Michael Owen: Premier League Matchday 19 Preview

The Black Country derby gets the weekend’s Premier League action underway early on Saturday afternoon. West Brom make the short trip to Molineux having been dumped out of the FA Cup last weekend by Blackpool.

Now a few weeks into the job, Big Sam will no doubt realise the magnitude of the task at hand. The Baggies draw away to Liverpool has been the only real positive since his arrival, and they come up against a talented Wolves side in this one.

Wolves have sorely missed the services of Raul Jimenez since his terrible injury. Goals have been hard to come by; however, I still think they’ll have enough to get three points here.

Leeds are looking to get back on track after last weekend’s FA Cup horror show at Crawley Town. Marcelo Bielsa’s men were well out of sorts and I’m sure the manager will have put his players through their paces in training this week.

Brighton travel here in desperate need of points. They continue to flatter to deceive and unless they start finding the net, their nice style of play will count for nothing.

I think this match could be set up for Leeds to win. Brighton like to attack and if they do, I’d expect the Elland Road side to pick their opponents off and win comfortably.

Incredibly, Fulham have drawn their last 5 Premier League matches. Their late equaliser against Tottenham showed there’s no question about the fight in their side which is essential when you’re down at the bottom.

Chelsea were pulled apart in their last league match at home to Manchester City. It was a Christmas period to forget for Frank Lampard’s men and they’ll want to get back to winning ways in their first away match of 2021.

Although Fulham have been playing well, I just think Chelsea will have too much going forward and with that in mind, I can see them nicking it by the odd goal.

Burnley have welcomed most of their starting XI back from injury in recent weeks, so the Clarets should be near full strength for their trip to West Ham. Despite seeing an upturn in results, they have failed to score in 5 of their last 6 away games.

They take on a West Ham side who have had a decent season, so far. The Hammers have improved at home this campaign after struggling to find their feet in previous seasons since their move from Upton Park.

Tomas Soucek continues to impress, and I feel if he is on his game, West Ham will have just enough to take the points.

Spurs can’t seem to finish sides off just now. It’s a bad habit to get into and one you wouldn’t expect from a Jose Mourinho side.

Sheffield United fans will have shared a collective huge sigh of relief after getting their long awaited first win of the season against Newcastle. It will be interesting to see how they go from here. The Blades were excellent last season and if they can play anywhere near that level for the rest of their campaign, it could get very interesting down at the bottom.

That said, Spurs really should be winning this. I think playing away from home suits them better and if Sheffield United decide to have a go, I could see Messrs Son and Kane pouncing on the counter.

Saturday night’s late kick off comes from the King Power where Southampton travel to take on Leicester. I’m really looking forward to this one. Both have fantastic young managers and it should be a fascinating duel between the two.

I think the Saints will fancy themselves here, however, if they come at Leicester, I could see the Foxes capitalising on the counter. Jamie Vardy will be assessed prior to the match, but if he makes it, I could see him being the difference in what should be an entertaining contest.

Well, this is certainly a Super Sunday! Manchester United travel to Anfield one place above their old rivals in top spot. It’s been some turnaround for Ole Gunnar Solkjaer’s men and a win here would certainly cement their place in the title race.

Liverpool’s mighty home record stands at 67 games unbeaten in the Premier League and Jurgen Klopp will be trying to treat this one as just another game in their quest for back to back Premier League titles.

However, everyone involved at the club, especially the fans, will be hoping upon hope that when the time comes for that record run to end, it won’t be at the hands of United.

Personally, I don’t see that run ending here although I do think it will be tight.

Both teams love to play counter-attacking football so I think this one could be a case of cat and mouse. I think both sides are likely to give up some territory so they can execute their counters-attacks and if this materialises, I reckon we could be in for a stalemate at Anfield.

Palace travel to City having gained a credible point at the Emirates on Thursday night. They come up against a City side who just got there in the end against a well organised Burnley midweek.

The Citizens are starting to look in the mood with recent results catapulting them to favourites for the Premier League title.

These are the type of matches they seem to thrive on, and despite Palace being well capable of causing a few problems, I can’t see past City taking all three points.

These two were neck and neck for 90 minutes in last week’s FA Cup 3^rd round match. They reoppose again here in the Premier League with both sides dropping points in their midweek matches.

Pressure is mounting on Steve Bruce. Their defeat away to Sheffield United did not go down well with the Magpies faithful and they will be demanding a response here.

Despite Arsenal drawing at home midweek, the vibes around the Emirates are still positive. They are certainly playing with more confidence than they were showing a few weeks ago. I think this one could be tight again, but with spirits so low at Newcastle just now, I can only see one winner.

Wolves, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Arsenal all to win.