Game Week 15 spills into Game Week 16, by the time Tuesday comes around we will have been blessed with 7 straight days of EPL action!
With fixtures played across all hours of the evening, football enthusiasts like myself will be caught mirroring the sleeping patterns of Mark Bosnich in 2003.
The round gets underway on Saturday night as Everton commence life after Marco Silva when they host Chelsea at Goodison Park.
Elsewhere, bragging rights are on the line as City host United in the 174th edition of the Manchester Derby, Liverpool are out to extend their lead on the rest of the comp with a win away to the Cherries, and Arsenal endeavour to record their first league win in over 60 days when they take on the Hammers.
We’ve tackled every match in GW16 and provided our best betting plays for them all below.
Everton are officially sitting inside the drop zone!
The Toffees have lost three games on the run and were humiliated by Liverpool’s reserve squad in a 5-2 Merseyside dumbing on Thursday morning.
Chelsea found themselves back in the winners circle after knocking off Aston Villa 2-1 at the Bridge, with the scoreline flattering the visitors.
Both sides may be forced into changing their starting XI with only a two day break between kicks, this will arguably suit Lampard’s deeper Chelsea squad.
I’m expecting this to be Marco Silva’s last game at Goodison Park is he hasn’t already been show the door post publishing.
The Blues have won five from their last seven away games and shouldn’t have any difficulty picking up the three points here.
Bournemouth are on the slide!
The Cherries have lost their past four Premier League matches, with their latest defeat coming at the hands of a ten-man Palace side.
Eddie Howe will be without top goalscorer Harry Wilson, who will be ineligible to face his parent club.
Liverpool remain undefeated after strolling past Everton in the Merseyside Derby, Reds’ cult hero Divock Origi scored twice while Sadio Mane continued his career best form putting two of his teammates through on goal before snagging one for himself.
The only thing lacking from Klopp’s side this season has been clean sheets, with the Reds failing to hold their opponents to nil since GW7.
With Salah and Bobby Firmino set to slot back into the starting XI there is no doubt the Reds will have too much strike force for the Cherries to deal with.
Mourinho will be seething at his side’s lack of intensity at Old Trafford Thursday morning, United dominated proceedings in the opening half hour and were unlucky to only be one goal to the good.
Nevertheless, the Spurs have come on under their new manager, especially Dele Alli who has scored four goals in his last three starts.
Burnley have stooped to two straight losses, and much like the Spurs they didn’t look interested in playing during their midweek fixture with City.
Danny Drinkwater somehow found himself in the Clarets starting XI at the expense of the inform Ashley Barnes. The former Leicester champion looked like he was suffering a delayed concussion from his Chinawhite beating!
This fixture has gone under the 3.5 total goals market across each of their last five meetings.
Watford search for their second win of the season when they host Crystal Palace at Vicarage Road.
The Hornets are well and truely entrenched in the bottom three, after failing to pick up a point against the Foxes.
Watford are the only side in the competition who have failed to win a game at home, only managing three draws from seven matches.
After a horror run of fixtures the Eagles are back to winning ways, managing to get up against the Cherries mid-week despite going down to ten men early in the opening half.
Palace Have an outstanding record on the road, picking up ten points from seven fixtures and are yet to lose a single match against opposition inside the bottom 10.
Crystal have been priced at $3.10 in the H2H markets and I’ll shall be taking full advantaged of the clear overs!
What a treat, two Derbies in one week!
Ole will be breathing a sigh of relief after his spoiled Jose’s return to Old Trafford.
United played with real vigour and intent throughout their mid-week fixture and will feel aggrieved not to have put away more goals in their 2-1 victory against the Spurs.
Marcus Rashford continued to climb the goal scorers leaderboard, putting away his 8th and 9th strikes of the season, while banishing his demons from the spot after cooly slotting a penalty past Gazzaniga.
The Citizens responded to their disappointing draw against Newcastle by blowing Burnley out of the water at Turf Moor.
The Clarets were made to look like training cone as Pep’s men put on a passing masterclass.
Though standing shoulder to shoulder in a geographical sense, United are still miles off the Sky Blues from a footballing perspective!
I’m backing the Blue side of Manchester to get up in a Derby shootout!
Aston Villa have been dealt a dud run of fixtures.
Following the match this weekend Villa will have faced every side currently (at date of publish) inside the top six across a their last seven game weeks, managing to pick up an honourable four competition points over the trip.
Dean Smith’s side were out gunned against Chelsea mid-week and were extremely fortunate to finish the game only down 2-1.
Leicester City saw off the bottom of the table Hornets to secure their seventh straight win, keeping them within three wins off the league leaders, Liverpool.
Jamie Vardy’s impressive goal run continued as he converted from the spot, taking him three goals clear in the golden boot race (14).
With the fixtures pilling up, Brendan Rodgers has enough quality in his extended squad to see off an enthusiastic Villa side.
The Toons host the Saints as both sides attempt to distance themselves from the dreaded drop zone.
The Toons have have been the “Banana peel” of the league, taking points away from Tottenham, Wolverhampton and both Man City and United.
Steve Bruce’s side has hit a purple patch, claiming points from for of their past five outings (at time of publish) and have been phenomenal from the set piece.
Southampton are undefeated across their last three starts, be it against league battlers Norwich, Watford and Arsenal.
James Ward-Prowse has been lethal with the dead ball, finding the back of the net three times across his last five matches and laying up both assists in his sides 2-1 mid-week victory over the Canaries.
On current form there’s nothing between these two sides, which is reflected in their H2H prices.
Of the newly promoted sides, Sheffield United have been by far the quickest in adapting to life in the Premier League.
The Blades are unbeaten since Game Week 7 (at time of publish) and are yet to lose on the road this season, a feat made all the more impressive considering they’ve travelled to Chelsea, Tottenham and Wolverhampton.
Norwich have shown glimpses of quality over the past month, taking points away from both Everton and Arsenal, while putting up a fight in a 1-2 defeat against the Saints mid-week.
After eight games without a goal, Teemu Pukki has finally found his shooting boots, scoring twice in as many games.
The Blades represent the first real challenge the Canaries will have faced in some time, a task I fear is too tall for Daniel Farke’s men to overcome.
Wolverhampton look to extend their 10 game unbeaten run when they travel to Brighton.
The Wolves were dwelling in 19th position on the League table after GW6, fast-forward five draws and five wins later and they’re knocking on the door of the top four!
Nuno’s men have been ruthless in defence, only conceding seven goals across that ten game run.
Brighton snapped a three game losing streak, with a dominant display against the Gunners at Emirates Stadium.
Aussies, Aaron Mooy and Mat Ryan enjoyed a particularly good night, with the former laying the winner on a plate for Maupay.
Brighton’s possession heavy game style should play into the Wolves counter attacking philosophy, I’m expecting the likes of Jimenez and Traoré to dominate on the break.
The London Derby which nobody asked for.
Game Week 16 comes to a close at Olympic Stadium, in what promises to be a sad state of affairs.
West Ham have only managed to secure five league points across their past nine matches, while the Gunners currently hold the longest streak without a win, at seven games.
Both sides have played without a lick of passion or intensity this season, with the pair of London clubs plagued with a handful of fair-weather passengers.
The best we can hope for here is that both Freddie Ljungberg and Manuel Pellegrini throw caution to the wind and look to play an expansive free flowing game of football.
Declan Rise and Mark Noble will hand the Hammers an edge over the Gunners, who have no identity or continuity through the middle of the park.