Premier League Preview: Arsenal, City, Villa, Palace, Spurs & More
With six points between Arsenal and this weekend’s opponents Chelsea, the Gunners’ position at the top of the English Premier League isn’t under threat for now.
But further down the table, everything is at stake.
This season has proven to be one of the tightest Premier League tables in recent memory, with just three points separating the teams in 12th and 4th.
Depending on the outcome of this weekend’s fixtures, matchday 13 could end with a completely different set of teams occupying 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
So let’s take a look at how the Fan Token markets are shaping up ahead of this week’s Premier League matches.
Crystal Palace ($CPFC) vs Manchester United
A win for 5th-placed Crystal Palace against Man Utd could potentially see the club move into 2nd, assuming they win by enough goals to wipe out the superior goal difference of the teams above them.
Palace have been made the bookmakers’ favourites to grab the three points here, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise given they’ve lost just one of their last five.
The last five head-to-heads between these two have seen Palace win three, draw one and lose one.
The Crystal Palace Fan Token ($CPFC) is up 5.6% in the past week, and 7.3% in the past month. The token’s trade volume increased by more than ten-fold in the previous 48 hours.
Chelsea vs Arsenal ($AFC)
Arsenal are six points clear at the top and this week they face their closest competitors. The best Chelsea can hope for is to close the gap against the Gunners, but that could be a tough task given they face the most in-form team in Europe.
Arsenal have been made the bookmakers’ favourites even though they’re away from home. The Gunners are unbeaten in the last 16 games in all competitions, and incredibly, they haven’t lost a game to Chelsea in their last eight head-to-heads, stretching all the way back to 2021.
The Arsenal Fan Token ($AFC) went on a 49% run starting on Oct. 11, defying the gravity of the wider cryptocurrency market in the process. What goes up must come down, and the token underwent a slight pullback this week — but volume remains strong; rising from $2 million to $4.8 million in the past 48 hours.
Manchester City ($CITY) vs Leeds United ($LUFC)
While this fixture isn’t considered a major rivalry, it does contain a bit of history. Nearly 600 years ago the House of Lancaster fought against the House of York in the dynastic civil war known as the War of the Roses.
Today, Man City (based in Lancashire) features the red rose of Lancaster on their club crest. Meanwhile, Leeds (based in Yorkshire) has a club crest that features the white rose of York.
In the past week or so, the Manchester City Fan Token ($CITY) price gained 5%, climbing from $0.57 up to $0.60, before a slight pullback to the mid-$0.58 range.
The Leeds United Fan Token ($LUFC) saw its price increase by nearly 4% in the past 24 hours, and by an incredible 18% in the past week. Could traders be speculating on a potential upset given Man City lost their last game away at Newcastle? Or given the fact that City have now lost three out of their last five league games?
Aston Villa ($AVL) vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves haven’t won a game all season, and now they must travel away to an in-form Aston Villa side that have lost just one of their last nine league games.
Villa’s good form has seen them climb into 4th in recent weeks, and if they win this match — and Arsenal beat Chelsea — Villa could potentially finish the weekend in 2nd place.
In just over a week since Nov. 21, the price of the Aston Villa Fan Token ($AVL) has increased by a staggering 21%, carried by Villa’s good form in both the Premier League and the Europa League (5W, 1L). This weekend’s match against Wolves looks like a gimme for Aston Villa.
Tottenham Hotspur ($SPURS) vs Fulham
Spurs are favourites for this fixture which sees them host the joint-worst travelling side in the Premier League. Fulham may be undefeated in their last three games against Spurs (2W, 1D), but those wins came at their home ground, and they haven’t beaten Spurs on their own patch since the 2012/2013 season.
Spurs’ good start to the season has started to dip in recent weeks, and this coincided with the decline of the Tottenham Hotspur Fan Token ($SPURS). However, in the past week the token kickstarted a modest ascension which saw it gain 2.4%.
Everton ($EFC) vs Newcastle
Following last week’s win away at Manchester United, Everton have now won two and drawn one in their last three games. Newcastle’s recent form is more up-and-down, however they did surprise everyone by beating Man City on the previous matchday.
Everton manager David Moyes is in the process of turning the team’s new home ground into a fortress, while Newcastle have struggled on the road all season.
In the past four days the Everton Fan Token ($EFC) spiked to the tune of 12% — climbing from $0.83 to $0.93. However, the peak was short-lived, and has since fallen back to the $0.89 range — ultimately leaving the token holding onto encouraging 7% gains.
Greg Thomson: Fan Tokens Market Reporter