MATCHDAY 31 PREDICTIONS by Nessi Nesta

This is the time of the season when matches come in thick and fast. These mid- week fixtures provide us with some crunch fixtures in the top four race and the relegation dogfight. Here are the predictions.
Manchester United v Everton – Tuesday 10:00pm
Manchester United will be bolstered by the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ander Herrera and possibly Paul Pogba as they entertain Everton to the “Theater of Draws”. Everton who were the passenger side for the most part of the Merseyside derby over the weekend are not helped by their poor away form and long list of absentees. I see Manchester United’s 19 league games unbeaten run extended with a hard-fought narrow win.
Nessi’s Prediction: 2-1                                                                                     El Patron’s Prediction: 1-0
Burnley v Stoke City – Tuesday 9:45pm
Burnley will be looking for its first win since the end of January when they beat an out of sorts Leicester City. The Clarets are winless in four league matches but welcome a Stoke City side that hardly wins on the road.
Nessi’s Prediction: 2-0                                                                                          El Patron’s Prediction: 0-0
Leicester City v Sunderland – Tuesday 9:45pm
Sunderland’s woes are not about to end with Jermain Defoe set to sit out on their visit to the King Power Stadium. The Black Cats will face a Leicester City side that was also involved in the relegation dogfight just a month ago before defibrillator Craig Shakespeare was hired.
Nessi’s Prediction: 1-0                                                                                        El Patron’s Prediction: 3-1
Watford v West Bromwich Albion – Tuesday 9:45pm
Both sides got great results over the weekend especially Walter Mazzarri’s Hornets and will look to welcome back their top-scorer Troy Deneey to the fold. West Brom can expect a tough match.
Nessi’s Prediction: 1-1                                                                                      El Patron’s Prediction:  0-1
Chelsea v Manchester City – Wednesday 10:00pm
The Champions- elect are still shell-shocked by the defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace but have to recover from it as fast as possible since they play host to the Citizens on Wednesday night. A win for City could lead to a mini-crisis at Stamford Bridge though I don’t see it happening. Chelsea will set out not to lose rather than winning.
Nessi’s Prediction: 2-1                                                                                            El Patron’s Prediction: 2-1
Swansea City v Tottenham Hotspur- Wednesday 9:45pm
Chelsea’s blip over the weekend must be giving Spurs some belief that maybe the title race is not done and dusted. They are getting results even in absence of Harry Kane, Eric Lamela and Danny Rose which is outstanding meanwhile Swansea City has wobbled after mini-resurgence upon the arrival of Paul Clement.
Nessi’s Prediction: 0-2                                                                                           El Patron’s Prediction: 1-3
Southampton v Crystal Palace- Wednesday 9:45pm
Before Saturday’s Massive win over Chelsea, Crystal Palace must have had more of their focus on this fixture simply because it is the more winnable of the two. They visit a Southampton side that has only managed 14 league goals at home which is the lowest in the league though they are very good at closing out teams.
Nessi’s Prediction: 0-0                                                                       El Patron’s Prediction: 1-1
Hull City v Middlesbrough – Wednesday 9:45pm
A 12 games winless streak for Boro is the kind of form that can only get you relegated and this is very sad for a team that has looked relatively comfortable for most part of the season. Hull City has turned everything around and is almost impossible to beat at home.
Nessi’s Prediction: 2-0                                                                                          El Patron’s Prediction: 1-0
Liverpool v Bournemouth – Wednesday 10:00pm
Sadio Mane will be a big miss for Liverpool. He has been involved in 18 league goals this season and the Reds will surely struggle against the Cherries without him. Bournemouth is yet to register an away win in 2017 and I don’t see this poor run coming to an end at Anfield.
Nessi’s Prediction: 1-1                                                                                          El Patron’s Prediction: 2-0
Arsenal v West Ham United- Wednesday 9:45pm
Arsenal’s draw with City was an epitome of resilience, quality and mental strength. They welcome the Hammers who are worse than them in both results and confidence levels and could register a fifth consecutive defeat when they face Wenger and his men at Emirates. I am going for an Arsenal win with Alexis Sanchez among the goals.
Nessi’s Prediction: 3-1                                                                                           El Patron’s Prediction: 3-0