BOY OH BOY, we are set for a huge weekend of EPL!
Freddie Ljungberg will attempt to hand Mikel Arteta a top ten side as the Gunners travel to Goodison Park to take on Ancelotti’s Toffees.
Match of the round materialises when the Foxes head to Etihad to take on the Citizens in the battle for runners up title.
Elsewhere, Man U look to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches as they travel to Vicarage Road, while Mourinho shapes up against his former side as the Spurs look to leapfrog the Blues into the top four.
Find my preview and a best bet for every fixture in GW18 below.
Game Week 18 gets underway when the re-energised Toffees welcome the degenerated Gunners to Goodison Park.
Everton fly into this contest off the back of two resilient performances against quality opponents in Chelsea and Man U, managing to pick up four competition points off the back of a simplified games plan based around high intensity pressing.
Duncan Ferguson will be relishing to opportunity to pile the pressure onto Arsenals underperforming squad.
The Gunners limp into this contest of the back of a convincing defeat against the Citizens,.
Freddie Ljungberg is clearly out of his depth as interim manager and will be hoping Arsenal’s board appoint a permanent Gaffa before his reputation is left in tatters.
Everton are full of fight and should be able to beat this gutless Gunners side into submission/ the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Newcastle will be looking to rebound from a disappointing defeat against Burnley last time out, in a game which the Toons failed to register a single shot on target despite their dominance around the ground.
Steve Bruce should have Jonjo Shelvey at his disposal this weekend, with the clubs leading goalscorer missing the Clarets clash through injury.
Crystal Palace rescued a point at home to Brighton last weekend, curtesy of some individual brilliance from their talisman Wilf Zaha.
Four of the past five meetings between Newcastle and Crystal have gone under 1.5 total match goals, with both sides struggling offensively of late there’s plenty of value to be found in the under once again.
17th plays 18th with the winner set to jump 3 points clear of the relegation zone.
Aston Villa have gone their last four games without tasting victory, leaving them dangling dangerously above the drop zone with only a superior goal difference separating them from their opponents this week.
Southampton have suffered back-to-back loses against Newcastle and West Ham and will see this game as a huge opportunity to get back to winning ways.
Both sides have struggled defensively of late, as such I can see this game escalating into a full-blown shootout.
Norwich single handedly ruined every EPL multi last round while all but delivering Liverpool their first ever Premier League Title as they took two points away from the inform Foxes.
Teemu Pukki looked dangerous at the top of the field for the Canaries, neatly finishing past Schmeichel during the opening half and constantly giving Leicesters centre halves trouble with clever runs in behind the line.
The Wolves 11 game unbeaten run finally came to an end when they suffered a 2-1 defeat in the dying moments of their match against the Spurs.
Nuno Santo will be pleased with his side performance nonetheless, with the Wolves holding the lions share of possession throughout the contest, creating numerous scoring opportunities.
The Wolves are a class above the Canaries and with one of the best away records in the league I can see them starting a new unbeaten run when they head to Carrow Road.
Brighton have wholeheartedly bought into Graham Potter’s possession based game style.
The Seagulls have been in total control of the ball on their way to a three game unbeaten streak against quality a couple of opponents, minus Arsenal.
Sheffield United moved back into the top seven following a convincing display against the Villans.
Impressively the Blades are yet to lose away from home this season from eight games on the road.
Both sides have prided themselves on their defence this season and this contest will no doubt be battle of attrition.
Bournemouth will host Burnley after both sides snapped their respective losing streaks last week with 1-nil victories.
The Cherries showed their first signs of life in months when they stunned Frank Lampard’s Blues, although Eddie Howes team.were comfortably out-played for the majority of the night.
Burnley also capitalised on an injury struck Newcastle side in GW18, with the clubs top scorer Chris Wood securing the win in a dull affair.
The Clarets have comfortably seen off the Cherries across their last two meetings and with Eddie Howes struck down with a bus full of injuries, I’m more than happy to take the away side at the healthy price of $3.
Match of the round materialises when Leicester travel to the Etihad Stadium and compete for the coveted “Applied Pressure to Liverpool” award.
City returned to winning ways last week with a comprehensive performance of the Gunners.
Leicester provide a much sterner contest for the Citizens though and Rodger’s side will be desperate to breach the 10 point gap to Liverpool.
Both the Foxes and the Sky Blues have been the premier scoring clubs in the league, averaging close to 2.5 goals per game each.
City can’t trust their defence to get them over the line in this contest and as such I’m expecting both goal keepers to be busier than a cat burying shit in concrete.
Manchester United young guns have been warming to the occasion over the past two months, going on a six game unbeaten run in the league while finding success in both the Europa League and English Cup.
Watford have been the Red Devils’ bunny in the Premier League, with United claiming victory on eleven of the sides previous twelve meetings!
The Hornets have been underwhelming at home this season, only claiming four competition points across eight matches.
Game Week 18 wraps up with the highly anticipated London no, Mourinho Derby!
Tottenham have been a different beast since Mourinho’s arrival, winning four from their last five PL games.
Alternatively, Lampard’s young Blues have hit a slump in form, taking just three points from the last five games.
Jose has already suffered defeat against one of his former in United already and will be desperate not to repeat the feat against the Blues.
A win for Tottenham will see them leap from Chelsea into the top four, where it’s hard to see Mourinho allowing them to fall out again for the remained of the season.
The Spurs front four have been in red-hot form since the special ones arrival and I’m expecting them to find the back of the net on multiple occasions against Chelsea’s shaky defence.