We had a little glimpse of the future in the Premier League this week…
No, not Man United heading back to former glories. No, not Arsenal’s empire collapsing. And not a preview of Liverpool battering Everton in their FA Cup 3rd tie (although…).
We had the full program of fixtures delivered the same day by Amazon Prime.
My feedback: five stars. On-time and as described.
Alexa…? More of the same, please.
Tap ins…
Surely Tottenham can keep a sheet at home to Burnley. C’mon, Jose. Sort the handbrake out on that bus. I’ll be loading up with Aurier again – who can score at both ends here. Alderweireld and Vertonghen are decent low £5m value too.
And Alli is back to stinging like a bee (after spending much of the last year floating like a butterfly) if you can find room for him.
And Liverpool should extend Bournemouth’s losing run to five. Yes, five. The midweek-rested Salah and Firmino will likely be the difference, but the host’s blunt attack is our guide here. Keep in Allison, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold.
Oh, and, Vardy. Skipper.
Long Shots…
Palace will travel to Watford full of themselves. But I don’t trust Zaha. And at £6.7m Milivojevic is a big punt on Palace getting a penalty. Ayew is rubbish – despite 5% of you taking the £5.1m hit. The keeper Guaita is at least £0.1m more appealing this weekend.
Expect a bounce from Everton. There will, after all, be half a dozen looking to impress ahead of the January window. Especially at the thought of David Moyes being reinstalled. No Silva lining there.
But not enough to blow out Chelsea’s Lamps. Abraham (doubtful), Pulisic and Mount are the goal threat. Pulisic is due one.
Now that Pukki has found his (domestic) shooting boots, he makes a compelling case for you 3rd choice striker. I fancy goals when they host Sheffield United. At both ends. And he looks a better pick than Blades defenders this weekend.
Worth a punt…
How about a West Ham clean sheet? No? Okay, perhaps not. But Cresswell (at £4.7m) and maybe even Yarmolenko (at £5.7m) are worth a tickle because Arsenal are creaking. And only Watford, Villa, Everton and Norwich are worse on the road. And two of those are going down.
Finally, the big one…
I fancy Ruiz to stop AJ late between the 8th – 10th rounds.
You knowz I gotz jokez.
Okay, the Manc derby. United’s front three – Rashford, James and Martial if fit – are everything that City’s back four don’t like. And Pep hasn’t slept in clean sheets since Villa at home, ten matches ago. So ditch defenders on both sides. But if you can get De Bruyne in your side do so. Even at the expense of Sterling.
Yeah, I said it!
