What the Fans are saying – Gameweek 26

This article discusses what the fans are saying about the Gameweek ahead, delving into their forums and unearthing their predictions of how the games will be played.

Fans Predictions

• Sunderland fans are looking forward to their game against Manchester United. They have a lot of hope at the moment and are expecting a good result. However, they’ve seen Man Utd improve recently and are fearful of Anthony Martial mainly. A lot are optimistically predicting a 2-1 victory over the Red Devils.

• Man Utd fans are in two minds. Some are looking at a decent win and think Sunderland aren’t very good, but others think Sunderland have a bit of a sting in their tail and might get a draw. They want a similar team as last week and are looking at the Europa League as a source of silverware and Champions League qualification. Jermaine Defoe has been mentioned on both forums, so he is a decent shout for a goal.

• Bournemouth fans are a bit quiet; though their predictions are a win against Stoke. They seem more interested in what Stoke’s third kit will be because their other kits clash with the home side’s.

• Stoke fans are worried; they say Bournemouth are playing well. Even though Ryan Shawcross could be back they believe they will lose. A few think that if they win it albeit in a horrible and scrappy fashion. It’s been three 3-0 defeats in a row for the Potters, who just want to stop the rot.

• Everton fans are talking about what the future holds for them. They think Romelu Lukaku will be on his way in the summer. In regard to the West Brom game, they are looking forward to this match and think they will thrash them with likely scorers being Lukaku, Ross Barkley and Aaron Lennon. They say West Brom are awful and they should win heavily but doing so is a different matter.

• West Brom fans are really pessimistic. They all think they will get hammered 4-0 or 5-0. Quite surprising as they got a 0-0 draw last year, although many are putting that down to luck.  The only way to get something out of this game is to press high up the pitch and have a go. They say that they can’t play any worse than they are at the moment.

• Norwich City fans are saying it could be the end of Alex Neil as manager if West Ham destroy them. They are on a really bad run and have never liked Neil much and they want a replacement. They think the players aren’t responding to him. Considering West Ham’s injury list, they have a chance if they play like themselves but no chance if they continue playing the way they are. What all this means is that if Norwich start badly the crowd could turn on the players and Neil in particular quite quickly.

• West Ham fans are licking their wounds after their recent injuries. Some are talking of resting players, especially after the team’s FA Cup efforts during the week. The Hammers will be tired against a team fighting for their lives but most fans think they’ll walk this fixture. They fear Norwich’s pace down the wings because that is their Achilles heal.

• Crystal Palace fans are impressed by Watford, they can also sense a turning point to their season is around the corner but will it be this game? They don’t think so and are are still waiting for Yannick Bolasie to return from injury. What a miss he has been for them.

• Watford fans are talking a lot about their forthcoming FA Cup game against Leeds. Maybe they are getting bored with the Premiership. Watford need seven points to get to the magic 40 points, and they talk of drawing games to get there. So I’m guessing they are hoping for a draw.

• Swansea fans are in full song for the game against Southampton. They were disappointed about the Palace game where they started off well but didn’t create much for the last part of the game. They think the next game will be different where they will be energetic for most of the match. They will press high and they all expect to at least score once.

• Southampton fans are calling to keep it tight at the back again and hoping for a 0-0 or 0-1 type of result. They don’t exactly know what to expect and realise everything Swansea does goes through Gylfi Sigurdsson. Saints’ fans aren’t worried by the lack of Victor Wanyama to shore up the defence and want to use this game mainly for the return of Charlie Austin, if he’s fit.

• Chelsea fans have been talking about their Champions League clash with PSG game three days after the Newcastle game, saying that perhaps they should rest a few players. Other fans think they should still try to win this game for confidence and don’t expect a lot of rotation. The good players may come off early though. They think Chelsea will win perhaps 2-0 or 3-1 because Newcastle’s away form is so bad. However, some are a bit cautious, realising that Newcastle have improved with an influx of good January signings.

• Newcastle fans fear a loss against Chelsea, conceding a few and perhaps nicking one. A few optimistic fans think they could get an away win. Newcastle are hit and miss; this could be one of those games that they could cause an upset, some fans are hoping.

• Arsenal are worried that they will try to dominate possession and make the same mistakes as every other team in the league against Leicester. They all realise that counter-attacking Leicester is the only way to beat them. Unfortunately, they will play Olivier Giroud to help defend set-pieces which lowers the chance to counter-attack. The 5-2 victory earlier in the season is seen as a fluke as Leicester played with a high defensive line and they won’t do that again. As Leicester are the perfect anti-Arsenal team, all sorts of theories on how to beat the Foxes are on the boards. It will be interesting to see what Arsene Wenger (Mr. no Plan B) will do.

• Most Leicester fans are looking forward to their game against Arsenal and would be very happy with a draw, though most think they can get a win. They think Arsenal will “bottle it” again. They do say it will be a hard game and there a lot of mind games going on in the media trying to put pressure on Leicester. As long as they play like their normal selves, Leicester should get something out of this game but they do fear Arsenal a little.

• Aston Villa fans are worried about their goalscoring against Liverpool. They may not be able to score a goal in this one but they have pointed out Liverpool’s thirteen goals conceded in their last six games. They think they will lose and that Liverpool will probably score twice against them. They are worried about Phillipe Coutinho’s return to fitness. Most would be happy with a draw if offered to them.

• Liverpool fans aren’t as optimistic as I thought they’d be. They have a few big games coming up in Europe and the League Cup Final and so they shouldn’t really risk the players coming back from injury. They do think Philippe Coutinho will get about 60 minutes though. There are other fans who think they’ll win well.

• Manchester City fans are very worried that they may not make the top four now. Before the Leicester game, they thought they were going to win the league but now they don’t even know if the players have enough motivation left. They fear big games under Manuel Pellegrini; he never does well in them and most keep repeating the scoreline of losing 3-1 to Spurs earlier this season. They will get overrun, out-worked, beaten to all second balls and made to look slow and disorganised is the fans’ consensus. The only saving grace is that counter-attacking teams do well against Man City and Spurs aren’t that.

• Tottenham fans are very confident. In fact they’ve never felt so confident in a big game before. They want Erik Lamela to play for his pressing game. Man City have a lot of injuries and Spurs just have to play to win from the start and be professional and they should win this. Obviously they are only worried about one person, Sergio Aguero, but have no worries about Man City’s midfield which they believe they can easily overrun.

Conclusion

Most games should go the way we expect them to. The fans agree that the new pretenders, Spurs, should beat Man City. There could be an upset at the Stadium of Light, and there could be huge wins for Everton and West Ham.

Who to captain? West Brom fans are very worried, so it would have to be Romelu Lukaku. Any Everton attacker will do; let’s see if it ends 5-0, which is the score that both sets of fans have been mentioning.

To read more about what the fans think you can use the quick links to the forums from this article.