Premier League Week 11 Fixtures: EPL Picks and Predictions

Week 11 in the Premier League has the potential to be one of the most significant weekends of the 2017-18 campaign, as four contenders for the title meet over two games.

On Sunday the imperious table-toppers Manchester City will host an improving Arsenal team at the Etihad Stadium. That’ll be followed by another fascinating contest, as Chelsea welcome Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku to Stamford Bridge.

City lead the way at the top of the pile by five points, with United their closest competitors as things stand. Arsenal and Chelsea both need wins if they’re to keep their slender chances of winning the championship alive.

A wonderful weekend is on the cards in English football’s top flight. Here are the matches, a prediction for each and a focus on what will be a pair of absorbing games on Sunday.

       

Saturday, November 4

12:30 p.m.—Stoke City vs. Leicester City (1-1)

3 p.m.—Huddersfield Town vs. West Bromwich Albion (2-1)

3 p.m.—Newcastle United vs. Bournemouth (1-0)

3 p.m.—Southampton vs. Burnley (2-1)

3 p.m.—Swansea City vs. Brighton & Hove Albion (1-1)

5:30 p.m.—West Ham United vs. Liverpool (0-2)

       

Sunday, November 5

12 p.m.—Tottenham Hotspur vs. Crystal Palace (2-0)

2:15 p.m.—Arsenal vs. Manchester City (3-1)

4:30 p.m.—Chelsea vs. Manchester United (1-1)

4:30 p.m.—Everton vs. Watford (1-0)

      

Manchester City vs. Arsenal

The positive run of form Arsenal are on feels familiar, as they’ve dispatched of weaker opposition sides with ease in recent weeks. This visit to the Etihad Stadium will tell us just how much the team have pushed on.

After all, so often the Gunners build expectations only to falter on the big stage, and given the volatile nature of the fanbase, every defeat feels like a crisis. Still, there’ll be hope manager Arsene Wenger can set his team up to nullify the attacking threat posed by City.

They’ll need spades of character to do so, and according to midfielder Granit Xhaka, that’s something that has been evident in their last three games:

But something extra will be needed against City, who are in a special run of form at the moment. 

Pep Guardiola’s team are finding goals so easy to come by in the Premier League. The potency of their attacking play is remarkable, as the manager has many different options to choose from to start games and influence them off the bench.

While the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane have all grabbed the headlines, Raheem Sterling, linked with a summer move to Arsenal, has excelled this term with seven Premier League goals. Peter Hall has been impressed:

Whatever selection Guardiola opts for here will be tough for the Gunners to handle and defending for long spells is not their strong point under Wenger. Expect an entertaining game, but one in which City will eventually emerge victorious.

Prediction: City 3-1 Arsenal

        

Chelsea vs. Manchester United

While Mourinho would have previously expected a friendly reception when returning to Chelsea, the last two times he’s visited his former club as the United manager have been a little feisty.

In the 4-0 loss in the Premier League, Mourinho wasn’t happy with Antonio Conte’s conduct during the final stages of the game. Then, in the FA Cup defeat to the Blues last term, the Portuguese reminded the Chelsea supporters he was "still No. 1" having been on the end of criticism from them.

But he’ll go there with a big job to do. As relayed by Sky Sports Statto, in away games against his top-six rivals Mourinho hasn’t done particularly well as of late:

Conte will be aware of that record and will be keen to add to United’s woes in these matches. As things stand, Chelsea feel like a team who need a big performance, too.

While there have been some bright moments from the Blues, they’ve toiled in a lot of encounters. Still, the Stamford Bridge faithful will be delighted to see Eden Hazard rediscovering some of his best form, as he netted the winner against Bournemouth last weekend.

Per BBC’s Match of the Day, the brilliant Belgian is starting to hit top gear:

When United met Chelsea at Old Trafford late last term, Mourinho used Ander Herrera to man-mark Hazard to great effect. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the coach use a similar tactic here.

Nevertheless, both sides look evenly matched and each will be cautious about being too adventurous. A draw feels like the most likely outcome.

Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United

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