It’s that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. I had a particularly bad week last week with no perfect predictions, three correct outcomes and seven incorrect outcomes which saw me drop to second place in my predictions league. Here’s a look at how the top five in that league stands.
Rank Player Res Cls Exa Slm Pts
1
Cole|21|37.5|48|9|115.5|
|21|
JamrockRover
|15|54|36|9|114.0|
|3|
Gooners
|23|33|48|8|112.0|
|4|
SammyW|21|49.5|30|10|110.5|
|5-|
TeeBee
|19|46.5|36|9|110.5|
My fantasy team had another fairly good week last week and I climbed in the overall rankings yet again to just outside the top 1%. My choice of Mohamed Salah as my captain paid dividends yet again and he was ably assisted by Matheus Cunha, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magahales, but the rest of my team offered very little. My decision to sell Mark Flekken turned out to be a bad one as he managed his first clean sheet of the season while his replacement didn’t do anything much.
Despite the fact that Liverpool are playing City this week it’s still difficult to look beyond Salah as my captain again with Cunha a strong possibility too. I considered buying Joao Pedro last week and I probably should have done so, but I will be getting him this week. With so many games coming up over the next few weeks it’s important to have a strong bench with player rotation a very strong possibility so I’ll have to have a close look at my bench next week.
Friday November 29
Brighton And Hove Albion v Southampton
8pm GMT, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton won 2-1 away to Brentford last week despite playing with 10 men for most of the second half and that win keeps them just outside the top four on goal difference. They’re one of three teams still unbeaten at home and they have a very good run of home games coming up. They have taken 13 points and scored 11 goals in their last six games and their next six games are all against teams in the bottom half of the table.
Joao Pedro is the Brighton player to have for fantasy managers at the moment with Danny Welbeck, Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma good options too.
Southampton lost 3-2 at home to Liverpool last time out and that defeat left them rooted to the foot of the table. They’re the only team without a point away from home and no other team has scored less goals on the road. They have only won once so far with no other team scoring less goals and only Wolves conceding more.
I can’t see any Southampton players doing enough on a consistent basis to interest fantasy managers.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable Brighton victory in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Saturday November 30
Brentford v Leicester City
3pm GMT, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford got their first away point of the season with a 0-0 draw away to Everton last week despite having a man sent off and that point left them one place and one point off the top half of the table. No other team has taken more points or scored more goals on their own patch, but only Wolves have conceded more home goals. They have taken 11 points from their last seven games with no other team in the bottom half of the table scoring more goals, but only four other teams conceding more.
Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa are the Brentford players to have for fantasy managers and particularly when they’re at home.
Leicester lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea last week to leave them just one point above the relegation zone and that defeat cost Steve Cooper his job. They have taken four points from their last three away games, but no other team has conceded more goals on their travels. They have only taken one point from their last four games with only two other teams conceding more goals.
Jamie Vardy and Facundo Buonanotte are the Leicester players for fantasy managers to consider.
I think Brentford should be strong enough at home to win this game by at least a couple of goals.
Prediction: 3-1
Crystal Palace v Newcastle United
3pm GMT, Selhurst Park, London
Palace twice led away to Villa last week, but they had to settle for a 2-2 draw and they’re now only one place off the foot of the table. No other team has scored less goals on their own ground and they have failed to score in four of their six home games. They have only won once so far with only Southampton scoring less goals and they have a tough run of games coming up.
I can’t see any Palace players doing enough to interest fantasy managers at the moment.
Newcastle lost 2-0 at home to West Ham last time out and they’re now only one point above the bottom half of the table. They have won as many away games as they have lost and their next four games on the road are against teams in the bottom half of the table. They had won two games in a row before losing to West Ham and they have a good run of games coming up, but no other team in the top half of the table has scored less goals while only Liverpool and Arsenal have conceded less.
Alexander Isak is the best choice in the Newcastle team for fantasy managers, but it’s difficult to choose their attacking players when the team is struggling to score goals.
I think this will be a close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 1-1
Nottingham Forest v Ipswich Town
3pm GMT, City Ground, Nottingham
Forest lost 3-0 away to Arsenal last week, but they’re still only three points behind the top four. They have only won two of their six home games and they need to get something from this game as their next three games on their own patch are all very difficult. They have lost their last two games after winning the previous three and they conceded six goals in those two defeats, but only Liverpool and Arsenal have conceded less goals.
Chris Wood is the best of the Forest players for fantasy managers and their keeper and defenders have done well too, but they have some tough games coming up.
Ipswich came from behind to draw 1-1 at home to United in their last game, but it wasn’t quite enough to keep them out of the relegation zone. They won their last away game to register their first win on their travels, but no other team has conceded more goals away from home. They’re unbeaten in three games and three of their next four games are against teams in the bottom half of the table with only two other teams conceding more goals.
Liam Delap is the Ipswich player most likely to return points for fantasy managers.
I think Ipswich will make a game of it, but Forest will make home advantage count.
Prediction: 2-1
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Bournemouth
3pm GMT, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Wolves came from behind to win 4-1 away to Fulham last week and those three points moved them out of the bottom three on goal difference. They have lost four of their six home games and no other team has conceded more goals on their own ground. They are unbeaten in four games and they scored 10 goals in those games with no other team conceding more goals.
Matheus Cunha looks like an absolute must have for fantasy managers at the moment while Jorgen Strand Larsen, Mario Lamina and Joao Gomes are all possibilities too.
Bournemouth lost 2-1 at home to Brighton last time out and they’re now three points off the top half of the table. They have only taken one point from their last four away games and they conceded eight goals in those games, but their next two games on their travels are against teams in the bottom four. They have lost their last two games and they conceded five goals in those games, but five of their next six games are against teams in the bottom half of the table.
Antoine Semenyo has been the Bournemouth player to have for fantasy managers, but he’s suspended for this game and Evanilson is worth considering too.
I think Wolves will just about shade a very close game.
Prediction: 3-2
West Ham United v Arsenal
5.30pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham won 2-0 away to Newcastle last week to move six points clear of the bottom three. They have taken seven points from their last three home games after losing the previous three, but they have some difficult games coming up on their own patch. They have taken 10 points from their last six games after only taking five in the previous six and they have kept clean sheets in their last two games.
Jarrod Bowen is the West Ham player who can do very well for fantasy managers.
Arsenal won 3-0 at home to Forest last time out to remain in fourth place, but they’re still nine points off the top of the table. They have only taken two points from their last four away games with only three other teams scoring less goals on their travels and only two other teams conceding less. They had only taken two points from four games before beating Forest, but they have a very good run of games coming up with only Liverpool conceding less goals.
Bukayo Saka is a great choice for fantasy managers with all of Arsenal’s defenders and keeper looking very good too.
I think this will be far from easy for Arsenal, but they will manage to take the three points.
Prediction: 1-2
Sunday December 1
Chelsea v Aston Villa
1.30pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea won 2-1 away to Leicester last week to stay in third place, but like Arsenal they’re nine points behind Liverpool. They unbeaten in their last five home games, but they drew three of them and they have done better away from home. The win against Leicester was only their second win in six games and only two other teams have scored more goals.
Cole Palmer is the best of the Chelsea players for fantasy managers and he’s being ably assisted by Nicolas Jackson at the moment.
Villa twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at home to Palace last week, but they’re now three points off the top four. They have lost their last two away games and they conceded six goals in those games with only four other teams conceding more goals on the road. They have only won once in their last seven games, but they drew four of them and no other team in the top half of the table has conceded more goals.
Despite Villa’s current poor form Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers can still do very well for fantasy managers.
This looks like being a very close game and the chances are Chelsea will win it.
Prediction: 2-1
Manchester United v Everton
1.30pm GMT, Old Trafford, Manchester
United took a very early lead away to Ipswich last week, but they had to settle for a 1-1 draw which leaves them still in the bottom half of the table. They have taken seven points from their last three home games after losing the previous two, but only five other teams have scored less goals on their own patch. They have only won two of their last eight games and only three other teams have scored less goals.
Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho can do quite well for fantasy managers while their defenders and keeper are worth considering too.
Everton drew 0-0 at home to Brentford last week despite playing against 10 men for most of the second half and they’re only two points above the bottom three. They haven’t scored in their last two away games with only two other teams scoring less goals on their travels. They haven’t won in four games, but they drew three of them with only Ipswich drawing more games and only Southampton scoring less goals.
Everton’s keeper and defenders have all done pretty well for fantasy managers in recent weeks, but they have some tough games coming up.
I think United will get a much needed win to move them closer to the top half of the table.
Prediction: 1-0
Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham
1.30pm GMT, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Spurs had a fantastic 4-0 win away to City last week to stay three points off the top four. They lost their last home game after winning the previous three with only Brentford scoring more goals on their own ground and only two other teams conceding less. They have only managed consecutive wins once so far, but no other team has scored more goals with only Liverpool and Arsenal conceding less.
There are so many Spurs players to choose from for fantasy managers at the moment with Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-Min probably the best of them.
Fulham lost 4-1 at home to Wolves last time out despite taking an early lead, but they managed to hold on to their place in the top half of the table. They have won as many away games as they have lost with only two other teams conceding less goals on the road. Their next four games are all against teams in the top six and they could be in for a difficult run.
Emile Smith Rowe, Alex Iwobi, Raul Jiminez and Antonee Robinson can all do a pretty good job for fantasy managers.
I think Spurs should be able to build on their great win last week with another victory in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Liverpool v Manchester City
4pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool won 3-2 away to Southampton last week to stretch their lead at the top of the table to eight points. They have won five of their six home games with no other team conceding less goals on their own patch. They have won 10 of their 12 games with only Spurs scoring more goals and no other team conceding less.
Mohamed Salah is an absolute must have for fantasy managers with Luis Diaz and all of their defenders good options too.
City lost 4-0 at home to Spurs last time out and they’re eight points behind Liverpool going into this game. They have lost their last two away games, but they have a very good run of games on their travels after this one. They have lost their last three games and they conceded eight goals in those games which could make this a very difficult game for them.
Despite their poor form Erling Haaland is still a very good choice for fantasy managers.
I think City’s misery will continue with Liverpool winning a very close game.
Prediction: 2-1
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.