Ahead of the fourth round of fixtures in this season’s Premier League, we take a look at what this weekend has in store.
Grosvenor Sport ambassadors Jamie O’Hara and Jose Enrique take a deep dive into three of the weekend’s key fixtures in Brighton v Newcastle, Liverpool v Aston Villa, and Arsenal v Manchester United.
Brighton v Newcastle
Jamie O’Hara:
Brighton 2 – 2 Newcastle 10.5/1
Alexander Isak to score anytime 19/10
This is going to be a tough game for Newcastle because Brighton are fresh off of a beating from West Ham so they will be up for it. Newcastle threw the game away against Liverpool and I think Eddie Howe got a few decisions wrong in that game so he’ll be wanting to get a result.
With Brighton needing to bounce back after their loss I think they’ll get a draw out of this one but I still think there will be goals given the attacking talent in both teams. It will be a really good game and Isak will be a massive problem for Brighton because he is such a quality striker.
Jose Enrique:
Brighton 1 – 2 Newcastle 8.5/1
Anthony Gordon 5/1, Alexander Isak 19/10, Kaoru Mitoma 27/10 to score anytime
This is a big game for both clubs given that they both lost their last match. Brighton are beatable even though they have done magic in the transfer window, and I think this is definitely a must-win game for Newcastle. It would be a good win in terms of building confidence, especially with an international break the week after because it would be great for the players to go away off the back of a victory.
Newcastle should win this game and the away end at the Amex will be massively behind them, and I’m confident that they will get the job done. Brighton are a good side and they won’t make it easy so there will probably only be one goal in it. With the form that Alexander Isak is in you have to expect him to score and I could see Anthony Gordon continuing his good performances. Kaoru Mitoma is Brighton’s standout player and I think he could be their main danger to find the back of the net.
Liverpool v Aston Villa
Jamie O’Hara:
Liverpool 2 – 1 Aston Villa 7.5/1
Mohamed Salah to score anytime 49/50
It is going to be another brilliant game between two top teams. Aston Villa didn’t get off to the greatest start against Newcastle but they have looked really dangerous since and the combination of Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins in attack have caused loads of problems for defences.
Liverpool can be a problem for any team at home and I think they can still surprise people and be amongst the top two or three in the league come the end of the season. They’ve got Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez looks dangerous and their new midfield looks brilliant. If they can stop making stupid mistakes at the back they will be a problem.
I think Villa might come under pressure here because they play such a high line and when Liverpool have players like Salah and Nunez who have pace in behind they could hurt Villa. I think Liverpool will come out on top and the pace and quality in behind that Villa back line could be the difference.
Jose Enrique:
Liverpool 2 – 1 Aston Villa 7.5/1
Darwin Nunez 23/20, Mohamed Salah 49/50, Ollie Watkins 23/10 to score anytime
Liverpool’s win over Newcastle last weekend was an unforgettable game and to win at St. James’ Park with 10 men is great for a team that has not been playing as well as they would have liked. They are still not back at the level that they have reached in the past few years so it was a great result to get three points away at Newcastle.
Aston Villa are a very tough team to play against and I love Unai Emery and the way his teams play. I can’t give Emery enough praise and I think this summer they have made some very good signings. I think they could even finish higher than last season and compete again for the top six.
I think it will be quite a tight game and again I can only really see there being one goal in it. Darwin Nunez can continue his good form and Mohamed Salah is always going to be a threat. For Villa, Ollie Watkins is a player that I love and away from home with gaps behind the Liverpool defence I think he could get on the scoresheet.
Arsenal v Manchester United
Jamie O’Hara:
Arsenal 2 -1 Manchester United 7/1
Bukayo Saka to score anytime 41/20
I don’t think things have gone too wrong for Arsenal so far because they’ve got seven points on the board, although they haven’t been massively convincing. Mikel Arteta is getting it wrong tactically at the moment by shoehorning Kai Havertz in to justify the fact that they spent £65m on him when he’s not good enough.
I haven’t been convinced by Manchester United at all. Anthony and Alejandro Garnacho have been poor and Marcus Rashford only looks good on the left. Now they’ve got injuries everywhere and they’ve got big problems with Casemiro not looking at his best. They need to figure it out.
Arsenal will be thinking that this is a good time to play United and I think they are going to get the better of them and take them to the sword. Bukayo Saka can do some serious damage given that Manchester United don’t have a left-back and I think Arsenal will be fairly comfortable in victory.
Jose Enrique:
Arsenal 3 – 1 Manchester United 12/1
Bukayo Saka 41/20, Leandro Trossard 14/5, Bruno Fernandes 18/5 to score anytime
There are a lot of young players in the Arsenal side and their lack of experience showed last season when they fell apart a bit towards the end of the season. I think they will definitely finish in the top four and they can challenge for the title.
Manchester United have struggled so far but it seems like they will be bringing in a few more signings before the end of the season. I think having a consistent number nine will help them because Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both prefer to play off the left rather than through the middle where they have had to play this season. If Manchester United don’t strengthen more then I can’t see them challenging for anything other than the top four.
I think Arsenal will win the game and I think there will be goals because both managers like to set out their sides to win games. Bukayo Saka turns up in the big games so he could definitely get on the scoresheet, as could Leandro Trossard who hasn’t had too many minutes but I could see him making an impact off the bench. Manchester United can usually rely on Bruno Fernandes, the second best Bruno in the league, to score and I think it will be same story here.