Premier League Picks Of The Week 21

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 21

The 21st week of the Premier League action saw:

16 goals - most by Chelsea = 5
200 shots - most by Chelsea = 21
65 on target - most by Chelsea = 12
91 corners - most by Man United = 10
195 fouls - most by Huddersfield, Burnley, Watford, Crystal Palace & West Brom = 14 each
41 yellow cards - most by Crystal Palace = 5
0 red cards
3 penalties - 2 scored (Willian for Chelsea, Rodriguez for West Brom)

What a game! Swansea turned the game around at Watford with two goals in the last four minutes! André Carrillo had headed the home side ahead early on, before Jordan Ayew netted the equaliser from close range late on and Luciano Narsingh found the winner even later after Heurelho Gomes had saved Nathan Dyer's attempt. It was an explosive end and turnaround, the Welsh side's fourth win from 21 Premier League games, whilst Marco Silva's men slipped to their fifth defeat from six league games.
Bournemouth climbed out of the relegation zone in big style, all the way up to 14th, after beating Everton 2-1 and ending Sam Allardyce's unbeaten run thanks to Ryan Fraser's double. Jordan Pickford saved against Callum Wilson and Jordon Ibe, so, the scoreline could have been much worse. With the win, Eddie Howe's men avoided going nine league games without a win and denied Big Sam being the first Toffees manager to go unbeaten in his first seven Premier League games.

What a team! Crystal Palace should have won against Manchester City, but keeper Ederson denied Luka Milivojević from the spot, giving his side an "air of invincibility about them" as Gary Lineker put it on Twitter. Bang on. The league leaders' winning streak was finally halted after 18 games. Crises? The Sky Blues are still unbeaten and 14 points clear at the top, I don't think Pep Guardiola will have lost much sweat, tears nor sleep. But the ex Barca man was less optimistic, not believing his side are or will stay untouchable nor unbeatable. Let's wait and see, I can't see anything or anyone stopping them at the moment!
Manchester United didn't look like they were at home against Southampton, grinding out a goalless draw at Old Trafford. Boss José Mourinho just complained about the referee Craig Pawson not giving a penalty against Maya Yoshida, ignoring the fact that this draw has stretched his side's winless run to three games, the Red Devils just unable to make or break a real game or an opposition. Saints manager Mauricio Pellegrino will be much happier with this point despite his team now being eight games without a win. Better than nought.

What a man! Mohamed Salah's double turned the game around for Liverpool after Jamie Vardy had given Leicester the lead early on at Anfield. The Egyptian star man completed the perfect comeback with his 16th and 17th Premier League goal, Reds manager Jürgen Klopp calling his side's reaction to going a goal down the best he has ever seen. The Foxes aren't the German's favourite opponent, having lost three times against them already, more than any other club since he took over in October 2015. Liverpool have scored 77 goals in 30 games so far this season, their highest total at this stage of the campaign as a top-flight club. Nicht schlecht! Vielen Dank!

What a goal! Danny Drinkwater's take and shot into the top right corner of the goal to make it 2-0 for Chelsea against Stoke City was like scripted out of a football movie. Beautiful. The game was just too easy for the Blues. Davide Zappacosta made it five slashing the ball in from the edge of the box, wham bang thank you ma'am. Potters manager Mark Hughes was under heavy fire and pressure already, this thrashing will not have helped. Injuries have not helped the old boss either, but resting quite a few because of the tight schedule, fans and board will say enough is enough at some point if their dire run continues this way. 20 points after 21 games is their worst-ever total at this stage of the Premier League.

What the hell?! West Brom should never have come back into the game against Arsenal, the last-minute penalty should not have been. Yes, the ball came off Calum Chambers' arm, but the arm was on the chest, so, the ball would have come off the chest anyways, the arm did not make a difference. He can not beam his arm away! It ended a goal and point each at The Hawthorns, Jay Rodriguez easily beating Petr Čech from the spot, making up for James McClean's own goal off Alexis Sánchez's free-kick. Even Baggies boss Alan Pardew conceded it was a generous decision. It certainly soured Arsène Wenger's record 811th league match as Gunners boss.
And Huddersfield keeper Jonas Lössl said there was contact between him and Burnley's Jeff Hendrick and he said so much to the referee, a clear penalty not given, the game ending goalless at the John Smith's stadium. Terriers boss David Wagner admitted his side's luck staying in 11th, leaving the Clarets winless in their past four games and Sean Dyche more than disappointed, but still in seventh.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Bournemouth 2:2 Everton - 2:1
Chelsea 2:1 Stoke City - 5:0
Huddersfield 1:1 Burnley - 0:0
Liverpool 1:1 Leicester - 2:1
Newcastle 0:1 Brighton - 0:0
Watford 1:0 Swansea - 1:2
Man United 1:1 Southampton - 0:0
Crystal Palace 1:2 Man City - 0:0
West Brom 0:1 Arsenal - 1:1

Tottenham v West Ham was postponed to Thursday 4th January.

Click here for my previous Picks Of The Week.

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

Liverpool Lift PL Asia Trophy

Sports - Football - PL Asia Trophy - LFC 2:1 LCFC

Liverpool lifted the Premier League Asia Trophy after beating Leicester 2-1 at the Hong Kong Stadium.

Click here to relive all the action with my ByTheMin coverage.

The 2016 champions took the lead after 12 minutes with a lovely goal.

Defender Christian Fuchs got to the byline, crossed from the left, finding Algerian forward Islam Slimani towards the far post, who headed it in, to complete a nicely worked goal.

Another Algerian midfielder was the shining light for Leicester in an action-packed opening 15-20 minutes.

Riyad Mahrez created and produced most, team mates Daniel Drinkwater and Jamie Vardy helping him out nicely, with some lovely team play.

Liverpool looked more clumsy, defender Joel Matip especially, not having a clue what to do with the ball, taking too long, giving it away, too much, too many times.

Red boss Jürgen Klopp was going mental on the side-lines, ranting at one of the officials.

The crowd was having their fun with it, chanting and cheering to see if the loud German would be cautioned...

But he remained in the technical area. Jawohl.

It was hard to believe this was a friendly.

A nice run and great cross by Barca target Philippe Coutinho set up striker Mohamed Salah to head it past Kasper Schmeichel and level the score 1-1 with 20 minutes gone.

And just before the break, the little magician was at it again.

A right-footed smacker of a strike by the Brazilian from the edge of the left corner of the box gave Schmeichel no chance and made it 2-1.

The crowd were on their feet and in awe, and Klopp much happier.

The second half saw a bulk of substitutions and more changes throughout, continuously changing the flow of play and action.

Liverpool kept dominating possession and play though, Leicester missing most opportunities.

It was not to be for Craig Shakespeare's men, the Reds seeing them out of the competition holding on to their fine lead.

The Red fans are left hoping and definitely believing that this is just the first of many trophies, just a warm-up of what is to come.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius; 66 Alexander-Arnold*, 32 Matip*, 6 Lovren*, 7 Milner* (c); 5 Wijnaldum*, 20 Lallana*, 10 Coutinho*; 11 Salah*, 9 Firmino*, 27 Origi*. 4-3-3
Substitutes: 12 Gomez*, 14 Henderson*, 15 Sturridge*, 16 Grujic*, 17 Klavan*, 18 Moreno*, 22 Mignolet, 29 Solanke*, 38 Flanagan*, 40 Kent*, 58 Woodburn*.

Leicester Team: 1 Schmeichel; 18 Amartey*, 5 Morgan* (c), 15 Maguire, 28 Fuchs; 26 Mahrez* (booked), 22 James*, 4 Drinkwater*, 11 Albrighton*; 19 Slimani*, 9 Vardy*. 4-4-2
Substitutes: 2 Simpson*, 10 King*, 13 Musa*, 16 Lawrence*, 17 Jakupovic, 20 Okazaki, 21 Iborra*, 23 Ulloa*, 25 Ndidi* (booked), 29 Benalouane*, 31 Elder, 32 Barnes, 33 Moore.

*Subs made, most in the second half

HT Stats: LFC 2-1 LCFC
Possession: 58%-42%
Shots: 6-3
On target: 3-1
Blocked: 3-1
Offside: 1-1
Passes: 220-161
Touches: 311-231
Tackles: 8-6

FT Stats: LFC 2-1 LCFC
Possession: 64%-36%
Shots: 11-6
On target: 6-2
Blocked: 4-2
Offside: 2-1
Passes: 541-314
Touches: 704-450
Tackles: 12-15 

Referee: R. Madley
Man of the match: Philippe Coutinho
Ground: Hong Kong Stadium

Click here to read my last LFC match report.

Pictures, stats and facts taken from the LCFC and LFC matchday blog and Sky Sports match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 26

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 26

The 26th week of the Premier League action saw:

205 shots - most by Tottenham = 21
22 goals - most by Tottenham = 4
187 fouls - most by Watford = 19
26 bookings - most by Watford = 4
2 red cards - Barnes for Burnley, Antonio for West Ham
3 penalties - 3 scored (Huddlestone for Hull City, King for Bournemouth, Deeney for Watford)

What a game! West Brom's comeback against Bournemouth was an entertaining encounter at The Hawthorns. But champions Leicester stole the show, returning to their stunning best we all enjoyed last season, beating Liverpool 3-1 at the King Power thanks to Jamie Vardy and Danny Drinkwater being back on fire. One goal especially wins my vote, see below...

What a team! Everton stretched their unbeaten league run to nine games after beating bottom side Sunderland 2-0 at Goodison Park thanks to Idrissa Gueye and Romelu Lukaku, the latter registering his 60th Premier League goal in 119 games for the Blues, equalling the club record with current first-team coach Duncan Ferguson (60 in 239 matches).

What a man! Harry Kane has scored the most Premier League goals since start of last season = 42, three hat-tricks in the last nine games, fourth in the Premier League for Tottenham, a club record, taking him past 100 goals in his club career (102, 86 of those for Tottenham). Cesc Fàbregas marked his 300th Premier League appearance as the man of the match, opening the score for Chelsea against Swansea, Pedro and Diego Costa also on the scoreboard once again, stretching the Blues' lead at the top to 11 points. Utter dominance.

What a goal! Drinkwater's goal for the Foxes against the Reds was a breathtaking smacker to make it 2-0 before the break. Vardy was back with a double-bang, scoring his first and second Premier League goal of the year, pouncing on Jürgen Klopp's mens' weakness at the back. A convincing win, or as the German boss of the losing side put it, it was a bad start, bad middle and bad finish for the Reds. Click here to read my LFC match summary.

What the hell?! Crystal Palace's win against Middlesbrough, served Big Sam only his second win since taking over at Selhurst Park in December. The victory was priceless for the Eagles, devastating for Leicester, dropping into the relegation zone in the process (temporarily). I would have been sad about that, if it weren't for the Foxes' sacking of the title winning boss Claudio Ranieri. But their misery didn't last long as mentioned above, much to Craig Shakespeare's advantage in his bid to take over the job permanently. #hm #suspicious

My Predictions - Actual Results
Chelsea 3:1 Swansea - 3:1
Crystal Palace 0:0 Middlesbrough - 1:0
Everton 2:0 Sunderland - 2:0
Hull City 1:0 Burnley - 1:1
West Brom 2:1 Bournemouth - 2:1
Watford 1:2 West Ham - 1:1
Tottenham 4:1 Stoke City - 4:0
Leicester 2:2 Liverpool - 3:1 or click here for my LFC match summary
Man City P:P Man United*
Southampton P:P Arsenal*
*P = postponed because of the EFL Cup Final (Man United 3:2 Southampton)

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match reports.

FT Summary LCFC 3-1 LFC

Sports - Football - PL - LCFC 3:1 LFC

Craig Shakespeare in temporary charge after Claudio Ranieri's dismissal, looking for Leicester's first league win since Boxing Day, Jamie Vardy not on the scoreboard since 10th December.

Liverpool wanting to build on their first win of the year against Tottenham, 16 days ago, Philippe Coutinho having not scored nor provided in the last seven games since his return from injury.

The opening 20ish minutes were all Leicester, 4-0 attempts, 2-0 on target, Vardy coming the closest, one-on-one versus Simon Mignolet, the Belgian stopper's legs denying the striker.

But the 30-year-old forward pounced on Georginio Wijnaldum's giveaway, with enough time and space off Marc Albrighton to compose himself and put the Foxes ahead with his right foot, nice and comfy after 28 minutes, the champions' first league goal since New Year's Eve!

Kasper Schmeichel denied Coutinho just over a minute later after a lovely buildup, first real chance for the Reds.

Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi fed off Vardy to be denied by Mignolet with just over half an hour gone.

Liverpool producing some quality, but Leicester comfortably on top...

And what a strike it was that doubled the lead for the Foxes, Danny Drinkwater whacking it in with his right foot from distance after James Milner thought he had cleared the danger, no chance for the keeper.

Two minutes added on, The King Power sounding loud and proud, a bit mocking. What crises?!?!?! Nicht gut for Red boss Jürgen Klopp.

Leicester continued on top after the break, Liverpool just curving out but messing up half chances, Coutinho and Sadio Mané looking desperate at the front.

With an hour gone, Vardy headed in his second off a Christian Fuchs cross, the Foxes' third. Oh, just like in the good old days (= last season).

Shortly after Liverpool made a double-change, and Ranieri's name rang around the stadium, the Reds ripped the home side open for the first time, Coutinho pouncing and netting the chance to make it 3-1, his sixth league goal of the season.

Drinkwater put one chance wide not long before conceding a corner which was headed wide eventually by Lucas Leiva.

Vardy received treatment after a clash of heads with Wijnaldum, just under ten minutes left on the clock, Klopp bringing on youngster Ben Woodburn to replace Lucas.

Schmeichel spilled Coutinho's shot out for a corner, which Liverpool could not make much of, keeping the score at 3-1 in the final minutes.

Nathaniel Clyne won another corner for the Reds, blocked out, for Leicester to counter, losing out possession eventually.

Feisty challenges left, right and centre late on, the referee Michael Oliver let the play flow.

Five minutes added on after the Foxes made their final change, tired legs out there.

A free kick given away by Milner in the final minute, Fuchs tried to beat Mignolet cheekily high from distance, sending the ball out, just.

Seconds later, the whistle went, cheers rang through the King Power celebrating their first win of the year.

Man of the match Vardy back how and where he belongs, on the scoreboard, with two goals, Drinkwater adding to that with a beauty.

Possession may have been dominated by the visitors, but they never took over any control, the hosts bossing it from start to finish.

Or as Klopp put and summarised it for the Reds in the post-match interview, it was a bad start, bad middle, bad end.

The win takes Leicester out of the relegation zone, up to 15th, Liverpool stay in 5th with just one point between them and bitter rivals Manchester United in 6th with a game in hand.

Leicester Pre-Match Form: LLWLLL

Liverpool Pre-Match Form: LLLDLW

Leicester Team: 1 Schmeichel; 28 Fuchs, 6 Huth, 5 Morgan (c), 17 Simpson; 25 Ndidi, 4 Drinkwater; 11 Albrighton (3 Chilwell 90'), 20 Okazaki (13 Amartey 69'), 26 Mahrez (22 Gray 80'); 9 Vardy. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 10 King, 19 Slimani, 21 Zieler, 23 Ulloa.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 7 Milner (c), 21 Lucas (58 Woodburn 84'), 32 Matip, 2 Clyne; 5 Wijnaldum, 23 Can, 20 Lallana (27 Origi 66'); 10 Coutinho, 11 Firmino, 19 Mané (18 Moreno 66'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 17 Klavan, 35 Stewart, 66 Alex-Arnold.

Leicester Goals: Vardy 28' & 60, Drinkwater 39'.

Liverpool Goal: Coutinho 68'.

HT & FT stats: LCFC-LFC
Score: 2-0 & 3-1
Possession: 38.6%-62.2% & 30.9%-69.1%
Attempts: 9-6 & 13-17
On target: 5-3 & 7-7
Offside: 2-1 & 3-2
Corners: 5-6 & 5-12
Free kicks: 6-4 & 8-5
Yellow cards: 0-0 & 0-0
Red cards: 0-0 & 0-0

Referee: Michael Oliver
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy
Ground: The King Power Stadium
Attendance: 32,034

Click here my HT Summary LCFC 2-0 LFC.

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

Pictures taken from the BBC match report, stats and facts taken from the Sky Sports app and live coverage.

HT Summary LCFC 2:0 LFC

Sports - Football - PL - LCFC 2:0 LFC

Craig Shakespeare in temporary charge after Claudio Ranieri's dismissal, looking for Leicester's first league win since Boxing Day, Jamie Vardy not on the scoreboard since 10th December.

Liverpool wanting to build on their first win of the year against Tottenham, 16 days ago, Philippe Coutinho having not scored nor provided in the last seven games since his return from injury.

The opening 20ish minutes were all Leicester, 4-0 attempts, 2-0 on target, Vardy coming the closest, one-on-one versus Simon Mignolet, the Belgian stopper's legs denying the striker.

But the 30-year-old forward pounced on Georginio Wijnaldum's giveaway, with enough time and space off Marc Albrighton to compose himself and put the Foxes ahead with his right foot, nice and comfy after 28 minutes, the champions' first league goal since New Year's Eve!

Kasper Schmeichel denied Philippe Coutinho just over a minute later after a lovely buildup, first real chance for the Reds.

Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi fed off Vardy to be denied by Mignolet with just over half an hour gone.

Liverpool producing some quality, but Leicester comfortably on top...

And what a strike it was that doubled the lead for the Foxes, Danny Drinkwater whacking it in with his right foot from distance after James Milner thought he had cleared the danger, no chance for the keeper.

Two minutes added on, The King Power sounding loud and proud, a bit mocking. What crises?!?!?! Nicht gut for Jürgen Klopp.

Leicester Pre-Match Form: LLWLLL

Liverpool Pre-Match Form: LLLDLW

Leicester Team: 1 Schmeichel; 28 Fuchs, 6 Huth, 5 Morgan (c), 17 Simpson; 25 Ndidi, 4 Drinkwater; 11 Albrighton, 20 Okazaki, 26 Mahrez; 9 Vardy. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 3 Chilwell, 10 King, 13 Amartey, 19 Slimani, 21 Zieler, 22 Gray, 23 Ulloa.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 7 Milner (c), 21 Lucas, 32 Matip, 2 Clyne; 5 Wijnaldum, 23 Can, 20 Lallana; 10 Coutinho, 11 Firmino, 19 Mané. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 17 Klavan, 18 Moreno, 27 Origi, 35 Stewart, 58 Woodburn, 66 Alex-Arnold.

Leicester Goals: Vardy 28', Drinkwater 39'.

HT stats: LCFC-LFC
Score: 2-0
Possession: 38.6%-62.2%
Attempts: 9-6
On target: 5-3
Offside: 2-1
Corners: 5-6
Free kicks: 6-4
Yellow cards: 0-0
Red cards: 0-0

Referee: Michael Oliver
Ground: The King Power Stadium

Click here for my previous LFC match report

Pictures taken from the BBC match report, stats and facts taken from Sky Sports app and coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 11

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 11

The 11th week of the Premier League action saw:

234 shots - most by Liverpool = 28

36 goals - most by Liverpool = 6!!!

239 fouls - most by Sunderland & Tottenham = 17

37 bookings - most by Southampton = 5

1 red card - Pienaar for Sunderland

4 penalties - 4 scored (Benteke Palace, Kane for Spurs, Defoe for Sunderland & Austin for Saints)

What a game! It was goals and action galore at Turf Moor! And it was all topped and finished off by Burnley's last-minute winner! Wow, smashing home form for the Clarets! And finally, Sunderland were rewarded for the hard work and recorded their first win of the season at Dean Court. The more remarkable it was made by the fact that the Black Cats were reduced to ten men for the majority of the game/second half! And strugglers Hull City have recorded their first win since the 20th August and the first three points under Mike Phelan a, who will also be mightily relieved going into the international break.

What a team! Liverpool have gone top of the Premier League for the first time since May 2014 and will be more than happy with that going into the international break. Jürgen Klopp's men absolutely thrashed and took Watford apart, it ended 6-1, it could have been double that! Sadio Mané was the man and made it five in five with his superb goal. It was the fifth time the Reds have scored four goals or more in the league, making them top scorers and overachievers at the moment. Einfach geil! :-D

What a man! Eden Hazard is a changed man for Chelsea scoring in the fourth consecutive Premier League game for the Blues. The Blues are hot and close on Liverpool's heels just one point behind in second. Confidence was high after the 4-0 thrashing of Man United, Everton did not get a word/kick/shout in edgeways. Antonio Conte's 3-4-3 formation was spot on and is flourishing. Put all of that together and you get the result, a comfortable and confident 5-0 win.

What a goal! Yes, you read right, Paul Pogba AND Zlatan Ibrahimov were on the scoreboard for Man United! And the prior's was superb! The result ended a run of four Premier League games without a win for the Red Devils. Whether or not it is a coincidence that they recorded that win with their controversial manager José Mourinho in the stands serving his suspension is interesting and intriguing either way.

What the hell?! Such a shame to see Leicester crumbling away like everyone predicted and Claudio Ranieri scratching his head wondering how the hell... The defending champions have suffered yet another defeat, thanks to Danny Drinkwater's error that led to the second goal to make it 1-2 to West Brom. It's the Foxes first home defeat since September 2015, and unbeaten run of 20 games (13 wins, 7 draws). End of an era.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Bournemouth 2:0 Sunderland - 1:2
Burnley 1:2 Crystal Palace - 3:2
Man City 3:1 Middlesbrough - 1:1
West Ham 1:1 Stoke - 1:1
Chelsea 1:0 Everton - 5:0
Arsenal 1:1 Tottenham - 1:1
Hull City 0:1 Southampton - 2:1
Liverpool 4:0 Watford - 6:1 - click here for my match report
Swansea 1:1 Man United - 1:3
Leicester 2:1 West Brom - 1:2

Click here to read last week's Premier League Picks

All pictures taken from the BBC match reports