Match 19 Premier League predictions follow up on the end of the Boxing Day fixtures. This point of the season means the halfway point. My EPL picks for this week continue the holiday season with games coming this Sunday and Monday.
The week 18 Boxing Day matches saw little in the way of upsets. About the only two “shockers” on the day came from Stoke’s 1-0 away win over Everton and Hull’s away defeat of Sunderland by 3-1. Otherwise, the favorites came through as victor’s in the remaining eight matches.
With Chelsea traveling to Southampton and Manchester City hosting Burnley, there is a chance that City could overtake Chelsea at the top of the table going in to the new year. At the moment Chelsea hold a three point lead as well as a three goal differential.
Southampton have found a resurgence in form having won their last two matches by scoring three goals in each. The return of Morgan Schneiderlin has been welcomed and has made a difference. Chelsea have a very strong team, but they will not find Saints to be an easy team to face.
Manchester City, though, get to play Burnley who have just one away win this season. They will make themselves hard to beat, but Man City, playing at home will be far too dominant a team for them.
| Time | Home | Away | Final Score | |||
| Sunday, December 28 | ||||||
| 7:00ET/12:00GMT | Tottenham | 1 | v | 2 | Manchester United | 0-0 |
| 9:05ET/14:05GMT | Southampton | 1 | v | 1 | Chelsea | 1 – 1 |
| 10:00ET/15:00GMT | Aston Villa | 2 | v | 2 | Sunderland | 0 – 0 |
| 10:00ET/15:00GMT | Hull City | 1 | v | 1 | Leicester City | 0-1 |
| 10:00ET/15:00GMT | Manchester City | 4 | v | 0 | Burnley | 2-2 |
| 10:00ET/15:00GMT | Queens Park Rangers | 3 | v | 1 | Crystal Palace | 0-0 |
| 10:00ET/15:00GMT | Stoke City | 2 | v | 0 | West Bromwich | 2 – 0 |
| 10:00ET/15:00GMT | West Ham United | 2 | v | 2 | Arsenal | 1-2 |
| 11:15ET/16:15GMT | Newcastle United | 2 | v | 1 | Everton | 3 – 2 |
| Monday, December 29 | ||||||
| 15:00ET/20:00GMT | Liverpool | 1 | v | 2 | Swansea City | |
Liverpool v Swansea should be a good match, especially for a Monday afternoon. Liverpool are struggling to score goals in the Premier League and even have a -2 goal difference. Swansea really haven’t done much better and have just a +4 goal difference. Believe it or not, the Swans have scored just one more goal than Liverpool (23-22).
This set of “weekend” matches kicks off with Tottenham hosting Manchester United in what could be an interesting game. It’s possible that van Gaal will have Rafael and Angel Di Maria fit, in which case players like Juan Mata and Antonio Valencia may find themselves on the bench. With the way these two teams have been playing lately, this one could go either way.
I am picking United for the win, but this could be a draw just as easily. Tottenham’s home form has much to be desired with four losses.
All in all, this is shaping up to be a great weekend of soccer with a lot of very interesting matches. While the Boxing Day fixtures saw the favorites win, this may not be the case on Sunday/Monday.