Premier League fixtures continue to pile up as we head into the tail-end of the season.
Four postponed matches are set to be played out over Friday morning before Game Week 29 is set to commence on Saturday night (AEST).
Man United and Tottenham will both be looking to get their European bids back on track when they face each other at Old Trafford, while Newcastle’s unbeaten start to 2022 will be put to the test with a pair of away fixtures against Southampton and Chelsea.
With all 20 teams set to take the field across 14 exciting matches, be sure to read through our entire weekend preview below and see who we’re backing!
Wolverhampton’s bid for European football has taken a huge hit over the last couple of weeks, with Bruno Lage’s side losing three consecutive fixtures for the first time since game weeks 1-3.
They’ll be looking to rediscover their form against a Watford side who are fighting tooth and nail for their survival in the league, after picking up 6 points from a possible 45 since game week 13!
The Wolves broke their last three-game losing streak with a comfortable 2-0 win away to the Hornets in GW4, a feat I’m backing them to repeat in front of their home fans here.
Leeds United will be looking to turn around a horrid run of form when they welcome Villa to Elland Rd.
The Whites have lost five straight league fixtures at an aggregate of 18 goals to two!
Meanwhile, the Villans have emerged from a dip in form to claim two wins on the trot against quality opponents in Brighton and Southampton.
Leeds are currently playing with zero self-belief, a sure-fire recipe for Premier League disaster.
At over $2.50 in the H2H market, I am more than happy to back the visitors in what should be an end-to-end contest.
Newcastle head to St. Mary’s Stadium as one of two Premier Leagues sides yet to lose a fixture in 2022 (5W,2D)!
The Toons are absolutely flying at the moment, picking up 16 points across their last six fixtures, four more points than they collected from their 20 matches prior!
Meanwhile, Southampton has enjoyed a decent start to the year themselves, losing just two of their last eight league fixtures (4W,2D), although they travel into this fixture off the back of a discouraging 0-4 performance against the Villans.
The Saints have been a different side at St Mary’s this season, losing just one home fixture to date, only Liverpool (0) able to boast fewer.
Saying that Southampton has played out more draws on their home deck than any other side in the comp (7).
The points were split when this pair met earlier in the season, any with both sides in decent nick, I’m backing yet another stalemate to unfold here.
Norwich enters this clash looking to avoid falling to five straight league defeats while dragging themselves off the foot of the table.
A feat easier said than done, with the Canaries coming up against a Blues outfit who are searching for their fourth straight league victory without conceding.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Chelsea ownership, the Blues have gone to another level on the pitch, most recently seeing off the defensively-minded Burnely outfit 4-0!
The Blues won the reverse fixture against the Canaries 7-0, a result I am expecting them to go close to repeating here!
Liverpool are out to deliver Brighton their fifth straight loss in the league, closing the gap between themselves and the Cityzens to three points in doing so.
Brighton’s top ten aspirations have taken a huge hit across the last month, losing four straight PL fixtures, scoring just once across the trip.
The Reds will head into this fixture off the back of a mid-week UCL match against Inter, though they went down 1-0 on the day, Klopp’s side progressed through to the quarterfinals 2-1 on aggregate.
Luis Diaz was rested for that fixture, which only means he’ll be a certain starter on the left flank, the Colombian winger has looked like scoring every time he has step for on the pitch for Liverpool and I’ll be backing him to secure his second league goals on the way to another three points for the Reds here.
This may be an absolute snooze-fest for the neutrals, but this fixture could have huge ramifications in the hotly contested battle for survival.
The Bees ended a concerning winless run of eight league fixtures last weekend, pumping the Canaries 3-1 thanks to an Ivan Toney hattrick, this was Toney’s first start since returning from injury, proving just how integral the frontman is to Brentford’s success.
Alternatively, Burnely slumped back-to-back scoreless losses last week, getting thumped 4-0 by an inspired BLues outfit.
The Clarets have only managed to secure one win on the road this season (6D,6L), a record I don’t see them improving on here against a Toney led Bees unit.
The match of the round comes cutesy of two underachieving juggernauts in Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Different manager, same old United it seems. The Red Devils enter this fixture as a club in crisis, rumours swirling around several players looking to bail from the forever sinking club, while past players have untied in criticising the current stock of talent, accusing their successors of lacking club spirit and fight.
Despite a couple of surprise losses, the Spurs have slowly trended upwards under the watchful eye of Conte, winning three of their last four league fixture at an aggregate of 12-3, with Harry Kane being directly involved in six of those strikes (5G,1A).
United are set to take the field without an established strike, with both Ronaldo and Cavani battling injury, while Rashfords drop in form leaves the goalscoring pressure on the shoulders of Bruno and Sancho.
It feels like United are only going to get worse before they get better, as such I’m jumping on the Spurs to take. massive leap towards UCL qualification with a win here.
Next up we’ve got the Saints v the Hornets, a real nation stopper…
Southampton are undefeated across their last seven fixtures against Watford (4W,3D), winning the last three meetings between the pair.
With just one win in their last 16 games, the Hornets look destined for the drop this season, a fate I am backing will become more certain after this fixture.
Newcastle’s newfound form will be put to the test when they travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday night.
The Toons have gone nine games without defeat in the league (6W,3D), though none of those fixtures have been against a top-four side.
Meanwhile, the Blues have only fallen to defeat twice across their last 23 matches in all comps, those losses narrowly came against Liverpool and City.
There’s a whole lot of noise surrounding Chelsea at the moment, as the UK Government has finally moved to put sanctions on the Russian-owned club.
With off-field distractions rife combined with Newcastle’s inflated confidence, I believe the visitors are every chance of pulling off an upset here.
The last ten PL meeting between this pair have finished with a winner and a loser, a trend I’m backing to continue with the Toons extending their fairytale run at what looks to be huge overs in the H2H market!
This is a clash between two extremely desperate clubs, and form suggests we should steer well clear!
Leeds recent form:
L L L L L L
Norwich recent form:
L L L L L L
If I could bet on both sides to lose here, I would.
With their season on the line, Leeds put up an absolutely dreadful performance against the Villans on Friday morning, creating just one real chance in a game they comfortably lost 3-0.
Alternatively, the Canaries took the fight to Chelsea, scoring the first league goals against the Blues in over 270 PL minutes, while creating several other scoring opportunities before eventually losing out 3-1.
While both teams taking the pitch are absolute trash, only one of them seems to be putting in a shift to keep the dream alive, once again I’ll be taking on the underdogs at massive overs.
How on earth are the Toffees favourites heading into this fixture!
Everton has lost six of their last seven league fixtures and are staring down the barrel of a fourth straight defeat without scoring a goal!
Rather than turn their season around, the arrival of Frank Lampard at Everton has accelerated the club’s plummet towards oblivion, so much so, that one of the longest-standing Prem sides are now a mere point above the drop zone!
The Wolves come into this fixture off the back of an impressive 4-0 performance against Watford and I’m backing them to dish out another walloping to fellow struggles Everton.
Finally a game worth watching!
The red hot Villans are set to travel to the capital to take on the simmering Hammers.
Aston Villa has won their last three fixture without conceding, as Gerrard secure a top-half finish on his return to the league.
Meanwhile, the Irons have won just once across their last four league outings (2D,1L), as their top-four aspirations slowly slip through their fingers.
West Ham will be without their player of the season, with Jarod Bowen set to miss some time through injury, a hammer blow to the Irons offense.
Both sides have looked defensively astute of late and with goals coming at a premium for the Hammers, I am more than happy to jump on the unders here.
The Gunners can take a huge step towards ending their six-year exile from the UCL with a victory over the reemerging Foxes.
Arsenal has won their last four league appearances by exactly one goal, with three of those fixtures seeing both teams score.
Meanwhile, Leicester has lost just once across their last seven fixtures in all comps (5W,1D), though they’ve had to contest over double the fixture of the Gunners over the past 6 weeks.
The return of Jamie Vardy from injury has helped the Foxes’ squad stand 10ft taller, with the veteran’s competitive nature and will to win lifting his teammates to another level.
This fixture could easily swing either way, but regardless of the result, both keepers are set to have their hands full here, with both teams to score and over 2.5 goals looking like great value @$2.10.
Game Week 29 comes to a close on Tuesday morning when Crystal Palace attempt to complete their first-ever league double over City.
This result seems wildly unlikely though, as Pep prepares to name a full-strength side after having starts to several squad players in City’s mid-week UCL clash.
Both teams to score has failed to hit during four of this pair’s last five meetings, while City’s last defeat at Selhurst Park came back in 2015 (7W,1D).
I’m not going to overcomplicate things here, with the Reds hot on their tail, City will be looking to produce a clinical performance at both ends of the ground and I’m backing them to do just that.