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.

2016-17 Premier League Comparison Table

Sports - Football - Premier League Comparison Table

Here is the full Premier League comparison table, how it has changed from the 2015-16 final positions to end of last season 2016-17, how much better or worse the teams ended up:

1. Leicester -37 points, 11 places down = 12th with 44 points
2. Arsenal +4 points, 3 places down = 5th with 75 points
3. Tottenham +16 points, 1 place up = 2nd with 86 points
4. Man City +12 points, 1 place up = 3rd with 78 points
5. Man United +3 points, 1 place down = 6th with 69 points
6. Southampton -17 points, 2 places down = 8th with 46 points
7. West Ham -17 points, 4 places down = 11th with 45 points
8. Liverpool +16 points, 4 places up = 4th with 76 points
9. Stoke City -10 points, 4 places down = 13th with 41 points
10. Chelsea +43 points, 9 places up = 1st with 93 points
11. Everton +14 points, 4 places up = 7th with 61 points
12. Swansea -6 points, 3 places down = 15th with 41 points
13. Watford -5 points, 4 places down = 17th with 40 points
14. West Brom +2 points, 4 places up = 10th with 45 points
15. Crystal Palace -1 point, 1 place up = 14th with 41 points
16. Bournemouth +4 points, 7 places up = 9th with 46 points
17. Sunderland -15 points, 3 places down = 20th with 24 points
18. Newcastle promoted with Rafa, winning the Championship*
19. Norwich finished 8th in the Championship &
20. Aston Villa 13th!

*other teams promoted to the Premier League: Brighton & Huddersfield

Up & straight down: Hull City & Middlesbrough

Premier League Picks Of The Week 37

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 37

The 37th Week of the Premier League action saw:
260 shots - most by Liverpool = 26
29 goals - most by Arsenal, Crystal Palace & Liverpool = 4 each
223 fouls - most by Middlesbrough = 19
36 bookings - most by Hull City = 5
0 red cards 
4 penalties - 2 scored (Jesus for City & Milivojevic for Palace)

What a game! It was a crucial win for Swansea at the Stadium Of Light, keeping them safe whilst Sunderland's stint in the top league has come to an end after a decade, in a very dire fashion, fans booing... Paul Clement has done what David Moyes has not been able to... Motivation! Change! Woo! Something Arsenal were less complaining about or shouting and begging for after thrashing Stoke 1-4! And with a couple of games in hand, they maybe, just maybe, fancy their hint of a chance to crack and break into the top four. With their last breath! Liverpool's 0-4 thrashing of West Ham didn't help their case though... And it was an emotional farewell at White Hart Lane after 118 years, Tottenham beating Manchester United 2-1 thanks to goals from Victor Wanyama and Harry Kane. A fitting sendoff I think after one of their best seasons against a side having one of their worst campaigns. Contrast.

What a team! Bournemouth are looking to finish in the top ten after beating Burnley convincingly 2-1, their highest league finish in their 118-year history! Sam Vokes had cancelled out Junior Stanislas' goal, but Joshua King restored the lead two minutes later. The Norwegian's goals have been worth 12 points for the Cherries this season, only Diego Costa (15) and Sergio Agüero (13) have been more value to their clubs, Chelsea and Manchester City respectively. Wow! Meanwhile Hull City were relegated after being thrashed 4-0 at Crystal Palace, joining Sunderland and Boro in the drop. Very happy Big Sam. Very sad Marco Silva. But not really a surprise for either side.

What a man! Antonio Conte is not easy to please. His side were crowned champions on Friday night after beating West Brom 0-1, but the feisty Italian is eyeing the double like Carlo Ancelotti did last for the Blues in 2010. Chelsea face Arsenal at Wembley in the FA Cup Final on 27th May. They are also on track to end the season on a record-high number of wins and points total! Molto bene!

What a goal! Ross Barkley's fifth Premier League goal, a lovely curling shot, won the game for Everton against Watford, showing defiance and making a point or two as well to manager Ronald Koeman. The Dutch boss gave his English midfielder a public ultimatum last week, giving him till next weekend to agree a new contract or be sold. To be or not to be... Champions, that's what substitute Michy Batshuayi's late goal made the Blues after beating West Brom 0-1 at the Hawthorns. One to remember. Leicester City's goal at Manchester City was a super acrobatic finish by Shinji Okazaki meeting Marc Albrighton's cross. It was not enough though for the Foxes as they saw Riyad Mahrez's penalty disallowed correctly after a slip and double-touch, meaning it stayed 2-1 and a home win. Cruel but true and correct.

What the hell?! There were quite a few head-shaking moments this weekend! West Brom defender Jonny Evans' blatant handball, casually pushing the ball away mid-fall as if he was goalkeeping. Stoke big man Peter Crouch's goal was more hand than header, Maradona special! And just a yellow card for Boro keeper Brad Guzan's foul on Shane Long, really?! Lucky for him Long sent the penalty sky-high, but Saints still ended 1-2 winners at the Riverside. Ridiculous stuff, best examples for long overdue and much needed video refereeing, pretty please, once again! Pfff!

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

Games in hand played before the weekend:
Southampton 3:1 Arsenal - 0:2 

(The game saw 25 shots, 13 fouls, 3 bookings and the Gunners overtaking United and staying in the top four race with a hint of a shout.)

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 36

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 36

The 36th week of the Premier League action saw:
217 shots - most by Man City = 26
25 goals - most by Man City = 5
175 fouls - most by Stoke = 15
25 bookings - most by West Ham = 4
0 red cards
1 penalty - 0 scored

What a game! Sunderland's win over Hull came just as surprising as Arsenal beating Manchester United, and comfortably so! From the relegated side doing their one and only double of the season, dragging their opponents down with them, to the old senior manager beating his special rival for the first time, keeping both sides' hopes of breaking into the top four super-slim. Looking at the table, these results were welcomed by winners Swansea and strugglers Liverpool respectively.

What a team! Chelsea sealed Middlesbrough's faith with a comfortable 3-0 win, putting one hand on the trophy themselves. Respect to Antonio Conte for lauding and applauding the Boro fans for staying at Stamford Bridge despite facing the dire result and drop. No one can deny the passionate Italian guy has done something right, learning from mistakes and finding formation with form and consistency, something all the other sides and bosses have been missing. Champions Leicester meanwhile recorded another win which takes them to the top half of the table, back where they belong their fans will feel, surely Craig Shakespeare too, underlining his right for a longterm deal.

What a man! West Ham keeper Adrián made save, after save, after save, denying Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier, amongst others. Manuel Lanzini won it for the Hammers, unmarked inside the six-yard box, netting his ninth goal in 14 London derbies, ending Spurs' nine-game winning run and their real threat and shout in the title race as the gap to Chelsea re-opens to seven points with three games left to play for both sides.

What a goal! It took City under two minutes to take the lead against Crystal Palace and the game was over as the hosts bossed the match from then on to the final whistle, thrashing their opponents 5-0 at the Etihad. Why couldn't Liverpool do that at Anfield?! It just shows the gulf between the two sides, from top to bottom, from top three/four to the rest... Your guess is as good as mine where the Reds fall between all this after yet another frustrating display in the goalless draw after James Milner's penalty miss against Southampton at Anfield. Here is my full LFC match report.

What the hell?! I was very annoyed by Phil Neville on Match Of The Day and the BBC website this weekend, ranting and whining about how bad the Premier League and meaningless the games have become... Hm... Ok, the last couple of weeks haven't been the most exciting... But... Funny the former Manchester United player should fire such criticising shots whilst his team is flopping! Frustrated, are we? Boring for you as your team isn't getting anything in the league (despite 25 games unbeaten, dropping more points than gaining compared to the sides above them thanks to a record number of draws). Comparing and contrasting the top Premier League sides to the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid - look at their leagues! Booooooring! Bayern have already won the league months ago, whilst both Barca and Real have no serious competition apart from each other, thrashing one opposition after another week in, week out, year in, year out! And Italy and Scotland have been marred by more financial and political affairs and points deductions downing and deleting competitors and the whole competition with them. Not even mentioning all the diving and whining and lack of pace that spoils most European leagues (and I hate to see more and more in the Premier League too! But that's a whole new separate topic to discuss...)! And Leicester made it to the quarter finals of the Champions League! Not bad for a side that only just climbed back into the top half of the Premier League! But wait, it wasn't United, so it doesn't count, right Neville? (And hang on, aren't the Red Devils in the semi-final of the Europa League?! That doesn't count either, does it? Unless they win of course... Then it will be all wow and glory! Hypocrite!) So, it's not the same team winning the title every season... Sorrrrrrry!!! Yes, Chelsea have been the best this season, but hey, after the last three/four seasons, who dares to predict where Conte and Co will be next season?! Fiver on sacking? But who cares, right Neville?

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All pictures and stats are 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 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.

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 24

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 24

The 24th week of the Premier League saw:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks 

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match reports 

Premier League Picks Of The Week 23

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 23

The 23rd week of the Premier League saw:

236 shots - most by Burnley = 24
19 goals - most by Man City = 4
267 fouls - most by Palace = 23
33 bookings - most by Palace & Hull = 4 each
0 red cards
3 penalties - 2 scored (Negredo for Boro & Yaya Touré for City)

Mourinho storms out

Big Sam celebrating groovy style

Crouch dances to his 100th goal

What a game! It was not a good day to be an East-Londoner! Arsenal were shocked 1-2 by Watford for the first time at the Emirates (the Hornets' first league win against the Gunners since 1988), Tottenham frustrated in a goalless draw at Sunderland and West Ham absolutely taken to bits and thrashed 0-4 by Man City at the Olympic Stadium. And there was me thinking Chelsea might be worried after dropping points at Anfield... Pfff...

What a team! Burnley were and are on fire! Ok, they beat champions Leicester just 1-0, but the way they pushed and dominated the game, chance after chance was enthralling. And even more impressive is their home form, having recorded a club record of five consecutive home wins in the top league, last done in 1966. The Foxes in total contrast now have the worst record after 23 games by defending champions, beating Ipswich's miserable form of 1962-63.

What a man! It was a good weekend for goalkeepers, especially spot king Simon Mignolet and rock-solid Eldin Jakupovic. The prior stopper has saved 6 out of 12 spot kicks for Liverpool, an impressive 50%-record, denying Chelsea the three points at Anfield. The latter kept a rare clean sheet for Hull City, frustrating the hell out of United and their boss at Old Trafford and bagging a point as a hard earned and well deserved reward.

What a goal! Gylfi Sigurdsson's winner for Swansea was a beauty, in the build-up, counter and sprint as well as conversion, the striker set up nicely by debutant Luciano Narsingh, condemning Southampton to yet another defeat. This win makes it three wins out of four for the Welsh side, back-to-back wins keeping them out of the relegation zone in 17th, two points clear, from doom and gloom, to boom.

What the hell?! Claudio Ranieri was not happy - unlike some other managers, it was very unusual to see the charming Italian not smiling and complimenting. The champions' boss was complaining about referee Mike Dean not seeing a blatant hand ball. This blatant error - one of many, I am sick and tired of the video ref argument, but it cannot and does not cover up or excuse the Tigers' miserable form and season.

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

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.