Football News: Premier League Match Previews for 30 January 2019

Bournemouth v Chelsea

After a good week in the cups for Chelsea, reaching the League Cup final with a win over Spurs last midweek before cruising past Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup on Sunday, the Blues return to Premier League action tonight aiming to re-cement their top four position after losing to rivals Arsenal in their last league game.

They face a Bournemouth side who have only lost one of their last five home league games, winning three of them. But Chelsea have won their last five visits to the south coast to face Bournemouth in all competitions, and have already beaten the Cherries twice this season, both at Stamford Bridge in the league and in the League Cup.

If Chelsea were to lose this match, it would mean they have gone down to consecutive league losses for the first time since last March, whilst it would also see Bournemouth win back-to-back league games for the first time since October. Maurizio Sarri will be desperate to avoid that tonight, whilst Eddie Howe will be hoping that his side can upset Chelsea like they did in January last year, with Bournemouth aiming to push for a finish in the top half of the Premier League table.

Key players:

Callum Wilson - Heavily linked with Chelsea before they opted for Gonzalo Higuain, Wilson will be aiming to show Sarri what he could have had tonight - and he does have previous versus the Blues, scoring and assisting a goal against them in January 2018 - exactly 364 days before this match, in fact. That was on a Wednesday too - could it be an omen?

Eden Hazard - With six goals in his last six league games against Bournemouth, Hazard will be the one Eddie Howe’s side will be desperate to stop. It will be interesting to see how the Belgian forward links up with Chelsea’s new striker Gonzalo Higuain for this match, and it will be a good test for the new look Chelsea attack tonight.

Southampton v Crystal Palace

Things are looking up for Southampton under Ralph Hasenhuttl. They’ve won four of their eight league games under him, picking up 59% of their points this season since he took charge no less. Indeed, the Saints are aiming to win three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since the first time since May 2016, when they won their last four games of 2015-16 - incidentally, one of those victories was at home to tonight’s opponents Crystal Palace, a 4-1 triumph.

Overall, Southampton have a great Premier League record against the Eagles too - winning 12 of their 19 meetings in the competition, including seven of nine at home. Only against Newcastle (15) have the Saints won more Premier League games than their 12 against Palace, a real positive for them.

Palace come into this match having lost their last two league games despite scoring four goals in them combined. They’ve suffered more defeats in their last four Premier League fixtures (three) than in their seven before this run (two), so their league form has hit a dip. Indeed, away from home they’ve only won two of their last nine, conceding a huge 19 goals in this run.

But they did pull off a 2-0 cup win over Spurs on Sunday, so Roy Hodgson’s side will be buoyed by that result going into a match against a side who are level on points with them at the start of play - and this game could have been repercussions for the Premier League relegation battle.

Key players:

Nathan Redmond - Nobody epitomises Southampton’s improvement under Hasenhuttl more than Redmond, who has scored five and assisted two goals under the Austrian. And he has a good showing versus Crystal Palace too, with three goals against them - only against Watford (four) does he have more in the English leagues.

Wilfried Zaha - The winger has faced the Saints nine times in league matches without yet getting a goal - that’s his worst such record against any side in England, and with just one assist and no goals in his last 14 league appearances, Palace need him to improve if they are to climb the league table.

Liverpool v Leicester City

Liverpool go into tonight’s match top of the Premier League table but they have been conceding more goals than usual of late. The five they have let in in their three league games in 2019 so far is as many as their final 13 such matches of 2018 combined, and they have conceded four in their last two at Anfield - that’s one more than their previous 15 home league games before this.

They face a Leicester side who have lost three consecutive matches in all competitions - strangely, their last three wins have been away at Everton, home to Man City and away at Chelsea - huge scalps which make their struggles against other opposition all the more baffling.

But those wins over two of the league’s top four sides going into MD24 show that Liverpool will have to be very wary of the threat Leicester pose.

However, if the Foxes are to pick up another huge win tonight, they will have to do better than they have in recent years at Anfield, where they have lost six of their last seven visits since a 2-0 win in May 2000.

And Liverpool have made Anfield a fortress under Jurgen Klopp - despite letting in three to Crystal Palace last time out, they have won nine home matches in a row in all competitions, not to mention their 32-match unbeaten league run at home. They are aiming for a tenth consecutive win at Anfield in all competitions for the first time since November 1990; in fact if we only take consecutive wins within the same season, they last won 10 home matches in a row in May 1989. Anything but a win tonight will be seen as vital points dropped in the title race.

Key players:

Mohamed Salah - The forward is two goals shy of his 50th in the league for Liverpool, with 48 goals in 59 appearances to date. He has three goals in three league matches against Leicester, and has been directly involved in 19 goals in his last 15 Premier League games, scoring 13 and assisting six. His form is exceptional and he’ll be as important as ever for Liverpool tonight.

Jamie Vardy - Vardy has netted more Premier League goals against Liverpool (seven) than any other opponent, with those seven goals coming in his last five league appearances against them. He could be the first player to score in six consecutive Premier League appearances against Liverpool, and with the Reds’ defence conceding more goals than usual of late, he will be believing that he can do just that.

Tottenham Hotspur v Watford

Just as Spurs lose Dele Alli to injury, Son Heung-Min returns from the Asian Cup as his Korea Republic side lost 0-1 to Qatar on Friday.

But even so, the absence of Kane and Alli will be felt by Tottenham - the duo have scored 48% of their Premier League goals under Mauricio Pochettino between them (161/335).

That will give Watford the belief that they can become the first non-“big-six” club to do a Premier League double over a “big-six” side since 2015-16, when West Ham beat Liverpool twice and Newcastle also beat Spurs twice.

But it must be said that Watford’s 2-1 win at Vicarage Road over Pochettino’s side earlier this season is their only Premier League victory over Tottenham in 11 attempts. They’ve lost their five away games against them in the competition by a massive combined total of 14 goals to one, so they still have to upset the apple cart to get anything here, even with Spurs being hit with losses in attack.

Spurs have lost both of their last two league games at Wembley - to Wolves in December and Man Utd most recently, and could lose three straight home league games within the same season for the first time since February 2007 under Martin Jol. They will be desperate to avoid that tonight.

Watford, meanwhile, have drawn three of their last four league games, winning the other at Crystal Palace, and will be looking to win back-to-back away league games for the first time since they won three on the bounce in September 2017. Javier Gracia has really improved this Watford side, and they will think they have a real chance against a top opponent tonight.

Key players:

Fernando Llorente - With eight goals in his last 12 league starts across his time at Spurs and Swansea combined, Llorente needs to provide the goals for Spurs in the absence of Kane and Alli. And at the right end this time, unlike the own goal he netted against Fulham!

Troy Deeney - Deeney scored in Watford’s 2-1 home win against Spurs earlier this season, and with three goals in his last five league starts, he will feel he has a chance to bag again tonight.

Written by Reid the Red January 30 2019 08:30:23