2016-17 Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - 2016-17 Premier League Tops & Flops

So, last season we saw:

- 296 wins, 168 draws
- 1064 goals, 942 inside the box, 122 outside the box, 36 own goals
- 9731 shots, 253 hit the woodwork
- 1455 offside
- 109 penalties, 82 scored, 17 saved, 10 missed
- 1392 yellow cards
- 41 red cards

And the teams to blame the most and/or least for those stats are:

TOP TEAMS

Chelsea were the main gainers of course, the champs, 43 points and 9 places better off than last season!

Tottenham and Liverpool were the next best improvers, going from strength to strength, both with 16 points more, finishing one and four positions higher respectively.

Everton were worth mentioning too, 14 points and 4 spots stronger and higher.

Here is the full comparison table how all teams did 2016-17 in comparison to the season before.

Most wins were produced accordingly by the Blues with 30, Spurs 26, Arsenal and Manchester City with 23 each.

Least defeats were suffered by Tottenham with 4, Chelsea and Manchester United with 5 each and City and Liverpool with 6 each.

Top scorers were Spurs with 86 goals, followed by the champions Chelsea with 85 and Sky Blues with 80.

Tottenham produced most of those goals from inside the box (74), followed by Chelsea and City (73) and Arsenal (70).

Top scorers from outside the box were Liverpool with 13, Chelsea and Spurs with 12 and Leicester with 9.

Most shots also came from Tottenham with 669, the Reds and Sky Blues the next best with 640 and 633 respectively.

Liverpool, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough avoided putting the ball into the back of their own net.

Spurs, the Eagles and Blues conceded the least spot kicks with only 2 each.

Swansea were flagged offside only 49 times, Boro 51 and Bournemouth 53.

Least cautions went to the Cherries with only 52 yellow cards, the Reds with 54 and Swans with 56.

Chelsea, Spurs, LFC, West Brom, Palace and Sunderland were clean with no names on the red cards list.

The most action-packed weeks were: Follow the links to read and relive my picks of that week.

Most goals: 37 in week 14 & week 38

Most shots: 295 in week 1 & week 10

Wrote most: week 13 & week 14, week 31 & week 32

FLOP TEAMS

Leicester are the biggest losers, 36 points and 11 places worse off, oh Claudio!

Southampton and West Ham deflated by 17 points, two and four positions respectively.

Sunderland imploded/dissolved/destroyed completely, relegated having dropped 15 points and three spots.

Here is the full comparison table how all teams did 2016-17 in comparison to the season before.

Least wins came from Middlesbrough with just 5, Sunderland 6 and Hull City 9.

Most defeats crushed The Black Cats with 26, The Tigers with 22 and Swans 21.

Boro found the net the least with only 27 goals, followed by Sunderland with 29 and Hull with 37.

The Smoggies also recorded the least number of goals from inside the box with 26, outside the box with just 1 and shots with 351, the Black Cats following them nearly as miserably with 387, 26 and 3 respectively.

Burnley didn't give their fans much more to shout about with just 31 attempts converted from inside the box, Hull 33.

Crystal Palace don't like distance with only 2 goals from outside the box and Everton 3.

Most own goals went to Bournemouth, Hull, Stoke and Swansea with 5 each.

Hull City topped the penalty list with 13 conceded, followed by Arsenal with 10 and Southampton and Swansea with 9 each.

Burnley saw the offside flag most, a whole 101 times, whilst United missed out on the century with 99 and Arsenal 95.

Watford collected most bookings with 84 yellow cards, followed by West Brom with 80 and MUFC, Sunderland and the Hammers with 78 each.

Hull, Watford and West Ham saw red most with 5 sent off each.

Weeks to forget were: Follow the links to read and relive my picks of that week.

Least goals: 14 in week 28 (5 games postponed) & 16 in week 35

Least shots: 123 in week 28 (5 games postponed) & 158 in week 34 (3 games postponed) & 174 in week 9.

Biggest rant: week 36

TOP PLAYERS

Tottenham's front man Harry Kane tops the league scorers list with 29 goals, followed by Everton striker Romelu Lukaku with 25 and Arsenal forward Alexis Sánchez with 24.

Manchester City's boomer Sergio Agüero produced most chances with 139 shots, Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen and Gunner Sánchez just behind him with 133 and 129 respectively.

Most assists came from Manchester City's winger Kevin De Bruyne with 18, Spurs man Eriksen the next best with 15 and Swansea playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson with 13.

De Bruyne has also hit the woodwork most with 9 smackers, United's Paul Pogba saw 6 come off the bar, Eriksen, Sánchez and team mate Jack Wilshere 5 times each.

Chelsea full-back César Azpilicueta has seen most of the ball with 2,459 passes, Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka behind him with 2,299 and Citizen Fernandinho with 2,180.

Burnley keeper Tom Heaton has spoilt most chances with 141 saves, followed by relegated Sunderland (now Everton) stopper Jordan Pickford with 135 and Swansea saviour Lukasz Fabiański with 117.

FLOP PLAYERS

Watford midfielder José Holebas has been cautioned most for his indiscipline with 14 yellow cards, followed by Leicester right-back Danny Simpson with 12 and a whole bunch of players with 11 bookings each (Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter, Everton middle man Idrissa Gueye, Arsenal centre back Shkodran Mustafi and Saints defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu).

Watford centre back Miguel Britos, City's Fernandinho and Gooner Xhaka are the most convicted serial offenders with two red cards each.

WHO IS IN? WHO IS OUT?

A few weeks to go and we already know:

Arsene Wenger is in, for another two years. Happy Gunners?

Mauricio Pellegrino replaces Claude Puel. Change of fortune for the Saints?

Big Sam says bye bye, hello Frank de Boer at Palace. Boom or boo?

Watford welcome Marco Silva as their new boss replacing Walter Mazzarri after the Portuguese saw Hull drop down into the Championship. Ha or hm?

Rafa's back with Championship winners Newcastle! Brighton and Huddersfield joining them on the promotions list. Yay or nay?

Red Devils skipper Wayne Rooney has returned back to his Toffee roots... Whilst Lukaku went the other way. Part of a swap deal or not, good or bad? Happy or sad? Mad either way!

Big bosses Pep Guardiola (MCFC), José Mourinho (MUFC) and Jürgen Klopp (LFC) will feel the pressure to step up and heat up the competition and keep title winner Antonio Conte (CFC) on his toes next season. They're all busy bees in the transfer market and rumour mill that's for sure!

Can Spurs do it again? Or even top the outstanding season they had? All eyes will be on Mauricio Pochettino and co...

To be or not to be... Which Leicester will turn up? Only Craig Shakespeare knows...

Whatever will happen, I know one thing: I CANNOT WAIT!!!

Most facts and stats were taken from the official Premier League website.

Pictures were taken from my weekly Premier League Picks blogs.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 35

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 35

The 35th week of the Premier League action saw:
264 shots - most by Man City = 22
16 goals - most by Chelsea = 3
212 fouls - most by Arsenal = 15
42 bookings - most by Chelsea, Boro & Man City = 4 each
0 red cards
4 penalties - 3 scored (Rooney for United, Agüero for Man City, Kane for Tottenham)

What a game! Sunday's action awoke everyone out of their Saturday trance. The four games saw eleven goals, whilst the five matches the day before recorded a dire four goals! The two Super Sunday 14:05 kick-offs served cracking second halves, seemingly synchronising some of the action and goals, it was difficult to keep up. Chelsea took Everton apart 0-3 at Goodison Park, whilst Man City left Middlesbrough furious fighting out a 2-2 draw at the Riverside.

What a team! The last Super Sunday fixture was the London derby which saw Tottenham beat Arsenal 2-0 at White Hart Lane, proving they deserve to be where they are, way above their bitter rivals. It will be the first time in 22 years Spurs will finish above the Gunners, or shall I say Goners! I loved the Lane's signs and chants... "Please mind the gap"... "Wenger, we want you to stay"... Lol! It could have been a much worse thrash if it weren't for a certain Czech keeper...

What a man! ... Petr Čech! Arsenal were down and out of the game and race to compete with Tottenham, bad enough as it was, but their stopper spared them from a much worse thrashing! The 34-year-old made some superb saves, blocks and stops, denying Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen. Jamie Vardy made it 9 in 13 for Leicester, his clinical right foot seeing the Foxes leave the Hawthorns 0-1 victors. Simon Mignolet is another keeper worth mentioning, keeping a clean sheet...

What a goal! ... After Emre Can's acrobatic cracker of a goal put Liverpool ahead against Watford. The German midfielder stunned everyone at Vicarage Road, meeting Lucas Leiva's cross with a beautiful right-footed overhead-kick into the left corner, giving goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes no chance. It's his fifth goal of the season, which lit up an otherwise ordinary game and kept his side in control of their Champions League qualification. Click here for my full LFC match report.

What the hell?! The referees were useless again this weekend! Burnley had a second goal disallowed at Crystal Palace, and rightly so as replays showed Ashley Barnes handled the ball in. But the officials didn't present or explain themselves very well. Video evidence would have cleared up things much better and quicker. Even worse at Old Trafford and the Riverside, both Manchester sides winning questionable soft penalties, Spurs too at the Emirates, where replays showed their players were diving and whining and making the most out of nothing! And they call themselves men! I've said it before and I will say it again, why oh why can replays not be used to name and shame and caution if not even suspend the right people! Oh, and the referees should be rated and penalised for their poor shows as well!

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

Games in hand played before the weekend (not predicted):
Arsenal 1:0 Leicester (thanks to Huth OG, lucky Gunners!)
Crystal Palace 0:1 Tottenham (their 8th win in a row!)
Middlesbrough 1:0 Sunderland (de Roon's 1st goal in 2017!)
Man City 0:0 Man United (Fellaini sent off for a head butt!)

Not much missed, just 3 goals in the 4 games, 81 shots, 92 fouls, 20 bookings and one sending off! You know it's been a bad display when fouls outnumber shots!

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

All pictures and stats taken from the BBC match reports and MOTD.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 31

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 31

The 31st week of the Premier League action saw:

286 shots - most by Southampton = 25
31 goals - most by Hull City = 4
229 fouls - most by Everton = 18
37 bookings - most by Everton = 5
2 red cards - Miguel Britos for Watford, Ashley Williams for Everton
2 penalties - 1 scored (Ibrahimovic for Man United)

What a game! Hull came back and turned the game around against Middlesbrough in a cracking opening at the KCOM which saw four goals, a disallowed one and chances galore in just over half an hour. Oh, and an offside one that was given to make it 3-2 at half time. Crazy! Spurs did even better completing a sensational comeback with three goals in six minutes, two of them in stoppage time to deny Swansea a home win, a crucial result at both ends of the table.

Saints left it late to beat Palace, too, after Christian Benteke had given the visitors the lead at St Mary's. Bournemouth spoilt the show at Anfield in the dying minutes as well. It was goal madness in the last 5-10 minutes, the late dramas made my mobile overheat and me dizzy trying to track of all the updates on Wednesday night!

What a team! Old Trafford witnessed a rare embarrassment for David de Gea, Phil Jagielka cheekily netting an Everton corner off the outside of his eight boot, through the United keeper's legs to make it 0-1, nutmeg style. The Toffees keeper Joel Robles on the other hand(s) made some impressive saves keeping the Red Devils at bay before the break. Things heated up in the second half after Paul Pogba hit the crossbar and the home side looked more and more frustrated, all over the place. Zlatan Ibrahimović was denied an equaliser and correctly so as replays showed the Swede striker was offside.

Both sides had plenty of chances after that, Romelu Lukaku was better than at Anfield but not quite in his usual lethal form, wasting quite a few golden chances. And it ended up costing the visitors. The last-minute penalty and sending off of Ashley Williams for a blatant handball saved the match and point for the home side, Ibrahimovic converting the spot-kick gratefully in the last minute of added time! Classic United! Deserved? I'm sure both bosses José Mourinho and Ronald Koeman will not agree, the Portuguese boss continuing his record run of league draws (12, most since 1998-99 when they drew 13) and United's worst home record win percentage of 37.5% since 1973-4 (33%). Você pode ser orgulhoso!

What a man! Super-sub Marc Albrighton set up both Leicester goals in the second half against Sunderland, first sub Islam Slimani, then Jamie Vardy a few minutes later to complete the perfect win and run. The masterful changes made by Craig Shakespeare produced his sixth consecutive win in all competitions, fifth in the league, surely keeping the champions safe from the drop now, whilst Sunderland remain rock-bottom, having not scored in two months.

Both keepers did not have a very good night at Stamford Bridge, Willy Caballero letting Eden Hazard's shot in with not much of an effort to stretch and save, whilst Thibaut Courtois' clearance/pass back even made me cringe and I'm not a Chelsea fan, handing Sergio Agüero the equaliser after gloving away David Silva's attempt straight to the Argentine. Caballero tried to make up for it with a penalty save, but handed the ball straight back to Hazard who gratefully netted the rebound.

City had plenty of chances to spoil the Londoners' show after that, and keep the title race at list a little bit open, but just couldn't find the back of the net again, miss after miss, John Stones missing the easiest sitter late on. It was the first time Pep Guardiola has been beaten home and away in his managerial career. I'm sure Antonio Conte is very happy about just that. Not the fact that his side is seven points clear at the top with eight games remaining. Na. Not at all.

What a goal! M'Baye Niang's diagonal curling shot into the top right corner of the net that opened the scoring for Watford against West Brom was a sweet strike. Much in contrast to that was Georginio Wijnaldum's back pass into nowhere handing Benik Afobe an easy goal, Bournemouth's first at Anfield in nearly half a century, serving a very sour taste to Liverpool.

And it got even worse, after Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi both scored tasty goals and thought they had turned the game around for the Reds, for Joshua King to spoil the show with a dramatic late equaliser that left LFC manager Jürgen Klopp sick in the stomach. Mesut Özil was the very unusual hero at the Emirates, scoring and providing to make sure Arsenal downed the Hammers and muted the critics. Not that there were many, there were a lot of empty seats. Say no more.

What the hell?! I think this is the most I've ever written in this blog. And that's just scratching the surface! As mentioned above, so much happened! So many goals! So many incidents! So many ifs, buts and what the... Hows?! Unpredictably awesome. See what next week will bring, after just a couple of days off. No rest for the wicked, ey?! ⚽👊⚽👊⚽

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All stats and pictures are taken from MOTD and BBC match reports.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 29

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 29

The 29th week of the Premier League saw:

235 shots - most by West Ham & Chelsea = 20 each
28 goals - most by Everton = 4
204 fouls - most by Stoke = 16
34 bookings - most by Stoke = 6
2 reds cards - Phil Bardsley for Stoke & Tom Huddlestone for Hull
3 penalties - 3 scored (Walters for Stoke, Alli for Tottenham & Milner for Liverpool)

What a game! The pulsating draw at the Etihad gets my vote, not just because I'm a Liverpool fan. I could hardly keep up with all the action reporting for ByTheMinute on the game, it could have been 5-5. Click here to read my full LFC ByTheMin match coverage. It was end-to-end stuff, with plenty of power and pace, controversial decisions, chances, sitters, misses, beauties, screamers, howlers, etc. Referee Michael Oliver didn't make many friends. Record-breaker James Milner's penalty was cancelled out by none other than Sergio Agüero. City boss Pep Guardiola was the happiest, Reds manager Jürgen Klopp less so. Click here to read my full LFC match report. The result keeps both teams in third and fourth place, giving Tottenham some breathing space in second and seeing United climbing closer up to fifth.

What a team & man! Leicester recorded their first away win since April, beating West Ham 2-3 at the Olympic Stadium. It was brilliant to hear the fans singing "we're winning away" chants and see Jamie Vardy on the scoreboard, only his second away goal of the season. Keeper Kasper Schmeichel had the game of his life with spectacular show-stopping saves. His dad must be very proud. It was a great game by an awesome team with a legendary keeper. Craig Shakespeare must be glad to have the real Tigers back, whilst everyone else is left scratching their heads wondering what he has done to them? Or what ex-boss Claudio Ranieri was doing wrong?!

What a man! Romelu Lukaku is another record-breaker after making all the wrong headlines for rejecting a new contract at Everton. The Belgian striker made up for it with a welcome hat-trick as the Toffees thrashed 4-0 Hull City at Goodison Park. The win keeps Ronald Koeman's side in seventh place, but creeping up level on points with Arsenal.

What a goal! There were so many shockers this week! From shocking defence at set pieces by Arsenal that cost them dearly at West Brom, to Swansea's Alfie Mawson's own goal that handed Bournemouth the lead in the crucial relegation battle. The top flop goes to the Boro keeper though, Victor Valdes with an absolute mock-up handing the ball over to Antonio Valencia who pressed and capitalised on the slip easily to make it 1-4 to United. It's a cruel cruel cruel world out there! 

What the hell?! ARGH! I was so annoyed by all the diving and whining! It totally spoilt the Stoke-Chelsea game! But Arsenal annoyed me even more! It was one of the worst performances I have seen by the Gunners. Manager Arsène Wenger indicated he knows his future, rumour has it he already has another one- or two-year deal... Really?!?!?! The Frenchman has most certainly lost the team by the looks, the fans may be split, but, really?!?!?! A new deal before the end to one of his worst seasons... Hm... Fff...

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All pictures and stats taken from the BBC match reports

Premier League Picks Of The Week 25

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 25

The 25th week of the Premier League action saw:

217 shots - most by Man United = 22
21 goals - most by Southampton = 4
229 fouls - most by Southampton = 15
40 bookings - most by Tottenham = 5
1 red card - Clucas for Hull City
1 penalty - 1 scored (Sanchez for Arsenal)

What a game! Man of the match Sadio Mané's double helped Liverpool to their much missed winning selves to beat Tottenham 2-0 at Anfield. The Senegal forward's return served the Reds their first win of the year, injecting much missed energy, speed and determination. Mauricio Pochettino's men don't like the top six as form shows (recording just 1 win in the last 17 games), whilst Jürgen Klopp can be a very relieved man. Click here to read my full LFC match report.

What a team! Everton extended their unbeaten run to eight games whilst Middlesbrough are still looking for their first win of the year as the teams shared a goalless draw at the Riverside, both their keepers Joel Robles and Víctor Valdés starring with some eye-catching saves for their sides respectively. Burnley proved strong home form with a resilient draw against Chelsea who missed the chance of going 12 points clear at the top. Man City moved up to second after their hard-fought win at Bournemouth.

What a man! Anthony Martial marked his return for Manchester United with an assist and a goal, securing a nice 2-0 home win for the Red Devils against Watford, taking them up to fifth briefly before Liverpool's 2-0 win against Tottenham. United are on their longest unbeaten run in the top-flight since March 2013 under Sir Alex Ferguson, pushing them up, just one point adrift of the top four.

What a goal! Alexis Sánchez's handball goal opener on 34 minutes and last-minute penalty and sending off conceded by Sam Clucas handed a lucky 2-0 win to the Gunners against Hull City. Referee Mark Clattenburg had to apologise to Tigers' boss Marco Silva for costing them the game, Arsène Wenger conceding it was an undeserved win. Gareth McAuley's last-minute equaliser earned West Brom a dramatic draw at West Ham after Manuel Lanzini's late goal looked to have won it for the hosts. Cruel and crucial both alike.

What the hell?! Big Sam's woes at Palace continue, not much better for David Moyes at Sunderland - thrashed 0-4 by Saints after winning 0-4 at Palace?! Who would want to swap with them?! Leicester are slipping closer and closer to them in the relegation zone after yet another defeat, 2-0 at Swansea, their fifth consecutive top flight defeat (a record run of reigning champions since Chelsea in 1956). Woes, woes and more woes...

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match reports 

Premier League Picks Of The Week 22

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 22

The 22nd week of the Premier League action saw:

261 shots - most by Manchester United = 25
30 goals - most by Swansea & West Ham = 3 each
214 fouls - most by Watford = 16
31 bookings - most by Stoke & Spurs = 4
1 red card - Xhaka for Arsenal
3 penalties - 3 scored (Tadic for Saints, Gray for Burnley & Sánchez for Arsenal)

Thoughts and love to the Hull City player Ryan Mason and his loved ones and all the best for his recovery. 🙏🏻

Bournemouth were 23rd in League Two at Obama inauguration in 2008! 😱

Pep loving his post-match interviewer once again... 🙈

What a game! Swansea shocked Liverpool with their first league win at Anfield. Jürgen Klopp's men looked all over the place in the first half, came back in the second half, but could not finish it off and the Welsh side capitalised on the Reds' weakness. Paul Clement looks like he is making the crucial difference in the relegation battle. Meanwhile, Arsenal left it very very late against Burnley to stay in the title race with a hint of a shout. Red cards, penalties, goals, no goals, offsides, not offsides, plenty of controversy once again! More to that below...

What a team! Dire stats left, right and centre: Leicester are the joint-worst defending champions with just 21 points from 22 games (equalling Ipswich's 1962-63 record). Victory remains scarce also for both Bournemouth (just 1 in 7) and Watford (winless in last 7 in the Premier League). Affected and downed most by their crumbling defence or as David Moyes branded conceding goals as a "disease", Liverpool are still looking for their first league win of the year (D2, L1), Middlesbrough remain winless in 5 and Sunderland are back to bottom after their fourth defeat in 5 league games. Meanwhile, Chelsea must be laughing at the top of the table with a seven-point cushion, after a less-than-impressive win but most importantly 3 points gained against Hull.

What a man! Wayne Rooney finally broke legend Sir Bobby Charlton's club record scoring his 250th goal for Manchester United. He bcame the Red Devil's top scorer with a 94th minute free-kick cracker, to make it 1-1 and grab a point at Stoke. It could have been worse for United. Fernando Llorente's double for Swansea downed Liverpool and Andy Carroll's double for West Ham meant two wins in a row for the Hammers with a man on fire. On the other end of the spectrum sits Arsenal's Granit Xhaka after his 5th dismissal in the league since the beginning of last season, more than any other player in Europe's top five divisions. What were you thinking?! 👊🏻💩🙈💩👎🏻

What a goal! Roberto Firmino's leveller for Liverpool was a nice one but all for nothing in the very frustrating end. There were plenty controversial decisions, penalties given, not given, offside given, not given, as mentioned above. Everton's winner should have been disallowed not for Jeff Schlupp's injury antiques, but for offside. Hull should have had a penalty and a free kick in the build up to Chelsea's goals...

What the hell?!?!?! ... And Pep wasn't happy either! The ex Barca boss went mad for a penalty not given for Kyle Walker's push on Raheem Sterling, just because his player didn't go down. Seconds later, Son Heung-min equalised to make it 2-2 after City had beaten Hugo Lloris twice to make it 2-0 thanks to the keeper's howlers. He is not the only one who is unhappy with the referee, Andre Marriner in this case. As listed and repeated above, Arsenal, Hull, Crystal Palace,.... The list goes on and on about decisions that should have gone the other way but the refs didn't or couldn't do anything. Everyone is just left wondering and cursing, replays show who/what/where/how/why - why can it still not be used?!?!?! Pathetic! Annoying! Costly! ⚽️💩🙈💩⚽️

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures taken from the BBC match reports.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 19

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 19

The 19th week of the Premier League action saw:

270 shots - most by Man United = 32!
33 goals - most by Burnley, Chelsea & Spurs = 4 each
216 fouls - most by West Brom = 17
37 bookings - most by Leicester = 5
1 red card - van Dijk 2nd yellow for Saints
1 penalty - 1 scored (Barnes for Burnley)

Their boss José Mourinho was sad.

Usain Bolt was much happier with his side's win.

Whilst Jürgen Klopp doesn't care.

What a game! Stoke proved a tough test for league leaders Chelsea in the six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge, five of which were scored in the second half. The Potters threw everything at the Blues, they were up for it, but a classy Diego Costa and Willian double proved too much for Mark Hughes' men. Antonio Conte's side stay six points clear at the top after their 13th consecutive league win, equalling Arsenal's record of most consecutive wins in a season consisting of 38 games from 2001-2. Can anything or anyone stop them?!

What a team! Manchester United rolled back the years, scoring two goals within seconds, turning the game on its head in the final minutes. Middlesbrough had taken a shock lead in the second half thanks to midfielder Grant Leadbitter (67') after the hosts had hit the post twice. But Aitor Karanka's men grew tired and the Red Devils pounced on that, Anthony Martial (85') and Paul Pogba (86') making the most of it and taking their unbeaten league run to ten games, winning all five in December, moving them to just one point behind Arsenal in fourth place.

What a man! Man of the match Harry Kane (27' & 33') and Dele Alli (41' & 46') sealed an easy 1-4 win for Tottenham at Watford with a double each. The England striker must love New Year's Day, matching Thierry Henry's record with his 59th goal in 100 Premier League games. After thrashing Southampton 1-4 last week as well, it was the first time since October 1960 Spurs scored four goals in two consecutive away games - the season they did the Double. Promising. Andre Gray more than deserves a shoutout too after being the first Burnley player to score a Premier League hat-trick, downing Sunderland 4-1 at Turf Moor.

What a goal! Olivier Giroud's elastic "scorpion" goal, looped in off Alexis Sánchez, that gave Arsenal the lead against Crystal Palace, was a beauty. The piece of magic resembled Henrikh Mkhitaryan's stunner from last week, with the main difference being, it was not offside! It was the Frenchman's second goal in as many games, keeping the Gunners in the title race with a shout, in third place, three points behind Liverpool in second, nine behind Chelsea at the top. Hal Robson Kanu's stunner as West Brom beat Saints 1-2 at St Mary's deserves a mention, too, in the Welshman's first Premier League start since May 2013.

What the hell?! Liverpool recorded just five shots in their win against Manchester City, man of the match Georginio Wijnaldum (8') on the scoreboard with the one and only goal. It was a rare defensive performance by the Reds, keeping back and even wasting time at the end. Very unlike Jürgen Klopp and his teams, but the German manager didn't care, the main thing was the clean sheet and three points. City meanwhile looked very laboured, the defeat taking them out of the top four, down to fifth, level on points with Spurs in fourth, Pep Guardiola not happy. Click here for my match report.

My Predictions - Actual Results
(Forgot to make predictions, hence, auto-allocation = 1:0)
Hull City 1:0 Everton - 2:2
Burnley 1:0 Sunderland - 4:1
Chelsea 1:0 Stoke City - 4:2
Leicester 1:0 West Ham - 1:0
Man United 1:0 Middlesbrough- 2:1
Southampton 1:0 West Brom - 1:2
Swansea 1:0 Bournemouth - 0:3
Liverpool 1:0 Man City - 1:0 or click here for my match report
Watford 1:0 Tottenham - 1:4
Arsenal 1:0 Crystal Palace - 2:0

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures 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.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 16

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 16

The 16th week of the Premier League action saw:

240 shots - most by Tottenham = 27!
21 goals - most by Liverpool, West Brom and Tottenham = 3 each
234 fouls - most by Watford = 20
27 bookings - most by Sunderland, Manchester United & Leicester = 3 each
2 red cards - Arnautovic for Stoke & Jagielka for Everton
1 penalty - 0 scored (Noble miss for West Ham)

What a game! Everton denied Arsenal the chance to go top again (for the night), ending the Gunners' unbeaten run of 14 games, with a late header to make it 2-1, a dream finish for the Toffees at Goodison Park. Arsène Wenger's men had an on-and-off day, especially at the front, seeing plenty of chances gone and missed, including consecutive shots cleared off the line late on. The win takes Ronald Koeman's men up to seventh, whilst Arsenal have widened gap to Chelsea at the top to six points and fallen to third place, behind Liverpool in goal difference.

What a team! Bournemouth moved to the highest league position in their history = 9th after beating champions Leicester 1-0 at Dean Court on Tuesday. West Brom's win against Swansea moved them back down to 10th, but Eddie Howe can be a very happy man. Pep Guardiola was much happier again too after seeing his side record their first home win in almost three months! The only sour note for City after the 2-0 win against Watford at the Etihad Stadium was Ilkay Gundogan's injury. The German midfielder limped off in tears as he will be out for several months with knee ligament damage.

What a man! Adam Lallana starred for Liverpool, scoring two and creating one goal in the Reds' 3-0 win at Middlesbrough. Just what the Red doctor ordered after their last two winless games. Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford had one heck of a match, sparing his side from a worse thrashing against Chelsea, Cesc Fàbregas sparing the Blues' blushes with his first half goal at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats had plenty of spirit and worried Antonio Conte, that's for sure! And last but definitely not least, Salomón Rondón deserves a shoutout for his hat-trick which saw West Brom beat Swansea 3-1 at the Hawthorns. ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️

What a goal! Mark Noble's penalty was saved by Tom Heaton but the English skipper fired in the rebound which ended up being the crucial winner for the Hammers against Burnley, his eighth Premier League goal of the season. And the big names counted again for Manchester United, Paul Pogba with a man-of-the-match performance and Zlatan Ibrahimovic finding the winner two minutes from time at Crystal Palace. The Red Devils are certainly finding their horns again...

What the hell?!... Marcos Rojo got away with it again, just like against Everton a couple of weeks ago! His challenge on Wilfried Zaha was dangerous and reckless and should have been punished with a red card! Replays showed. Clearly. But he escaped with just a booking. Again. No comment by Mister Mourinho.... Very selective by the Portuguese... Not much to say, just all praise, when the decisions go his side's way... 😡😈😡😈😡

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures taken from the BBC match reports.