5 bold Premier League predictions: Sheffield United win at Manchester City
Matchday 20 of the Premier League is almost upon us with some great fixtures. Here are five bold predictions for all the action.
Another round of Premier League games passed in a flash on Boxing Day but worry not, there’s another full card of matches coming up this weekend. This round of fixtures kicks off with a south coast match-up as Bournemouth travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton side face a difficult trip to Newcastle whilst Tottenham travel to Carrow Road to face strugglers, Norwich. The later game on Saturday sees Burnley host Manchester United with the Red Devils looking to improve upon their away form.
Sunday has three exciting matches, with Arsenal hosting Chelsea, Wolves traveling to Liverpool and Sheffield United looking to defend their unbeaten away record at Manchester City. Here are five bold predictions for all the action:
5. Ancelotti’s Everton get win at Newcastle
Everton fans must be incredibly excited right now. They’ve seen their team struggle this season under the guidance of Marco Silva but Duncan Ferguson brought renewed life to the team and now Carlo Ancelotti – a three-time Champions League-winning manager – is in charge of the Merseyside club.
With Ancelotti in charge it feels like this squad could become something impressive in the remainder of this season. The Italian manager got off to the perfect start on Boxing Day with a win over Burnley at Goodison Park. It may not have been the perfect performance from the Toffees but they got the all-important three points and can take that winning mentality to Newcastle on Saturday.
Newcastle were demolished 4-1 by Manchester United and will want to regain some of their pride this weekend against Everton. The Magpies took the lead at Old Trafford but were poor defensively and that cost them dearly as the Red Devils put five past them.
The good news for Newcastle fans is that their side is very strong at home. The Toon Army haven’t seen their side lose at home in the league since the opening day of the season. They may struggle to maintain that stat this weekend when they host Everton due to the way they play.
This season, Newcastle’s game has been all about maintaining a strong defensive shape and spending long periods of the game without the ball. Steve Bruce’s side does this very well and then look to hit on the break when the opposition are committed forward.
That means that a big part of Newcastle’s game is stamina and high energy soccer – something that is possible to produce with a week’s rest but perhaps not two days rest. Ancelotti will look to exploit this and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of Everton’s faster players like Walcott and Bernard get the start on Saturday.
Newcastle will struggle to keep Everton out this weekend with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson all finding the net in a 3-0 win.