I wasn’t too far away with my predictions last week. However, gameweek 27 has some close encounters that could go either way. There is little to whet the appetite on Saturday with the best games saved for Super Sunday as Liverpool take on Man City & Arsenal host Everton. I’m predicting Man United to bounce back, Tim Sherwood to get his win ratio off and running and more misery for Burnley & Leicester.

West Ham v Crystal Palace

With just 1 win in 9 games and fixtures against Arsenal and Chelsea to come, Allardyce will see this as a must win game.  Not because they fear relegation but because if they don’t pick up three points they could see a season that had so much potential and sniffings of Europe peter out into an all so familiar mid-table campaign of nothingness.

At 27, this is the joint most Premier League points Crystal Palace have ever had after 26 games. However, with just 1 win in their last 4, “The Pardew Factor” could well be losing its power. Their most creative players are Puncheon & Bolasie but despite their pace & trickery, they have helped to contribute to Palace being the owners of the worst accurate crossing percentage in the league. With the players they have Palace should be modelling their formation & style on Liverpool, however Pardew doesn’t have the tactical awareness nor coaching abilities to produce this. The man is a myth who never deserved even the Newcastle job, never mind landing another Premier League role. I expect West Ham to bounce back from that derby collapse to Spurs, with a win this weekend.

Predicted score: West Ham 2 – 1 Palace

Burnley v Swansea City

Danny Ings continues his fine goalscoring form and now has 5 in his last 7 appearances and The Clarets will again look to their number 10 as they try to find only their second win in their last 11 games. With no games for Chelsea or Tottenham this week, I suspect George Boyd to be making his way off a few FPL benches into the starting 11 this gameweek despite producing just 1 assist and no goals in his last 6 games.

It is no coincidence that Sigurdsson returns to the Swansea team and then they go on to beat Man United.  Despite only collecting two points that game, his performance was enough to inspire 1000s of FPL managers to bring him into their teams, meaning his price should rise to 6.5m before the weekend. However, Siggy is not the only Swansea player you should be considering for your team though. Ki has 2 goals in his last 3 games, whilst Shelvey has two assists and a goal in his last four. In defence January signing Kyle Naughton is only 4.3m and has already contributed one assist in his first four games.

Predicted score: Burnley 0-1 Swansea

Manchester United v Sunderland

Despite just one win in nine, Sunderland have every chance of pulling off a smash and grab win at old Trafford this weekend. Given Sunderland’s anti-attack game plan, this could play out very much like an FA cup tie between Premier League giants and lower league minnows. Expect Man United to dominate possession but grow increasingly frustrated as they are forced into meaningless sideways passing. Van Persie is injured and this is a good thing for Man Utd fans as it means not only will Rooney play up front but Herrara should play in the centre and Di Maria out-wide. This gives balance and shape to an often dis-jointed midfield this season. I mentioned in my Pre-fix a few weeks ago that Herrara had to play given his outstanding tendency to produce goals and assists everytime he plays. Di Maria is still one of the world’s best midfielders, which is proven in that right now he isn’t in great form but yet has four assists in his last four games.

Predicted score: 2-0

Newcastle United v Aston Villa

Aston Villa… the team that can’t score goals. However, there is no team in the league that are easier to score against that the defensively hopeless Newcastle United, who have just one clean sheet in their last 14 games. Their “performance” (if you can even call it that) against City was the most pathetic & embarrassing footballing display I have ever seen. They just couldn’t give a f**k and it looks as if their players think their season is over, despite being only ten points away from the drop zone. Sinclair & Benteke will enjoy their afternoons and Tim Sherwood is likely to get his first win in charge.

Predicted score: 1-2

Stoke City v Hull City

This should be a routine win for a Stoke side that have only lost to elite opponents in their last 14 games, whilst Hull have won just one of their last 12 away games. However, The Tigers have won their last two games and look a more dangerous attacking threat with the strike partnership of Jelavic & N’Doye. The duo will fancy their chances this weekend given Stoke have kept just one clean sheet in their last 9 at the Britannia Stadium. There could be goals in this game but Hull will have their work cut out if they want to make it three wins in three.

Predicted score:  3-1

West Bromwich Albion v Southampton

There have been only 13 goals in the nine Premier League encounters between these two sides and you can expect both teams to struggle to penetrate the organised defences coached and moulded by Pulis & Koeman.

It seems Southampton can’t make a bad signing this season. Mane is a fans favourite and Elia has made an impressive start. Their newest recruit, Djuricic impressed me on his first start but with so many new midfield additions it remains to be seen to see who is going to get all the game time.

At least Pelle has his good looks, because he has certainly lost his goalscoring touch. The Italian hasn’t scored in 9 and just 2 goals in his last 18. Had he continued his blistering start to the season then Southampton could quite easily have been hot on the heels of the top two. However, I expect the Saints to slowly fall behind the eventual top six, before comfortably finishing in a respectable 7^th for the season.

Predicted score: 0-0

 Liverpool v Man City

The highlight of the weekend sees Liverpool take on Man City, two teams that can score at will and I for one, cannot wait for this. Man City were devastatingly brilliant against a haphazard Newcastle last weekend but the energy expenditure generated chasing the shadows of Messi & co could take away their title challenging sharpness. However, they will have had 2 days more rest than Liverpool who have a tough Europa League second leg against Besiktas on Thursday night. Rodgers knows the importance of a fit Daniel Sturridge and therefore the body-popping striker has been limited to just one start in four Premier League games. One positive to have come from Liverpool’s recent midfield injuries is the emergence of Jordon Ibe. The nineteen year old already looks so comfortable playing in the highest division and has been highly impressive so far despite no points returns for FPL managers so far. Followers of our Facebook page will have seen a post tipping Nasri as a good mid-priced differential and he hasn’t disappointed with 2 goals and 2 assists in 2 games. David Silva is 9.5m, if you can afford him then get him, but the next best thing is Nasri at just 8.3m

Predicted score: 1-1

Arsenal v Everton

Arsenal are in good form and have won 7 of their last 9 but they were very poor against Monaco on Wednesday night. They have an embarrassment of attacking riches but they still lack that midfield enforcer. Coquelin is trying his best to bring that physicality but it’s not enough. However, their opposition have won just one in their last ten games and unlike Arsenal, they don’t quite have the quality in squad depth to balance a European campaign with a successful Premier League one. This could be summed up in the contrasting performances of Romelu Lukaku last week who was dominant against Young Boys and clinically cool in front of goal to grab a hattrick. Yet just three days later he had little impact versus bottom of the league Leicester City. Keep an eye on Coleman, he could be about to go on a goalscoring splurge.

Predicted score: 2 - 0