Premier League 2020-21 Season – Match Week 19 Preview with Liberty Shield VPN

We’ve reached Matchweek 19 in the 20/21 Premier League season, and as the halfway point of the season approaches we still have no idea who the best team in the league is. Premier League matches are shown by pay-TV broadcasters Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime and with match highlights available free on BBC Sport with Match of the Day. Need a Premier League VPN?

Unlike other recent seasons where Manchester City, Liverpool or both have set themselves apart from the rest of the field, there is no such separation this year with six teams, Manchester United, Liverpool, Leicester City, Everton, Spurs and Manchester City all still holding real ambitions of a title challenge.

This weekend we have a very exciting schedule of games on our hands and as always Liberty Shield has your Premier League preview ready for your perusal. As is the norm, we have previewed three games that we believe to be the standout fixtures this weekend.

Our Premier League VPN articles are brought to you in partnership with EPL Index, and Dave Hendrick – host of the Two Footed Podcast, offering FREE podcasts to football fans.

⚽  Leicester vs Southampton
📅  Saturday 16 January 2021
⏰ 2000 UK Kick-Off
🖥️ BT Sport Live Streaming

We’re almost 15 months removed from that historic night when Leicester went to St. Mary’s and destroyed the Saints 9-0. On that night and in the days afterwards the fortunes of the two teams could not have looked more different. Leicester were well positioned to challenge for the title, or at worst secure a top 4 finish, whereas Southampton looked destined to sack another manager and drop down to the Championship. 15 months later, and Leicester are still a top 4 team with a ideas of a title challenge. They are what they were on that night at St. Mary’s. For Southampton, things could not be much different. No longer a team in chaos, they themselves have ambitions of Europe after a strong second half to last season and a good start to this one.

Leicester have taken eight points from their last 15 available, and while in a normal season they’d likely be a little disappointed with that return, it’s a good tally in this current unpredictable year. They have been a consistent fixture in the Premier League’s top 4 this season as manager Brendan Rodgers has found a way to help his player shake off the miserable second half they experienced last season when they through away a certain Champions League spot. Behind the goals of Jamie Vardy, the creativity and endeavour of James Maddsion, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes have all begun to flourish of late.

Dennis Praet picked up a hamstring injury in the cup win over Stoke that will rule him out of this game, while Ricardo Pereira is also expected to miss out once more. James Maddison, Cengiz Under and Jamie Vardy all face late fitness tests but are expected to be passed fit.

Only six points from their last 15 could be seen as a dip for Southampton, but a win last time out in the Premier League over reigning Champions League saw them move to 7th position. Saints strength is their team unity, and their willingness to work for each other. Danny Ings grabs the headlines with his goals but without the graft and guile of those behind him, he wouldn’t get the opportunities. If the Liverpool game is anything to go by, Southampton found themselves a gem in the summer transfer market in Ibrahima Diallo who stood out even against the quality of the Reds midfield.

Saints will be shorthanded this weekend with Nathan Redmond, Jannik Vestergaard, Alex McCarthy, Moussa Djenepo and Michael Obafemi expected to miss out and Che Adams, Oriel Romeu and Salisu all doubtful.

⚽ Aston Villa vs Everton
📅  Sunday 17 January 2021
⏰ 1200 UK Kick-Off
🖥️ Sky Sports Live Streaming

Outside of the “Big Six”, there’s a good argument that Aston Villa and Everton are the two biggest clubs in the country. Both boast massive local fanbases and pasts loaded with success at home and abroad. Over the past 25 years, both clubs have experienced some ups but many more downs. Villa have been relegated, Everton flirted with the idea. Villa have been taken over twice, Everton once. Both clubs have been through countless managers, but now both are in good places. Under the stewardships of Dean Smith and Carlo Ancelotti, both clubs are building strong teams full of talented attacking players with young talent

Despite currently sitting 8th, Villa are in the mix for a top 4 spot due to having two games in hand. Eight points from their last five games has kept them on a consistent pace and despite defeat to Manchester United last time out they continue to be a handful for any team. With Jack Grealish starting this season playing at a level he’s never consistently displayed before, and attacking talent like Ollie Watkins, Anwar El Ghazi and Bertrand Traore around him, plus a solid defensive basis built on Ezri Konsa and Douglas Luiz, Villa are a strong team front to back.

Trezeguet and Wesley are ruled out for Villa but Ross Barkley is expected to return pending a late fitness test.

With four wins from their last five games, Everton are one of the form teams in the Premier League and have recovered from a poor spell suffered after the controversial Merseyside Derby. They’ve spent large portions of the season in the top four and when they have everyone fit, there can be no doubt that they have a team capable of competing with anybody in the league. With Lucas Digne and James Rodriguez back from injuries, the Toffees will create chances against anybody and thought they still have questions to answer over their goalkeeper, they have a talented and versatile group of defenders at Carlo Ancelotti’s disposal.

Everton are missing key players in Allan and Dominic Calvert-Lewin for this trip to Villa Park while Fabian Delph and Jean-Phillipe Gbamin are long term absentees.

⚽ Liverpool vs Manchester United
📅  Sunday 17 January 2021
⏰ 1630 UK Kick-Off
🖥️ Sky Sports Live Streaming

There is no bigger rivalry in English football than Liverpool vs Manchester United. Whenever they play, it’s the biggest game on the calendar. It’s even bigger this year as they sit 2nd and 1st respectively in the Premier League this season, the first time they’ve occupied those positions going into one of these games in over a decade. Liverpool had been top but United overtook their biggest rivals with their 1-0 win away to Burnley on Tuesday night.

There’s no other way to describe Liverpool’s current form other than poor. For the Champions to take only two points from games against West Brom, Newcastle and Southampton is extremely disappointing based on the standards they have set for themselves. The Champions have not looked like themselves this season, being able to point to no more than four or five games in which they’ve shown their best form. Many of their issues stem from the injury suffered by Virgil Van Dijk. With the Dutchman out, Liverpool are not able to employ their high line and compress the field, which means that their trademark counter pressing has not been nearly as effective. The Reds have also suffered from a severe lack of leadership without Van Dijk, which has hampered their ability to grind out wins in tight games.

Van Dijk and Joe Gomez are long term absentees for the Reds, and both Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota are expected to miss another three weeks or so before returning. Naby Keita and Joel Matip will have fitness tests and could be involved, with Keita believed to be the closer of the two to a return.

With four wins and draw in their last five games, including three wins in a row, Manchester United have found their way to the top of the table. With Bruno Fernandes the form player in the Premier League over the past 12 months, the Portuguese midfielder continues to inspire his team-mates. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who found himself under pressure after the Champions League exit, has found the right balance in his team with a loaded attack, a constantly rotated midfield and a making do approach to the defense. Whether or not United are real title contenders, we’ll find out over the next few weeks.

United are without Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Facundo Pellistri but other than that will be at full strength for the weekend.

These are just some of the games available to you from the Premier League this week, and with another round of games to come at the weekend it’s a very exciting time for the Premier League. With so many games to choose from, the worry is wasting time on the wrong game. We’ll try and guide you in the right direction so that all you need to do is sit back, turn on your Liberty Shield VPN, settle in, and enjoy the games.

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How to watch every Premier League match from anywhere…

How can I watch BT Sport Premier League VPN 20/21 matches live? 

BT Sport has the rights to just over 50 Premier League fixtures during the 2020/21 campaign, and will also carry coverage of the UEFA Champions’ League and Europa League until 2024. Subscribers can watch BT Sport on their computers as well as their various apps on connected devices. They do offer a Monthly Pass with no contract, which will give customers access to the BT Sport mobile app. BT Sport Box Office will no longer show the matches via the now scrapped pay-per-view offering, but is it too late and have customers already moved towards illegal streams and IPTV providers?

Remember that BT Sport also features coverage from the Bundesliga, and holds rights to Moto GP, UFC and WWE coverage as well.  After a long delay the BT Sport app is now available on several models of Smart TV as well as Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices.

How can I watch Amazon Prime Premier League VPN 20/21 matches live? 

Amazon is a relative newcomer to live Premier League VPN coverage. It has 20 matches per season under the current rights agreement, and in 2019/20, it secured all of the showpiece Boxing Day fixtures. Amazon also broadcasts sports including the US Open tennis championships, other ATP World Tour tennis events and NFL games.

Fans will need a Prime membership to watch fixtures on the online streaming service.  You can watch Amazon Prime on your computer or with their connected mobile apps on various devices, including Amazon FireTV.  The Amazon Prime service is priced at £7.99 per month, although if you’ve not subscribed before, you can access its services on a 30-day trial period.

How can I watch BBC Sport Premier League VPN 20/21 matches live? 

With Premier League Pay-Per-View now scrapped, there will be once again be a small number of free live matches on the BBC.  However, if you are content with free Premier League VPN 20/21 highlights then the BBC have you covered, with Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2, available live when screened on the BBC Sport website, and also on catchup with BBC iPlayer.