Premier League Predictions, Week 17

Welcome back to your weekly Premier League predictions! It's hard to believe we're approaching Christmas week, but here we are, over halfway through Crazy December (TM). 'Tis the season for loads and loads of football, and as such, this weekly preview will again encompass two matchdays in one piece.

Last time out, I got back in good form, going 4 for 5 on the weekend. I missed all scorelines, but did correctly predict a surprise draw between Manchester United and Everton, and foresaw a competitive showdown to the end between Wolves and Tottenham. My one miss came again because of Leicester City, the bane of my existence: this time, I had too much confidence in them. Though I did believe Norwich would give them a game, I lacked the bravery to actually project split points; split points they did, however, as Teemu Pukki's early goal was enough to give the Canaries a surprise draw at the King Power Stadium. Last week takes me to a total of 37/55 on the season, which improves my percentage on the year to over 67%. If each of my percents were a U.S. Senator, they would form a strong enough coalition to remove a sitting president. So in the grand scheme of things, I'm doing okay!

Now, the matches are less than 12 hours away, so let's not waste any more time politicizing. Here are your 5 for Week 17!

Everton vs. Arsenal

Full disclosure: at the time of this writing, no paperwork has been signed, and thus both these clubs still have their caretaker coaches. But if this isn’t a matchup of teams with brand new managers, it’s a matchup of teams about to have brand new managers. By all reports, Arsenal are set to acquire club legend and current Manchester City assistant Mikel Arteta as their top man, and Everton are on the verge of snatching up the iconic, recently-deposed Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti. For two historic teams, it’s been a mess of a year so far, and both will be looking to avoid a morale-crushing defeat. Assuming neither side will benefit more than the other from a “new manager” bounce, I’m inclined to go with the club in better form at the moment, which, shockingly, is Everton. Since firing Marcos Silva, the Toffees have stunned Chelsea and drawn Manchester United. The smart money might be on them to continue the good vibes with 3 points at home.

The Pick: Everton, 3-2

Manchester City vs. Leicester City

League leaders Liverpool don’t play on Saturday due to their involvement in the Club World Cup, so the two highest-ranked clubs in action this weekend will face each other. 3rd-placed Manchester City hosts 2nd-placed Leicester at the Etihad Stadium, and at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this could be an elimination match in the Premier League race. If that sounds premature, keep in mind that with a loss, Manchester City would be in danger of going 17 (17!!) points behind the Reds, while a Leicester City loss would put them on pace to be 13 points behind, with their next match being…against Liverpool. A draw, of course, would likely be the ideal scenario for Liverpool fans, but that might be wishful thinking. As good as Leicester have been this season, their draw against Norwich last week exposed frailties that you have to imagine a side as talented (and seemingly rejuvenated) as Man City will exploit, particularly at home, particularly when desperate for a win.

The Pick: Manchester City, 3-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea

Also on Saturday: the 4th-placed team vs. the 5th-placed team! See, just because the #1 side is out of commission doesn’t mean all the action goes away this weekend! This would be a good matchup because of the clubs’ standings alone, but throw in the London rivalry, and the angst over Jose Mourinho facing not only his old club but his old player on the opposite touchline…well, you may have the juiciest matchup of the week. The two clubs are trending in completely different directions, and I have to imagine Chelsea fans won’t be relishing facing this Tottenham side. Less than a month ago, the Blues were flying high, nipping at the heels of Liverpool and jostling with Leicester for 2nd place. Now, Chelsea have lost four of their last five, and their upcoming opponents have surged from the bottom half of the table to a tight 5th place under Mourinho. Both teams have been unpredictable in wildly entertaining ways this season, but with the form both are in, and Spurs at home in their stadium, I’d be a fool not to pick a Tottenham win. Right?

The Pick: Tottenham, 2-1

Leicester City vs. Liverpool

Don’t quote me on this, but I swear Leicester and Liverpool play a Boxing Day fixture every year. So the fact that they’ll be meeting on December 26th is nothing new. What is new is that the two sides will be facing each other as the top 2 teams in the league. Regardless of how Leicester’s clash against Man City goes this upcoming weekend, the Foxes will be at worst 1 point ahead of the Citizens still, and at best, just 7 points behind Liverpool. (So for those of you keeping score at home, that's #2 v #3, #4 v #5, and #1 v #2, all in a five-day span. Merry Christmas indeed.) It still feels surreal to claim that Leicester City is Liverpool's biggest title threat, but at this point in time, that remains the case, and they will have a massive opportunity to really rattle the Reds' seemingly insurmountable standing atop the table with this fixture, playing at home less than a week after their opponents will have returned from Qatar. These two always play competitive fixtures, none more so than their first matchup this season, in which only a late Liverpool penalty prevented them from sharing points. It's not hard for me to foresee a competitive win by either team, but it is hard for me to predict anything but an exciting draw. So that's what I'll do.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Manchester City

The final matchup of this incredible week in the Premier League won't jump out at anyone, but may be sneakily good television. Last week's loss to Tottenham notwithstanding, Wolverhampton seem to have found their footing this season, and are reprising their brilliant 2018-19 turn quite nicely thus far, with only 3 losses out of their 17 matches. Regardless of what transpires against Leicester, Manchester City will find themselves in two unique positions entering this weekend: 3rd place, a spot they haven't been in at this point in the season since 2016, and looking for revenge against Wolves, of all teams. You may have forgotten, but the match that set off Wolves' sudden resurgence of form was their stunning 2-0 victory at the Etihad in the beginning of October. This time around, that task will be even harder, despite playing at home. Even though they play attractive football, and seem to always be confident against the defending champions, I just can't see Wolverhampton getting points off of City twice in one season. I expect more focus and a more clinical performance from the Blues on the second time of asking.

The Pick: Manchester City, 2-0

Premier League Predictions, Week 17

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