Premier League Review: Gameweek 18

Manchester City get their historic 16th consecutive win against Tottenham

Liverpool get back to winning ways putting four past Bournemouth

West Ham United get their first away win of the season against Stoke City

Manchester United earn a well-fought victory at West Brom

Crystal Palace secure consecutive PL victories, this time at Leicester City

Huddersfield Town put four past Watford

Londoners Chelsea & Arsenal secure 1-0 home wins

Brighton and Burnley share a goalless draw

GAMEWEEK 18 

Manchester City V Tottenham Hotspur

Man City made it an elusive 16th straight PL victory, beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 to maintain their 11 point lead at the top.

Ilkay Gundogan started in place of David Silva was on hand to head City into the lead through Leroy Sane's corner in the 14th minute.

City dominated for the majority of the game; doubling their lead in the 70th minute through Kevin De Bruyne's powerful left-foot shot; provided by Gundogan.

The final 20 minutes ended in complicated fashion;
Gabriel Jesus missing a penalty;
the open rebound blasted over by Raheem Sterling after he made amends with a quick-fire brace taking his season tally to 11 PL goals;
the debut of young 17-year old City midfielder Phil Foden and a late consolation from Christian Eriksen.

Man City has mid-week Cup action against Leicester City before they welcome Bournemouth as they look for their 17th straight PL victory.

With their fourth away defeat of the season, Tottenham has dropped into 7th with 31 points. They have a tough away game against Burnley next Saturday.

AFC Bournemouth V Liverpool

Liverpool got back to winning ways with a relentless 4-0 victory at Bournemouth securing a first win in three league games. This was also Liverpool's fourth straight away win in the PL.

Phillipe Coutinho was Liverpool's star attacker; first striking a post early through a free-kick and then scoring his 5th PL goal with a brilliant 40-yard run and a low placed finish to give his side the lead.

Dejan Lovren doubled their lead six minutes later; heading in Roberto Firmino's acrobatic cutback with Mohamed Salah making it 3-0 just before half-time; registering his 14th PL goal this season.

Coutinho turned provider in the 66th minute with a perfect cross for Firmino to head in his 6th PL goal this season.

Liverpool has moved into 4th place and will look for their fifth successive away win with a crunch tie against Arsenal this coming Friday.

Bournemouth has dropped into 16th place; sitting one point above the relegation zone and are without a win in their last 6 league games. They have a tough mid-week cup tie at Chelsea before traveling to face leaders Man City.

West Brom V Manchester United

Putting their derby woes aside, Manchester United made it consecutive PL victories with a well fought 2-1 victory at West Brom. This was also United's third straight away victory keeping them 11 points behind leaders Man City.

West Brom gave Man United a run for their money this afternoon just as they did earlier against United's crosstown rivals Man City but in a losing effort.

United took the lead in the 27th minute through former West Brom man and current frontman Romelu Lukaku. He scored a powerful header through Marcus Rashford's cross for his 10th league goal this season.

Their lead was doubled by Jesse Lingard as his deflected shot made it four league goals in his last five PL games; also scoring in each of his last three away PL games.

Gareth Barry handed hope to West Brom in the 77th minute; getting one back from close range, just as he did against Man City earlier this season which was a mere consolation as United held on.

United have now picked up six wins in his last seven league matches and travel to face Bristol City in mid-week cup action before traveling to face Leicester City this coming Saturday.

New West Brom manager Alan Pardew is still looking for his first win in the league as his side are still winless in 16 matches. They travel to face Stoke City in a must-win game for both sides this Saturday.

Chelsea V Southampton

Chelsea got their second league victory of the week as they beat Southampton 1-0 to secure an 8th league victory in their last 10 games.

Marcos Alonso curled in a superb free-kick going beyond Fraser Forster into the bottom corner for the opener and his 4th league goal of the season. 

Chelsea did get quite decent chances throughout the game from Pedro, N'golo Kane & Willian as Southampton came closest twice through Charlie Austin.

Chelsea remains 3rd, three points behind second-placed Man United. They welcome AFC Bournemouth in the mid-week Cup game before traveling to face Everton in a difficult league game.

With back-to-back league defeats; Southampton is now winless in their last five PL games and sits three points above the relegation zone. 

They have a crucial game against Huddersfield Town at home this coming Saturday.

 Arsenal V Newcastle United

Arsenal returned back to winning ways in the PL with a narrow and perhaps lucky 1-0 victory against Newcastle United. 

This was the Gunners first league win in their last four games.

Mesut Ozil scored a spectacular volley which was worthy enough to be the winner of any game in the 23rd minute. The Gunners started quickly through Alexandre Lacazette & Ainsley Maitland-Niles before Ozil's spectacular finish.

Arsenal was threatening in the second half with Alexis Sanchez and Jack Wilshere coming close with Newcastle registering a late effort through Joselu who's shot was blocked.

Arsenal is now five points behind 3rd placed Chelsea and have mid-week cup action in a London derby against West Ham before a belter as they welcome Liverpool this coming Friday.

Newcastle United's disastrous run has stretched to zero wins in their last nine PL matches which includes four straight losses. They have slipped into the relegation zone for the first time this season with a crunch tie against West Ham this coming Saturday.

West Ham United V Stoke City

Leicester City V Crystal Palace

Watford V Huddersfield Town

Brighton V Burnley

Man City extend their lead to 11 points with a 2-1 victory in the 175th Manchester Derby

Romelu Lukaku's error hands Otamendi the winner

City get their record-breaking 14th consecutive PL victory

They stand 11 points clear of second-placed rivals United

Manchester City made history winning their 14th straight PL game with a 2-1 victory over fierce rivals Manchester United in the 175th Manchester Derby.

Playing at United, City were by far the dominant side in possession and in control of the game in both halves. 

They took the lead in the 43rd minute as Kevin De Bruyne's corner was ricocheted and scrambled in through David Silva.

With the first half looking to head in City's favor, United grabbed the equalizer in stoppage time when a defensive mix-up from Nicolas Otamendi & Fabian Delph led to Marcus Rashford capitalizing on the error.

But, City restored their lead in the 54th minute as Romelu Lukaku's miss-timed clearance fell into the path of Nicolas Otamendi who struck his 4th goal of the season.

City goalkeeper Ederson made a stunning late double save; first off Lukaku and the follow-up through Juan Mata which ensured the victory, also ending United's 24-match unbeaten home run.

Man City have now won their last 4 PL games with a 2-1 scoreline and have claimed their second successive win at Old Trafford under manager Pep Guardiola. The will have to keep the momentum going when City travel to face Swansea City this Wednesday.

Man United may be hard-done with the result and their performance against City; suffering their first home defeat this season; third in the league. They are still in the run-in for the title and need to concentrate against AFC Bournemouth this coming Wednesday.

PL Big Match Preview: 175th Manchester Derby & 229th Merseyside derby with Predictions for GW 16

Gameweek 16

Predictions at the bottom↓

The upcoming week of Premier League action is set to be a cracker as the two concluding fixtures see four fierce PL rivals going head-to-head. The result will bring important implications to the PL table along with bragging rights for the victors.

It's the spotless home record set to clash against the spotless away record in the PL and one has to give way this Sunday.

The 175th Manchester Derby Preview

The 175th edition of the "Manchester Derby" needs no introduction as two of the most dominant teams in the PL this season are set to take center stage once again.

Man United come into this fixture "red hot" in form after their outstanding 3-1 victory at Arsenal and have made their home a fortress this season. They currently sit 2nd in the league, trailing their neighbors by 8 points.

Man City have been the team to beat in the league so far. They are unbeaten in the PL this season and their recent 2-1 victory over West Ham United has taken their run to an astonishing 13 straight PL victories.

United manager Jose Mourinho & City manager Pep Guardiola have the utmost respect for the other but have been rivals since their days coaching in the La Liga for Real Madrid & Barcelona respectively. Guardiola already has one win under his belt against Mourinho in England.

Potential Team News

Man United will be without talismanic midfielder Paul Pogba who will begin his first out of three match suspensions after his red card at Arsenal last weekend.

Pogba will join Eric Bailly (Groin) & Michael Carrick on the list of players to miss out this weekend.

Phil Jones (Calf) & Marouane Fellaini (Knee) are back available along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic who was the last United player to score against their rivals.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola has declared David Silva fit to start this coming weekend. However, there are doubts regarding Fabian Delph (Illness) and Vincent Kompany.

John Stones (Hamstring) & Benjamin Mendy (Knee) are out.

Premier League

Head-to-Head

Played: 40

Man United Wins: 20

Home Wins: 10

Away Wins: 10

Draws: 8

Man City Wins: 12

Home Wins: 7

Away Wins: 5

Man United have the nod in league victories but City's recent resurgent against their rivals is helping them catch the pace.

Man City, (along with Chelsea) is the joint top scorers at Old Trafford, finding the net 27 times.

Man City has a total of 5 away victories at Old Trafford with the most recent one coming as their 2-1 win last season. Four of those victories have come since the start of the 2011/12 season.

Since that defeat, Man United are undefeated at home with an impressive unbeaten run of 14 Wins and 10 Draws.

Key Stats for victory:

Man United:

United's home record has been phenomenal since their defeat against City last season. They haven't dropped a single point at home this season, winning all of their seven home games with only Newcastle United managing to score at Old Trafford. Their current form stands with a four-game winning run (2H, 2A).

Jesse Lingard is establishing as Man United's most influential attacker this season after scoring three goals in his last two games. The goals were crucial for United to claim back-to-back away victories for the first time this season.

David De Gea has once again been a solid figure for United in goal this season. He made a league-high 14 saves last week against Arsenal and has 9 clean sheets to his name.

Antonio Valencia hasn't missed a minute of PL action this season. As the Right Wing back, he has scored twice this season against Everton and last week's opponents Arsenal.

Ashely Young has started United's last 11 PL games as the Left Wing Back with an involvement in five goals.

Jose Mourinho has restored faith in Anthony Martial upfront in a central striker role and the French international hasn't disappointed with 6 goals and 3 assists.

Man City:

City have their run of 13 wins in a row as their biggest advantage and with a win, this Sunday could make it 14 wins; the first team to do so in the PL. On the road, City has been unstoppable having won all their 7 Away games in the league this season.

Man City may have one of the quickest attacking trios in the PL with Raheem Sterling-Leroy Sane-Gabriel Jesus. They have been involved in a total of 37 goals this season.

City's creative midfield pair of Kevin De Bruyne & David Silva are expected to start alongside one another with the pair having assisted 8 times each this season.

City goalkeeper Ederson has kept 4 away clean sheets in the PL this season but is without a clean sheet in his last three PL games.

Since the 2011/12 season, Man City haven't lost a single game against United in which their captain Vincent Kompany has completed the full 90 minutes.

He is expected to start alongside Nicolas Otamendi who has scored thrice this season.

Sergio Aguero is City's main threat up front and is likely to begin the game. Since his move to the club, he has found the net 8 times against United.

Final Verdict:

This fixture is set to be a vital one for both sides. Bragging rights aside, City will want to extend their winning run to 14 games but a further look would be to move 11 points ahead of their rivals in second place.

But, United may be the side who would need this win more than City; firstly to close the gap to 5 points and they can end up getting it as they will have their home support in full flow.

From the neutral perspective, it is set to be a cracker of a game between these two amazing teams and if there is to be a victor, the title race will be blown wide open for the Manchester sides along with the other chasing pack.

Prediction:

Man United (3-1) Man City

Predicted Formations