‘I’m feeling good again!’ – Guardiola says nervous win against Forest helped take the weight off Christmas
Video credit: SNTV
But all that could change this week, with Unai Emery returning to his old home at the Emirates with Villa, with a glorious track record of crushing Arsenal’s title bids in north London, although Mikel Arteta’s side haven’t won a game since 2022.
If Villa win, as they did in April 2024, they will be level on points with Arsenal, but they could end up in second place if City drop down when they play away to Sunderland. However, Josep Guardiola’s side could take advantage of a defeat or a draw for the Gunners to take the lead.
Victory is all on the line at the top, but below them Liverpool have moved up the table and are back in the top four, although they are still 10 points adrift of the leaders.
A number of clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Sunderland, are aiming to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with just seven points separating fourth-placed Liverpool and 12th-placed Everton.
Think you know the ball? Check out the matches chosen by our experts and have your say by voting on all 10 matches below.
Victory PointsFletch9130Ally4122
Gameweek 19 predictions
Date Match Allie Fletch Tue 30 Dec, 19:30 Burnley vs Newcastle 1-20-2 Tue 30 Dec, 19:30 Chelsea vs Bournemouth 3-12-1 Tue 30 Dec, 19:30 Tue 30 Dec, 19:30 West Ham vs Brighton 1-10-1 Tue 30 Dec, 20:15 Arsenal vs Aston Villa 2-22 -21 Tuesday, 30th December, 20:15 Manchester United vs Wolves 2-04-0 Thursday, 1st January, 17:30 Crystal Palace vs Fulham 2-12-1 Thursday, 1st January, 17:30 Rev Pool vs Leeds United 2-13-0 Thursday, January 1st 20:00 Brentford vs Tottenham 1-11-21st January, 20:00 Sunderland vs Manchester City 1-20-2
Selected matches:
Arsenal v Aston Villa
Alli: “Wow, I think this is a really difficult game. To be honest, I think Manchester City are the ones who will benefit the most from this game. Villa are having an absolutely ridiculous run. Everyone keeps saying this is a game Arsenal can’t afford to lose. I think a draw is written all over this.”
Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa
Fletch: “What a big game. Can Villa keep going? I think Villa will score. I like a draw here. Big games like this often end in a draw.”
Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa
Get involved: Vote for Gameweek 19 fixtures
Now, it’s your turn, viewers. Vote for the outcome of the next match below!
Here’s our progress so far:
Points (match results only) Fletch 89 You (voter average) 88 Allie 82
Tuesday
Burnley v Newcastle United
chelsea v bournemouth
Nottingham Forest v Everton
west ham v brighton
Arsenal v Aston Villa
Thursday
Manchester United v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Fulham
liverpool v leeds
brentford v tottenham
Sunderland v Manchester City
Allie vs Fletch Scoring – How to play together
Each week, Allie and Fletch will predict the score for each game and give you some hot takes on the biggest games. Point system:
1 point for getting the correct result (win, draw, or loss) Three points to ensure your score improvesDouble points on matches on TNT Sports
Want to participate? You can vote on the outcome of all the matches mentioned above (win, loss, draw) and you’ll see a separate leaderboard to track your standings against the experts.
– – –
