The Premier League is set to return with a bang following a brief FA Cup spell last weekend.
There are ten fixtures to be played out over the weekend, though two stand head and shoulders above the rest,
Man City can almost put the title race to bed with a victory over the 2nd placed Blues on Saturday night (AEST), while both pride and top four aspirations will be put on the line when Tottenham hosts Arsenal in the North London Derby!
Our Premier League prophet has given his thoughts on those two fixtures and provided his best bets across the rest of the weekend’s action!
Brighton will be out to build on a decent run of form when they welcome Crystal Palace to Amex Stadium on Saturday night (AEST).
The Seagulls have lost just one of their previous seven league fixtures and are looking to secure their third win in four games (1D).
Meanwhile, the Eagles narrowly lost 3-2 against the Hammers last time out, though two late consolation goals plastered over what was a scrappy performance at best.
Crystal Palace has held an edge over Brighton in recent years, winning their last two appearances at Amex, while avoiding defeat across the pair’s last three meetings at Selhurst (3D).
Not much separates these two sides in the way of quality, both sides have found the scored sheet in eight of the pairs last nine H2Hs and I’m backing that trend to continue here.
We don’t have to wait long for the match of the week, as Chelsea attempt to peg three points back on competition leaders Man City.
The Sky Blues took out the reverse fixture 1-0 at the Bridge earlier this season, though Pep’s side will still be seething following their narrow UCL Final defeat at the hands of Tuchel’s boys some eight months ago.
The Citizens have won 11 straight Premier League fixtures, outscoring their opponents 37-7 across the trip!
Alternatively, the Blues have dropped points in seven of their last 11 PL games (6D,1L), leaving their title hope well and truly on the ropes!
While City are playing the best football in the world, Chelsea players are dreaming of greener pastures.
I’m taking the home side here in what should be a low-scoring affair.
Two of the top four contenders for 2022/23 Championship Football are set to take the field at St. James’ Park this weekend, as ‘NewMoney’ Newcastle takes on ‘Watarewedoinghere’ Watford!
The Hornets are staring down the barrel of seven straight league defeats as they continue to hemorrhage goals left, right, and center (16)!
While the Toons have turned to the transfer market in their desperate bid for survival, signing English International Kieran Tripper from Atletico, with a dozen more players rumored to join him.
Tripper’s appointment failed to ignite the fire in his side’s belly, as the Toons crashed out of the FA Cup against struggling League One side Cambridge United!
It’s tumultuous times at St. James’ Stadium and I’m backing things to get worse (if that’s possible) before they eventually get better.
Burnley are set to line up against the Leicester development squad this weekend as Sean Dyche’s side attempts to break free of the drop zone for the first time since game week 3!
The Foxes have 16 members of their extended squad listed on the injury report, four of which are absent due to AFCON commitments (more than any other side in the PL).
Meanwhile, the Clarets have five senior players out with covid while Chris Wood is a 50/50 chance of returning from a groin strain.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this game is postponed, though if it does go ahead I’m expecting a lackluster display from both parties, with a third straight draw between the pair looking like decent value at the current price.
Norwich vs Everton caps off a trifecta of unwatchable matchups.
The Toffees have only won once over their last 12 league fixtures (3D,8L), securing just one clean sheet across the trip.
Meanwhile, Norwich has failed to trouble the scorekeeper in the previous five games, remaining anchored to the foot of the table.
It’s not worth overthinking this one, Everton claimed a 2-0 victory over the Canaries last time out and should roll them again here.
Both the Wolves and the Saints will be searching for back-to-back league victories when they meet this weekend.
Despite scoring a league-low (excl. Norwich 8) 14 goals this season, the Wolves find themselves inside the top eight thanks to their stonewall defense!
The hosts have conceded fewer goals than every side in the comp barring Manchester City, with 12 of their 19 league fixtures seeing under 1.5 goals scored, double the next best in Tottenham (6).
Although frustrating to watch, one can’t help but admire what Bruno Large has extracted from his limited squad.
Under 1.5 Goals has hit in the Wolve last eight PL games and with the Saints coming off a short turnaround, I’m confident on the home side completing another shoutout.
Aston Villa are out to complete the league double over Man U for the first time since 1976 following their 1-0 victory at Ol Trafford in GW6.
To do so they will need to overcome a crippling home draught, after failing to better the Red Devils across their last 22 meetings at Villa Park (7D,15L)!
These two sides met in the FA Cup during the week, where United came out 1-0 victors despite being outplayed for large spells of the contest.
I’m not game to take either side outright in the H2H market, instead, I’m leaning towards backing another defensive Rangnick arm wrestle in this one.
Liverpool begins life without Salah on Sunday night when they play host EPL newcomers Brentford.
The Reds will be without the dynamic duo of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, who are plying their trade at the African Cup of Nations.
Despite the absence of these two superstars, Klopp still has plenty of firepower to call on, with the Premier League’s 2nd top scorer Diogo Jota set to lead the line alongside Roberto Firmino.
I’m back Jota to snag a goal or two on the way to securing three vital points in the Reds title chance.
The Hammers will be looking to see off Leeds for the second time in a week after knocking the Whites out of the FA Cup last weekend.
That result saw West Ham’s winning streak against Leeds extend to four straight games, with the Irons registering two goals on each occasion.
In fact, David Moyes holds the longest undefeated run against Leeds in Premier League history, going seven games without defeat (6W,1D).
I’m backing the Hammers to consolidate their position inside the top four with yet another victory over the understaffed Whites.
Game week 22 wraps up with a mouth-watering North London Derby!
A victory here for the Spurs will see them leapfrog their rivals into 5th with two games in hand, while Arsenal will be gunning for the top four pending the Wes Ham result.
Tottenham has shown instant improvement under the tutelage of Antonio Conte, going undefeated across the Italian’s first eight league games in charge (5W,3D).
Meanwhile, the Gunners have won four of their last five league fixtures and were unlucky to fall to a 2-1 defeat against the soon-to-be champs last time out.
Arsenal has held the edge over their North London rivals of late, claiming the W in the pair’s last two competitive outings (both at the Emirates Stadium).
Despite their recent success, the Gunners are winless in their last eight away league fixtures against the Spurs dating back to 2014 (3D,5L).
The Home side has been crowned victorious in the last five North London Derbies, and I’ll be backing that trend to continue here.