Game Week 17 sees Nuno take on Mourinho in what has been touted as the biggest Portuguese rivalry since Nando’s took on Oporto in the Australian fast food marketplace.
Elsewhere, Arsenal will attempt to win back-to-back matches for the first time since GW2 when they welcome Manchester City to Emirates Stadium, while United will host the reinvigorated Toffees and league leaders Liverpool take on the wayward Hornets.
We’ve previewed every match in GW17 and provided our best bets below!
Game Week 17 gets underway as Liverpool welcome the bye… sorry Watford to Anfield.
Watford managed to secure their ninth point of the season last weekend, when they played out a nil-all draw at home to Crystal Palace.
The Hornets will play their first game under the rule of Nigel Pearson, who famously save Leicester City from relegation the season before they went on to win the Premiership as 5000-1 outsiders.
Pearson should be able to get Watford playing with more passion, unfortunately this should result in nothing more than an honourable defeat to the Rampant Reds.
Jurgen Klopp has rolled the dice over the Reds last two PL outings, resting multiple starters s a precaution to a congested December fixture calendar.
Liverpools squad players have come up trumps, with cult hero Origi bagging a brace in his third start of the season, while Shaqiri and Naby Keita also capitalised on their rare starts.
There’s no doubt that Klopp will be looking to continue rotating his squad and with the level of competition for spots whoever gets the nod for the starting XI will be looking to cash in agains the hapless Hornets!
The Blues look to get back to winning ways as they host whats left of a heavily depleted Cherries squad.
Chelsea were ambushed by a revitalised Toffee’s side last time out, as Frank Lampard’s collapsed under immense pressure of Everton’s full-team press.
The Blues made amends mid week with a comfortable win over Lille, taking them into the final 16 of the UCL.
Tammy Abraham found himself back on the scoresheet and will be looking to close the gap on Vardy this weekend against the struggling Cherries.
After a promising start to the season Bournemouth has gone on to lose their last five games straight, slipping eight places down the table to their current position of 15th, 1 point above the drop zone!
Eddie Howe’s side has an injury list longer than Liverpools wait between titles, the Cherrie’s will have to dig deep into their squad to field a starting XI this week and will be hard fought finding a replacement for their best defensive asset in Nathan Ake.
Chelsea have score in the opening half in seven of their nine victories this campaign and I’m expecting them to shoot out of the blocks against this frail Bournemouth outfit.
We have to look back to 2007 for the last time these two side met in the Premier League, Aston Villa won 3-nil on that occasion with a baby faced Ashley Young finding the back of the net.
Fast forward 12 years and two of Englands oldest clubs a set to go to battle once again in the top flight.
Sheffield got back to winning ways last weekend with a 2-1 victory over the struggling Canaries, with both fullbacks finding the back of the net for the Blades.
Aston Villa have been playing positive footy without yielding favourable results, picking up just four points from their last seven outings.
Jack Grealish has been leading his side on all fronts with four goals and four assists for the season, but the academy hero hasn’t got the players around him to compete with the top half of the table.
Villa have only won one game on the road this season and will have a mountain to climb at Bramall Lane this weekend.
Strap yourselves in and get ready for a bombardment of goals!
Leicester are on an eight game win streak and have scored 25 goals over that trip, 11 of which have come off the boot of Jamie Vardy.
Norwich have conceded the second most goals in the league, one behind Southampton with 34 against.
The Canaries have only picked up four points away from home this season and should be out to minimise the damage at King Power Stadium.
Vardy is on track to brake his own record of most consecutive PL games with a goal (11), I’m backing him to move to nine on the run with a brace over the weekend.
Burnley will be looking to put GW16 in the rearview mirror when they welcome the Toons to Turf Moor this weekend.
The Clarets have endured a form slump over the past few weeks, losing three straight games culminating in last rounds 5-nil defeat to the Spurs!
Sean Dyche will hopefully welcome Ashley Barnes back into his starting XI to bolster Burnley’s forward line, who have only managed one goal in their last three games.
Alternatively, Newcastle have been motoring along lately, the Toons have won two on the trot and have only tasted defeat once from their last seven starts.
Andy Carroll has been slowly reintroduced to the pitch to great affect, the cult hero has looked ten times the striker of Newcastle’s record signing Joelinton and has provided two assists in two appearances.
Jonjo Shelvey has also shown the Toon faithful what he’s capable of this campaign, netting in three consecutive matches and more importantly only finding himself in the referees notebook on one occasion.
Steve Bruce has the Toons playing with enough confidence to overcome a out of sorts Burnley side this weekend.
Thankfully we will be treated to a sleep-in on Sunday morning as the Saints take on the Hammers in a flop-buster!
The Saints have turned a corner of the past month or so, earning seven points from their last four games putting them within striking distance of the top 17!
Danny Ings can be credited in his sides upturn in form, finding the goals in five consecutive games taking his season tally to nine on par with Kane, Aguero and Mane.
West Ham showed a glimmer of life back in GW14 as they took three points away at Stamford Bridge in a gutsy 1-nil win over the Blue, this has since been proven to be the exception to the rule, with the rule being that the Hammers are completely cast.
Pellegrini has clearly lost the dressing room, his players have put in less effort over the past two game weeks than Ozil has across the Unai Emery tenure.
I’m expecting the Saints to bully the Heartless Hammers across the park this weekend.
The Champions of Manchester kick off proceedings on Sunday night when the play host to the re-energised Toffees.
United come into this contest fresh off their best performance of the campaign, bettering their bitter rivals/neighbours City at the Etihad.
Both Rashford and Martial found the back of the net, as the Sky Blues failed to cope with United’s attacking trio’s express pace on the break.
Everton decision to sack Marco Silva and appoint Duncan Ferguson as interim manager yielded instant results last week, as the Toffees surprised Chelsea with a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park.
Ferguson instructed his men to play direct football when in possession of the ball and to aggressively press without it.
A game-plan which worked to great effect with the Toffees scoring twice on the break and recording a season high of 34 tackle won!
Although hugely successful against the Blues, Everton will travel to Old Trafford without the same element of surprise.
Ferguson will be without key defender Lucas Digne, which means veteran Leighton Baines will be tasked with quelling the lightning speed of both Daniel James and Marcus Rashford.
Nuno takes on Mourinho in what has been touted as the biggest Portuguese rivalry since Nando’s took on Oporto in the Australian fast-food marketplace.
The Wolves remain unbeaten in the league since GW5, but will come up against their toughest test in over a month when they face the re-invented Spurs outfit.
Despite being unbeaten Nuno’s men have lacked a killer punch this season, leading the league in matches draw with nine.
Wolverhamptons last eight fixtures have come against sides sitting outside of the top 7, with their most note-able performance during that period being a 1-1 draw against the Blades.
The Spurs have gotten off to a flyer under Jose, winning four of their last five matches across all competitions, more importantly pouring in 16 goals across that trip, which have fans justifiably excited.
Harry Kane shrugged off and ankle injury and pulled out two worldies from his top drawer against the Clarets in GW16, the English captain has been encouraged to pull the trigger more frequently under his new manager and I’m confident we’ll see at least one goal from the incomprehensible striker this week.
Arsenal are set to battle City for the Arteta Cup.
The Gunners played out their first respectable half of football this campaign last week, coming back from a one goal deficit in the opening half to eventually defeat the Hammers 3-1.
Gabriel Martinelli was handed his first PL start by Freddie Ljungberg, the 18 year-old justified his inclusion by opening the scoring for the Gunners, while out of sorts French winger Pepe silenced his critics by giving his side the lead shortly after.
Arsenal’s form against the Sky Blues in the PL makes for a grim read, with the Gunners last tasting victory against the Citizens back in 2015!
City were completely out played by United last time out, Pep’s side were unable to cope with the ferousious pace of their bitter rivals on the counter.
Arsenal will no doubt ask similar questions of the City defence during this contest, although the Gunners back line is about as stable as the Greek economy, especially with Papastathopoulos in centre.
Game Week 17 wraps up on Tuesday morning, when Brighton take on Palace in the capital.
Brighton enter this clash in good touch following their first ever PL win over the Gunners and an impressive display against the Wolves which earned them a point.
Graham Potter has worked wonders during his first 16 weeks at Brighton, the English manager has turned the Seagulls into a genuine top 10 side with a focus on possession heavy gameplay.
Crystal are three games unbeaten following a goalless draw against the Hornets, a game in which they fail to register a single shot on target.
Roy Hodgson may look to mix things up in the forward line, with Christian Benteke knowing on the door following a couple of lacklustre performances from Jordan Ayew.
Palace’s backline is making up for their incompetence in front of goals, keeping three clean sheets on the trot.