Alan Smith’s Premier League GW31 Predictions and Tips

Impact on Title Race

Difficult to say. It depends on the manner of the win for one of them. Arsenal are holding the upper hand in the league and obviously doing better in the Champions League. But City might look at it as their one chance of getting something over Arsenal. It’s a difficult one to predict, but if Arsenal were to win, that would really knock City backwards. But I think it’s going to be tight.

Gyokeres Progress

He’s certainly doing better. I was covering the Man City match last night, but I think Gyokeres played better as well from the start against Leverkusen. So that’s encouraging. I think his hold-up play, his general game, he’s getting a little bit better. Maybe his confidence improved. So that’s a big boost in this run-in.

Arsenal’s Squad Depth

Well, I don’t think we’ve seen many squads as strong as this over the years. Have we in the Premier League? It is really strong. Man City is as well, but it’s not easy to assemble a squad like that. It costs a lot of money. That goes without saying. And also, you’ve got to be able to attract players that feel, well, I might not be playing every week.

That’s not easy to attract high-quality squad players. But Arteta’s managed to do it. And I think you can manage to do it if they see something happening that’s exciting at the club and they want to be part of it, even if they’re not starters every week.

Arsenal’s Tactical Style

I think his style is slightly different to Pep’s. The impressive thing about their style is that they very rarely get caught short out of position when they lose the ball.

I think a lot of work goes into it. If we do lose the ball, are we in the right positions? That can sometimes lead to a fairly kind of cautious approach, you feel.

But I think to play against them is so difficult because, as I say, you don’t see them caught short on the counter when it’s like four against three or something like that. That very rarely happens, and that’s all down to tactical work.

Bruno Fernandes Player of the Season

Well, Player of the Season normally comes from the Champions, so if Arsenal do win it, I’d probably say Declan Rice might win that. Bruno Fernandes, though, you don’t often see this where one individual in a team that’s been struggling, as Man United have, continues to keep up his standards. He’s been so consistent, amazingly so, and he’s got such quality, and it’s the desire allied to that quality that makes him such a special player.

So certainly, he’s in the frame. It might be a departure from having somebody from champions or having a player from a team just below that. But every single week, he influences games.

Jan Paul van Hecke Future

I don’t know whether he’s got eyes elsewhere. He’s a good age, 25, done well at Brighton, who tend to buy and sell very shrewdly. So they’d make a tidy profit on him. Looking at teams, I mean, Manchester United, with Harry Maguire, in his 30s, you feel that the central defence may need rebuilding over the next couple of years. Might be a possibility, who knows?

Ibrahima Konaté Contract Extension

Liverpool have spent enough money, as it is, and I’m not sure how much more they could spend with the financial rules. So, Konaté, obviously, he’s had a difficult season, but he’s steadied down, and you wouldn’t want to lose him, that’s for certain. Because he’s going to cost a lot to replace. So, it would be a good bit of business to get him tied down to an extended contract.

Scott Parker in the Premier League

It’s not been easy for him. He’s obviously been with teams that are always going to be fighting against it, with Fulham as well. Burnley, he’s never really had the tools. Did brilliantly to get up, but never really had the tools to hold their own in the top flight. I remember the episode at Bournemouth when he said he hadn’t got the, again, he hadn’t got the players equipped to stay up and then Bournemouth shortly after sacked him. So it’s not gone well for him in the Premier League.

So we’ll see how that pans out at Burnley. It has been difficult for him in the top flight, but you certainly need money when you do get promoted.

Iliman Ndiaye’s Future

Really exciting player. I think David Moyes has brought him on, as he has with most of his lads, improved them. So, Moyes has got a team that can be exciting there and Ndiaye’s at the heart of that.

Can they keep him? Where might he go if he does go? I don’t know. Somewhere like Aston Villa, perhaps, who need reinforcements, need a bit more quality on the sides of the pitch. But certainly Everton would be desperate to keep hold of him.

Jarrad Branthwaite England Recall

If he’s fit, I mean, a bit of a mystery about his injury before the Arsenal game, he should be recalled. We’d have to see on that one whether he’d be available for Thomas Tuchel’s selection. But he’s a good player, a very talented centre-half.

He’s got a good relationship with Tarkowski, and they were both missing, weren’t they, against Arsenal. But when he’s fit, he should definitely be in the frame to go to the World Cup.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin Goal Drought

I think he just needs to keep going, you do endure periods like that and especially in a team that’s scrapping, that’s not dominating the ball, that’s having to rely on counter-attacks now and again. The missed penalty was a bit of a shocker because he missed the target. But I still don’t see him as a problem. I think he’s still leading the line well. But, he just needs to get back on that goal trail.

Tyne-Wear Derby Ranking

They say it was a magnificent atmosphere at Sunderland for the first one. Partly because it hasn’t happened for a while. So there’s that freshness to it. There’s the desperation from the Sunderland fans to get one over the Geordies, and they did that, didn’t they, in the first one. It’s right up there with the other derbies. The North London Derby, obviously, is a really good one, and that normally is an entertaining game, Man Utd vs Man City, another one.

I mean, they’re all great, but that Newcastle Sunderland because it doesn’t happen every year, there’s still something a bit special about it. I’m doing that game on Sunday, so I’m looking forward to that.

Lewis Hall Best Left-Back

He’s a talented boy, Lewis Hall, and certainly should be hopeful of winning a place in the England team. I mean, there are a few about. Obviously, Luke Shaw’s been around for a while and has been consistently in the United team. Nico O’Reilly, Tyrick Mitchell, who I probably don’t think gets the credit he deserves as a wing-back. But Lewis Hall is a top player, and good to see him staying fit.

Elliot Anderson Declan Rice Comparison

Is he going? If somebody comes in with a huge offer, then that might be difficult to reject, especially if Forest goes down, obviously. But what I saw in him, he’s proved he can do it at this level. I’m sure Newcastle probably didn’t want to let him go, but PSR and all that.

I don’t see him as a £100 million player. I don’t think at the moment. He’s not quite in Declan Rice’s class, not quite so dynamic. But there’ll be a lot of scrambling for his services. He’s a classy player, really, really good on the ball. So, that’ll be an interesting one to see where he turns up.