Bruyne's brilliant cross, condemning the Londoners to their second defeat in a row and widening the gap between them to nine points. ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️

What a team! Yes, Chelsea won again thanks to Diego Costa, with a simple header, 1-0 at Crystal Palace this time (their 11th consecutive victory equalling club record from 2009)... But Tottenham were on fire at White Hart Lane! Mauricio Pocchetino's men had so many chances against Burnley! They had fallen behind to a ping pong goal, but Dele Alli boomed in a leveller six minutes later before Danny Rose completed the comeback scoring the winner later in the second half. Good goalkeeping and well-set defence meant the scoreline did not get out of hand as it could have with the flood of chances the home side threw at their visitors! ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️

What a man! It seems like an auto-text every week, Chelsea win, Costa winner, as mentioned above. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is on a roll too, his header and deflected goal seeing Manchester United win for the third time in a row, 0-2 at West Brom, taking the Swedish striker's run to 10 goals in nine games. And Jermain Defoe was provider this time, for Patrick van Aanholt to score the winner for Sunderland against Watford. I'm telling you, my phone is recognising and predicting certain names every week... ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️

What a goal! On-loan striker Álvaro Negredo produced an excellent finish and a comfortable penalty before a ripper of a pass from Gastón Ramírez found Marten de Roon to make it 3-0. It was a boosting win for Middlesbrough against a sorry Swansea side who are slipping down more and more, now second from bottom with just 12 points. And Liverpool left it really really late in the Merseyside derby to win the scrappy affair deep into injury time thanks to Sadio Mané netting a rebound and keep up with Chelsea at the top!⚽️🙈⚽️🙈⚽️

What the hell?! There were once again questionable refereeing decisions, both Moussa Sissoko and Ross Barkley lucky to stay on the pitch for Spurs and Everton with dangerous tackles that could have ended the careers of Burnley's Stephen Ward and Liverpool's Jordan Henderson respectively. It is just ridiculous that replays cannot be used - I write that every week! Hull City can sing a song of that too, once again unlucky conceding a penalty and losing against West Ham after Mark Noble made no mistake of the spot kick this time. ⚽️🙈⚽️🙈⚽️

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures taken from the BBC match reports.