Storm Darragh meant there was no Merseyside Derby last week, with the match being postponed due to safety concerns. There was still plenty of PL football, though, as Man City continued to stumble and Spurs continued to be well, Spursy.
Let’s move onto week 16.
Saturday, December 14th
Newcastle vs 
Leicester – Home Win
Details: Saturday, 14th December, 3.00 pm, St James’ Park
Something is not quite right with Newcastle this season. After a really encouraging draw at home to Liverpool, a game which they could have won, they travelled to Brentford with hopes of building on that result. Instead, Newcastle came unstuck, losing 4-2 and with some fans now questioning if manager Eddie Howe can take them any further. In Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, they are always a goal threat, but defensively they look poor and that will need to stop or the pressure will continue ramping up on Howe.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has already made an impact at Leicester. After an excellent 2-0 win over West Ham in his first game, the Foxes earned an unlikely draw against Brighton. There was plenty of spirit on show as Leicester were 2-0 down going into the last five minutes but completed the comeback thanks to a Bobby De Cordova Reid strike in the 91st minute. They will need plenty more of that type of fight to stay up, but it’s been a promising start so far.
Newcastle are hard to work out at the moment, but I think at home they will have too much firepower for Leicester.
Newcastle to win outright @ 3/10
Nottingham Forest vs 
Aston Villa – Draw
Details: Saturday, 14th December, 5.30 pm, City Ground
What a result it was for Nottingham Forest at the weekend. After a little wobble, they got back to the form they have shown for most of this season so far at Old Trafford, winning 3-2. Sure, this isn’t a good Utd team at the moment, but getting three points at the Theatre of Dreams still means a lot for any side. Chris Wood got another goal as he continues to flourish under Nuno, while centre back Nikola Milenkovic was also on the scoresheet. The Serbian looks an absolute steal for Forest and has settled into life in the Premier League with ease.
Villa also notched up another win last week, making it two on the bounce after going eight without a win. They made it more difficult than it needed to be, winning 1-0 but missing several chances along the way. Jhon Duran got the winner and also scored a spectacular goal in the Champions League in midweek, giving Emery a dilemma with who to start up front between Watkins and the Colombian, but what a nice problem to have.
I think this could be a really good game, I can see over 2.5 goals and a draw.
Draw @ 12/5
Wolves vs 
Ipswich – Both Teams to Score
The pressure on Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has reached fever pitch after his side lost 2-1 at West Ham on Monday Night Football in a game dubbed ‘El sackico’. The game kind of summed up the season for Wolves. They fought their way back into the contest but couldn’t take control, and there was also a controversial VAR call that didn’t go their way. Ultimately O’Neil knows results are all that matters and right now his team sit 2nd bottom in the table and that means he needs some wins, instantly.
So close but yet so far once again for Ipswich. They were leading Bournemouth 1-0 heading into the last few minutes but conceded twice to somehow come away empty handed. The Tractor Boys are still waiting for their first home win this season after this latest agonising loss. Kieran McKenna will be happy his team have been in most games so far, but knows unless that turns into points it is fruitless.
I fancy both teams to score in this one, with leaky defences on show.
Both teams to score @ 4/6
Premier League Week 16 Treble
I have gone for a treble this week as I think the value is really good. Newcastle, although very much up and down, still have a lot of top forwards and are usually strong at home. I think they get a much needed win for Eddie Howe. Forest are having an excellent season, Nuno has got the players fired up and I’m sure it will be the same for their Midlands Derby against Villa. I am sitting on the fence in that one, two good teams going at it will hopefully produce an entertaining draw.
Finally, strugglers Wolves and Ipswich clash in a huge match at the bottom. Both teams struggle for clean sheets but don’t struggle for goals, so I think both teams to score is a sensible bet for this one.
