Michael Owen: Premier League Matchday 24 Preview

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will be looking for an immediate reaction from his players following their heavy defeat at home to Manchester City.

The Reds’ welcome a Leicester side that have lost a bit of momentum recently. It’s no coincidence that the goals have dried up slightly with Jamie Vardy absent from the side.

On paper, this has the potential to be a cracker with both so good going forward. That said, I think it may be more suited to the visitors from a tactical point of view.

Leicester will no doubt be willing to invite Liverpool on so they can utilise their counter-attack, however, it’s an extremely hard task to do that for 90 minutes against the Reds.

If Liverpool can get in front, it should open Leicester up and if that materialises, I think the points will be going back to Merseyside.

Neither of these sides can boast of terrific form. Burnley come into this having failed to score in seven of their last nine away matches in the Premier League and I expect the Clarets to set up to frustrate the home side here.

Worryingly for Palace, they have lost 18 of their last 23 Premier League matches without Wilfried Zaha in their starting line-up. The Eagles’ star man will miss this one as well, so that’s a big concern.

That said, there simply isn’t much between these two. Burnley may be languishing in 17^th position; however, they are relatively safe with eight points between themselves and Fulham.

I reckon if you offered both managers a draw just now, they’d probably take it, so that’s what I’m going for. 1-1 for me in this one.

Jose Mourinho now has the unwanted position as top of the betting for the next Premier League manager to go. It’s come after a string of poor results, including Spurs exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Everton midweek.

The North Londoners won’t get much respite either. The visit of Manchester City couldn’t come at a worse time and I for one really fear for the away side.

No doubt, Mourinho will try to pick City off on the counter. However, as we’ve seen many times this season, Tottenham have a tendency to switch off at the back. You just can’t afford to do that against City, and with the visitors in such tremendous form, I can only see this going one way.

I’m really looking forward to this one. Two sides with contrasting styles of play, albeit both entertaining when at their best. Brighton caught my eye early in the season, however, their lack of goals left them a frustrating watch. Now full of confidence, they look like they could give anyone a game.

Villa have been great this season. Their counter-attacking style is a joy to watch and Jack Grealish has been brilliant yet again.

I can see Brighton playing most of the match on the front foot. If that materialises, I think Villa will have enough to cause problems on the counter and take the points home.

Southampton won at Molineux when the sides met in the FA Cup 5^th round during the week. It was a much needed result for the Saints after a couple of, let’s face it, horrendous weeks.

Wolves are a good side; however, they are lacking badly up front. I think that could be their undoing, and with Southampton’s tails up after a good win midweek, I think they’ll edge this one.

Sam Allardyce hasn’t had the desired impact thus far at the Hawthorns. The Baggies have been struggling in all departments and they welcome a team here that are undefeated for over a year away from home in the Premier League.

I think it was a shrewd move from United to get Edison Cavani in over the summer. His experience has been vital in recent away victories and I don’t think any defender will look forward to facing him.

With that in mind, there’s only one winner for me. I’m going with Manchester United to take the points home to Old Trafford.

This is a fixture that brings back great memories and one of the reasons that it’s so great to have Leeds back in the Premier League.

The visitors arrive here as underdogs, but I think that suits Leeds and they’ll be quite comfortable in that role.

I expect them to deploy their smothering tactics on Arsenal. No side works harder off the ball than Marcelo Bielsa’s side in the Premier League, so the Gunners will have to be at their best if they are to take maximum points.

That said, Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in their last three home matches in the Premier League and are undefeated in five at the Emirates.

This is the type of form you need going into a game like this. I’m expecting an entertaining match, and I think Arsenal will just edge it.

I’ve been really impressed with Everton in recent weeks. The Toffees are through to the FA Cup quarter-finals and have Europe in their sights in the Premier League.

Another big positive for Carlo Ancelotti’s side is the resurgent form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The striker, much like he was at the start of the season, is back amongst the goals. It’s great to see and I’m sure it’s no coincidence with the Euro’s coming ever closer in the summer.

With that in mind, I think he could get on the scoresheet yet again against a Fulham side that really haven’t got going this season.

Having said that, there seems to be some doubt about his participation, with him appearing to have tweaked a hamstring in the classic match against Spurs in mid-week. With or without his goal threat, I fancy Everton to pick up three points here.

West Ham have been a model of consistency this season, however, they must overcome some injury problems if they are to prevail against Sheffield United.

The Blades’ have won six of their last nine in all competitions which is some turnaround for a side that have been bottom for most of the season. It just goes to show how important confidence is in football.

For all I have been impressed by Sheffield United’s resurgence, I’ve been equally, if not more, impressed by West Ham recently. They have been so well drilled this season and look a completely different outfit, especially at home.

With that in mind, I’m siding with the Hammers to take all three points in this one.

Chelsea have hit a nice run of form under new manager Thomas Tuchel. The German certainly seems to have had the desired effect with the players now noticeably more organised, especially at the back.

Newcastle have had a few good results of late. This will have come as such a welcome sight to the Geordie faithful after such a worrying run of form at the start of the year.

I think this one will be tough for the visitors. Chelsea have their tails up and seem to be extremely focused on securing Champions League football next season. I think they’ll have too much  and can see them running out comfortable winners.