Premier League Week 20 Picks: Predicting Most Likely Upsets This Weekend

No sooner will the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" have disappeared than we go full steam into Week 20 of the Premier League season.

This New Year's Day sees a number of battles that will affect both ends of the table. The Christmas fixtures yielded their fair share of strange results, none more so than at the foot of the table, as Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Fulham all won away from home on Boxing Day.

Don't be surprised to see the trend continuing in a full Premier League programme on Wednesday. Let's take a look at which games might provide us with a shock result.

Fixture	Date	Time	Predictions
Swansea City vs. Manchester City	Jan. 1	12:45 p.m. GMT/7:45 a.m. ET	2-1
Arsenal vs. Cardiff City	Jan. 1	3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET	4-0
Crystal Palace vs. Norwich City	Jan. 1	3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET	1-1
Fulham vs. West Ham United	Jan.1	3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET	1-1
Liverpool vs. Hull City	Jan. 1	3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET	3-1
Southampton vs. Chelsea	Jan. 1	3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET	2-2
Stoke City vs. Everton	Jan. 1	3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET	3-1
Sunderland vs. Aston Villa	Jan. 1	3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET	1-0
West Brom vs. Newcastle United	Jan. 1	3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET	1-2
Manchester United vs. Tottenham Hotspur	Jan. 1	5:30 p.m. GMT/12:30 p.m. ET	1-2

Tottenham to take the points at Old Trafford

Tim Sherwood has restored a sense of purpose to Tottenham since his appointment. His side are playing exactly the type of football that their discerning fans have been schooled upon.

His "back-to-basics" template of two quick wide men, a creative heartbeat in the central midfield and two strikers, supplemented by a rock-solid defensive base, has brought immediate dividends.

The Lilywhites were back to their best against a hard-working Stoke City side last time out, Sherwood injecting the confidence that appeared to be missing under Andre Villas-Boas.

David Moyes' Manchester United have enjoyed something of a revival, winning their last four Premier League matches and scoring three times in all but one.

Just eight points now separate the Red Devils in sixth from Arsenal at the top. However Tottenham are only below their opponents on goal difference, with an identical record of wins, losses and draws.

A United win after a poor performance at Carrow Road last time out really papered over the cracks. Only seven shots on goal to Norwich's 15, per whoscored.com, tells its own story, and Spurs are primed to take full advantage.

Prediction: Manchester United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Swansea to stop the Pellegrini Juggernaut in its tracks

Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City have played with a confidence and a swagger this season that has seen them rack up a record number of goals for the first half of a Premier League season.

Both North London clubs have had six put past them, Norwich fell by seven and exactly a month ago, their next opponents were downed by three. Yet that doesn't tell the whole story.

Despite being without both Michu and Wilfried Bony on the day, it was the Swans who controlled the majority of the match, per BBC Sport. Jonjo Shelvey was magnificent throughout and will want to continue his impressive form of late to push for an outside chance of inclusion into the England World Cup squad.

Brian Laudrup's men play a brand of football that is pleasing on the eye, but a more workmanlike performance is required against a team sure to be in the shake-up come the business end of the season.

Prediction: Swansea 2 Manchester City 1

Mark Hughes to mastermind a win over high-flying Toffees

It's fair to say that Stoke City didn't enjoy the best festive period.

Two red cards, three if you count the manager, and five goals conceded at Newcastle wasn't the way Hughes would've wanted to spend his Boxing Day.

Follow that up with an insipid performance at White Hart Lane, where a rampant Spurs side won easily, and you can understand why Hughes will demand a huge improvement from his team against Roberto Martinez's free-flowing Everton.

At Goodison, Stoke were taken apart, but chief protagonist on the day, Gerard Deulofeu, now finds himself out of action until well into the New Year.

Romelu Lukaku remains in good form, but Stoke's traditional brand of football should see his threat negated in this one. If the likes of Seamus Coleman and Ross Barkley can also be contained, there is no reason why the three points can't stay in the Potteries.

Everton are also without defensive lynchpin Phil Jagielka.

Three points are much needed for Stoke, with Liverpool up next for Hughes' men and only five points separating them from the bottom three.

Prediction: Stoke 3 Everton 1