Gameweek 15 brings more appetising FPL fixtures with a lot of the so called big teams having arguably somewhat easier fixtures, making every fantasy football manager lick their lips! Last week we saw Vardy break the record, Crystal Palace’s thumping of Newcastle and a boring Super Sunday! However, what will this week’s fixtures bring? Let’s see what gameweek 16 has for us, along with our star men tips!
Stoke City vs Manchester City
Stoke have had a different couple of weeks since the international break. Bojan scored in a 1-0 victory at Southampton however just a week later, Mark Hughes sees his side lose 2-0 to an in form Sunderland side. Manchester City have also won 1 and lost 1 since the international break, first of which was losing 4-1 to a rampant Liverpool side. However a 3-1 victory against Southampton put Man City back to the top of the league on goal difference. Man City will be the clear favourites in this match after last week’s performances by the 2 clubs.
Star Man – Kevin De bruyne (10.6m)
Back in the points last week and he should keep it up against Stoke.
Prediction – Stoke City 0-2 Manchester City
Arsenal vs Sunderland
Arsenal have had a very wobbly return to PL action since the international break, collecting just 1 point from a possible 6. A 2-1 loss to West Brom and a 1-1 draw to Norwich makes the Gunners somewhat look out of sorts. In contrast Sunderland have come out of the blocks quickly getting 2 wins out of 2, a 1-0 scraping at Crystal Palace and a more comfortable 2-0 victory at home to Stoke. Even considering the 2 sides forms I believe that Arsenal will come out winners in this fixture.
Star Man – Joel Campbell (5.0m)
Will probably replace Sanchez in the Starting XI, and I believe he will step up to the plate.
Prediction – Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland
Man Utd vs West Ham
Manchester United were unbeaten in the league and cup throughout the whole of November albeit not being tested greatly aside from last week’s 1-1 draw with high flying Leicester. On the other hand, West Ham haven’t won for 4 games after their electric start to the season, particularly away. In amongst that they have lost 2-0 away at Watford and been thrashed 4-1 away at Tottenham. Taking this into consideration, unless Slaven Bilic can change things quickly, a Manchester United win has got to be on the cards.
Star Man – Anthony Martial (7.8m)
Out of form recently but looked dangerous at times in recent matches.
Prediction – Manchester United 2-1 West Ham
Southampton vs Aston Villa
A tale of 2 teams very much out of form. Southampton since the international break have failed to register a single point with losses against Stoke and Manchester City. Aston Villa are in in the same boat but lower down the league, bottom in fact. They have conceded 7 goals in their last 2 games in a 4-0 defeat to Everton and more recently, a 3-2 loss at home to Watford. Despite Southampton’s poor run of form I still believe they can earn a win against Remi Garde’s poor side.
Star Man – Graziano Pelle (8.2m)
Great in the air and I believe he will cause Richards and Okore many problems.
Prediction – Southampton 2-0 Aston Villa
Swansea vs Leicester City
Swansea are another team that failed to win a match through November, and struggled greatly since A.Ayew and Gomis lost their ways after a sensational start to the season for the both of them. Leicester are still looking very strong under Claudio Ranieri and a lot of that has been down to record breaking Jamie Vardy who broke Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s record of scoring in the highest amount of consecutive games in the Premier League. Putting those factors together Leicester should be due another win with Swansea defensively not looking too great.
Star Man – Jamie Vardy (7.5m)
How can I not single him out as the star man?
Prediction – Swansea 1-2 Leicester
Watford vs Norwich
2 teams who were recently promoted and have definitely had different starts to the season. Currently, Watford are bouncing back off a 3-2 victory away at Aston Villa and a gutsy performance against Manchester United which they deserved a point from if it wasn’t for a late and unfortunate own goal by Troy Deeney who lives and breathes Watford. Norwich have certainly struggled more this season but they may have turned a corner with a good outing against Arsenal, whom they drew 1-1 with.When the 2 teams met last season Norwich came out 3-0 winners twice, so predicting a result may be trickier than first expected.
Star Man – Lewis Grabban (4.3m)
Scored against Arsenal last week and scored a couple against the Hornets last season.
Prediction – Watford 2-2 Norwich
West Brom vs Tottenham
West Brom have had some decent results lately, securing a difficult 1-1 draw at West Ham, then battling to a 2-1 victory against Arsenal. Tottenham have also been looking good recently, especially defensively with 2 clean sheets in a row where in the past, clean sheets would’ve been hard to come by. They are also unbeaten since the first game of the season which was a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United. Even though West Brom are playing well at the moment, with the return of midfield maestro Dele Alli, Spurs should get through this fixture.
Star Man – Christian Eriksen (8.4m)
He is doing well recently but he’s just not getting the goal to top it off, but I think he will this week.
Prediction – West Brom 0-1 Tottenham
Chelsea vs Bournemouth
Chelsea have obviously had a below par start to the season but they will be hoping their fortune has changed after their hard fought for stalemate with Tottenham last week. They are playing a Bournemouth side who recently come from behind twice against Everton to secure a dramatic 3-3 draw. The way Eddie Howe likes to play his football is possession but he won’t be able to do that up at Stamford Bridge. Because of this he will need to change his plans so Chelsea will have an advantage in that aspect and should win the game, but not emphatically.
Star Man – Eden Hazard (10.9m)
If he starts up top he’s almost guaranteed a goal, as he looked lively last week against Spurs.
Prediction – Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth
Newcastle vs Liverpool
Newcastle, well well well. What can I say? They have conceded EIGHT in their last 2 games, and those games haven’t even been against that tough of an opposition, Crystal Palace and Leicester. On the other hand, Liverpool have been rejuvenated under Klopp and look like a completely different team. 3-1 and 4-1 wins away at Chelsea and Manchester City respectively have certainly been the main highlights in Klopp’s reign. Put the 2 together and you get a comfortable win for Liverpool.
Star Man – Daniel Sturridge (10.1m)
With some game time under his belt against Swansea, Sturridge should do well this week.
Prediction – Newcastle 1-3 Liverpool
Everton vs Crystal Palace
Everton got rocked by Bournemouth last week after twice going into the lead, only to be drawn level for the second time in the match courtesy of a 96th minute header from Junior Stanislas. Crystal Palace are in the complete situation after absolutely battering Newcastle 5-1, but not all is good after falling victim to a 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle’s Tyne-wear neighbours Sunderland. This should be a very interesting game indeed as the 2 teams are certainly very similar, hence being 2 places apart in the table.
Star Man – Gerard Deulofeu (6.3m)
He will definitely cause Pape Souare problems, who’s good in attack but defensively not so much.
Prediction – Everton 2-2 Crystal Palace
Written by Harry Clark
