By Antony Jordan
Round 22 of the EPL season plays this weekend with seven matches kicking off on Saturday followed by another three on Sunday and even though the league leaders are in action on the second day of the match cards the eyes of the footballing world will be tuning in on Saturday for the biggest game of the round. Fifth placed Man City will need to defeat Tottenham Hotspur in Manchester or face being six points behind the second placed side, but with some poor results of late are they capable of taking victory?
We preview this massive top of the table clash, as well as all of the other six games playing this Saturday, with online sportsbook Bet365.com to provide our top EPL picks.
Man City v Tottenham: 2.10 – 3.40 – 3.60
Three points separate Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and second placed Tottenham Hotspur who lead the chasing pack and if the away side can continue their excellent form against the former EPL title winners that has seen them win all of the last three meetings between these sides then they will cut the gap at the top of the table to just four points. The Londoners triumphed 2-0 at White Hart Lane earlier this season as Dele Alli netted following an own goal from Aleksandr Kolarov as they put in one of their best performances of the season to see them remaining on a winning run against City since the end of the 2014/15 season, and with City suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat at Everton last weekend the capital city will fancy their chances at a fourth successive win.
Despite their issues, City have managed to win all of their last three home games against Watford, Arsenal and Burnley netting two goals in each of them and conceding one goal against the latter two sides as well. They have an issue with conceding goals this season for City and they come into this match with just one clean sheet in their last nine at The Etihad Stadium, and with their guests this weekend having the league’s best defensive record with just 14 goals conceded in 21 matches we feel that this could be tough for the Manchester side.
Tottenham have won seven matches in a row scoring 21 goals and conceding just three – and they ended Chelsea’s winning run to see them unable to break the record for most EPL match wins in a row. They have played many of these games on home soil but scored eight goals as they defeated Southampton and Watford 4-1 in their last two away matches and this coupled with their fine recent form, the frailty of Man City defensively and their winning record against their hosts this weekend leads us to believe that Tottenham will take something away from this match.
We are backing Tottenham/Draw Double Chance at The Etihad at odds of 1.75 with Bet365.com.
Liverpool v Swansea: 1.20 – 6.50 – 15.00
The weekend’s football kicks off at Anfield as the side sitting third in the top flight table aim to secure all three points against a team sitting rock bottom of the Premier League having moved onto their third manager in recent times. Paul Clement takes The Swans to Merseyside this Saturday lunchtime looking to secure all three points in revenge for the 2-1 defeat on home soil earlier this season, but with his first two matches in charge seeing Swansea lose to Hull in the FA Cup and Arsenal in the league with no goals scored and six conceded will they be able to see off one of the league’s most entertaining sides?
Swansea have not won at Anfield since the end of 2012 and they have never won here in the EPL with all of the five games played on this ground since that cup win more than four years ago seeing them defeated. They do have a slight advantage for this match as Liverpool were involved in an FA Cup third round replay in midweek and needed to see off Plymouth to progress but with nine wins and three draws in 12 matches in all competitions in front of The Kop it is the home side who are the deserved favourites to win this match. We believe that the home side have goals in them, with them netting 26 times in nine EPL matches on home soil, and we see them bagging plenty more as they cruise to victory against Swansea this Saturday too.
Back Liverpool to beat Swansea AND Over 3.5 goals to be scored @ 2.20 in the Bet365 Sportsbook!
Stoke v Man United: 6.00 – 4.00 – 1.57
Although only three places separate these two teams in the league, the away side at the Bet365 Stadium come into the match having recorded an extra 13 points this season and they are in impressive form right now too. Jose Mourinho’s team have won 12 and drawn four of their last 16 matches in all competitions to see themselves having gone from ‘also rans’ in the battle for the top four earlier in the season to within four points of fourth position itself, while they are also in the fourth round of the FA Cup, 90 minutes away from Wembley in the EFL Cup and into the knockout stages of the Europa League. Mourinho has United firing again and now they’ll looking to end a three match winless streak on this ground, but can they end it?
United have three clean sheets in their last four away games and have won five and drawn one of their last six away matches to leave themselves in fantastic form. Stoke have not done well against the biggest sides in the league this season and although they have beaten Watford and Sunderland in their last two matches they have failed to defeat anyone in the top nine of the league this season. We feel that this pattern will continue this weekend and we’re backing the away win in this one.
Our top Stoke v Man United tip is back Man United to win by at least two goals (Manchester United -1) at odds of 2.50 at The Bet365 Stadium.
Crystal Palace v Everton: 3.20 – 3.25 – 2.30
Everton turned on the style last time around as they gave Pep Guardiola and Manchester City a harsh lesson on life in the Premier League with a thumping 4-0 victory at Goodison Park to see them having taken ten points in three wins and a draw from their last four matches in the league, but can they do that again this weekend? They have not had the best of times on the road this season with them managing just one point between the end of September and the end of 2016. They have taken four points by beating Leicester and drawing with Hull in their last two away matches, but can they go three unbeaten away from Merseyside against the struggling Eagles?
Sam Allardyce’s return to Premier League football management has not gone so well so far as five EPL matches have seen two draws and three losses. However, they did get their first win in their midweek as they saw off League One Bolton, who are one of Allardyce’s former clubs, in an FA Cup replay but if they are to build on this they need to start at the back as Palace have recorded just one clean sheet in the league all season. The signing of Jeffrey Schlupp from Leicester will help tighten things up for the home side in this South London clash, but will it be enough? We feel that this match could go either way so we’re not confident in backing the outright market, so we’re focusing on goals as both of these teams concede goals and are capable of finding the net too.
We are backing Both Teams to Score – Yes in this Crystal Palace v Everton match @ 1.80 at Bet365.
Middlesbrough v West Ham: 2.45 – 3.25 – 3.00
West Ham come into this clash with Middlesbrough having not lost a match against the side from the North of the country since 2009 when they were defeated in a 5th round replay in the FA Cup and after bouncing back from a three match losing streak against Crystal Palace last weekend they will be hopeful of ensuring that they do not fall back to losing ways this Saturday. However, with just one win away from home in the league since the middle of October – and that against bottom of the league Swansea – as well as being very inconsistent both home and away are The Hammers good enough to take all three points in this match?
Bet365 do not believe so and the home form for Middlesbrough backs this up too as they have lost just two of their last seven matches at The Riverside as Chelsea and Liverpool took all three points but these two defeats are the only times that they have conceded on home soil since the middle of October too. With these five clean sheets and they stand a good chance of getting some points against a poor and out of sorts West Ham team. As a result of this we are backing the home win in this match.
Our money is on Middlesbrough to beat West Ham at odds of 2.45.
West Brom v Sunderland: 1.70 – 3.70 – 5.25
While the odds are suggesting a comfortable home win for The Baggies in this match four of the last five clashes between these sides have ended level and the singular win for West Brom saw them take all three points with a 1-0 win on this ground. Despite the sides sharing the spoils so often West Brom are in excellent form in front of their own fans this season with four wins in their last five and only three defeats in ten at The Hawthorns all season. They deserve to be the favourites but can Sunderland take at another point to help fight against relegation?
Their form does not look good right now with just one point taken in their last four EPL games and they have lost all of their last four road trips in the league. They have conceded 12 goals in these games and scored just two and while two of these matches were against Liverpool and Man United they were also defeated by three goals at Swansea and Burnley. We feel that the home win offers excellent value at The Hawthorns and this is the way we are going on this Midlands based clash.
Our best bet on this West Brom v Sunderland game is back the home win @ 1.70 in the Bet365 Sportsbook!
Bournemouth v Watford: 1.75 – 3.50 – 4.75
Just three places in the EPL and two points separate Bournemouth and Watford coming into this Saturday’s clash that sees both sides looking to claim a first win in this time in four meetings as they have shared the spoils in all of the three top flight encounters they have played so far. They have, in fact, drawn five of the last six clashes and with Bournemouth winning the other game 2-0 on home soil they are unbeaten against Watford in three and a half years but with them conceding three goals in three of their last four home matches despite losing just one of these, will their shaky defence let them down this weekend?
Luckily for The Cherries, they face a Watford side currently stuck in a rut with four defeats and two draws in their last six matches and on runs of five successive defeats away from home with the last three of those seeing them fail to score, including against Sunderland and Stoke. They are certainly in trouble at the moment and with Bournemouth both scoring and conceding goals in large numbers with nine scored and conceded in their last four at home we can see them having the edge in this match.
Our top tip for this Bournemouth v Watford match is back the home win at odds of 1.75 with Bet365.com.
EPL Picks:
With seven games playing this Saturday there is much to review, so we’re continuing to post our trio of favourite bets that we’ll certainly be backing from the action on this opening day of the weekend’s football.
- West Brom to beat Sunderland @ 1.70 – Sunderland are so very poor on the road this season that we could not see them beating anyone, let alone a team that has won four of their last five home matches. A home win is certain for us in this clash.
- Both Teams to Score – Yes in Crystal Palace v Everton @ 1.80 – Neither of these sides have excelled defensively this season but both contain plenty of attacking threat and as a result of this one of our top EPL picks is for goals from both sides in this clash.
- Tottenham/Draw Double Chance v Man City @ 1.75 – Tottenham are a side on the rise and Man City are in trouble right now, especially after their 4-0 loss at Everton last weekend, and with Tottenham having won all of the last three meetings between these sides we feel that them to get something from this match offers outstanding value.