Eat, Sleep, PL, Repeat!
The Premier League rolls onto the it’s fifth game week in under 21 days as we pass the halfway point of the competition.
Manchester City have asserted themselves as the team to beat this campaign and can move six points clear on top of the league with a victory over Burnley at Turf Moor.
Elsewhere, United look to bounce back to winning ways against the Saints, Arsenal take on a troubled Wolves outfit and Tottenham face Chelsea in the Jose Mourinho el’Trashico.
As always, our VAR Virtuoso has his finger on the League’s pulse and has previewed all 10 Game Week 22 Fixtures below!
Arsenal have the opportunity to move into the top 6 for the first time since GW5 when they travel to Molineux Stadium on Wednesday morning (AEST).
The Wolves are winless across their last eight league appearances (L5, D3) and look lost without Raul Jimenez, who fractured his skull against Arsenal in GW10.
Alternatively, the Gunners are unbeaten since GW14 (5W, 2D) and boast the 2nd best defensive record in the league.
Wolverhampton are officially unbackable, jump on the Gunners at $2.20.
The Blades and the Baggies will give the fans a taste of what we can expect to see in the 2021/22 English Championship season.
After hitting rock bottom, the Blades have shown signs of promise across the past month of football, snatching a victory at Old Trafford before narrowly going down to the Sky Blues.
My general rule this season has been to back against both the Blades and the Baggies, and I won’t be straying from that here.
Southampton have plummeted from 6th to 11th following three straight league defeats, finding the net just once across that trip.
Meanwhile, United’s title hopes have taken a huge blow, dropping five points over the past two fixtures against Sheffield and Arsenal.
No side has secured more points from a losing position than United have this season (21 points), Ole’s side have amazingly won six matches after conceding the first goal including a 3-2 thriller against the Saints.
I’m backing the Red Devils to take home all three points with another dominant second half showing.
Despite half a season to still be played, this match can be chalked down as a dead rubber.
Neither side harbour any true ambitions to achieve European football, while both look to have done enough to avoid the dreaded drop.
Historically, this fixture has been a dull affair, with both sides hitting the score sheet just once from their last eight meetings.
Both teams are entering this fixture off the back of a clean sheet victory, and I’m expecting this contest to be won or lost in the backline once again.
Leicester look to put GW21 behind them when they travel to the capitol to take on relegation bound Fulham.
The Foxes have found the majority of their success on the road this season, claiming seven wins from 10 fixtures (2D, 1L), which is second only behind Man U in the league.
Alternatively, the Cottagers have only managed a solitary victory across their 10 league fixtures at Craven Cottage this campaign, of which came at the expense of fellow strugglers West Brom.
If Leicester are serious contenders this season they will need to put away bottom six sides, a task I’m backing them to complete here.
Superman has Kryptonite, Terry has teammates’ wives, Tottenham has Trophies and Burnley has Man City.
We all have our weaknesses, but Burnley’s record against the Citizens is almost comical!
The Clarets have lost their last seven fixtures against the Sky Blues with an aggregate of 28-1, that’s an average of four goals conceded per match, a flabbergasting figure for a team who are famous for parking the bus.
City are out to claim their ninth league win on the trot and should do so with relative ease at the expense their Burnley Bunny.
Leeds burst into this contest off the back of an impressive performance against the Foxes, claiming all three competing points in emphatic style.
Meanwhile, Everton are enduring a rough run of form, claiming just four from a possible 12 competition points across January.
The Whites have already got the better of the Toffees earlier this season and offer decent value to complete the double at Ellen Road on Thursday morning (AEST).
Brighton claimed their first and only point against the Reds back in GW10 this season, prior to that 1-1 draw, Liverpool had won all eight meetings between the pair with a 24-5 aggregate.
The Seagulls have been in decent nick of late, picking up competition points from seven of their last nine league fixtures (5D, 2W), only seeing defeat to Arsenal and City.
After a baron run of results, the current champs have rediscovered their mojo, knocking three goals past both Tottenham and the Hammers.
Brighton have only conceded multiple goals in two of their past nine PL fixtures and should make life difficult for Klopp’s side here.
Aston Villa have the chance to leapfrog West Ham into the top six should they claim victory at Villa Park on Thursday morning (AEST).
The Villans will have to end a six year drought against the Hammers (3L, 3D), with their last victory in this fixture coming courtesy of a Tom Cleverly strike in June, 2015.
West Ham suffered their first defeat this calendar year on the weekend (7W, 1L), going down 3-1 to Liverpool in a high octane spectacle.
The Hammers are looking as dangerous as ever and should prove too much of an attacking threat for Villa’s back four here.
Game week 22 wraps up on Friday morning, when the Blues take on the Spurs in must win London derby!
Chelsea have the wood over Tottenham recently, claiming thee wins from their last four PL meetings (1D).
Tottenham had a chance to prove that they’re more than just a one man team when they took on the Seagulls without talisman Harry Kane, a test they failed miserably.
Alternatively, Thomas Tuchel broke his PL duck with a convincing 2-0 victory over the Clarets in GW21.
Ostracised wingback Marcos Alonso was welcomed back into the fold by his new manager to immediate dividends, scoring the game sealer.
The Spurs have won just three of their previous 13 Premier League fixtures in which Harry Kane was absent (4D, 6L), and I can’t see the Blues defensive unit being unlocked without the English captain on hand.