Premier League GW22 Preview: Tottenham Facing Relegation Battle?

Welcome back to the weekly Premier League Preview, where I pick out 3 games you should keep a keen eye on this Gameweek for various reasons. If you are enjoying the Premier League Previews please share this post and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Article written as of 16/01 13:00 before Thursday night games

The Meaty One:

Newcastle vs Bournemouth 12:30 18/01

I'm running out of superlatives for this Newcastle side following another victory over Wolves this week. That extends their winning run to 6 games now, including 18 goals scored, 5 clean sheets and just the 1 goal conceded. After an up and down period following a slow start to the season, Newcastle are firing on all cylinders again.

Alexander Isak broke the club record by scoring in 8 consecutive matches in the Premier League. His return to form and fitness coincided with The Magpies' overall performance improvement, allowing the likes of Gordon and Murphy to flourish in a fluid attacking system.

At the other end of the pitch, Newcastle have returned to their defensive resilience that we saw in their first full season under Howe. Putting bodies on the line, high energy and Martin Dubravka stepping up in Nick Pope's absence. Looking at Newcastle's team right now, it is very hard to find any weaknesses.

The visiting Bournemouth are also on a marvellous run of form, being undefeated in 9 matches under Iraola. Even though they are struggling with injuries due to the loss of strikers Evanilson and Unal, The Cherries clearly admire their manager, throwing absolutely everything into games.

Against Chelsea, they cruelly conceded a stoppage-time free-kick to Reece James, preventing them from continuing their excellent giant-beaters form this season. Across the season, Bournemouth have beaten the likes of Arsenal, City, Spurs and Man United, proving they can beat anyone in the league.

Both sides enter this game high on confidence, hence why I chose it as the meaty game of the round. Providing results go their way, Bournemouth could rise as high as 6th with a win, whilst Newcastle will look to continue to close the gap on the Top 3. Both teams are high pressers who seek to launch attacks on the transition, so this should be an end-to-end game. Yet, being at home, I do favour Newcastle to continue their excellent run of form.

Jack's Prediction: Newcastle 2-1 Bournemouth

The Goals Fest:

Chelsea vs Wolves 20:00 20/01

Chelsea are falling away from the pack as they are now winless in 5 matches in the league. They clawed back a point against high-flying Bournemouth on Tuesday night but this blip has been rather peculiar given how good they've been this season.

For me, I think it's down to questionable areas of the squad that haven't been performing well. Nicolas Jackson, a striker who we thought had finally started to mature after 9 goals in 16 games, has now gone 5 games without a goal, missing chance after chance. Jackson was starting to settle the debate between him and Darwin Nuñéz of who was the worst striker, but his recent erratic performances have put me off again. His all-round play is good but his composure is lacking.

Similarly, Robert Sanchez hasn't been completely solid in goal. The Chelsea keeper has only managed 4 clean sheets this season with a PSxG of +1.6, reasonable numbers but also an area that needs to be improved. Moreover, the recall of Trevor Chalobah from Crystal Palace highlights Maresca's doubts in the CB position. Young Acheampong looks promising, but was too easily beaten by Semenyo for Bournemouth's 2nd goal.

After a promising start for Wolves under Vitor Pereira, they've now lost 2 matches on the bounce in the league albeit against confident outfits in Nottingham Forest and Newcastle. Overall, Wolves have looked a much better side, looking more disciplined whilst creating sustainable attacks. The exciting Strand Larsen has only been able to convert 1 of his 5 big chances since Pereira took over, which will frustrate the Portuguese.

Additionally, the absence of talisman Matheus Cunha has been felt. He came on in the 2nd half against Newcastle and immediately brought the team spirit up. He narrowly missed scoring on his return to action, as well as being pivotal in Wolves' build-up play. The Brazilian will be desperately needed if Wolves are able to distance themselves from the relegation zone.

Neither side are in good form at the moment which should make this an interesting game. I imagine Wolves will look to take advantage of Chelsea's problems at the back by pressing high on the backline. This will likely free up key man Cole Palmer to find the key pass in between the lines, praying Jackson can finish his dinner. Neither side is watertight either, which should lean towards at least 4 goals in this encounter at the Bridge.

Jack's Prediction: Chelsea 3-2 Wolves

The Six-Pointer:

Everton vs Spurs 14:00 19/01

Wow, I can't believe I'm putting Spurs into this week's Six-Pointer game, but this match feels must win for The Lilywhites. Since our monumental win against City back in GW12, only Southampton (2) and Leicester (4) have picked up fewer points in the Premier League than Spurs (5). Consequently, we sit in 13th and 8 points off relegation (which is mad).

There are multiple reasons for Spurs' spiral. Injuries across the pitch hasn't helped during a period of fixture congestion. Moreover, barring Southampton and Wolves, 7 of our last 9 games have been against teams in the Top 9 who are high on confidence. It is not an excuse but the odds have been stacked against us.

The 2-1 loss to Arsenal though was a decline in Spurs' last 3 performances in all competitions. In the cups and against Newcastle in the league, The Lilywhites looked more tenacious and disciplined. As a fan, I thought we were going to give the Arsenal game a proper go and challenge The Gunners who had suffered back-to-back defeats in cup games. Instead, the opposite happened. We were extremely passive, lacking rational decision-making by turning into crowded areas and not clearing our lines against Arsenal's high-press.

We made Arsenal look really good. Indeed, The Gunners are a strong side, but they've been woeful in front of goal of late, relying a lot on set-pieces. Yet, we made sloppy errors and poor judgements which allowed Arsenal too much joy in the game. The sole positives I've had in recent games is the emergence of Bergvall and Gray. Both are teenagers and have been our best players, highlighting how poor Spurs have been.

David Moyes failed to mark his return to Everton with a positive result against Aston Villa, falling to a 1-0 defeat on home turf. Whilst Everton created more, producing 3 big chances, their low confidence in front of goal stood out once again. Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed 2 of their big chances. Out of contract in the summer, the new ownership would be wise to let him go as a striker completely devoid of goals or confidence.

Defensively, Everton were all over the place. Miscommunications and misplaced passes were the staple of this game as Villa missed 3 of their 4 big chances. Moyes is no magician, but he quickly needs to solve Everton's issues at both ends of the pitch.

Both teams need to turn up with huge reactions following abysmal performances last time out. Both will be under pressure and will need to rise above if they want to get anything out of the game. I'd like to say Spurs win this comfortably due to Everton's mess all over the pitch, but that I cannot guarantee. This Spurs team is a shadow of itself that turned over Everton 4-0 in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

Jack's Prediction: Everton 0-2 Spurs