Strap yourself in, we’re set for a huge weekend of Premier League action!
Everyone’s attention will be focused on the Manchester Derby, as City looks to bounce back from an embarrassing defeat to Crystal Palace, while Ole and United fans pin all their hopes onto one man.
Elsewhere, Antonio Conte returns to the PL as the Spurs travel to Goodison Park, Liverpool play host to the red hot Hammers, and Chelsea attempt to break away from the chasing pack with a win against Burnley.
As always, our Offside Oracle has previewed all 10 Premier League fixtures this weekend and provided his best betting plays below!
Game week 11 kicks off at St. Mary’s Stadium, where Southampton hopes to extend their unbeaten league run to four games (2W,1D).
Alternatively, Villa are staring down the barrel of five straight defeats, with the pressure mounting on the shoulders of Dean Smith.
The Villans have managed to score in each of their last four defeats, though they’ve conceded 17 goals across the trip.
The Saints run of positive results can’t be taken too seriously, as taking points away from Leeds, Burnley and Watford is nothing to write home about.
As bad as Villa has been, I’m still not comfortable taking the Saints at $2 here, instead I’ll be backing the goals to continue to flow as both sides look to pull clear of the drop zone.
We’re treated to match of the round at prime time on Saturday night (AEST), as United and City battle it out for Manchester bragging rights.
Surprisingly, it’s City who trudges into the match off the back of a defeat, after going down to nil against Crystal Palace in GW10.
City has now gone scoreless in three of their first ten games, equalling their tally for the entire 2020/21 season (two of which came against Man U), as it becomes exceedingly clear that they are missing a target man up front.
The complete opposite can be said for United, who have relied heavily on Ronaldo to bail them out of trouble.
All five of the previous Manchester Derbies have seen under 2.5 Goals scored, with Man U claiming the W in four of those matches (1D).
In fact, Ole has won four of his eight games against Pep, his 50% win rate is the best in the world for those who have faced the Spanish savant at least five times.
Since getting belted by five against the Reds, Ole has chosen to deploy five at the back with two holding mids, a tactic I can see continuing here in an attempt to strangle the life out of Pep’s creative mids.
All things considered, the Unders looks too good to turn down in what promises to be a cagey affair at Old Trafford.
We go from feast to famine, as two of the three newly-promoted outfits take to the field in a game to miss.
Norwich has amassed 2 competition points across the opening 10 fixtures, and it comes as no surprise to discover they’ve only scored three goals across the trip.
After a quick start to the season, Brentford has gone on to lose their last three games straight, bottoming out in GW10 when they handed Burnely their first win of the campaign.
The Canaries have failed to win across their previous 17 top-flight away fixtures (14L,3D), not finding the scoresheet in 13 of those matches!
I’m happy to continue to back against Norwich at every possible chance while boosting the odds with a play at Over 1.5 Goals to be scored.
This game is as straightforward as they come.
Chelsea has been dominant at the Bridge this season, outscoring their opponents 16-2 across their opening five home fixtures.
Meanwhile, the Clarets have managed to snare just two points on the road this season, as they rub shoulders with Newcastle and Norwich in the drop zone.
This will be Tuchel’s 30th league game in charge of the Blues, with his side keeping 18 clean sheets since arriving, four more than any other side.
Chelsea has kept a clean sheet across their last three league fixtures, a feat I can see them easily repeating here.
Two of the Premier League’s in-form outfits are set to square off at Selhurst Park on Saturday night (AEST).
The Eagles put the league on notice last weekend, defeating City to nil in a comprehensive performance from Vieira’s side.
Crystal has gone their last five league fixtures without defeat, though settling for four draws across the trip, taking their season tally to six stalemates.
The Wolves have quietly been going about their business, winning four from their last five outings (1D), while claiming 10 points from their last four away fixtures!
Both teams have scored in four of both the Eagles’ and the Wolves’ last five respective fixtures, I’m backing this trend to continue in a match that could fall either way.
Brighton has never tasted defeat against Newcastle in the Premier League, winning four of the pair’s eight meetings (4D), including two 3-0 victories last season.
The Toons may have the richest owners in the land, but there’s not much they can do (buy) to turn the tide of Newcastle’s horrible form, at least not until the January window.
Not only did Brighton overturn a two-goal deficit to snatch a point away from the Reds last weekend, but they actually looked the better team for the majority of the contest.
The Seagulls are flying high after last week’s performance and should be able to see off Toons with relative ease.
Leeds are out to claim back-to-back victories for the first time this season when they welcome Leicester to Elland Road this weekend.
The Whites snuck home in unconvincing style against cellar-dwellers Norwich last weekend to claim their second win of the campaign, the other coming against another newly-promoted outfit, in Watford.
Whereas the Foxes come into this fixture off the back of a 2-0 defeat to the Gunners, despite creating the lion’s share of chances, Vardy and co couldn’t breach the goals of a superhuman Aaron Ramsdale.
Despite last week’s results, Leicester has been the far better of the two sides here and should go on to claim their third straight away win against the Whites.
Arsenal should go eight games without defeat (5W,2D) when they take care of Watford this weekend.
After many pundits rode them off early in the season, the Gunners are now knocking on the door of the top four!
The Tinkerman has never managed a side to victory against the Gunners (7L, 4D), and while Watford did show glimpses of life against the Toffees, I can’t see them getting anywhere near Arteta’s side in this one.
Antonio Conte’s first game in charge of the Spurs will be on the road to Everton.
It’s almost impossible to turn a ship around in one day, just ask the Evergreen Marine Corporation, but I am expecting Tottenham’s style to change drastically this weekend.
Conte will likely look to shore things up at the back before addressing any and all other deficiencies within the squad.
I’m expecting the Italian to name five at the back and put a premium on Lloris’s goal.
Back the unders.
Game week 11 comes to a close at London Stadium, as the Reds look to get back to winning ways against the Hammers.
Liverpool remains the only undefeated team in the league, though they have been held to a draw on four occasions, only one of which has come on the road (3-3 at Brentford).
West Ham has been extremely impressive this campaign, though they have shown vulnerabilities at home, with their only two league defeats coming at the London Stadium.
The Hammers’ last PL victory against the Reds came back in 2016, since then Liverpool has won eight of the pairs’ ten meetings (2D).
Eight of the Reds’ ten fixtures this season have seen more than 2.5 goals scored, the same can be said of seven of the Hammers’ games across the same trip.
Salah has scored in all five away fixtures for the Reds this season and I’m backing him to lead his side to victory in a battle between two fierce attacking units.