The relentless league continues as teams struggle to break away from the pack at both the top and bottom. Man City seem to be the team to beat at the moment, with only one top six side also recording a victory at the weekend. BT Sport is the place to be for all ten midweek fixtures.
Tuesday 2nd February
18:00 Sheffield United v West Bromwich Albion on BT Sport 2
Another six pointer, immediately following West brom’s last six pointer, where they only managed to obtain one point. Both team’s really need to spark their revival soon if they are to maintain their position in top flight football. Both side’s recorded some positive results recently , with Sheffield United going over the Red half of Manchester while West Brom defeated Wolves. However the results for two bottom ranked teams proved to be somewhat false dawns as Chris Wilder’s side, who are 13 points from safety, lost at the weekend with the Baggies , nine points adrift, drawing with Fulham. West Brom bested the Blades last December by a single Conor Gallagher goal.
18:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal on BT Sport 1
Wolves have been in an abysmal run of form for quite sometime, however this fixture may spark a something lying dormant in the side. For you see this was the fixture earlier in the season which ruled out Raul Jimenez for the season. The ferocious clash with David Luiz resulted in the Mexican striker fracturing his skull. Without the prolific forward Wolves have really struggled , with new signing Fabio Silva failing to live up to the lofty standards set by his teammate. This coincides with just one victory in 11 for Nuno Santo’s since that faithful night. Meanwhile the Gunnars have been experiencing a revival as of late. Undefeated in their last eight Premier League matches, Mikel Arteta will realistically be expecting to extend that stat to nine.
20:15 Manchester United v Southampton on BT Sport 1
Two points from their last three game’s is not title winning form from Manchester United. These results have seen the Red Devils leapfrogged in the standings as Man City are now three points clear with a game in hand at the top. United will face a wounded Southampton side who have lost their last three Premier league games to Aston Villa, Arsenal and Leicester. The last time these sides met ended in a dramatic late comeback from Manchester United with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Edison Cavani. The Red Devil’s have not lost to the St. Saint’s in their last nine Premier League encounters but have been notoriously ropey at home having lost four and drawn twice in ten tries at Old Trafford.
20:15 Newcastle United v Crystal Palace on BT Sport 2
NEWCASTLE WON A GAME! THEY FINALLY DID IT! Fans will no doubt still want Steve Bruce sacked despite a well deserved three points against Everton, but still, NEWCASTLE WON!!!! It’s now a case of The Magpies versus The Eagles and the Birds of Tyneside will be hoping to steal a victory here. Last time out they defeated Palace at Selhurst Park 2-0 with both goals coming in the closing minutes of the game. Palace are in typical Palace form, just doing enough to keep them above the relegation zone, winning matches at the right time and example being defeating Southampton 1-0 at the weekend.
Wednesday 3rd February
18:00 Burnley v Manchester City on BT Sport 1
What a time for Sean Dyche to face Man City! City have been in scintillating form as of late, which see’s them rightfully perched on the top of the table, three points clear with a game in hand. Despite an indifferent display against Sheffield United, Pep Guardiola came away with maximum points and will no doubt be expecting the same here. If they do, they become the first Premier League side since Arsenal in 2002, to record 13 consecutive victories in all competitions. Burnley’s three match winning streak in all competitions was recently ended by Chelsea, where the hosts won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. City romped to a victory over The Clarets in Novmeber, winning 5-0 with Riyad Mahrez scoring a hatrick.
18:00 Fulham v Leicester City on BT Sport 2
Leicester will need to bounce back after their home defeat to Leeds in their last Premier League encounter. Foxes fans will lament to loss of their talisman Jamie Vardy however can take solace in the fact they are just behind Man United in away form, picking up 23 points while travelling. A trip to London to face the 18th place Cottagers should not strike fear into any team with Champions League aspirations seeing as Fulham have only recorded two victories all season. However one of those victories came at Brendan Rodgers expense, with Fulham coming out on top in November. Another cause for concern for Leicester is the fact Scott Parker has made his team hard to break down recently as Fulham have drawn seven of their last nine Premier League games.
19.30 Leeds United v Everton on BT Sport 3
What a display from Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds side against Leicester at the weekend. Most fans second favorite team now have a home fixture to Everton to look forward to. While Leeds enjoyed great success, Carlo Ancelotti managed a team that allowed Newcastle their first win since December 12th. Both teams have been blowing hot and cold all year and really struggling to maintain any form of consistency. Leeds came out on top of this fixture in November with a Raphinha wondergoal seperating the two sides. The White’s will be looking to complete their first League double over The Toffee’s since 90/91, where they were also a newly promoted side.
20:15 Aston Villa v West Ham United on BT Sport 2
West Ham were on an eight match unbeaten run before the Hammer’s got hammered at home to Liverpool. Villa’s 2021 has not been too kind, having only taken 6 points from a possible 15 this year. However they bested Southampton by a goal to earn the full three points last weekend and have managed back to back victories three times all ready this season. David Moyes will be hoping for back to back victories over Dean Smith, as West Ham proved to be the dominate Claret and Blue team in November, winning 2-1.
20:15 Liverpool v Brighton and Hove Albion on BT Sport 1
Both sides are coming off wins over Spurs in recent times, and Brighton will be hoping to follow in Liverpool’s footsteps and carry that momentum into their next game. Liverpool defeated West ham quite emphatically last weekend, with Mohammed Salah in particular in superb form. Brighton on the other hand have proven to be quite difficult to defeat, despite their poor league position. Undefeated in their last four games, The Seagulls will be confident of taking points from The Reds. Interestingly Brighton have drawn the most games this season with nine, while Liverpool are the third placed teams in regards to one point games, registering seven. Take a guess as to who won the reverse fixture in November, if you said no one, you would be right, as the game ended 1-1.
Thursday 4th February
20:00 Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea on BT Sport 1
Jose Mourinho faces his old side once again for the 14th time in his career. Generally it has not fair well , only winning five of these encounters, and two of those came in Inter Milan’s 2010 Champions League campaign. The “Special One” comes up against the a man described as Mourinho without the ego, Thomas Tuchel. Both managers pit wits against each other for the very first time, so the intrigue around the final matchday 22 fixture is big. Mourinho is coming off back to back losses to both Liverpool and Brighton, with many fans unsatified with the players work ethic. Chelsea since the departure of Frank Lampard have picked up four points from a possible six, drawing with Wolves and defeating Burnley. The last two times these two London sides have met the game ended in a dull 0-0 draw, both sets of fans will be demanding a win to get their season firmly on track.
Check back here on Scoreline.ie for the next “Who, What, When and Where” this Friday.
