Once again, due to midweek matches over the Christmas period, we will do a double grading article, here are the results:
Matchday 18:
Everton vs Arsenal 0-0
Newcastle vs Crystal Palace 1-0
Aston Villa vs Southampton 1-3
Norwich vs Wolves 1-2
Brighton vs Sheffield United 0-1
Bournemouth vs Burnley 0-1
Manchester City vs Leicester City 3-1
Watford vs Manchester United 2-0
Tottenham vs Chelsea 0-2
Matchday 19:
Tottenham vs Brighton 2-1
Bournemouth vs Arsenal 1-1
Sheffield United vs Watford 1-1
Chelsea vs Southampton 0-2
Aston Villa vs Norwich 1-0
Crystal Palace vs West Ham 2-1
Everton vs Burnley 1-0
Manchester United vs Newcastle 4-1
Leicester City vs Liverpool 0-4
Wolves vs Manchester City 3-2
LIVERPOOL 10/10
Magnificent performance from Liverpool against second place Leicester. Showed their class and it is a 13 point gap with a game in hand for Klopp’s side. Only a disasterclass in 2020 could sink their title bid now.
LEICESTER CITY 3/10 and 2/10 = 5/20
A brace of poor performances against City and Liverpool and gave them a bit of a reality check. They need consistent wingers to keep themselves afloat and they need to prevent United from poaching James Maddison.
MANCHESTER CITY 8/10 and 1/10 = 9/20
Showed they were still in the running against Leicester but it meant nothing as they disintegrated against Wolves. It was a stupid game full of horrific mistakes from Ederson’s red card to Mendy’s calamitous error. Even taking Aguero off was a mistake! They are done in the league and will now focus on the cup competitions and maybe try to remain in the top four!
CHELSEA 9/10 and 2/10 = 11/20
Magnificent against Spurs and Willian stole the show but then Southampton come to the Bridge and win with ease. They are a bit like United in that sense and so should hammer Arsenal next and try to fight for their top four place.
WOLVES 8/10 and 9/10 = 17/20
Two wonderful performances from Wolves and to cap it off they are now fifth in the league going into their big clash with Liverpool. Back to their best and Traore is dominant in that midfield.
TOTTENHAM 3/10 and 7.5/10 = 10.5/20
Lost to Chelsea and stunted their top four run but beat Brighton with a narrow win to bounce back. Two winnable games next in the League before Liverpool and so will need 6/6 before another Jose masterclass that Spurs need.
SHEFFIELD UNITED 8/10 and 6.5/10 = 14.5/20
Played well to win narrowly and got back into the game against Watford to earn a draw. Solid performances to maintain a four game unbeaten run with City and Liverpool to come next, they must summon a lot from their players to get points.
MANCHESTER UNITED 1/10 and 8.5/10 = 9.5/20
Just woeful against Watford and could not score if they tried…which they rarely did. Bounced back emphatically at Old Trafford with Rashford, Greenwood and Martial all scoring. They will want to beat Burnley well in the buildup to their big games against Arsenal, Wolves and Manchester City.
CRYSTAL PALACE 4/10 and 8/10 = 12/20
Poor loss to Newcastle but deserved their win against West Ham to take them into the top half of the table. If they can keep Zaha and Ayew in January they could keep their place and go further up.
NEWCASTLE 8/10 and 2/10 = 10/20
Great win against Crystal Palace but caused all their own problems against United despite leading the Red Devils. They will want revenge against Leicester next but I doubt they will get a result.
ARSENAL 5/10 and 4/10 = 9/20
It really doesn’t matter who is managing Arsenal right now, the players are simply not good enough and the signings have failed to impress. They will need to give Arteta time and signings for him to succeed and Arsenal to win titles and trophies again. Bad draws but not unexpected, Chelsea then United and if they fail to win in these games, they could be closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
BURNLEY 7.5/10 and 5/10 = 12.5/20
Solid performance against Bournemouth but failed to build momentum against Everton and although they should be comfortable in the league, they are getting dangerously close to the relegation zone.
EVERTON 7.5/10 and 8.5/10 = 16/20
Great performances for Everton and Ancelotti is a great manager and can do wonders with them if he gets more players in and gets them all to perform to their true abilities.
SOUTHAMPTON 9/10 and 10/10 = 19/20
Superb performances from Southampton to rise above the relegation zone and although they could push further against Palace it will all crumble away if they lose to Spurs. They will want to keep pushing away from relegation but they are very inconsistent.
BRIGHTON 4/10 and 5/10 = 9/20
Bad performances have dragged them closer to the relegation zone and they need to sort themselves out soon. They have to win against Bournemouth or they could get further bogged down.
WEST HAM 4/10
Poor result again and could sack their manager before January so they can get their signings from a different manager. Who knows? Maybe it’s Pochettino!
ASTON VILLA 3/10 and 7.5/10 = 10.5/20
One horror game matched by a narrow win but they remain in the relegation zone but have narrowed the game between the other bottom half table teams. They have to beat Watford and Burnley or they are in trouble.
WATFORD 9/10 and 7/10 = 16/20
Massive win against United and a solid draw against The Blades. Are they going to escape? Unclear as of now but they have to build momentum and make some shrewd signings and they could easily do it but it is up to the manager and how he gets the players to perform week in week out.
NORWICH 4/10 and 4/10 = 8/20
Woeful performances have sunk them further and after some bright performances they have dropped to 20th for now. A massive game against Tottenham which if they win, they are right back in it but lose heavily and they could already be out of the fight.
