Source - https://www.premierleague.com/fixtures
Today sees 4 Premier League games and here are some of my thoughts on each of them...
Burnley v. Arsenal
Our early kick off sees Arsenal travel to Turf Moor - Burnley won the reverse fixture back in December 1-0, courtesy of a Granit Xhaka red card and an Aubameyang own goal.
Burnley have a settled side which doesn't see much player rotation. They're notoriously hard to beat (despite their recent thrashing at the hands of Spurs) and have ground out some decent results recently, albeit against lesser opposition. They're always set up with a strong defence and with that being the case, struggle for goals. Ashley Barnes is likely to miss out again although their 1st choice Goalkeeper and Defence is all fit. When Pope, Mee and Tarkowski all start, they look a solid outfit (again, ignoring the blip against Spurs).
Having not played in midweek, Arsenal will be going into this match with much more rest than Burnley have had and have looked a much better side since Arteta started playing some youngsters and perhaps contradictory to most opinions, started rotating / resting Aubameyang. Perhaps the catalyst in Arsenal's upturn in fortunes coincided with the introduction of Emile Smith-Rowe who's likely to miss out today through injury and we'll likely see Odegaard deployed in the number 10 role.
As with their match earlier in the season, it will be no surprise to see Arsenal totally dominate the ball, the main question is whether they'll have enough to break down the notoriously stubborn Burnley defence. If they can, and they do it early, I expect to see a comfortable Arsenal win. But if Burnley can hold out for the first 20-30 minutes, it'll be a long 90 minutes for gunners fans and we could certainly see the points shared.
My Prediction: Arsenal win, 1-0
Sheffield United v. Southampton
On paper, I can't see many neutrals getting excited about this match which pitches an already doomed Sheffield United against a Southampton team that's terribly out of form, having not won in the Premier League since mid-December. Let that sink in for a minute, that's 14 Premier League matches without a win. However, that last win, was against today's opponents.
Sheffield United's biggest problem this season has been goals. They seem to play different strikers in every match as Chris Wilder doesn't seem to know who his best combination is and that lack of connection between this position and their marauding defenders and midfield has been a key problem for them and will certainly see them get relegated. They've been trying to grind out results and were finally successful against Aston Villa midweek having lost too many matches through individual errors. They've suffered key injuries in defence this season, with Phil Jagielka being the latest casualty. It's a defence that was so reliable last season and unfortunately haven't coped with the changes - these injuries are still present and are somehow getting worse!
As with Arsenal, Southampton have had a couple of days extra rest and to be honest, I don't have a lot of thoughts on Southampton at the moment.
In this match up, we have 2 teams that are really struggling. Sheffield United are a team built on a solid defence, that this season, hasn't had the defenders to be able to defend. Southampton do look a bit better since the loan signing of Minamino and this is the kind of game that on paper looks dreadful, but turns out to be an absolute belter.
Prediction: Southampton win, 3-2
Aston Villa v. Wolves
To say that Aston Villa have been missing their Talisman in Jack Grealish is an understatement. In truth, they'd struggled in a few games before his injury, once opponents realised that if you double up on Grealish, then you can nullify him and by nullifying him, you nullify Villa altogether. This has certainly appeared to be the case in all 3 of their recent matches.
Wolves can claim the same fate over a longer period. By losing Raul Jimenez, they lost the central point of every attack and struggle for goals. Pedro Neto and Adama Traore are 2 players who have the capacity to win any match and Traore is starting to look like the unplayable player that we saw at times last season.
The big question for me, is if Wolves can do enough to beat arguably the best goalkeeper in the league (Emi Martinez, a player who I saw at Reading and knew would do great things) as I don't think Aston Villa have shown enough since the Grealish injury to breach an impressive Wolves back line. I think that it will be tight, almost certainly 0-0 at half time and we'll be hoping for some magic in the 2nd half.
Prediction: Wolves win, 1-0
Brighton v. Leicester
Our late kick-off sees Leicester visit the Amex Stadium. Brighton like to dominate possession and look like a team that should be scoring 6 or 7 goals every match - but they're not. In fact, you need to go back to the 2nd January to find the last time they scored more than once. Danny Welbeck may well be in for a start and with him, they have a natural goalscorer who could easily make the difference today.
Leicester enjoy playing on the counter attack so Brighton's style of play will suit them down to the ground. They'll be missing 2 key players in James Maddison and Harvey Barnes which has removed a huge amount of their attacking pace and flair. The responsibility of this will rest, almost solely, on Jamie Vardy and if Leicester are to score, it'll likely be a long ball over the top for him to run on to - classic Jamie Vardy.
If Brighton can keep Vardy quiet, they should be in for a relatively comfortable afternoon. Unfortunately, a lot of teams keep Vardy quiet for 80 minutes and then he scores the winning goal. Since both teams rejoined the Premier League, Leicester haven't lost (Won 6, Drawn 2).
As with the Arsenal game, if Brighton can get ahead in this game, I think it'll give them the confidence to go on and win. But Brighton's style of play is exactly what Leicester like so I fancy Leicester to continue their Champions League challenge.
Prediction: Leicester win, 1-0
Let's talk
Please share your thoughts ahead of today's games in the comments and which, if any, of today's games you'll be tuning in to.