Dapo Olajuwon’s EPL prediction: Game Week 17

26-12-2022

🐝 BRENTFORD VS TOTTENHAM

Brentford are in crisis over their striker, Ivan Toney who has been charged by the FA with over two hundred cases of violation of betting rules. Brentford are now in search of a new striker. Toney’s absence is going to be felt in this game because he contributes massively to the team. Knowing this, I think Frank Thomas will set up his side very difficult to be because the goals might not come. They will be focused on getting anything they can get from this game. Tottenham will be playing away from home here and I think Harry Kane will be aiming to get on the score sheet to set a record on Boxing day. Both teams do not have an injury crisis but the Bees are going to miss their talisman which gives the Spurs an added advantage over them. Tottenham are in the top-four race so I expect them to keep up. It will be a disappointment if Tottenham do not get anything out of this game.

PREDICTION: 2X

TIP: BRE 0-1 TOT

RESULT: BRE 2-2 TOT

🦅 CRYSTAL PALACE VS FULHAM

Crystal Palace have played their club friendlies and their performance was nice with Wilfried Zaha putting up an excellent display and getting involved in goals. They will be eager to get back to winning ways after they lost to Nottingham Forest in their last game before the World Cup. Fulham, on the other hand, are a different opposition. Mitrovic showed us once again that he is a force to reckon with by getting on the score sheet for Serbia in the World Cup. He will be leading the Cottagers attacking line and will be eager to start with a goal or more. Fulham also lost their last game against Man Utd before the World Cup. It was a last-minute defeat and I think they will be eager to get back to winning ways too. This is a difficult game to predict but I think there will be a few goals in this one.

PREDICTION: Over 1.5

TIP: CRY 1-1 FUL

RESULT: CRY 0-3 FUL

🔵 EVERTON VS WOLVES 🐺

These are two poor teams. Both Everton and Wolves, in their last six games, have had one win, one draw, and four losses each. Julen Lopetegui will be taking charge of his first away game for Wolves, maybe they can flip their awful away record. They will be missing Diego Costa due to suspension and Pedro Neto who’s likely set to return by January ending due to injury. Everton, on the other hand, will be missing Conor Coady who will not be allowed to play against his parent club, and also Townsend who is out due to injury. Dominic Calvert-Lewin should be leading the line for Everton, so I expect the Toffees to put a smile on the face of their fans at Goodison Park but Wolves cannot be overlooked now. This has to be a low-scoring affair because both team do not create a load of chances and score many goals.

PREDICTION: Under 3.5

TIP: EVE 1-1 WOL

RESULT: EVE 1-2 WOL

🦊 LEICESTER VS NEWCASTLE ⚫

Leicester were ticking along well before the World Cup break. They won their last two games against Everton and West Ham convincingly but this will be a real test for them. Newcastle are third on the table and are two points behind Man City. A win for them here takes them to second, above Man City till the Cityzens win their flame against Leeds Utd on Wednesday. So it is an important game for the Magpies. It is hard to pick a side here because these two teams can be capable of defeating one another but I believe there will be at least two goals in this clash.

PREDICTION: Over 1.5

TIP: LEI 1-2 NEW

RESULT: LEI 0-3 NEW

SOUTHAMPTON VS BRIGHTON 🐦

Southampton were having a rough patch before the World Cup break and I think it will continue here against the Seagulls. To prevent a defeat, they need to create multiple chances, be clinical in front of goal, and be smart enough to convert a couple of them. Brighton, on the other hand, lost to Aston Villa last time out right before the World Cup break and so they will be eager to resume duty with a victory. Brighton’s manager, Roberto De Zerbi has successfully deployed Leandro Trossard as his forward man and he’s flourishing. Trossard and Mac Allister are players to watch out for. I think the Seagulls will get something out of this game.

PREDICTION: 2X

TIP: SOU 1-2 BHA

RESULT: SOU 1-3 BHA

🦁 ASTON VILLA VS LIVERPOOL 🔴

Unai Emery has been putting Aston Villa into shape little by little and we can see how they won their last match against Brighton before the World Cup break. They will be playing at home here against Liverpool and I don’t think it will be a good outing for them, yet I’m not ruling them out completely because Liverpool are not immaculate. Liverpool seem to have woken up and they’ve got most of their players back from the World Cup earlier than expected. They have already played against Man City on Thursday which will help the players synchronize better going into this one. So I expect Liverpool to win here.

PREDICTION: 2X

TIP: ASV 1-2 LIV

RESULT: ASV 1-3 LIV

🔴 ARSENAL VS WEST HAM 🛠

West Ham didn’t have a good run before the World Cup break so I think David Moyes would have had plenty of time to study what went wrong and talk to his players. A larger number of West Ham players were not called up for the World Cup so they would be back fresh. Arsenal, on the other hand, had a good number of players who participated in the World Cup and they have now suffered an injury blow to their main striker Gabriel Jesus. Now it is time for Eddie Nketiah to step up and lead the forward line. No doubt, he is going to do it but the question remains how effective and efficient will he be? This is going to be a difficult game for the Gunners but I expect them to win even if it is going to be a very close margin.

PREDICTION: 1X

TIP: ARS 2-1 WHU

RESULT: ARS 3-1 WHU

27-12-2022

🔵 CHELSEA VS BOURNEMOUTH 🍒

Bournemouth were playing well before they went for the World Cup break. Their last two outings were against Everton and they won convincingly. I am not sure they will continue to build on it here but if Kieffer Moore and Philip Billing should come to the party here, they can cause the Blues some damage. Chelsea are not in good shape at the moment. They are having injury concerns and don’t think they have much of an option upfront than to play Aubameyang. I wonder what pair of midfielders Graham Potter would line up. I won’t be surprised to see Ben Chilwell or Reece James in the midfield role. Whatever the case, I still expect Chelsea to win because of their quality difference when compared to the Cherries.

PREDICTION: 1

TIP: CHE 2-0 BOU

RESULT: CHE 2-0 BOU

👹 MAN UTD VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST 🎄

No disrespect but I do not expect much from Nott. Forest here because almost all of their players have been away from football and you tend to lose your touches when you stay off football. Also, Nott. Forest’s Goalkeeper, Dean Henderson will not be allowed to play against his parent club. I think this is a huge blow for them because we’ve seen how crucial he has been for the team. Man Utd have been taking up good shape under Erik ten Hag and Rashford has been playing well for the team. They’ve got the ground running and they are hard-working so I won’t be surprised if they win this by a wide margin. All I see is Man Utd’s victory, nothing else.

PREDICTION: 1

TIP: MUN 4-0 NFO

RESULT: MUN 3-0 NFO

28-12-2022

LEEDS UTD VS MAN CITY 💎

Before the World Cup break, Leeds Utd were conceding many goals. They have always been naive at the back; they always go all out and when opponents break away, they get picked off on counter-attacks. I hope Jesse Marsch would have looked into this during his time off and proposed a formula to prevent this. Man City have resumed on a good note by securing a 3-2 victory over Liverpool on Thursday in the Carabao Cup. They will be eager to resume the league game with a victory here to prevent a back-to-back loss in the Premier League because they lost their last league game to Brentford before the World Cup break. They’ve got an injury crisis in their defense line with Ruben Dias who is set to miss eight games but they have got good replacements so I don’t think he will be missed because they don’t depend on any player. I just don’t think they will keep a clean sheet here.

PREDICTION: 2

TIP: LEE 1-3 MCI

RESULT: LEE 1-3 MCI