A busy week of football continues with the return of Friday night Premier League action accompanying a bulky set of Sunday fixtures.
The main event of the weekend will arguably come from Anfield, with Mauricio Pochettino’s struggling Spurs facing the high flying leaders.
Our Premier League betting expert delivers his thoughts on the two fixtures, as well as sharing his best bets for the weekend.
Southampton v Leicester City
Two sides at differing ends of the form table come head to head under the lights at St Mary’s on Friday evening, with Leicester looking to keep their momentum rolling.
Brendan Rodgers side deservedly sit in third place in the table, having the foxes boasting some of the league’s standout performers this season and have a great chance to shake off an unwanted record. No Premier League side has played more games on a Friday without winning (7) than Leicester, and they’re 13/10 to break that duck in this one.
Southampton might have hoped for an away fixture having taken points from both of their last two visits to Leicester, and failing to pick up at any in the reverse fixtures. At 2/1, they’re quite short to pick up what would be a surprise win and I’d be backing Rodger’s men.
Man City v Aston Villa
Back-to-back league wins for Dean Smith’s side has cemented their claims for a mid-table spot come the end of the season, with consistency the key from now on. With that said, they would have wanted a visit to Man City like a hole in the head this weekend.
Defensively I suspect Villa will still be a little shaky, especially if City can carry their Champions League form into Saturday. For a team that have scored nearly twice as many goals as their opponents so far this year, 13/10 for Man City to win and more than 4.5 match goals could be the way to go here.
Watford v Bournemouth
As the only side left in the league not to pick up a win so far this season, Watford will feel the visit of Bournemouth should offer a decent chance to do so on Saturday. They will need to tighten up at the back. Conceding two goals per game as they currently are will get them relegated, quickly.
Eddie Howe’s side will feel confident having thumped the Hornet’s 4-0 in this fixture last season and have lost just once in the previous five meetings. Three of those last five meetings have been drawn, however, and at 5/2, that’s the result I’m backing.
Brighton v Everton
This is another difficult game to call, with both sides picking up spirited victories recently.
Everton’s came in an impressive performance against West Ham, where they looked much better going forward than in any game so far this season. Marco Silva went with a pacey front three of Walcott, Iwobi and Richarlison, but it will be interesting to see if Gylfi Sigurdsson pushes for a recall after his goal from the bench.
Brighton failed to follow up on their win against Spurs, going down 2-1 to Aston Villa. Graham Potter’s influence is evident in their style of play, but their results against the teams around them will define their campaign and they need to get some points from this one.
Again, I can’t separate these two, with Everton yet to win at the Amex, and the draw well-priced at 9/4.
West Ham v Sheffield Utd
Sheffield Utd’s win over Arsenal on Monday lifted them above Saturday’s opponents and into the top half of the table.
I’m sure Chris Wilder would have bitten your hand off if you’d offered him that position before the start of the season, but it’s no less than they have deserved. Organised and pulling in the same direction, they’re prepared to give anyone a game and shouldn’t be discounted from taking all three here at 5/2.
West Ham would have been disappointed at missing out on their chance to build on a strong start to the season after losing at Everton. They weren’t really at the races and will suffer the same fate in this one unless they perform better here. I fancy both teams to score and the home side to edge this one at 11/4.
Burnley v Chelsea
A quick turnaround for Chelsea following their impressive Champions League win at Ajax sees them undertake a tricky visit to Turf Moor to face a game Burnley side.
Sean Dyche’s men have made a strong start to the campaign, currently sitting in 8th place. Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood are proving to be a dangerous duo and are more than capable of scoring the goals to keep them afloat.
Chelsea have lost just once in 10 top-flight games against Burnley, including four wins at Turf Moor. They should have too much going forward and I’m backing the blues at 3/4.
Newcastle v Wolves
After a staggering start, Wolves have picked up seven points from their last three to move clear of the relegation zone.
Newcastle on the other hand look set for another season of battling for safety and simply don’t seem to have enough goals. Steve Bruce will need to find a way to get Almiron and Joelinton firing if they are to have any chance.
I think Newcastle could well draw another blank here, with both teams not to score and Wolves to win available at around 11/5 at Grosvenorsport.com.
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Much has been made of Arsenal’s defeat at Sheffield United on Monday, in what was a typical Arsenal away performance in many ways. They’re a different proposition at the Emirates though and will be expecting a return to winnings ways on Sunday.
Palace will have been buoyed by Monday’s result, and have the quality to cause Arsenal problems. They have just three Premier League wins against Arsenal, and it would be a surprise if they added to that this weekend.
Arsenal to win at 4/9 seems the way to go in this one.
Liverpool v Spurs
Their winning run might be over, but Liverpool are still the team to beat in the Premier League this season. Sunday’s game against United wasn’t a vintage performance, but I suspect Klopp might have taken a point before kick-off.
Spurs bounced back from another disappointing result against Watford with a comfortable win in the Champions League. They’ll need to take that form into this one if they are to stand any chance.
I don’t think the game will be a particularly high-scoring occasion, with Liverpool to win and under 3.5 match goals the way I’m leaning at 6/4.
Norwich v Manchester United
The Pukki party seems to be over at Norwich, with the reality of Premier League survival starting to set in. They seem to have the options going forward, but keeping the ball out of the net regularly is going to be a real challenge for them.
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer will have been extremely relieved to walk away from the Liverpool match with a point and can now focus on getting their first league win in four attempts. The confidence taken from the Liverpool game should be enough to see them win here at 4/5.
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