The Premier League returns this weekend after a brief and unwelcomed FA Cup spell.
Chelsea is set to roll out a billion dollars worth of January signings in the opening fixture against Fulham, a game they’ll be fortunate to win.
Elsewhere, Sean Dyche’s first fixture in charge of Everton will be against run-away league leaders Arsenal, +/- 2.5 minutes before we see the first Toffee’s long ball.
Our in-house offside oracle has previewed every Game Week 22 fixture, providing his best betting plays below!
Chelsea and Fulham meet for the second time in two weeks, with Fulham looking to complete a rare double over their London rivals, actually, if victorious, this will be the first sweep for Fulham and just their third league win over the Blues!
Since defeating at Craven Cottage, the Blues have gone on to win 1-0 against Crystal Palace before playing out a 0-0 stinker against fellow strugglers Liverpool.
One shining light in Chelsea’s dull performance at Anfield was the introduction of rising star Mykhailo Mudryk, who looked electrifying for the 30 minutes he was on the pitch.
Despite a slight uptick in form from the Blues, they have been majorly underperforming.
In contrast, Fulham is flying, and with the return of big man Mitrovic, I can see them causing this unsettled Chelsea outfit a lot of grief!
Aspiring champs, the Gunners can open up an 8-point lead over reigning champs Man City should they collect all three points away to relegation-threatened Everton.
This is the first time these sides have met this season, with Everton actually laying claim to three of the last four PL outings (1L).
Despite recent H2H dominance, the Toffees have no right to come away with anything here, though the sacking of Lampard will only serve to help this languishing club.
I’m backing the Gunners to win this one comfortably, with Jordan Pickford’s net to cop a battering.
The Bees welcome the Saints to Brentford Community Stadium as they look to extend their unbeaten run to nine league games!
Alternatively, Southampton has lost seven of their last eight PL fixtures, with their only victory coming against fellow cellar dwellers Everton.
I’m backing the Bees to get the job done comfortably at home, pushing the Saints ever closer to relegation.
Brighton managed to escape the January transfer window without having their side completely gutted by the Premier League big spenders!
This bodes well entering their contest against the Cherries, who have claimed just one point from their last five league outings.
Bournemouth holds the worst away record in the league, earning just 5 points from a possible 30 (1W,2D,7L).
13 of Brighton’s 19 fixtures have seen over 2.5 goals scored, with only fixtures featuring Man City averaging more goals scored (3.7).
Two struggling outfits in Wolverhampton and Liverpool are set to meet for the third time in three weeks after facing off twice in the FA Cup.
Liverpool eventually surfaced triumphantly in the 3rd round matchup, claiming a 1-0 victory in a replay following a 2-2 draw.
The Reds’ offensive woes continue to be exposed, scoring just twice across their last four competitive fixtures, though their defense has come to the rescue of late, keeping two clean sheets, as many as they had managed in over their previous 12 games.
With both sides struggling to find avenues to goal, I’m backing the unders to salute at what looks to be a generous price.
HARRY SOUTTAR!!!
Leicester’s defensive frailties have all but been resolved by the signing of Socceroos center back and all-round legend Harry Souttar.
I’m so confident in this man’s ability to put on a defensive masterclass that I’m backing the Foxes to turn around a poor run of form and win to nill away from home!
Man United look to get back to winning ways when they welcome Crystal Palace to Old Trafford.
This pair met in game week 20, with the Eagles snatching a last-gasp drawer at home, thanks to a spectacular dead ball strike from Olise.
Both sides followed up that stalemate with defeats against league leaders Arsenal and Man City, though United arguably put forward an improved performance.
After scoring against Reading in the FA Cup last weekend, Marcus Rashford became the first United player to score in 10 consecutive fixtures at Old Trafford!
I’m backing Rashford’s purple spell at home to continue here, with the no. 10 scoring again on the way to a Red Devils victory.
The Toon are out to go 16 league games without defeat when they play host to the Hammers on Sunday morning (AEST).
Alternatively, West Ham is bidding to secure back-to-back wins for just the 2nd time this season after overcoming fellow strugglers Everton in the “el Sacko” derby last game week.
Despite a win last time out, the Hammers have looked rank ordinary against decent teams this season, claiming just one point against current top-six sides (1D,4L).
Concernedly, the Toon has only managed one goal across their last four league outings, luckily their defense has been sturdier than fort knox, allowing ZERO goals over their last six EPL fixtures.
I’m backing Newcastle’s defense to hold tight once again, allowing their side to win to nil for the 7th time this season.
Two sides who made a splash in the January transfer window are set to show off their new toys as they take to the field in Nottingham.
Despite sitting 15th, Leeds has shown signs of improvement of late, carving out drawers in three of their last four league fixtures, including a 0-0 result against the Toon.
Alternatively, Forest has only lost two of their last 10 PL games (4W,4D), climbing from dead last to 13th, just eight points shy of the top half.
Not much separates the quality on the pitch between these two sides, and I’m backing the scoreline to reflect that here.
The Spurs suffered their heaviest defeat in Game Week 20, going down to City 4-2 despite leading 2-0 at the break.
Since halftime of that fixture, the Citizen has looked like a different beast, responding to criticism from Pep, the Sky Blues steamrolled the Wolves 3-0 before defeating the Gunners 1-0 in the FA Cup.
This doesn’t bode well for the Spurs who have claimed zero points against sides above them on the league table (5L).
I’m backing City to begin their title charge with another dominant performance over the sorry Spurs here, with Marhez popping up for his third goal in as many games!