Premier League Picks Of The Week 20

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 20

The 20th week of the Premier League action saw:

35 goals - most by Tottenham & Liverpool = 5 each
295 shots - most by Bournemouth & Chelsea = 25 each
103 on target - most by Bournemouth = 10
117 corners - most by Chelsea = 13
206 fouls - most by Southampton = 15
38 yellow cards - most by Burnley = 7
0 red cards
0 penalties

What a game! It didn't even take two minutes for Burnley to take the lead at Old Trafford, Ashley Barnes poking home the ball after a bit of ping pong in the box, messy, Manchester United shocked. Steven Defour doubled the Clarets' lead with a lovely curled unstoppable free-kick over the wall and into the top corner. Mourinwho?! Jesse Lingard pulled one back with a cheeky back-footer shortly after Nick Pope denied the substitute tipping the ball over excellently. But not long after the visitors had a goal disallowed, Fergie Time came, as the same sub netted the equaliser for the Red Devils in the 91st minute, sparing José's side from their first home defeat on Boxing Day in 39 years. Cruel. Lucky. Or both. Still doesn't hide all the negativity around a certain Portuguese...
Arsène Wenger's 810th Premier League match as Arsenal manager equalled Sir Alex Ferguson's total of games at Manchester United and was sweetened by Alexis Sánchez's double to secure three points at hard-fighting Crystal Palace. It was an entertaining derby on Thursday night at Selhurst Park, end-to-end stuff, both sides at each other. Shkodran Mustafi opened the scoring in the first half before Andros Townsend levelled the score shortly after the break. The Chilean Gunner scored two goals in four minutes with just over an hour gone, but James Tomkins' late header set up a tense finish to the game, Roy Hodgson's men not going down easily. The win pushes Arsenal within a point of fourth-placed Liverpool, level with Tottenham in fifth, whilst the Eagles drop to 16th, just one point separating them from the drop zone.

What a team! Liverpool thrashed managerless bottom side Swansea 5-0 at Anfield in the late kick-off on Boxing Day, a dominant home victory that consolidated their place in the top four. Click here for my full LFC match report.
Manchester City less than impressed at Newcastle on Wednesday, the one time I put money on them, Sergio Agüero and co dominated but struggled and just about scraped out a 0-1 win thanks to Raheem Sterling's scruffy goal. Rafael Benítez's tactics showed but didn't bare any fruit, tight tight tight, cover cover cover, but no points to show for it. That's what champions are made of, not always nice, but wins wins wins, their 18th consecutive league win to be exact, moving them 15 points clear at the top, whilst the Magpies are moving closer and closer to the drop zone after recording their fifth consecutive home defeat for the first time since October 1953.

What a man! Harry Kane made it eight hat-tricks and 39 Premier League goals in 2017, a new record, smashing Alan Shearer's 1995 tally, helping Spurs smash aside a poor Southampton side 5-2 at Wembley in the early kick-off on Boxing Day. The Tottenham striker is the first player to score six Premier League hat-tricks in a calendar year, bringing his goals total in all competitions in 2017 to 56, surpassing Lionel Messi (54), Cristiano Ronaldo (53), Edinson Cavani (53) and Robert Lewandowski (53). And it won't get any easier for Mauricio Pellegrino's men with Manchester United next on the fixture list at Old Trafford on Saturday evening. Who needs Virgil van Dijk, ey?!

What a goal! It was all about the misses (and howlers) on Boxing Day afternoon. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting missed from two yards for Stoke at Huddersfield. Jamie Vardy tried to be too clever for Leicester at Watford, through on goal, but his cheeky chip went wide. Kasper Schmeichel will not have liked the one he let squirm through under him to make it 2-1, his own goal handing Watford their first win in six games even though the Hornets only got one shot on target themselves.
Salomón Rondón was through on goal but slipped for West Brom against Everton, stretching his side's winless run to 18 league games. And Asmir Begović's slip whilst trying to clear handed Marko Arnautović an easy equaliser for West Ham at Bournemouth before the Austrian forward netted a late winn... Nope. Bournemouth nicked a point with an injury time equaliser. But was it handball?! And/or offside?! It looked like both...

What the hell?! ... Hammers boss David Moyes was certainly not happy with the controversial equaliser for the Cherries in the 93rd minute, Callum Wilson diverting in Nathan Aké's header, which was disallowed before referee Bobby Madley gave it after speaking to the linesman. Confused? Me too!!! Replays showed it was a close call, a hint of handball and offside. And the linesman did raise his flag, but the referee overruled it. Either way, Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe was very happy with his side's spirit, not giving up and scoring for the first time in four league outings despite missing Jermain Defoe due to his ankle injury. The draw still keeps the Cherries in the drop zone and without a win in eight (D4, L4), one point behind West Ham in 17th. Tight.

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

Click here for my previous Picks Of The Week.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 19

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 19

The 19th week of the Premier League action saw:

31 goals - most by Man City = 4
250 shots - most by Chelsea = 25
86 on target - most by Liverpool = 9
102 corners - most by West Brom = 11
203 fouls - most by Leicester = 19
23 yellow cards - most by Everton & Crystal Palace = 3 each
1 red card - Daniel Amartey for Leicester
3 penalties - 2 scored (Newcastle's Rob Elliot denied West Ham's Andre Ayew, Luka Milivojevic scored for Crystal Palace, Harry Kane for Tottenham)

What a game! Defenders seemed to have already gone on their Christmas break! Three goals in 388 crazy seconds saw Arsenal come back from two goals down, but Liverpool grabbed a third to make it 3-3 and a point each in a gob-smacking encounter at the Emirates on Friday Night Football. Click here for my full match report.
The first win in ten games for Newcastle came against West Ham, a five-goal thriller at the London Stadium, and it could have been many more, the woodwork was hit twice, a penalty saved, is that Rafael Benítez's job saved after two miserable winless months? The three points have moved the Magpies out of the relegation zone.
And the late and last kick-off of a very busy Saturday definitely had it in it. Leicester produced some class to take the lead, top stuff by Jamie Vardy, but Manchester United came back thanks to Juan Mata's double. The Fox mascot and Santa Clause ended up celebrating in the King Power crowd when Harry Maguire found the late late equaliser beating the Red Devils bus after playing just over 20 minutes down to ten men thanks to substitute Daniel Amartey's sending off after being just 16:09 minutes on the pitch. Even Claude Puel had a big fat smile on his face when the final whistle blew! José Mourinho less so. But that's nothing new.

What a team! Manchester City cruised to victory against Bournemouth, their 17th win on the trot, which ended up looking like a training game. Sergio Agüero netted his 100th at the Etihad, followed by City's 100th Premier League goal in 2017. They are the first English top-flight team to score 100 goals in a calendar year since Liverpool in 1982 (106). Raheem Sterling and sub Danilo added a couple more in-between and after the great Argentine respectively, the match ending 4-0, if I kept count correctly. Who can the way Pep Guardiola's men are going?! On fire! Unstoppable! Halfway through the season now, the Citizens are 13 points clear of United after their draw mentioned above, the biggest points gap between first and second place at Christmas in English top-flight history! It's the same gap (of 13 points) between Everton in ninth to Swansea at the bottom!!! Unbelievable!

What a man! Everton boss Sam Allardyce was once again scary to watch on the sideline at Goodison Park, shouting his face off and going mental watching his side put ten men back to frustrate the hell out of Chelsea and earn a point, keeping his unbeaten run going. Skipper Phil Jagielka cleared the ball off the line twice within seconds to make sure the game remained goalless! The Toffees failed to have a shot on target in a Premier League home game for the first time since December 2011, 2211 days ago, against Stoke. The Big Sam effect?
Stoke City boss Mark Hughes was a relieved man after seeing his side beat West Brom 3-1, only their second win in nine Premier League games, avoiding the drop into the relegation zone. The Baggies meanwhile are on their worst run, 18 games without a win in all competitions, 17 in the league (D8, L9), worst run since Aston Villa in 2016 (19 games without a win) and we all know what happened with them... Alan Pardew's side remain 19th, three points from safety.

What a goal! It was a great finish by Pascal Groß for Brighton to finally record a win again, their first in eight, and only their second goal in seven, at Watford's cost, their fourth league defeat in a row and fifth in their last six games, keeping Marco Silva's side stuck in tenth, whilst the Seagulls have gone up to 12th. Huddersfield manager David Wagner's double change immediately payed off when Laurent Depoitre headed in the equaliser at Southampton, Tommy Smith the provider seconds after coming on. Another super sub was Jordan Ayew for managerless Swansea, levelling out Crystal Palace's penalty by Luka Milivojević to make it 1-1 moments after replacing Luciano Narsingh. Temporary player-manager Leon Britton will celebrate that point for sure after Paul Clement was sacked during the week... Roy Hodgson meanwhile could celebrate his club's eighth unbeaten Premier League game, their longest run in the top-flight since October 1990!

What the hell?! Tottenham's Dele Alli got booked within the opening four minutes for a reckless challenge, to go on and win one of the softest of the soft penalties just a couple of minutes later, for Harry Kane to give Mauricio Pochettino's side the lead at Burnley. Double ARGH for Sean Dyche and every other neutral watching! But the top striker finished off the hard-fighting Clarets with a hat-trick, his seventh in 2017, equalling Alan Shearer's record of most Premier League goals in a calendar year (36 in 1995), and moving to the top of the league scoring list this season, level with Mohamed Salah on 15. Only Lionel Messi has scored more goals this year, 54 in all games played, just one more than the Spurs forward. The Argentine has no games left to play this year, whilst Kane has Southampton at home on Boxing Day. ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️

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

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks.

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

Spurs Thrash LFC 4-1 At Wembley

Sports - Football - Premier League - THFC 4:1 LFC

Harry Kane scored two and set up one as Tottenham downed Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley in the Super Sunday afternoon kick-off.

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The super striker didn't even take four minutes to rip through the Red back line and round keeper Simon Mignolet to break the deadlock.

Eight minutes later, the 24-year-old set up Son Heung-min to double the score, the Red defence just lagging behind.

Mohamed Salah pulled one back for the visitors just over halfway through the first half, putting away Jordan Henderson's through ball.

But just before the interval Dele Alli's volley from the edge of the area made it 3-1.

Kane sealed the deal just over ten minutes after the break after Mignolet flapped and failed to clear a free-kick, the rebound of Jan Vertonghen's shot falling to the Ballon d'Or nominee to make it 4-1.

Liverpool's defence was just over-stretched. All goals were due to leaks, massive gaps, lack of physical presence, speed and any kind of cover.

Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren were nowhere near good enough, too slow, too sloppy, clueless, Joe Gomez and Alberto Moreno unable to cope.

It said it all when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was brought on for Lovren with just over half an hour gone.

But the visitors were unable to get back into the game, despite Salah's and Philippe Coutinho's best attempts and dominance in possession.

Spurs stopper Hugo Lloris showed the opposition how it's done with some great stops, quick reaction, strong and solid presence. Something the Reds are missing!!!

Their Belgian stopper has made 13 errors leading to goals in the league since making his Liverpool debut in 2013, three more than anyone else.

The London side's boss Mauricio Pochettino was very happy for his fans, in front of Diego Maradona and Kobe Bryant, "Wembley starts to feel home" with a Premier League record crowd of 80,827.

Tottenham are up to third on 20 points, level with United in second, four points ahead of Chelsea in fourth, after their second consecutive win at their new home.

LFC manager Jürgen Klopp took "100% responsibility" pointing out the "bad, bad, bad defence. Their desire was better than ours."

Sad but true. It was no contest. The Reds are left slumbering in ninth on 13 points, trailing the top by 12 points.

Liverpool have conceded 16 goals in the league this season, their worst defensive record after nine top-flight games since 1964-65.

They have struggled most on the road, conceding 15 goals, the most in the league this season.

Next on the fixture list: A little break as the Reds are out of the League Cup, until they host Huddersfield at Anfield on Saturday.

The Tigers are high-flying after beating Manchester United 2-1 in a very convincing, strong, organised and confident display.

Again, something the Reds are missing!!!

Tottenham Goals: Kane 4' & 56', Son Heung-min 12' & Alli 45'+3.

Liverpool Goal: Salah 24'.

Tottenham Team: 1 Lloris, 4 Alderweireld, 6 Sánchez, 5 Vertonghen, 2 Trippier, 23 Eriksen (15 Dier 81'), 29 Winks, 20 Alli, 24 Aurier, 10 Kane (18 Llorente 88'), 7 Son Heung-min (17 Sissoko 69').
Subs not used: 3 Rose, 13 Vorm, 14 Nkoudou, 33 Davies.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet, 12 Gomez, 32 Matip, 6 Lovren (21 Oxlade-Chamberlain 31'), 18 Moreno, 7 Milner, 14 Henderson, 23 Can (booked) (16 Grujic 83'), 10 Coutinho, 9 Firmino (15 Sturridge 77'), 11 Salah.
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 17 Klavan, 29 Solanke, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Match Stats: THFC 4-1 LFC
Possession: 36%-64%
Shots: 14-12
On target: 6-7
Corners: 3-5
Fouls: 2-8
Yellow cards: 0-1
Red cards: 0-0

Referee: Andre Marriner
Man of the match: Harry Kane
Ground: Wembley
Attendance: 80,827

Click here for my previous LFC match report. 

All pictures, quotes, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, MOTD2, Twitter and SFR match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 7

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 7

The 7th week of the Premier League action saw:

22 goals - most by Tottenham & Man United = 4
256 shots - most by Arsenal & Everton = 23
75 on target - most by Arsenal = 11
92 corners - most by Everton = 9
188 fouls - most by West Ham = 15
24 yellow cards - most by West Brom & West Ham = 3 each
0 red cards
1 penalty - 0 scored (Berahino denied by Forster for Stoke)

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What a match! It was a routine win for Arsenal beating Brighton 2-0 on Sunday at the Emirates, a nice 21st anniversary present for their boss Arsène Wenger. The second goal was sweet, Alexis Sánchez's back-heel pass finding Alex Iwobi nicely to make it 2-0 and three points for the Gunners, taking them up to fifth in the table, just three goals behind the champions. The French manager has now won Premier League matches against 45 different clubs - a record! Man City totally outplayed Chelsea, beating the Blues 0-1 at Stamford Bridge, which keeps them in fourth place on goal difference. It was disappointing to watch, no competition at all, the result not quite reflecting the Citizens dominance, staying top of the league on goal difference.

What a team! Crystal Palace lost again, surprise surprise. Just like their local rivals, it was too easy for United as well, winning comfortably 4-0 and it could have been more. The thrash took the Red Devils just one goal behind the top. Watford showed strength and stubbornness once again, grinding out a result, a late late late equaliser, 2-2 at West Brom. In contrast to that, Bournemouth and Leicester shared their miserable form, no goals, a point each. And why Everton don't like Sundays: They lost their last five Premier League matches on this day by an aggregate score of 1-13! Burnley meanwhile remain unbeaten away from home after beating the Toffees convincingly 0-1 at Goodison Park, the win taking them up to sixth on 12 points from seven games with more away points than in the whole of last season. Ronald Koeman's side meanwhile are down in 16th on seven points. Contrast.

What a man! Harry Kane can't stop scoring! The star striker made it 0-3 to Tottenham within 23 minutes at Huddersfield, in style! Floating and bossing it! The 24-year-old Spurs forward has 13 goals in September, equalling the record in a single month by Lionel Messi (March 2012) and Cristiano Ronaldo (October 2010). Romelu Lukaku continued his top run too, adding a late goal to make it 4-0 to United and keeping his scoring streak going. Daniel Sturridge got a rare start for Liverpool and had scored five goals in the four previous league starts at St James Park, seven in total against Newcastle, making them his favourite opponent. But the out-of-form striker did not impress on Sunday, wasting chance after chance. Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring with a smacker from outside the box, the Reds seemingly in total control. Until the defence mucked it all up again, Joel Matip desperately running back after leaving a big gap between him and Dejan Lovren, kicking the ball against Joselu, for it to roll over the line oh so slowly to make it 1-1. So so so agonising for Jürgen Klopp's men once again, here is my full match report. The only positive stat: The Reds haven't lost a Premier League game in October for the last seven years according to Martin Tyler. Yay?

What a goal! Richarlison's last-breath equaliser for Watford, completing the comeback from two goals down to save a point at West Brom, in the 95th minute, was his second consecutive 90+th minute goal. Peter Crouch scored a late winner as well for Stoke City, three goals in seven appearances for the 36-year-old striker, two of those as a sub, prove he has still got it. Diafra Sakho's last-minute winner for West Ham against Swansea relieved the London Stadium and manager Slaven Bilić of all tension and despair. For now. Marcus Rashford's top-quality free kick, made it too easy for Marouane Fellaini to net, putting United on top, temporary at least. Kevin De Bruyne's finish for City against a less-impressive Chelsea, the build-up and conversion, was just top-quality! Boom!

What the hell?! Dele Alli was rightly booked for his diving antiques in Tottenham's comfortable win at Huddersfield. After his England middle-finger ban, you would think he would try to stay out of trouble. Manager Mauricio Pocchetino rightly came out strong saying the 21-year-old has to learn and work on his attitude. Do these players forget they are being watched?!?!?! It made a change to the officials act and react correctly. Bournemouth were denied an obvious handball by Leicester's Danny Simpson! And Lovren had his shirt pulled to bits, again, nothing given. The refs are just blind, ignorant and/or oblivious. When will the FA introduce something called VI-DE-O that will show the officials within seconds whether their decision can stand or not. And how many times do I rant about it!!! FFS!!!

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures, stats and facts taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter, Sky Sports and SFR match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 6

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 6

The 6th week of the Premier League action saw:

29 goals - most by Man City = 5
232 shots - most by Man City = 25
82 on target - most by Man City = 9
91 corners - most for Southampton = 9
209 fouls - most by Tottenham = 20
46 yellow cards - most for West Ham, Man United & West Brom = 4 each
1 red card - Serge Aurier for Tottenham
2 penalties - 1 scored (Jamie Vardy denied by Simon Mignolet, Alexandre Lacazette netted for Arsenal)

What a match! It was goals and action galore in the opening match of the weekend! After all the hard work by West Ham to keep Tottenham at bay, the visitors took over at the London Stadium. And it had to be, Dele Alli from the right, headed in by Harry Kane to break the deadlock. Not even a couple of minutes later, the star striker doubled the score, netting the rebound of Joe Hart's save against Alli, his 11th goals in the last five away matches. Hard life for the Hammers, after a strong start, everything went downhill for Slaven Bilić's men when Michail Antonio had to come off injured and be replaced by Andy Carroll with just under half an hour gone. The home side's control fell to bits from then on, the substitute's stupid mistakes and giveaways costing them dearly. Christian Eriksen made it three after the break, Kane hit the woodwork twice before Javier Hernández pulled one back for the home side. It got more interesting after Serge Aurier saw red though, booked a second time for his silly and clumsy challenges, Spurs' first sending off in 84 league games. Cheikhou Kouyaté made it 2-3 with three minutes plus stoppage time to go, setting up a nail-biting finish, including chances, bust-ups, pure drama! But it ended with Spurs on top! A full-on derby that has seen 21 goals in the last 6 meetings! Wow! ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️

What a team! Everton were in bits! There was nothing and no one giving them anything, not even straws to clutch on! Joshua King got a free run and nice free hit to give Bournemouth the lead at Goodison Park. It was over a decade since the Toffees lost four consecutive league matches without scoring (last miserable run like that was August to October 2005). I couldn't see Ronald Koeman survive much longer! So much money! So many players! So little goals, results and points! But Oumar Niasse's late double turned the game on it's head and put all those pressures on hold. For now. What a let-off! What a turnaround! Talk about super-sub! The saviour for both club and boss?!?!?! More to their luck (or lack of) below... 💩👊🏻🙈👎🏻💩
Watford also left it late late late, Richarlison striking in the 90th minute to counter Swansea's fightback and beat them 1-2 at the Liberty Stadium. Both goals by the visitors were defensive howlers, giveaways, backing the impressive, stubborn, consistent form by Marco Silva's men. First for both: The Swans losing the opening three home matches, the Hornets winning the first three away games. Boo(m)! 👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻

What a man! It took Romelu Lukaku  not even 20 minutes to smash in a rebound from close range to give Manchester United the lead at Southampton, making it six goals in the six opening league games for the Red Devil, equalling Louis Saha's record. The Belgian striker became the first to score for three different teams at St Mary's. José Mourinho's men were under pressure, the Saints on top for most of the second period, but made it through the storm, holding on to the three points to continue their top run. 16 points from the opening six games is United's best start to the Premier League since 2011-2. Chelsea downed Stoke 0-4 at the Bet365 Stadium, Alvaro Morata with a hat-trick, his second and Chelsea's third was a lovely run and finish, making it six in six PL games for the Spaniard. In form. ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️
Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet went from zero to hero, conceding a goal and then a spot kick against Jamie Vardy within a couple of minutes, before denying the Leicester striker an equaliser from the spot. The Belgian stopper has saved eight of the 15 PL penalties he has faced for LFC, more than any other keeper, securing the Reds their first win in nearly a month! 👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻

What a goal! Manchester City's opener against Crystal Palace shortly before the interval was a nicely worked goal. Leroy Sané's short free-kick found David Silva, who clipped it over the defence for Sané to stab it in at the near post. It changed the dynamic of the game, Raheem Sterling adding a couple to make it 3-0. Sergio Agüero with his 176th and Fabian Delph into the top corner sealed it with a fourth and fifth respectively. Th-r-ash. Pep Guardiola's side have become the first PL side to score five or more goals in three consecutive games! Wow! Cannot say anyone was surprised. It's been over 10 hours since Palace scored in the league (last one was on 14 May). In that time City have scored 29. The aggregate score of their last six meetings is 21-1, the last home defeat for the Sky Blues against the Eagles was in 1990. Worlds apart! ⚽️🙈⚽️🙈⚽️
Tomer Hemed's hooked finish gave Brighton their second Premier League win in the only Super Sunday game. A top-quality goal, followed by some brilliant defending by the Seagulls, putting everything and everybody on the line, denied Newcastle a comeback, leaving Rafa visibly frustrated. 👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻

What the hell?! Bournemouth were so lucky! Defender Simon Francis elbowed Wayne Rooney in the face, in the box, so, it should have been red and penalty. But the Everton man ended up red in the face, full of blood, fuming after being denied both by referee Martin Atkinson. Ridiculous. At least the Toffees finally got a win, that will have settled some Scouser nerves and tempers at least. Same for their Red neighbours after they finally banked three points at Leicester. But not without any hiccups, threats, flaps, fails and drama. The referee didn't make many Merseyside friends there either... Click here for my full match report. And how Jay Rodriguez didn't get a penalty for West Brom, but Aaron Ramsey did for Arsenal at the Emirates, only referee Robert Madley knows and can explain... Maybe... Hopefully... Consistency? None! The call settled Gunners' nerves as the Baggies were a constant threat to get something back, hitting the post and seeing Monreal clear off the line. The spot kick doubled the score and handed Arsène Wenger's men a much needed clearer lead and win, more than they deserved, Tony Pulis left fuming and wondering... 💩🙈😡🙈💩

My Predictions - Actual Results
West Ham 1:2 Tottenham - 2:3
Burnley 0:1 Huddersfield - 0:0
Everton 2:1 Bournemouth - 2:1
Man City 6:0 Crystal Palace - 5:0
Southampton 2:4 Man United - 0:1
Stoke City 1:2 Chelsea - 0:4
Swansea 0:1 Watford - 1:2
Leicester 2:1 Liverpool - 2:3 or my match report
Brighton 1:0 Newcastle - 1:0
Arsenal 3:0 West Brom - 2:0

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 38

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 38

The 38th and final week of the Premier League action saw:

283 shots - most by Chelsea = 28
37 goals - most by Tottenham = 7
222 fouls - most by Man United = 16
30 bookings - most by Everton & Leicester & Stoke = 4 each
1 red card - Koscielny for Arsenal
1 penalty - 1 scored (Lukaku for Everton)

What a game! The top and drops of the Premier League were already confirmed over the last couple of weeks, so, the only thing left to play for was the Champions League qualification. Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal were in the mix, the London side needing a win and one of the other sides to slip up to be able to clinch a top four spot. It was not to be. Quite the opposite. Despite beating Everton 3-1 at the Emirates, Laurent Koscielny's reckless challenge saw him sent off and suspended, plus injury to defender Gabriel Paulista didn't make the Gunners' chances any better for the FA Cup final either... Merde!

What a team! Chelsea won and celebrated in style, but Tottenham stunned everyone just that bit more thrashing Hull City 1-7! 13 goals in the last two games, 15 in the last three! How did they not win anything this season?! Best goals total scored and conceded, best points total in years, they have missed out big time! Will they be able to top that next season??? In absolute contrast to that, total flops were Everton and Watford, why bother turning up if you don't really play?! Both sides were felled easily and taken apart by Arsenal and Manchester City respectively. Refund the fans!!!

What a man! Departing Chelsea skipper John Terry may have been the most celebrated player of the day (and absolutely lambasted for the substitution antiques on BBC TV and radio coverage), but Spurs striker Harry Kane is definitely the best of the season, three goals against Hull City and seven in the last two outings taking his season total to 29 in just 30 games, including four hat-tricks! The Golden Boot well deserved! The Golden Glove has gone to the champions' keeper Thibaut Courtois with 16 clean sheets.

What a goal! Georginio Wijnaldum's opener for Liverpool relieved everyone at Anfield just before the break after the Reds had made it look oh so difficult against relegated Middlesbrough. Philippe Coutinho added a sweet free kick and Adam Lallana sealed the deal with a pass into goal after a fine team break away, buildup and effort. Aaron Ramsey's high curling beauty into the top corner to make it 3-1 to Arsenal was worth nothing in the end. The question now is, will there be any changes at the realm of the London side???

What the hell?! José Mourinho once again took all the attention - this time by saying nothing, in a non-existent post-match press conference at Old Trafford after his side's 2-0 win against Palace! What a farce! Even Arséne Wenger was up to chat (ish) after his worst season at Arsenal! Isn't it part of their job description?! I mean, how much money the media pump into the game and then to get that kind of response, just avoiding them and blanking them out, that's just blatant ignorance and arrogance?!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Arsenal 2:1 Everton - 3:1
Burnley 1:1 West Ham - 1:2
Chelsea 6:1 Sunderland - 5:1
Hull City 1:4 Tottenham - 1:7
Leicester 2:0 Bournemouth - 1:1
Liverpool 2:1 Middlesbrough - 3:0
Man United 1:0 Crystal Palace - 2:0
Southampton 1:1 Stoke City - 0:1
Swansea 1:0 West Brom - 2:1
Watford 1:2 Man City - 0:5

Games In Hand Played Before The Weekend:
Chelsea 1:1 Watford - 4:3
Arsenal 4:1 Sunderland - 2:0
Man City 3:0 West Brom - 3:1
Southampton 1:2 Man United - 0:0
Leicester 1:1 Tottenham - 1:6

20 goals in only 5 games! Wow! 168 shots, 36 of which fell to the Gunners alone, most in a Premier League game since 2003! Double wow! 99 fouls, 22 bookings (6 to Watford alone, triple wow!), Sebastian Prödl sent off for Watford and 1 penalty saved by United's Sergio Romero denying Saint Manolo Gabbiadini. And someone said the Premier League was boring?!

Click here to read my previous Premier League Picks Of The Week.

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match reports, Radio Five Live coverage and MOTD.

Liverpool take a point at White Hart Lane

Sports - Football - Premier League - THFC 1:1 LFC

It ended all level 1-1 at White Hart Lane, but with plenty of talking points. On the one hand Liverpool will feel more like two points dropped because of Sadio Mané's disallowed goal. But Spurs were pushing and dangerous, especially with Harry Kane, so, better than nothing. Fair result in the end, intense game, both going for it, both getting something from it.

The game started mixed, the home side on top, keeping the Red back line and keeper Simon Mignolet the busier, producing a couple of top notch saves against Kane. Both sides did not give each other much space, so possession changed quickly and regularly, both pushing again and again on the counter, Michel Vorm with some good stops of his own against Philippe Coutinho early on.

It did not take long for the tide to swing and Jürgen Klopp's men to take over, the front three Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Mané challenging the Spurs' back line. Just before the break, the pressure bared fruit. Firmino was brought down in the box by Erik Lamela chasing back. James Milner sent keeper Vorm the wrong way and netted the spot kick into the left corner, sending Liverpool into the interval 0-1 ahead.

The second half started just as intense, both teams not leaving each other much room to play with, possession not lasting long, giving away a lot of throws and free kicks. Mané and Danny Rose kept clashing after both had already been booked in the first half for their rants and tangles, keeping each other on their toes and tensions high.

The Reds should have had their lead doubled on 57' after a lovely move that involved Georginio Wijnaldum, Adam Lallana and Mané, the latter netting and celebrating, only to be flagged for offside. It was a very close call.

And it did come back to bite them indeed, Mauricio Pocchetino's men given too much time and space, even though there were six Liverpool players in the box. Rose was able to easily squeeze the ball in the near post to level the score with just under 20 minutes to go.

Kane was surprised to be taken off late on, youngster Joshua Onamah replacing him, Tottenham pushing for a win. Disgruntled Daniel Sturridge came on eventually, Mané coming off in the final minutes. But both changes were in the vane, the game continued and ended how it was all along, mix and match, give and take, great build-up and chances to clumsiness and giveaways.

This display sums up both sides' mixed season so far quite well. They both showed quality, but also plenty of points in need of improvement. 1-1 reflects this. After their embarrassing defeat at Burnley last week, Liverpool can be relieved and look forward to their first home match at the revamped Anfield against champions Leicester after the international break in a fortnight.

Here is my full coverage of the match, relive all the action on ByTheMinute LFC.

Interesting OptaJoe stats from the match:

Before the match:

0 - Harry Kane has never scored a Premier League goal in August.

9 - There have been more own goals scored in PL games between Spurs & Liverpool than any other fixture (9).

3 - Liverpool are the first team to play away in their opening 3 top-flight league games of a season since Chelsea & Bolton in 1997-98.

5 - Simon Mignolet has conceded the last five shots that he has faced on target in the Premier League.

HT & 2nd half:

41 - James Milner has never been on the losing team after scoring in a PL game (W34 D7 L0 before today).

6 - Six of Danny Rose's eight Premier League goals have come at White Hart Lane, including each of the last five.

10 - Harry Kane has not scored in any of his 10 Premier League appearances in the month of August.

FT:

42 - James Milner is now unbeaten in 42 PL games that he's scored in (W34 D8 L0); only Darius Vassell (46 games) has a better record.

Tottenham Goal: Rose 72'.

Liverpool Goal: Milner pen 43'.

Tottenham Team: 13 Vorm; 3 Rose (Y29', G72'), 5 Vertonghen (Y52'), 4 Alderweireld, 2 Walker (9 Janssen 28'); 12 Wanyama, 15 Dier; 23 Eriksen (29 Winks 93'), 20 Alli (Y77'), 11 Lamela; 10 Kane (c) (25 Onomah 83'). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 31 McGee, 38 Carter-Vickers, 33 Davies & 7 Son.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 7 Milner (pen 43'), 6 Lovren (Y63'), 32 Matip (Y94'), 2 Clyne; 5 Wijnaldum, 14 Henderson (c) (Y85'), 20 Lallana (35 Stewart 94'); 10 Coutinho (Y46', 27 Origi), 11 Firmino, 19 Mané (Y33, 15 Sturridge 88'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 13 Manninger, 16 Grujic, 18 Moreno & 21 Lucas.

Y = yellow card, G = goal, pen = penalty

Sky Sports Match Stats: Tottenham-Liverpool HT & FT
Possession: 48.6%-51.4% & 49.4%-50.6%
Attempts: 4-6 & 11-13
On target: 1-3 & 4-3
Corners: 2-1 & 5-5
Offside: 0-3 & 2-6
Free kicks: 11-6 & 17-11
Bookings: 1-2 & 3-5

Referee: Robert Madley
Ground: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 31,211
Man of the match: Dejan Lovren

Pictures taken from BBC match report

Click here for my previous LFC match report