Michael Owen’s Premier League Gameweek 20 Preview

I don’t know what to say about Leicester. The first half at the Etihad was shocking. Yes, Man City were superb but defensively, Leicester were all over the place. They obviously showed a lot of character in the second half and tried to make a game out of it. They still have a lot of quality in this side, but they are struggling with injuries and have had a really tough run of fixtures.

Liverpool got a little break the weekend so I’m expecting a good performance here. It’s a big week for the club with that game against Chelsea to follow at the weekend.

I can see Liverpool being really sharp in this one. Leicester clearly have issues defensively, and Liverpool will exploit that and get a few goals. 3-1 Liverpool.

It wasn’t an easy game, but that was a huge win for Chelsea against Villa. Lukaku hasn’t been at his best of late, but he looked superb against Villa. He’s so quick, so strong and his movement was giving the Villa defence all sorts of problems. Chelsea look a totally different side when he’s in that mood.

Brighton have been having a rough spell, so to get the win over Brentford will be a relief for Graham Potter. It was two very well taken goals, and Neal Maupay now has seven for the season. He’s an underrated striker and can be a real handful.

I’d expect to see a Chelsea win here. It won’t be emphatic, Brighton are too organised, but Chelsea will get a couple of goals. 2-0 Chelsea.

Brentford didn’t play badly against Brighton, and it was a very even game. They didn’t create enough though. I like Ivan Toney, he’s a calm, composed finisher. He needs service though.

I’ve said it for weeks now, City in this form are almost unstoppable. They completely dominate games and the movement and quality of their players in the final third is superb. Pep will have been annoyed to have conceded a few goals in the second half, but it was another fantastic performance.

I can only see this going one way. Brentford struggle to score anyway but against City, it’s a massive ask. I’m predicting a 3-0 win for Man City.

Having games in hand is never a good thing, but if you were to ask Rafa Benitez, I think he’s probably happy his side have had a little break. The Everton squad has been decimated by injuries so a couple of weeks off can be only a good thing. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the road back from injury, I’d expect an improvement in form.

I liked what I saw from Newcastle against Man United. They showed a lot of character, a lot of energy in that performance and it’s something to build on. The challenge will be to replicate that sort of performance without a packed home support behind them.

Newcastle desperately need points and will try and stay in this game for as long as possible. I think Everton will edge it narrowly. 1-0 to Everton.

I expected more from United against Newcastle. Considering they had two weeks off, it was a disappointing showing. If they play like that, there’s no way they will get in the top four. I’d expect a response here at Old Trafford.

I’m sure Sean Dyche will be looking to get some new faces in the club in January, particularly now they’ve got some games in hand. They’ll go to Old Trafford and try and frustrate United, keep the game as tight as possible. I worry about the lack of quality in this side though.

I can’t see United destroying Burnley; Burnley are too organised for that. I do think they’ll get the win though, 2-1 Man United.