⛅ Friday Forecast: The great grudge match and Stoke to upset City? | OneFootball

Icon: OneFootball

OneFootball

Dan Burke·9 March 2018

⛅ Friday Forecast: The great grudge match and Stoke to upset City?

Article image:⛅ Friday Forecast: The great grudge match and Stoke to upset City?

There are now just nine Premier League match days left to go this season and you’d better make the most of it while you still can.

Thankfully, this weekend has the potential to be one of 2017/18’s most interesting so far and here’s how we see it panning out.


OneFootball Videos


? Game of the weekend

Manchester United v Liverpool

Article image:⛅ Friday Forecast: The great grudge match and Stoke to upset City?

After the last meeting between these two great rivals, we’re wary of building this one up too much but whatever happens this time around, it surely can’t be worse than the stagnant game of defensive chess which played out at Anfield back in October.

Another draw would certainly suit the hosts in the race for second place but we’ve got to hope José Mourinho has taken some encouragement from his side’s second-half performance in that five-goal thriller at Selhurst Park and will release the handbrake in front of his own fans.

To do so could be perilous, of course, especially given the current form of Liverpool’s insatiable front three, but fortune favours the brave and it’s high time United’s talented forward-line put on a show worthy of their hefty price-tags.

So please José, all we want on Saturday lunchtime is for you to help provide us with an action-packed grudge match worthy of its billing. Is that so much to ask?

Easiest 3️⃣ points

Chelsea v Crystal Palace

Article image:⛅ Friday Forecast: The great grudge match and Stoke to upset City?

Two of the Premier League’s most unpredictable sides meet at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening and we’re backing Chelsea to prevail for two reasons.

Firstly, Antonio Conte’s side can’t possibly be as bad as they were in the second half of their defeat at Old Trafford, or both halves of their defeat at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, and we’re anticipating a reaction in this game.

Secondly, the Blues have lost their last two Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace and no matter how hard we try, we just can’t imagine the Eagles making it a hat-trick.

Palace played brilliantly in various stages of their defeat against Manchester United on Monday but that late Nemanja Matić winner must have really knocked the stuffing out of them and they’ll be going into this game low on confidence.

It’s now been 56 days since Roy Hodgson was able to mastermind a Premier League victory and with the best will in the world, we suspect he’ll have to wait a little while longer to lift his side out of the drop zone.

Then again, as has so often been the case this season, it could all depend on which Chelsea side turns up on the day.

? Potential upset

Stoke City v Manchester City

Article image:⛅ Friday Forecast: The great grudge match and Stoke to upset City?

The Premier League leaders are now just four more wins away from mathematically clinching the title and few people would bet against them taking another stride towards that goal when they travel to the Potteries for the weekend’s curtain closer.

But what should perhaps be taken into account is the wild card that is a cold (and potentially wet) Monday night in Stoke and if you aren’t thoroughly bored of that cliché yet, you might find the Potters are worth a small flutter after all.

Stoke are without a win since 20 January but Paul Lambert says they’ll be going for the jugular in this game and will try their best to take City “out of their comfort zone”.

It’s a risky strategy, sure, but as many other teams have demonstrated this season (*ahem* Chelsea) if you try and sit deep against Pep Guardiola’s side, they’ll only find a way to play around you eventually anyway.

The bet365 Stadium might not be the fearsome fortress it once was but if we can see one ground playing host to a big slip-up in this round of fixtures, it’s this one.

? We hope to see

West Brom beat Leicester

Article image:⛅ Friday Forecast: The great grudge match and Stoke to upset City?

Now, before you start accusing us of being anti-Leicester, hear us out.

The reason we’re hoping for a home win at the Hawthorns on Saturday is because it’ll be the first time it’s ever happened in this fixture’s Premier League history.

That’s right, the home side has never previously won in the seven Premier League meetings between these two sides (five away wins and two draws) making it the most-played Premier League fixture which hasn’t produced a single home victory. Madness.

Not only that, but it’s been a dreadful old season for West Brom and though we genuinely don’t have a dog in this fight, it’d be nice to see those loyal Baggies fans go home with smiles on their faces for once.

For the ?

Romelu Lukaku

Article image:⛅ Friday Forecast: The great grudge match and Stoke to upset City?

The 24-year-old Belgian is currently on 99 Premier League goals and if he nets against Liverpool on Saturday, he’ll become the fifth youngest player to rack up a century of strikes in England’s top flight (behind Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen).

For context, that means he’ll have reached that milestone quicker than the likes of Alan Shearer (who was 25 when he did it), Thierry Henry (26), Sergio Agüero (27) and Robin van Persie (29). Not bad, eh?

The only thing potentially holding Lukaku back this weekend is that he’s managed just 16 goals in 64 Premier League appearances against the so-called big-six sides and just one this season – against Chelsea a fortnight ago.