GW14 Premier League Previews

A very quick turnaround for matches this week as round 14 takes place across Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday!

If you made it into Samba Pools for round 14 then great, if not then look out for this weekend when we move quickly into round 15!

Still lots of important facts and stats to consider for your fantasy team and any bets you might be making elsewhere.

Both these sides have had a few poor defensive displays of late with Bournemouth in particular having had a November to forget with just 1 point and 12 goals conceded from those 4 games.

In fact, the Cherries have conceded 2 or more goals in 6 of their last 8 Premier League matches and their early season form which had people talking about them as challenging for a European spot has since evaporated. If the Premier League had started 6 weeks ago, they'd currently be 16th in the table.

It is worth remembering that Bournemouth lost almost their entire backline and their keeper over the summer so perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised that they are finding it difficult to keep clean sheets but Areola does need to change it up if he wants his side to stay in and around the top half.

As for Everton, they were edging their way up the table until a 4-1 hammering against Newcastle where they looked all over the place at the back. I'd imagine David Moyes will react and require a far better performance from his side than they gave in that game.

Scoring goals continues to be an issue for the Toffees. Ndiaye and Grealish are their attacking outlets but they are getting nothing from the centre-forward position and that is hurting their prospects at present.

Bournemouth have won the last 4 encounters between these 2 sides and 8 of the last 10 in all competitions.

Fulham gleefully accepted a couple of early Christmas presents from Spurs at the weekend to make it 3 wins in their last 4 games and ensure that they head into December with a healthy cushion over the bottom 3.

Their home form this season has been pretty good and they welcome a City side who don't provide a great deal of certainty in their performances this year, particularly on the road.

That being said, Fulham haven't beaten City since 2009 and the last time they even got a point against the Sky Blues was at the beginning of the 2011/12 season when the Dubai backed team claimed its first Premier League title.

While Fulham aren't scoring many goals this season, it's not for lack of trying. Last week at home versus Sunderland, a side that has been defensively well organized all season, they managed an xG of 2.84 suggesting that they are beginning to find their form.

A disastrous start to the Fulham game left Spurs with too much to do as they suffered yet another defeat at home in 2025. That's just 3 league wins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this calendar year for them.

Their away form has been significantly better but this is not the kind of place you want to visit in need of 3 points. Newcastle have won their last 6 matches at St James Park in all competitions and this a venue that Spurs have had many a miserable afternoon in the past.

Newcastle have already beaten Spurs here this season, a 2-0 win in the League Cup and in fact have won 6 of the last 7 encounters between the 2 sides. During that same period, Newcastle have scored 14 goals in 4 home matches against Spurs.

Spurs have just 1 clean sheet in their last 9 league matches and despite having scored 21 Premier League goals this season (4th highest in the division) they have the 3rd lowest shots per game (9.2). By contrast Newcastle have the 4th best xG in home matches this season despite having already played Arsenal, City and Liverpool at home.

Arsenal got the point they were probably playing for away at Chelsea in a fiery but not exactly open contest in Stamford Bridge. You'd expect more goals in this one...

Brentford have been excellent at home this season and delivered yet another win at the Gtech to push themselves up the table. However, away form has been far more challenging with just a single victory from 6 games with 6 scored and twice that number conceded.

The Bees have helped to scupper Arsenal's title chances on a couple of recent visits including the point that they earned last April at the Emirates as well as a draw in February 2023. Can they repeat that?

The fact that Arsenal have the best home goal difference in the league +14 (16 for, 2 against) suggests it'll take something special for Brentford to pull it off for a third time.

A great opportunity for both these sides to further their cases for European football next season. Both of course narrowly missed out on the final game of last season, Villa for a Champions League spot and Brighton full stop.

Brighton remain 1 of 3 teams unbeaten at home so far this season while Villa have picked up points on the road but struggled to score. Their 5 goals in 6 away matches is the 3rd worst in the league.

Villa won the corresponding fixture 3-0 last season and in fact the midlands club appear to enjoy trips to the seaside with only a single defeat in 7 visits here since the pair of clubs started playing in the top flight together.

Both these sides have a habit of going behind in matches and then performing much better in the 2nd half so watch out for a potential dramatic last 15 mins or so in this one.

Burnley's ship continues to take on water at an alarming rate as they sink towards the bottom of the league. 4 straight defeats in a row with a combined aggregate score of 3-10 indicates how tough this group of players is finding the top flight.

What's more their xG goals against (31.54) is by far the worst in the league suggesting that things could have been even worse had opposition sides have taken the chances they appear to be able to easily create against Scott Parker's side. That much was evidence again last weekend against Brentford who racked up xG of 3.72 against Burnley, the highest of any team in round 13.

Palace for their part will want to quickly forget having thrown away a 1 nil lead at home to United on Sunday. The Eagles form this season has been incredibly patchy so it's really difficult to call this one.

Burnley have beaten Palace just once in their last 5 visits to Turfmoor, that coming in 2020 courtsey of a Chris Wood goal in a 1-0 win.

5 of Burnley's next 8 fixtures are at home. What's a minimum requirement for points from those game if they are to have a reasonable chance of staying up? I'd say at least 7 and if Scott Parker wants to be in charge into and beyond 2026 then he's going to need to get something from this match.

A real midweek 6 pointer and one that you'd hope will have a few goals and a bit of drama added in. That being said Wolves have scored just 6 goals at home this season and Forest 5 on their travels so both sides would need to buck the trend.

Overall this is the lowest scoring team in the league versus the joint 2nd lowest scorers. Will the need for 3 points drive a more attacking approach or will the fear of losing make it another cagey affair?

Wolves battled hard at Villa on Sunday but ultimately came up short at both ends of the pitch - a familiar failing! It's now 405mins of play since they've scored in the Premier League.

Forest meanwhile came back down to earth with a 2-0 defeat at home to Brighton. It leaves them just a point above the relegation zone and of equal worry 5 points behind Fulham in 15th place. This match then is not only an opportunity to put distance between themselves and the bottom 3 but also to ensure that they don't get cut adrift of the pack.

For those not in the know, this is a rivalry that has caused bad blood for several decades. Of course, Chelsea need to watch the conduct of their players in the modern era as they suffered their 4th red card of the season at home to Arsenal on Sunday. In the league where even the smallest slip ups can cost you, that is not a record that screams champions!

Credit to Leeds who fought back brilliantly at the Ethiad on Saturday having been 2-0 down. They could easily have capitulated and lost that match by 4 or 5 goals but Daniel Farke and the team rallied at half-time and were unlucky not to leave Manchester with a point.

They'll need to take that fighting spirit into this game from the off. Chelsea have the best away record in the league this season both in terms of points per game and number of goals scored having won 3 on the bounce on their travels.

In their last 3 year stint in the Premier League, Leeds took 4 points from home matches against Chelsea, including a 3-0 win the last time the 2 sides met at Elland Road.

Liverpool could have dropped into the bottom half of the table and found themselves closer to the relegation zone rather than the top had they not have won at West Ham on Sunday.

That they did and did so without Salah and by keeping a clean sheet will give them some hope that they can begin to turn this season around. After all, Liverpool were on a streak of 3 consecutive losses by a margin of 3 goals for the first time since the 1940s!

Liverpool's 7 wins in the league have all come when they've scored first. In every game that they've gone behind in, they've lost. What they could do with, alongside the obvious talent they have within the team, is the kind of grit and determination shown by Sunderland this year whose come back from 2 down against Bournemouth of Saturday takes them to 12 points won from losing positions this season.

Sunderland are hardly prolific goal scorers, particularly away from home (3 goals in 6 games) but where they might fancy their chances is from set-pieces. 6 of their 17 goals this season have come from that route while Liverpool have conceded 9 times from set-plays, the 2nd worst record in the league.

Just the 1 match on Thursday night as West Ham travel to Manchester United.

The Hammers have been a bit of a bogey team for United in recent seasons (then again who hasn't?) beating them in 4 of their last 5 matches.

United reacted well to being a goal down at Palace on Sunday after having lost to 10 man Everton the week before. Can they start matches they should be dominating on the front foot?

Certainly at home, United have been creating plenty of chances this season, with the 3rd best xG record of any side so far. They now find themselves up against a team with the 2nd worst xG against so you'd have to fancy them as strong favorites for 3 points here.

West Ham have no clean sheet in their last 9 games and have conceded the first goal in 10 of their 13 Premier League matches this season. United have similarly kept just 1 clean sheet this season so BTTS looks like a decent bet in this one.