The end of November approaches and as we finish our left over Turkey and wish our friends and relatives a safe journey home this weekend the serious business in the Barclays Premier League really begins.

Much of the focus will be on the notable the clash of league leaders Leicester City v second place Manchester United, but Saturday also has a few contests with significance at both ends of the league table.

English Premier League Predictions for 11/28/15

• Aston Villa 0 v Watford 1: Star Player Ben Watson (Midfield)
• AFC Bournemouth 1 v Everton 4: Star Player Romelu Lukaku (Forward)
• Crystal Palace 2 v Newcastle United 1 : Star Player Yannick Bolaise (Midfield)
• Manchester City 1 v Southampton 0: Star Player Kevin De Bruyne (Midfield)
• Sunderland AFC 0 v Stoke City 3 :Star Player Charlie Adam (Midfield)
• Leicester City 0 v Manchester United 1 : Star Player David De Gea (Goalkeeper)

English Premier League Analysis for 11/28/15

Aston Villa go from one disaster to another.  This week it is Jack Grealish who did a 'Johnny Football' in Liverpool as opposed to Austin, TX and has as a result been left to train with the U21 squad.  Grealish is undoubtedly the best player in the Aston Villa squad and yet you have to say Remi Garde has set down a disciplinary marker to the squad which may;or may not; prove to be a turning point.  Villa remain toothless upfront and Watford are pretty resolute in Defence with Younis Kaboul looking especially tough to beat.  In offense Watford can be explosive and have pace to burn with Ighalo and Troy Deeney and we can see the Birmingham man returning to the Midlands to inflict more pain on the home team. Villa won their opening day fixture and no wins since says it all!

Bournemouth continue to please the eye but not really trouble the points tally in the table.  They took a 0-2 lead last weekend at Swansea but couldn't do enough to secure all three points and they are their own worst enemy in terms of never knowing when to close down a match and be a little more pragmatic. Everton alongside Leicester City are the in form team in the EPL and in Romelu Lukaku they have a proven goalscorer who with the impoved seervice from Delofeu and Barkely is flourishing.  Expect them to overpower pretty Bournemouth and leave the South Coast with three more away points.

Selhurst Park will be an interesting place to be with former Newcastle manager Alan Pardew facing his old team and indeed much of his former squad for the first time.  Pardew did a decent job at Newcastle given the financial constraints imposed on him.  Ironically if owner Mike Ashley had allowed Pardew to spend the money that Steve McLaren has spent since his arrival then Pardew may not ever have left. The loss to Sunderland seemed on the cards pretty much all night and something was missing from the usually vibrant Palace, but the Manager will have them firing for this one and we expect them to put their poor home form behind them in a lively match.

This is of course a Champions League week and Manchester City may have already qualified, but their loss to Juventus could cost them first place in the Group and leave them facing a more difficult tie at the start of the knock out stages.  They were beaten by a Liverpool team revitalized by Jurgen Klopp as predicted in this column and so two losses in a row is something that will leave the faithful at the Etihad Stadium concerned. Southampton are a resolute team and we can see them looking to play a solid shape and hit City on the counter attack.  Joe Hart might be missing for the home side but we think they can unlock the door, probably via De Bruyne and secure a very valuable three points and indeed temporary leadership of the EPL pending the action later in the day.

Sunderland deserved their win at Palace, they had a game plan and stuck to it and always looked the more likely side to take all three points. In Duncan Watmore they have a new and exciting talent and look out for this young man as he gets more game time for 'the Mackams'.  That said; Stoke with Ryan Shawcross in place are now the formidable outfit we predicted they would be at the start of the season.  Bojan, Shakiri and Charlie Adam in particular can pull the strings and whilst Sunderland are more resilient with Sam Allardyce at the helm we still think once they give up a goal they are likely to collapse.  A comfortable away victory is our prediction.

Game of the day.  Match of the season so far and who could have predicted Leicester City as league leaders after a third of the season.  Jamie Vardy of course is trying to break the consecutive EPL scoring record, but Manchester United are so strong in defence with Chris Smalling dominant at Centre Half and of course in David De Gea they have one of the top goalkeepers on the planet right now.  Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard have brought genuine pace to the United front line but they are still a little ponderous in the final third. Expect something to fall United's way and if they find one goal we would expect them to defend deeper to negate the threat of Vardy's pace and do enough to secure the win and the lead in the English Premier League.