Goals galore in this weekend’s Premier League action with more crucial games at both the top and bottom of the table. 

The 12:30 kick off time was back for this Saturday’s games, and with that came one of the most shocking performances of the season so far. Now we all know Nottingham Forest are having a season to remember, with Nuno’s side comfortably in the top four as things stand. However, some may have thought that the wheels were coming off the Forest train, after a 5-0 thrashing to in-form Bournemouth. Well, they would be wrong then wouldn’t they. A 7-0 win against an inconsistent Brighton side proved doubters wrong, with a Chris Wood hat-trick part of the demolition job on the Seagulls. If anyone thought Forest weren’t really in this top four race, a bet you do now.  

Fulham’s results are a nightmare to predict, I’ll just say it. After two losses in their last three, you would think a trip up to St James Park would be a difficult task for Marco Silva’s side. Again, you would be wrong. Unlike Chris Wood, the other in-form striker, Alexander Isak was unable to get on the scoresheet as the Jordies dropped all three points at home thanks to a Rodrigo Muniz winner in the 82^nd minute. That’s two losses in a row for Eddie Howe at home in the league, not ideal. As for Fulham, I am not bothering predicting them anymore as you never know what’s going to happen, which is why they have a perfect place in this Premier League. 

In a crucial game at the bottom of the league, Southampton took on Ipswich at Portman Road in a game that both sides needed to win.  Most predicted an Ipswich win and again you would be wrong. A 2-1 win for the Saints keeps Ipswich in the bottom three and pulls Southampton a little closer to the pack, although it’s going to take a massive effort to close the seven-point gap that stands between them and 19^th place Ipswich. As for Kieran Mckenna, he will be mightily disappointed that his side could get any points from this game at all, as it was such a huge opportunity to get out of that dreaded relegation zone. The same three up going back down? It looks quite possible now.  

Ipswich’s woes continued through other results this weekend as Everton blew away Leicester 4-0 at Goodison. The return of David Moyes really has put a spring back into The Toffees step, with three out of four wins for the Scotsman since his return to Merseyside. As for The Foxes, things are arguably looking worse under Van Nistelrooy than under Cooper. One win in nine matches and with a fourth round FA Cup tie against former club Manchester United on the horizon, Leicester’s season looks like it just keeps getting worse, with relegation potentially looming.  

After their 5-0 over Forest last weekend, Bournemouth were on cloud nine, and they were going to need to be, as they welcomed the league leaders to The Vitality Stadium. Liverpool found themselves with a rested first eleven, after being able to leave most of their first choice at home during mid-week Champions League fixtures, and it showed. Big players stepped up for the Reds when it really mattered. The game was won by the usual guy. You guessed it, Mo Salah, who with a brace he helped Arne Slot’s side gain a 2-0 win. However, brilliant performances from Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker showed Liverpool’s defence to be getting back to its best. 

Wolves provided us with another shock this weekend, beating Aston Villa at the Molineux. A 2-0 win was enough to send the three points to Wolverhampton, with Bellegarde and Cunha with the goals. Just shows how anyone can beat anyone in this league, with a massive win for Wolves in their quest to stay in the division. As for Villa, Unai Emery will hope that his set of January signings will help push his side back into the top four race.  

Another weekend saw another disappointing result for Manchester United, at home to Crystal Palace. Old Trafford witnessed another poor performance from the Red Devils, with a brace from John Phillip Mateta being the nail in the coffin. Following on from the defeat, a further blow for Ruben Amorim is that he will be without Lisandro Martinez for a substantial amount of time as he came off on a stretcher. It has now been confirmed that the Argentinian has torn his ACL. As for Palace, Oliver Glasner will be happy his side could get back to winning ways after their loss to Brentford last week, with the Londoners aiming for as high of a finish as possible. They currently sit 12^th, four points off 10^th.  

With the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg next week, Ange’s Spurs needed a boost going into such an important game, and they got that at the G Tech. A 2-0 win for Spurs in the London derby will send both Ange and the Tottenham fans home happy. Something we haven’t seen in quite a while. A Janelt own goal was then added to by an 87^th minute winner for Sarr, to give Spurs all three points and a win, going into that crucial game against Liverpool on Thursday.  

The big game of the weekend was of course Arsenal vs Manchester City at the Emirates, with the title on the line for Arteta’s men. Did it disappoint? Not for one set of supporters.  A 5-1 win for the Gunnars blew Pep all the way back to Manchester. I guess Haaland is the one who has to stay humble now then. As for Arsenal, they maintain the six point gap behind Liverpool, with the Reds having a game in hand, which is to be played next Wednesday against Everton. What an important game that is for this title race. The Gunners will be hoping, anything but a Liverpool win will do. 

The final game of the weekend saw another London derby, with Chelsea taking on West Ham. The Hammers lead up until the 74^th minute through a Jarrod Bowen opener. However, Maresca’s side responded, with an own goal and an 8^4th minute winner from Pedro Neto secured all three points for Chelsea. They now find themselves back in the top four and the search for Champions League football.