By Antony Jordan
The final three matches from the 14th round of Premier League action play around the UK this Sunday afternoon and Monday night and all three matches look as if they’ll supply us with plenty of action, excitement and talking points. We preview all three of these end of weekend clashes with online sportsbook Bet365.com to provide the best EPL picks as the weekend ends and the new week begins.
Everton v Man United: 3.60 – 3.50 – 2.15
The away side in this clash at Goodison Park arrive on Merseyside in fine form having secured their passage to the League Cup semi-finals in midweek with a 4-1 thumping to West Ham to see them go five games unbeaten in all competitions. This will see them bring plenty of confidence to a ground that saw them triumph 3-0 last season, but the 20 time champions have seen several false dawns to the season already in this campaign so will their current form be another or can they close on the Champions League spots with back to back wins on this ground?
Jose Mourinho’s men will be boosted by the return of Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini after suspensions, but former Toffee Wayne Rooney is banned and Luke Shaw is a doubt after limping out of the cup win during the week. Everton see James McCarthy return from injury for this clash, but with just one win in nine are they in a good enough place to win this match?
They have won three and drawn three on home soil in the league this season, but two of the last three EPL games have seen 1-1 draws with struggling sides Crystal Palace and Swansea so this will certainly see United believe that they can secure all three points in this match. However, they have won just one of their last four away league games since winning at Hull in August and we are not confident of either of these sides winning this match. We do see both sides capable of both scoring and conceding on the blue half of Merseyside this Sunday and we’re backing goals this weekend.
Our best Everton v Man United bet is back Both Teams to Score – Yes @ 1.80
Bournemouth v Liverpool: 5.00 – 4.00 – 1.75
The away side that visits the south coast this Sunday has been dealt a massive blow as after leaving the pitch after 34 minutes of the 2-0 win over Sunderland last weekend it has been announced that key midfielder Philippe Coutinho has been ruled out for five weeks. He joins strikers Daniel Sturridge and Danny Ings on the sidelines but there is some good news for Jurgen Klopp as Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino could make a return for this clash at the Vitality Stadium, but will having some of the biggest names missing see Bournemouth upset the odds and win their first match in six against the title challenging side?
Liverpool won 1-0 at home on two occasions against Bournemouth last season in the league and cup before securing a 2-1 victory on this ground to make it three wins in a row away to The Cherries. They stand a good chance at securing all three points again despite their missing players in this match as Bournemouth have won just one of their last five games and have lost three of their last four. They welcome back Arsenal loanee Jack Wilshere for this match and they have been performing better than their results have suggested lately, but with five wins and two draws in seven away matches coming into this match we feel that Liverpool are too good for their hosts this Sunday and we see an away win on the south coast.
We are backing Liverpool to beat Bournemouth at odds of 1.75 with Bet365.
Middlesbrough v Hull: 1.83 – 3.50 – 5.25
The Monday Night Football this week is not going to fire the excitement of the neutrals as two newly promoted sides from the Championship clash at The Riverside looking to claim all three points and move away from the relegation zone. The visitors to Middlesbrough will arrive to this ground in confident form as their 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle and subsequent penalty shootout victory saw them make the semi-finals of the EFL Cup where they will do battle with Manchester United for a place in the final, but despite this they have suffered four successive defeats in EPL away matches since drawing at Burnley three months ago. They have conceded 15 goals and scored on just two occasions, but will the cup boost see them end this winless run this Monday?
Middlesbrough do not win many matches, with just a single victory in 12 matches, but only Chelsea have defeated them since the middle of October and they have taken six points from their last five matches, but with four defeats in their last five clashes The Riverside are ‘Boro just as incapable of winning this match as Hull are?
The home side do not score many goals in front of their own fans as they have scored just five times in six matches this season and their 2-0 win over Bournemouth is the only time they have netted more than a single goal on home soil. We feel that they are deserving of being the favourites to win this match, but we cannot back them at the price that Bet365 have them available at and we feel that the value on this MNF clash is on few goals to be scored just like all of the last five meetings of these two teams.