Matches of the Week: Leicester City v Watford

The premier league seems wrapped up in regards to the the separation between 8 and 9, however Watford and Leicester will argue otherwise. Both currently looking to breach the top 6 teams, who look relaxed and unworried, Watford and Leicester have an important battle to see who will be the team to sneak into European action. Currently Burnley has taken as the silent underdog team, but Leicester and Watford offer a very competitive team that won't back down easily, and their stats show it.

Statistics based on last 5 matches

While most of the statistics are very close between the two, such as possession, number of cards, and goals conceded, Leicester significantly beats Watford in chances created and scoring goals, which is vital to becoming a European team. While Watford will still put up a good fight, Leicester should comfortably win this game with the amount of passing talent they have in Mahrez and Ndidi. I see many goals being scored in the fixture, so it will be interesting if Watford can improve their goal tally of recent weeks.

SCORE PREDICTION:

Leicester City 4 - 1 Watford

Matches of the Week: Manchester United v Burnley

After a disappointing tie to Leicester City, Manchester United are looking to cement their spot in second place as quickly as possible. However, a quality Burnley side stands in their way. After a tough 0-3 loss to Tottenham, Burnley will want to regain their form against a weakened Manchester United side.

Statistics based on past 5 matches

 Manchester United, while in a decline of form lately, still show the more promising team, with more possession, passes, and chances created than their respective opponent. Burnley has conceded very few goals in previous fixtures, with 3 of the 4 scored by Tottenham. It will be interesting to see if Burnley can hold off a team like Manchester, who usually finds the net at least once every game (averaging 1.4 per game in the last 5). Manchester United will find themselves victorious in this match-up however, with the quality of possession proving vital over Burnley.

SCORE PREDICTION:

Burnley 1 - 2 Manchester United

Matches of the Week: Arsenal v Liverpool

With only a 3 point gap between Champions League soccer and 7th place, the top of the Premier League table is going to be a brawl for the remainder of the season. Arsenal currently sits one point away from fourth place Liverpool. Luckily, these two teams battle it out this weekend, and the winner could finally close inside 3 points of Chelsea, sitting in an isolated 3rd place position. Looking at stats between the two sides, we can decide who will be the dominant team.

Based on last 5 matches in all competitions

Arsenal's dominates key areas such as number of passes, and percent possession, while Liverpool hols a commanding 12 game unbeaten record, with almost double the amount of goals scored than Arsenal. However, Arsenal has a stronger defense, only conceding 1 goal in 5 matches, with even fewer amount of saves needed by veteran Petr Cech. We are prediciting that Arsenal will dominate the heavily offensively-minded Liverpool in the midfield and defense, therefore creating more chances and more goals than Liverpool and winning the game in a comftorable manner.

Match Prediction:

Arsenal 1 - 0 Liverpool

Matches of the Week: Tottenham v Burnley

In the Premier League, Manchester City may be running off with the title, but a fight between 2nd place and 7th place is still very much up for grabs. 6th place team Tottenham Hotspur face off 7th place Burnley, only one point off the London team. It is a very important match-up, and if results go their ways, both teams could be sitting at 5th place at the end of the week. 

Based on last 5 matches in all competitions

Looking at the statistics given, Tottenham has more passes, more possession, more chances, and a lot more goals for. On the other side, Burnley has fewer goals conceded, fewer cards, and are currently on a 3 game unbeaten streak. We are predicting, however, that Tottenham's possession of the ball and physical dominance on other players in the midfield, will result in too much pressure for the solid defense of Burnley. 

Match Prediction:

Tottenham 2 - 0 Burnley

Matches of the Week: Manchester United vs Arsenal

This week in the Premier League we have a very big match up with two top four teams: number two Manchester United and number four Arsenal. This is a huge game as both teams are looking to be serious title contenders and close the gaps between Manchester City and Chelsea, respectively. We will take a closer look at both teams and what they have to offer for the big game.

Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny tries to snatch the ball away from United's Paul Pogba.

Manchester United:

The Red Devils look to continue their good form in the Premier League and close the eight-point gap that Manchester City has created. This Manchester United team started off the season strong in both the Premier League and the Champions League games. Considering the fact that injuries have affected their optimal lineups at times, Manchester United has been able to still express their quality. Paul Pogba will need to continue performing as he reenters play from injury. Attackers Romelu Lukaku,  Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford will need to make sure they make the best of all of their chances in order to truly be able to close the gap and rise into the title-winning spot. With one of the deadliest attacks in world soccer as of now, Manchester United's defenders have a lot of work to, as Lukaku and Co. will easily slot in goals for the squad.

FORMATION:
Manchester United will most likely continue playing in their 4-2-3-1 formation. Their defense will most likely lineup with Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelöf as the two starting center backs again, with Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia playing as the fullbacks. Unfortunately, Nemanja Matić will most likely miss this big match, so the two central midfielders will likely be filled in by spanish midfielder Ander Herrera and the recently healthy Paul Pogba. The group of three will be made up by the young Marcus Rashford on the right, Anthony Martial on the left, and Juan Mata in the central role, due to the recent dip in form of ex-Dortmund player Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Romelu Lukaku will, as usual, play as the target man for the Red Devils. David de Gea will be the definite starter in between the sticks, as this is a huge game for Manchester United and will be needing a top keeper to increase their chances of not being scored on.

Some Key players for Manchester United will have to be their starting midfielders Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera, as both need to get back faster with the absence of their complete defensive midfielder Matic. Herrera has seen less starts since Matic's signing, so he will be looking to prove himself a vital component to this United side.

POTENTIAL MAN OF THE MATCH:

Paul Pogba

Arsenal:

The Gunners are looking in form especially coming from a massive 5-0 win over Huddersfield. This Arsenal team is looking to be serious title threats and a win over Manchester United will certainly bring them closer to that goal. While the beginning of the season had some troubling results, Arsenal has been able to pick up their feet and really start performing. It will be a good test for Arsenal, especially because they will be missing attackers Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez. Arsenal's front three of Özil, Lacazette, and Sanchez has been destroying the Europa League and Premier League, with the only trouble being from the 3 center backs, especially Nacho Monreal.

FORMATION:
Arsenal will most likely start in a 3-4-2-1 formation with veteran keeper Petr Čech in goal. The back three will consist of the fairly consistent Shkodran Mustafi in the center, Laurent Koscielny on the right, and Nacho Monreal taking the left-sided position. The middle four will have Héctor Bellerín on the right flank, Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka in the central roles, and Sead Kolašinac on the left flank. Kolašinac has been on fire since coming into the Premier League and shows no sign of slowing down, he will defintely be a player to look out for in this high-end clash. With Sanchez injured, the two attacking midfielders will most likely be taken by Mesut Özil and replacement Danny Welbeck. Olivier Giroud will play the striking role in Lacazette's absence, hopefully being able to show Arsenal fans how good his form is.
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The three-man defense will also need to be strong in order to contain United's deadly attack. With Manchester United showing a lot of attacking players in their usual lineups, Nacho Monreal and Koscielny will have to be playing very well in order to stop the wide and central threats. Key players for Arsenal will defintely be Kolašinac and Bellerín. If the two outsdie midfielders for Arsenal can beat and punish Man Utd's outside backs early in the game,  they can completely shut out Ashley Young and Valencia from attacking, making the jobs of Arsenal's back 3 significantly easier.

POTENTIAL MAN OF THE MATCH:

Sead Kolašinac

SCORE PREDICITON:

Manchester United 2-2 Arsenal

Matches of the Week: Napoli vs. Juventus

This week in Serie A, we have the six time defending champions Juventus up against their biggest title challengers over the past few seasons in Napoli. Napoli will be looking to get a firm grip on the top spot in Serie A once and for all. At the moment, Napoli are four points ahead of Juventus in the table. The Stadio San Paolo will be absolutely packed on Friday, and if Napoli are able to win in front of their home faithful and be eight points ahead of Juve, it's going to be very hard to argue that the Partenopei don't deserve their first Scudetto since 1990. 

    Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain battling for the ball against Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly

Juventus: 

Juventus are coming off a 3-0 over lowly Crotone. However, there were many positives to take away from that game. Benedikt Höwedes at long last made his debut against Crotone and played exceptionally well. He had great awareness throughout the whole game and looked like his reliable and consistent self. The other positive was that long time club servant Claudio Marchisio came back from injury and was outstanding in the midfield paired along side Blaise Matuidi. Marchisio is always fighting to keep possession and provide clever balls. Miralem Pjanić will be coming back from injury and hopefully provide an extra spark in the midfield. Douglas Costa and Juan Cuadrado on the wings will be looking to provide the perfect balls for Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain. 

FORMATION: 

Juventus have a plethora of formations this season, but for this upcoming game, we believe they'll go with a 3-4-2-1. Buffon will likely be in net, with Italian compatriots Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Daniele Rugani playing in front of him. Medhi Benatia will also likely feature at the back. Alex Sandro and Mattia De Sciglio will be featured as two wing-backs.   Miralem Pjanić and Blaise Matuidi will be paired up in the midfield with Pjanić being the creative and distributing midfielder where as Matuidi will be playing right in front of the defense, being the typical box-to-box midfielder with the most stamina to help in late-game scenarios. Douglas Costa and Paulo Dybala will be slotted in as the outside forwards with Gonzalo Higuain as the main target man. 

POTENTIAL MAN OF THE MATCH:

Gonzalo Higuain

Napoli:

The current table toppers in Serie A have been nothing short of astonishing this season, despite their subsequent struggles in the Champions League. This Napoli team are much different compared to previous elite Series A clubs in terms of their style of play. They're really reliant on the attack compared to other clubs who have been really lenient on their defense. While Kalidou Koulibaly is the heart of the defense and one of the best defenders in all of Europe, he can't do everything at the back. However, Koulibaly won't have to do much as Napoli will dominate the midfield and with that dominance in the midfield, their front three will be able to cause damage to the aging Juventus backline. 

FORMATION:

Napoli will likely roll with their usual 4-3-3. There will be no drastic changes to the starting lineup. Pepe Reina will be the man between the sticks with the backline of Faouzi Ghoulam, Raul Alibiol, Kalidou Koulibaly and Elseid Hysaj. In the midfield, Allan will start ahead of the young Polish rising star, Piotr Zieliński. Allan will be alongside Jorginho and Napoli's all time appearance leader, Marek Hamšík. José Callejón, Lorenzo Insigne and last seasons Serie A leading goal scorer, Dries Mertens will form a lethal attack that will put Juventus on their heels the entire game.

POTENTIAL MAN OF THE MATCH: 

Dries Mertens

SCORE PREDICTION:
Juventus 2-2 Napoli