Our Premier League Tips for the Weekend - 18/12/21

Chelsea have been dipping in form as of late with two wins in their last six matches and no clean sheet in that span. This has seen them slip four points behind league leaders Manchester City and it is the first time worries have set in during the Thomas Tuchel reign.

Wolves have had really close games recently. Their last six matches have either been 1-0 or 0-0, making again likely that this scoreline will be close, especially considering Chelsea drawing against a massively weakened Everton side.

Bruno Lage's men only lost 1-0 to both Manchester City and Liverpool recently, with both those teams in red hot form themselves. Now, we expect them to cause Chelsea a lot of problems, making the game close and with Wolves most likely defending deep, they could well get themselves a draw.

It has been no secret how in-form Mohamed Salah has been recently, as he is the top scorer in the league with 15 goals and has been by far the best player in the league this season.

Spurs have been struggling with covid recently, as their last three games have been postponed, making it hard for players to train and Antonio Conte to get his team used to his gameplan.

With first team players most likely either being unfit or not familiar with the tactics, Spurs will most likely struggle, and with Liverpool on form by winning their last eight games in all competitions, Salah will most likely be able to get his own way with the Spurs defence and help extend Liverpool winning streak.

Since winning their first game of the season against Burnley, Newcastle United have gone back to their losing ways, losing 4-0 to Leicester City and 3-1 to Liverpool.

Manchester City showed their ruthless side against Leeds United, as they dominated the whole game and never let up by winning 7-0 in devastating fashion, and Newcastle fans will be hoping they don’t do the same against them.

Pep Guardiola's men will most likely have around 70+% of possession again, and if they are in form like they were in midweek, it is likely the scoreline will be heavily in favour of City.

John McGinn has been really impressive for Aston Villa this season and under new manager Steven Gerrard, he has looked even better by helping his new manager to four wins in his first six games and been arguably their standard talent alongside the likes of Jacob Murphy.

Burnley is a unique test for new managers and their defensive style poses a struggle for teams that aren’t used to playing on the front foot. However, Aston Villa will probably have a lot of possession and they may have to resort to long shots, which McGinn excels at, and Gerrard might try and find him space so he can fire from long range.

Arsenal have shown recently that they have developed especially defensively, but this form has all come at home, their away form has been shocking, losing their last three away games including a 2-1 loss against an Everton side which were without a win in eight games.

Leeds were embarrassed against City in the week, losing 7-0, and with injuries piling up, the situation looks really bleak for Marcelo Bielsa.

However, with the home crowd behind them, and youngsters taking the first team spot including the promising Joe Gelhardt, and the style Bielsa implements, Leeds will always be able to score goals. Now, it's just the struggle of keeping them out, but Arsenal aren’t the most prolific side, which could make this a likely scenario.