Premier League Predictions: Week 22
Raj Ramanathan
Welcome back to the Premier League, this week we will go over important matches throughout the league and highlight key matchups. After the ecstatic World Cup, we return to a rejuvenated league with players and coaches having newfound confidence and goals. With the standings being close all around, the world watches.
The Game of the Week
Manchester City(14-3-3) v Tottenham (11-3-7)
Manchester City: This game will be one that will always bring action to either side, both sides truly possessing top-class teams. Haaland has stepped in and proven to be the striker that Manchester City needed after the departure of Aguero and Jesus. Haaland has also tied Ronaldo in terms of hat tricks in the Premier League. The rest of the squad, solid as always, comes into this game after a win against the Wolves. The highlight of this team will remain to be the lethal strike force in Grealish, Haaland, De Bruyne, Foden, and a recent star in the world cup Julian Alvarez. After playing and winning alongside Messi, Alvarez has come into a more prominent role among forwards. The opposing side has had a few disappointing performances this season and unfortunately underperformed thus far. However, they remain in the fifth position. Son Heung Min took his team the distance and surprised everyone, although they came short of the trophy they still proved they are a world-class team. Unfortunately for Manchester City, Richarlison has stepped his game up after scoring one of the best goals in the history of the world cup. The defense however has continued to perform poorly and needs to step it up if they want a chance to win the game. This game is tough but I see Manchester taking it home.
Fulham (9-4-8) v Chelsea (8-5-7)
Fulham: Regardless of expectations coming into this year, Chelsea has severely underperformed. The signing of top players like Sterling, Felix, Cucarella, and Mudryk hasn’t proved to be successful. They have been limited in terms of goal-scoring opportunities, which is no thanks to the defense. They have left-wingers with open chances on goal and have looked sloppy all year. Meanwhile, Fulham has pulled it together from the past years, although they are in seventh, they look like a put-together team and move cohesively. Although they haven’t spent large sums of money to bring in players they have brought in smart players. This is tied together by the coach Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva. The squad proves to have a strong midfield which controls the game from front and back. The communication on the pitch has shown fewer goals off of set pieces and fewer goals off of simple mistakes. This game will prove to be a good one as these two teams could flip positions at any moment with a win or a loss.
Nottm Forest (5-6-9) v Leeds United (4-6-9)
Nottm Forest: This game will have a large role in determining these two teams' positions at the end of the season however it will have a bigger impact on showing the talent of next season. Both teams have sold prized players and are ready to bring in new talent at the end, as of now both teams are within 3 points of each other. This means that nothing is lost with a lot more weeks to go, players can give teams hope in moments like this. I think that Brendon Aarronson is the man for this for Leeds, the boy from the United States has continued to surprise even after the world cup. This game will surround the quality and strength of the offense for either team as both teams have been stagnant when it comes to creating chances and scoring. We are looking forward to this game and I think that this game will belong to Nottm Forest.
