This article tries to answer the question ‘What the fans are saying’. It’s their predictions of how the games will be played, not mine.
Fans Predictions
– Leicester fans talk a lot about opposition centrebacks. That’s all they seem to talk about, and how wonderful their midfielder N’Golo Kante is. They hope Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho will play and that Kolo Toure will replace the injured Martin Skrtel in Liverpool’s defence. They are predicting a lot of goals for themselves. If Liverpool play their pressing game against a team that gets rid of the ball so quickly they could get destroyed. Liverpool fans are very unhappy with their team’s performance in recent weeks, which has lacked desire, pace and commitment. There is no talk of changing the formation, just desire. If Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp chooses to not change anything they will lose.
– Chelsea fans realise they play against a tough opponent in Watford and hope Kurt Zouma to be at his best. They hope Nemanja Matic will play well with perhaps John Obi Mikel playing. They can see Chelsea have got instantly better during the Sunderland match last Gameweek and predict a win (contrary to what the pundits say who think Chelsea haven’t got better). Hornets fans are looking forward to this, they may lose but they may win. They are more bothered about rotation over Christmas so that the players aren’t burnt out for the second half of the season.
– Villa fans think it will be a low scoring draw against the Hammers. West Ham have drawn 0-0 three times in a row, and they concede Villa are also a low scoring team. They point to their good history against West ham as their only hope of inspiration. Hammers fans are quite pessimistic about their chances. They can’t see where the goals will come from and most predict a low scoring loss.
– Crystal Palace are looking forward to their game against Bournemouth purely for entertainment purposes. Glenn Murray will be playing his old team, and they believe Dan Gosling could raise his game after being aggrieved by Steve Parish. Cherries fans also expect to see an entertaining game. Could go either way.
– Man United fans are worried that teams have resorted to letting them have the lion’s share of the ball and hitting them on the counter. They aren’t happy about Louis Van Gaal obviously, who said they would play the same way against the Potters. Stoke fans have been reading the United forums and are surprised with the pessimism there. Stoke aren’t imagining a huge win though as they realize they don’t score enough, 1-0 seems likely.
– West Brom point out their weakness – pace – in their game against Swansea. Swansea have very good wingers on their day but their whole team is still lacking in confidence. West brom fans think a one all draw is likely as they can pack the defence with height and should be able to get a goal. Swansea are looking at this as a must win but also concede that it will end in a low scoring draw.
– Spurs fans expect a similar team against Norwich with maybe a bit of rotation in the middle of the park. They hope to win this game easily so Kane can be subbed early. Just a warning. Alli is the main name to be rested as well as Dier. They expect to score around three goals. Lamela being mentioned as a potential goalscorer. Norwich are starting to play for wins after they surprisingly beat Manchester United last Gameweek.
– Southampton fans are very worried. They expect a loss, they may even have to score twice to get a point. They aren’t happy with Victor Wanyama’s performances. Meanwhile, Gunners fans have noticed the awful form that Southampton are in, but they’re always given a good game at St Mary’s.
– Everton forums are the worst, they never talk about future games. I can write about how the fans are annoyed that Everton are struggling to win games but that’s about it. Most Newcastle fans expect to concede two and lose the game but they can see themselves scoring a goal.
– Rotation is being predicted amongst Manchester City‘s ranks over Christmas with question marks as to how much game time David Silva and Sergio Aguero will get in particular. Many fans are predicting that Aleksander Kolarov will start against Sunderland but miss the Leicester game, where Gael Clichy’s more defensive style of play will be needed. Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne are also both predicted to start against Sunderland. Amongst Sunderland fans there is little hope of victory. They are anticipating a hammering with the midfield gifting space to Man City’s talented midfielders.
Conclusions
This week’s games should go according to plan, with Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Everton and Leicester amongst the goals.
Most heavy hitters, in particular Aguero and Kane, are predicted to be subbed early if the game looks to be won.
Who should you be captaining based on what the fans are saying? Riyad Mahrez looks the key man, but the allure of Harry Kane, who scored a hat trick last Boxing Day is very strong. Maybe Kane is the kind of player that just likes the festive season.
My differential for Gameweek 18 is Erik Lamela. Though differentials have been terrible this year, I think he will get lots of minutes against Norwich while the likes of Kane are subbed early. Be warned though, with Nacir Chadli and Son waiting in the wings, Lamela looks a sure fire contender for a break in the post Boxing Day match. Nevertheless he looks ideal for those playing weekly games or looking to go through in the FPL cup in the first round.
To read more about what the fans think you can use the quick links to the forums from this article.
