Football News: Premier League Match Previews for 19 January 2019

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leicester City

After a run of three straight wins at the start of December, Wolves have stumbled a touch with a tough run of recent fixtures that has seen them manage just one win in their last five league games. They face a Leicester side who have had a relatively similar season to date - with both sides' form going up and down, the Foxes have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions having beaten both Chelsea and Man City before this.

This will already be the third meeting between Wolves and Leicester this season after Leicester won the reverse league match 2-0 and then progressed on penalties after a goalless draw in the third round of the League Cup back in September.

Indeed, Wolves have only managed to win one of their last six games against the Foxes in all competitions, although at home their record makes for much better reading from their perspective - losing just two of their last 17 against Leicester in all competitions.

The shifting form of these two sides so far this season sees them come into this game just two points apart, and no doubt both teams will have ambitions to finish in the top half of the table in 2018-19.

Key players:

Conor Coady - With Boly suspended for this game, Coady's importance at the back will be crucial for Wolves' hopes today. His quality in possession in the back three is key for Nuno Espirito Santo's side - only Joao Moutinho has a better passing accuracy amongst his teammates than Coady in the league this season (min. 50 completed passes), and how he helps his side control the game without Boly will be so important.

Jamie Vardy - He's never scored a league goal against Wolves in his career, and if he fails to do so again today, he won't have faced any side in the top four tiers of English football more without scoring than them. But he is comfortably Leicester's top scorer under Claude Puel, and his ability in front of goal will be as important as ever today.

Bournemouth v West Ham United

This has the makings of an entertaining clash - fixtures between these two often are. They have faced on seven previous occasions in the Premier League and both teams have found the net at least once in six of those, the only exception being a 1-0 West Ham win at the London Stadium in August 2016. In all, 28 goals have been scored in those seven Premier League meetings, evenly shared at 14 apiece, and fans could enjoy more of the same today.

Indeed, of fixtures to have been played on as many or more occasions as Bournemouth v West Ham in the Premier League (7+ times), none has witnessed a higher average goals per game rate than this one (4.00).

But Eddie Howe's side come into this game desperately low on form, having lost 11 of their last 14 games across all competitions, and are winless in their last five. Their age old defensive frailties that have really plagued them ever since they arrived in the top-flight in 2015 have come back to bite them once more - they have let in a huge 34 goals in those last 14 matches, including 17 in their last five. No matter how good your attack is, coping with that rate of conceding goals is a tall order.

What's worse for the Cherries is that this is a West Ham side that have won seven of their last 10 in all competitions, and have really hit some form under Manuel Pellegrini of late. They have even won three of their last four away league games, so they won't fear their visit to the Vitality today by any means. They go into this match four points ahead of their hosts in the table - no mean feat when you consider that whilst they lost all of their opening four league games this season, Bournemouth only lost one of those, and beat the Hammers 2-1 in that time. West Ham have caught up and them some since then.

Key players:

Callum Wilson - Wilson loves playing West Ham. He has five goals in five Premier League games against them, including a hat-trick the first time he ever appeared against them in the competition, and he scored in the reverse clash back in August. He missed Bournemouth's last game against Everton with a hamstring problem, and Eddie Howe's side will be desperate to have him back today.

Marko Arnautovic - Currently under intense transfer speculation, and doubts regarding whether he wants to stay with the Hammers or not, how Arnautovic responds and handles that could prove crucial to West Ham's chances today. He has three goals in three games against Bournemouth for West Ham in the league, and Pellegrini will want him to add to that here.

Liverpool v Crystal Palace

After suffering their first defeat of the season against Man City, Liverpool were back to winning ways at Brighton last week, and return to Anfield with their four-point lead at the top still intact.

But Man City won't let that lead stay that way without a fight, and every game is so crucial for Jurgen Klopp's side now.

Liverpool come into this match on the back of a 31-game unbeaten league run at Anfield, and should they avoid defeat here, they will break their Premier League record undefeated streak at home, and thus make it their longest such run since 1980, back in Bob Paisley's era.

But who were the last team to win away at Anfield in the Premier League? Crystal Palace of course. And they will be aiming to haunt the Reds again here today, having won three of their last four league visits to Liverpool.

Palace themselves have won both of their last two away league games, and could win three on the bounce within the same season for the first time since February 2015. They lie 14th in the table at the start of play but just four points above the drop zone - so they will be looking for points sooner rather than later to keep them out of the relegation battle.

Whilst Roy Hodgson didn't have the best of times in the dugout at Anfield, he does have a positive record there as a visiting manager. In four visits to Liverpool in the Premier League, he's yet to lose, winning one (with West Brom in April 2012) and drawing the other three. In fact, he's overseen a clean sheet in all four of those visits. That will be exactly what he targets today as he looks to repeat Palace's victory away at Man City in December with another big scalp on the road today.

Key players:

Sadio Mane - Mane has scored more goals against Crsytal Palace (six) than any other Premier League opponent, and has found the net in all of his last three games against them. Whilst Salah and Firmino are the men in form in front of goal at the moment for the Reds, how the third member of that attacking trio performs will be crucial for them today.

Christian Benteke - He returned from the bench last week against Watford, and with Palace in need of goals, he really needs to step up. He does have six Premier League goals against Liverpool to his name - only netting more against Sunderland, so perhaps this is the perfect day for Benteke to fire his way back into form.

Manchester United v Brighton and Hove Albion

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer couldn't have asked for a better start to his Manchester United reign. Six wins from six, including a real statement result at Wembley against Spurs last time out, will make the Red Devils feel sky high on confidence. A win for them against Brighton today will make this their longest winning streak across all competitions since January 2017.

It would also see Solskjaer become the first manager in the club's history to win all of his first six league games in charge. No mean feat, no matter what your perspective on that.

At Old Trafford, their good form can even be extended beyond Solskjaer's appointment. They are unbeaten in eight home games in all competitions, winning their last four in a row.

The same cannot be side of Brighton's recent results. They have won just one of their last seven league games, a 1-0 win against Everton in December and they are notoriously poor away from home in the Premier League, winning a measly two of their last 24 league matches on the road. They would do well to improve upon that against this rejuvenated Man Utd side.

But Chris Hughton's side have won both of their last two games against the Red Devils, so they do know what it takes to beat this team. But perhaps that is a tad misleading - both of those victories came at the Amex. They have lost each of their last four visits to Old Trafford in all competitions without so much as scoring a single goal, and have never won a competitive match away at Manchester United in their history in no less than 10 attempts, losing eight of those.

Key players:

Paul Pogba - The Frenchman epitomises the upturn in Man Utd's fortunes under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He has scored four and assisted four of their 15 league goals under the Norweigan, and his assist for Rashford's winning goal versus Spurs last time out was a pass of the highest quality. More of the same today would have the potential to pick Brighton apart.

Pascal Gross - He gave away a poor penalty to ultimately cost his side a point against Liverpool last week, so Gross will be hoping he can make amends as soon as possible. He is without a goal in his last 12 league appearances, and only has one assist to his name too in that time, but he does have two goals in his last two games against Man Utd. You would expect the home side to dominate much of the possession in this match, so his quality on the ball to pick out the right pass going forward and on set-pieces will be so crucial for Brighton here.

Newcastle United v Cardiff City

Newcastle ended a six-game winless run in all competitions with an extra-time win over Championship outfit Blackburn in midweek, scoring as many goals in that game as they had managed across their previous seven combined beforehand, and Rafael Benitez will hope that that result can give them some confidence today against the side directly above them in the Premier League table.

Cardiff themselves are struggling for form this winter, having won only one of their last seven matches in all competitions. As such, this game is huge for both sides - the winner guarantees they will end the day outside of the relegation places, whilst defeat could be a huge blow for either club, extending their poor runs of form whilst keeping them firmly in the relegation dogfight.

Newcastle's home form this season has been a huge reason as to why they find themselves in the relegation zone. No side in the professional English leagues has lost more home league games than the Magpies' eight defeats at St. James' Park this season. It as an issue that Rafael Benitez needs to address, and soon, if they are to survive.

But if the history books are anything to go by, this is the perfect game for Newcastle to regain some league form. They have won 10 of their last 11 against Cardiff in league competition, and at home it reads 17 wins out of the last 18. That is a superb record and one Cardiff will be desperate to put right from their viewpoint today.

This will be the seventh clash between Benitez and Warnock in the dugout, with the Spaniard yet to lose any of the previous six, winning four and drawing two. That record will be one he hopes continues today in a huge relegation clash.

Key players:

Christian Atsu - Atsu has scored in both of his previous league games against Cardiff, and he was a threat on the break for Newcastle against Chelsea last week. Benitez will look to him to hurt Cardiff today.

Victor Camarasa - Having scored both of Cardiff's last two league goals, Neil Warnock will need Camarasa to provide some quality on the ball today if his side are to have a chance of a positive result which would keep Newcastle below them in the league standings.

Southampton v Everton

After an FA Cup penalty shootout elimination at the hands of Derby County in midweek, Southampton now come into this match on the back of just one win in six in all competitions, including none in their last three at St. Mary's, as they try to get used to a new style under Ralph Hassenhuttl.

Everton, meanwhile, have won two in a row and are looking for three straight wins in all competitions for the first time under Marco Silva having last done so in December 2017. Having said that, away from home they have won only once in their last six outings, a 5-1 win at Burnley in December, so their home and away form has been in stark contrast of late.

They evidently don't like a trip to the south coast either, losing four of their last five league trips to St. Mary's, including a hefty 4-1 loss last season. Their only win in nine visits there was in August 2015 under Roberto Martinez. The Saints were then managed by Ronald Koeman, who has also since been and gone at the Toffees!

This will already be the third time these two clubs have met in all competitions this season. Everton won 2-1 in the league at Goodison Park before Southampton progressed on penalties in a League Cup penalty shootout. Ultimately, the Saints have only won two of their last nine against Everton over 90 minutes, although those were their last two home matches versus the Toffees.

For Hassenhuttl's side, this is a hugely important game. They lie just one point above the drop zone, and with the two sides directly below them, Cardiff and Newcastle, playing each other today, a win for Southampton would see them move further ahead of at least one of those sides.

Everton are just about in the top half of the table by virtue of one point, but they only have three points more after 22 games than they did last season, so Silva would like to see his side showcase more improvement than that - after all, Everton were much criticised under David Unsworth and Sam Allardyce in 2017-18.

Key players:

Nathan Redmond - Under Hassenhuttl, Redmond has been involved in more than twice the amount of goals in all competitions (seven - five goals, two assists) than any of his teammates, and he came on to great effect with a goal in midweek against Derby, even if he did miss his penalty in the shootout. Hassenhuttl will hope he can continue to get the best out of the wide man.

Gylfi Sigurdsson - With four league goals to his name against Southampton, the Icelandic midfielder hasn't scored more against any side in England, and two of those goals have come in his last three appearances at St. Mary's. His creativity and quality will be key for Silva's side today.

Watford v Burnley

Both of these teams come into this match in good form. The hosts, Watford, have lost just one of their last eight fixtures in all competitions, whilst Burnley have won four matches in a row in all competitions themselves, an excellent resurgence when you consider they had lost six in seven prior to this.

This will be the sixth Premier League clash between these two sides, and none of the first five finished as a draw, with the Clarets leading the head-to-head on wins by three to two. Watford will be hoping to even that out with a win today.

Burnley won their last visit to Vicarage Road 2-1 last season to end a four-match winless streak there, and will be looking for back-to-back wins away at Watford for the first time since February 2002.

However, while Watford's overall form is good, it is at Vicarage Road where they have been indifferent of late, although this will be their first game there in 2019. They have managed to win just one of their last five league matches there, losing three of those. Those defeats were to Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea - three of the league's top four sides - so perhaps that is a harsh reflection, but the fact remains that they have let in 16 goals in their last eight home games, keeping just one clean sheet and winning only twice, and Javi Gracia will want them to correct this home form, regardless of opposition.

Key players:

Troy Deeney - With three goals and an assist in his last four league starts as well as boasting a goal in four of his five league games against Burnley at Vicarage Road, Deeney will be expecting to add to his tally here today. He even got a goal and an assist against the Clarets in the reverse meeting in August.

Jeff Hendrick - His performances have improved dramatically in Burnley's winning run, and he is finally being allowed to get on the ball more. And Watford could be a good opposition for him to keep up his upturn - he has more goals against them in the English leagues (four) than any other opponent.

Arsenal v Chelsea

A huge game as far as the Champions League places are concerned, Arsenal against Chelsea is often a hotly contested fixture and today should be no different.

This is a match-up that Arsenal have feared in recent seasons. They have managed just one win in their last 14 Premier League games against the Blues - a 3-0 triumph in 2016, and they have scored just 10 whilst conceding 23 goals in that time.

However, Arsenal are currently enjoying a 12-game unbeaten run in home London derbies in the Premier League, and overall they have only lost one of their last 16 at the Emirates in all competitions, a 2-0 League Cup defeat to Spurs. Amazingly, the only sides to have beaten Arsenal in a league match at the Emirates since February 2017 are Manchester United and Manchester City (twice). They are a tough nut to crack there.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have only won one of their last six away league games against fellow London sides, although they have won each of their last three away league games overall. The Blues last won four in a row in a single league season away from home in December 2016.

Arsenal are six points adrift of Chelsea going into this match, and you have to feel that a defeat today would make it a tall order for them to leapfrog the Blues come matchday 38.

Key players:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - He has settled in tremendously to his new home at the Emirates, scoring 15 goals in 18 league games there. His goals have been worth a league-high 12 points to Arsenal this season, and he will no doubt need to be at his clinical best for Emery's side today.

Eden Hazard - The forward is one of just two players to have already scored and assisted 10+ league goals in Europe's big five leagues this season along with Lionel Messi. Sarri is getting the best out of the Belgian and he will want exactly that today too.

Written by Reid the Red January 19 2019 09:54:03