Take on our experts

Premier Showdown - Dec 26-27

December 27, 2011

It was ever so close in the last round, but the Rest of the World held off Tommy by a point to stretch their lead to nine points.

The ROTW now have 4.5 points more than they got in the whole of last season - and we're not even at the half-way stage. Could it really be a first title in four years for the once-proud ROTW?

Representing the readers for our first post-Christmas round is Gerry Mead who lives in Columbia, South Carolina (USA).

He tells Showdown: "I was born and raised within 10 miles of Luton's ground some 62 years ago, so I've been a lifelong Hatters fan, but when they started to fall (for not the first time!) on hard times after being beaten by Nottingham Forest 2-1 in the 1959 FA Cup Final, I started to support Arsenal as well.

"That state of affairs has remained to this day (although the 1988 Littlewoods Cup Final did test my true loyalties - I wore Orange on the day! - but alas, because I lived in South Africa at the time, and even though I had a ticket for the game reserved, I was unable to be at Wembley for the game).

"I'm a Computer Analyst/Programmer by trade, which has allowed me to travel and work on multiple continents, but am now very happily settled here in the Southeastern USA; population density is low, traffic reasonable, and whilst summers are terribly hot & humid, but the rest of the year is just perfect!"

Let's see how our players get on.

For each round of matches we invite someone to represent the Rest of the World and take on Press Pass' Tommy Smyth and ESPNsoccernet journalist Dale Johnson in our predictions game.

Points are then awarded as follows:
• Three points for a correct result and scoreline
• One point for a correct result

After the weekend's scores are in and the Showdown result has been worked out, the winning pundit receives three points for their season's total. Should the challenger win, the total is added to the Rest of the World tally. In the case of a draw, the points are shared.

Match Dale Tommy Gerry Result
Chelsea v Fulham 3-0 2-1 4-0 1-1
Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 3-0 4-1 1-1
Bolton Wanderers v Newcastle United 3-2 1-2 1-1 0-2
Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers 2-0 2-0 3-1 1-1
Manchester United v Wigan Athletic 6-0 3-0 5-1 5-0
Sunderland v Everton 1-0 1-2 0-0 1-1
West Bromwich Albion v Manchester City 2-2 0-3 2-1 0-0
Stoke City v Aston Villa 2-0 1-2 2-1 0-0
Swansea City v Queens Park Rangers 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-1
Norwich City v Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 1-3 1-1 0-2
POINTS --> --> --> 3 6 5

Not much Christmas cheer around for our pundits. Too many shocks makes for a low-scoring round - but Tommy edges it by going for a Spurs win at Norwich.

Table after Round 18
Rest of the World: 27
Dale: 18
Tommy: 9

Best week's total of season: 13, Dale Johnson

Final table 2010-11
Tommy: 46.5
Dale: 45
Rest of the World: 22.5

Best week's total of season: 13, Tommy Smyth (from eight fixtures).

So do you think you can beat the best of the best? Now is your chance to find out!

Submit your entry for Premier Showdown

Send us your picks for the weekend fixtures, along with your name and a few details about yourself. We'll select one person each week to take on our experts for the right to be crowned the weekly winner! Remember, tell us a bit about yourself - who you support, your job, your age etc. That way you stand a better chance of being selected from the hundreds of entries we receive!

Name:
Your e-mail:
Location:
Entry:

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