The Premier League fixtures continue to come thick and fast as we hit the halfway point in the season, with gameweek 19 just around the corner.
Grosvenor Sport ambassador Jamie O’Hara is on hand to take us through three key fixtures as Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal are all in action.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolverhampton Wanderers – Sunday 15:00
Tottenham are shipping goals for fun at the moment, but they’re still scoring a fair few at the other end. The way they’re going at the moment, they could finish in the bottom half. The main problem with Tottenham is that you have absolutely no idea which Spurs side is going to turn up here!
Wolves have some good players and they look to have bounced back under the new manager. They look capable of taking a scalp.
I have to side with Tottenham even though they look very shaky at the moment. One thing’s for sure, this game is going to have goals. I’ll say 3-1, but this could be 6-4 or something outrageous like that.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (9/1)
Manchester United vs Newcastle United – Monday 20:00
Newcastle United seem to have picked up after a tricky start to the season. They’re actually playing some good football now and they look as though they could be fighting for the top four again this season.
Results are going back in their favour and although there has been talk about clubs wanting to sign Alexander Isak, it’s Newcastle who need to be signing players! I know they’ve got a few issues around being able to spend money and bring players in, but what they certainly shouldn’t do is sell their best player in Isak. If they want Champions League football, they need to keep hold of him.
Manchester United, on the other hand, look a million miles away from their best. It’s going to take them a season or two for Ruben Amorim to assemble his own squad, because these aren’t his players – it’s hard to blame him for what’s happening at the moment.
That said, he likes to play the 3-4-3, but I’ve never been a fan of it. It worked at Sporting, but this is the Premier League. It’s very rare nowadays that it works for a whole season in the Premier League and it’s even harder if you haven’t got the players for it.
I think United will continue to struggle and might even finish in the bottom half. This game is at Old Trafford though, which will make it tougher for Newcastle to get all three points. I can’t see United winning this though, they look miles off it.
Prediction: Manchester United 2 – 2 Newcastle United (9/1)
Brentford vs Arsenal – Wednesday 17:30
Bryan Mbeumo has been the standout player for Brentford this season. The problem for them now is that everyone will be interested in signing him, and Brentford are a selling club. He’s a top player and he could end up at Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, anywhere! I think he’ll move on in the summer.
Bukayo Saka had been the main man for Arsenal but now he’s out for a few weeks, and it was an injury waiting to happen. He plays every minute, even in Carabao Cup games! Mikel Arteta is to blame for constantly playing him, but the fixture list is also to blame – there’s no rest for these players.
Gabirel Jesus has stepped up in the last few weeks and he’s a player I’ve always liked. He’s a top player and he’s been there and done it at the highest level when he was at Manchester City. He fell away a bit at Arsenal but he’s come back into the side with a bit of confidence and he’s firing on all cylinders again.
He deserves a good run in the team and could be key for Arsenal without Saka. Brentford are good at home but I can’t see past Arsenal here, I think they’ll get the three points.
Prediction: Brentford 2 – 3 Arsenal (18/1)