Looking good
It is almost worth hoping that Arsenal will drop some points just to see which particular toys Arsene Wenger would throw out of his cot this time. The ungracious way in which he drops points is becoming a little boring.
Having said that, there is no way they will drop any points in this one. They may have only drawn at Burnley in midweek but that is a very different proposition to Hull at home.
Hull will remember their famous vicory at this ground last season but they are unlikely to build any new happy memories this time around.
SoccerNews prediction: 3-0
It might just be that Aston Villa have become genuine top four contenders. It is true that we all felt the same this time last season and that they faded away badly after Christmas, but this time it looks like the real deal.
Even Emile Heskey has been scoring, although he is injured now and won’t play for a while. James Milner is looking like one of the best players in the league and at the back, Brad Friedel is back to his best.
Stoke are holding on to a mid-table position but the next few results will determine whether they will be comfortable or face a relegation battle. I think they will be looking down rather than up after this one.
SoccerNews prediction: 3-0
Blackburn are only three points above the drop zone and whilst they will probably be safe, defeat at Birmingham and a draw at Hull is hardly the stuff of a form side.
Tottenham dropped out of the top four after losing a two goal lead at Everton and inexplicably losing at home to Wolves, but they bounced back in style with the midweek thrashing of Manchester City.
There is no doubt that on their day Tottenham are a top four side. There is also no doubt that even not on their day they are too strong for Blackburn.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
United don’t always like going to Craven Cottage and they lost there last season and Wayne Rooney got himself sent-off.
Fulham have made steady progress up the table and had a good win in Europe on Wednesday. They look like a pretty solid team.
United beat Wolves reserves after losing to Villa and they do not look like prospective champions at the moment. In fairness, they have only had one fit defender for a while and that can’t be easy.
I expect United to grind out a result.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-2
Manchester City will be smarting from their thrashing at Tottenham in midweek. In the battle of the top four pretenders City were well and truly put in their place. Eighth place and only six wins from sixteen games is a poor return for the money they have spent and Mark Hughes needs to change things quickly.
They have a good opportunity to do that in this one as Sunderland have well and truly gone off the boil. They have had a run of poor results and with only one away win to their name, they will not be going to the City of Manchester stadium with any confidence.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-0
Pompey got a decent point at Sunderland last week with an injury-time equaliser and then pushed Chelsea all the way in midweek before losing to a Frank Lampard penalty. That shows that they have a spirit about them, but they remain five points adrift of safety at the bottom of the league.
Liverpool scraped together a win over Wigan in midweek to partially recover from their defeat against Arsenal, but they still looked well short of impressive.
They should have too much for the bottom team. If they haven’t then they are in more trouble than I thought.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
Sunday 20th December
Everton are sliding down and Birmingham are climbing up. Who would have predicted at this stage of the season that Everton would be fifteenth and Birmingham would be seventh?
Everton will have discovered a little more confidence after drawing with Tottenham after going 2-0 down and then getting a great point at Stamford Bridge.
Birmingham just can’t stop winning by the odd goal. They are in dreamland at the moment.
It is a remarkable fact that should my prediction be right, it is probably David Moyes who would be most pleased with the point.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
I fear for Gianfranco Zola and West Ham I really do. I can’t see how they are going to turn things around and start picking up points. A 3-1 defeat at Bolton was terribly damaging as that confirmed how bad they are at the moment.
Chelsea are stuttering a little at the moment but they still look the team most likely to win the league. They have a great chance to rediscover some form in this one.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-3
Mick McCarthy rested all of his players in the midweek defeat at Old Trafford so that they would be fresh for this game. I bet the players were thrilled! Their reward for winning at Tottenham was to miss out on the opportunity to play at Old Trafford against Manchester United so that they could play at home to Burnley!
Burnley are still much better at home than away but I do fancy them to pick up their second away point of the season.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
Monday 21st December
Saving the worst game to last this week. Wigan try to play good football but can’t and Bolton don’t try to play good football and don’t.
My prediction reflects the fact that I do not think either side will be good enough to score a goal.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-0
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