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Premier League Preview: Matchday twenty

Deke Hardman in Editorial, English Premier League 26 Dec 2017

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Matchday twenty in the Premier League kicks off at Wembley where Tottenham Hotspur take on Southampton.

All eyes will be on striker Harry Kane, who will break the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a calendar year if he finds the back of the net following his hat-trick against Burnley last time out.

Spurred on

That win against the Clarets moved Spurs up to fifth and another three points here would see them, even if just for a few hours, move ahead of Liverpool into the Champions League qualification places.

Liverpool face bottom-of-the-table Swansea City in the day’s late kick-off looking to return to winning ways after only managing to draw with Arsenal last time out despite being 2-0 up in the game.

The Gunners will also be hoping to end the year in the top four but will have to wait until Thursday to face Crystal Palace who themselves only took a point from their final pre-Christmas fixture – drawing 1-1 with Swansea.

Manchester United drew with Leicester City on Saturday and will look to return to winning ways against Burnley while runaway leaders Manchester City take on Newcastle United at St James’s Park on Wednesday evening.

Emphatic

Rafa Benitez’s side ended their winless run with a victory over West Ham United last time out though they will do well to take the points here with City looking for an unprecedented eighteenth straight league triumph.

Bournemouth, who were the latest side to be on the receiving end of a thrashing from Pep Guardiola’s side take on the Hammers looking to climb out of the drop zone after slipping beneath the dotted line at the weekend.

West Bromwich Albion are desperate for a victory after extending their winless run to seventeen league matches against Stoke City at the weekend – a result which has left them just one point above the bottom and they are now odds on to be relegated at 10/11.

They take on Everton, who extended their unbeaten start under Sam Allardyce with a goalless draw against champions Chelsea and the Toffees will fancy their chances of finishing in a European spot at the end of the season if they can continue their good run into the second half of the season.

Impressive

Chelsea take on a Brighton and Hove Albion side who will be hoping to end 2017 in style after winning promotion back in May and more than holding their own in the top flight.

Saturday’s win for Stoke moved them further away from trouble, and they will hope to continue their success as they travel to Huddersfield Town while Watford take on Leicester City at Vicarage Road, with both sides keen to cement their place in the top half of the table.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deke Hardman


Freelance football writer with a love of the game that goes back to the mid nineties when both his beloved Nottingham Forest and England had genuine hope of acheiving some level of success. A regular contributor to both SoccerNews.com and FreeBetting.com, Deke also dabbles in music journalism with his heart and head still stuck in the latter years of the twentieth century.

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