By Antony Jordan
There are just five matches remaining in the Premier League season for 2015/16 and this Saturday sees six matches that will mainly focus on the relegation battle at the foot of the league table as the top three sides do not play until tomorrow. The big story of the weekend is sure to be the first relegation of Aston Villa to the second tier in almost three decades as they’re away at Old Trafford and they could be relegated before kickoff should Norwich defeat Sunderland in the early game.
We preview these two games, plus all of the other four EPL games this Saturday, with online sportsbook 10Bet.com to provide our best EPL picks.
Norwich v Sunderland: 2.30 – 3.30 – 3.25
After collecting five points from their last three matches and moving seven points clear of the relegation zone Crystal Palace have left three teams battling for a single place remaining in the EPL for next season. The two sides in this Norwich v Sunderland match at Carrow Road, as well as Newcastle, are battling for their survival so this early game is the biggest relegation six pointer of the season and with both sides separated by four points, with Sunderland having a game in hand, both teams will be desperate to win this match to give themselves the best chance at avoiding relegation.
Norwich come into this match as the favourites to take all three points as they triumphed 3-1 at the Stadium of Light earlier this season and have beaten Newcastle as well as drawn with high flying West Ham and Manchester City in three of their last four home matches. Sunderland, on the other hand, have lost two and drawn four of their last six EPL games and are winless in five on the road but, to their credit, they have failed to score in just a single match away from home since October. With Norwich missing key defender Timm Klose for this match and Sunderland having a fully fit squad we can see this pattern of away goals continuing for the Black Cats and we’re backing goals at Carrow Road in this Saturday lunchtime.
Our best Norwich v Sunderland bet is back Both Teams to Score – Yes at odds of 1.90 with 10Bet.com.
Man United v Aston Villa: 1.23 – 6.15 – 15.00
If Norwich have won or drawn the first match of the day then this game will not matter for Aston Villa as they will be relegated to the Championship for the first time since the late 1980’s and, even if Sunderland can triumph at Carrow Road, with Villa having lost eight games in a row in the EPL before arriving at Old Trafford they are going to be relegated today. They have won just one of their matches at Old Trafford since 1983 and with their away record seeing 12 defeats and three draws away from Villa Park since the opening day of the season, when they defeated Bournemouth, we see this match being a comfortable home win for the side from the red half of Manchester.
Our top tip on this Man United v Aston Villa game is back the home side to win by at least two goals (Man United -1) @ 1.71 in the 10Bet Sportsbook!
Newcastle v Swansea: 2.25 – 3.40 – 3.30
Although they have a game in hand over Norwich, Newcastle are still second bottom of the Premier League at this late stage of the season and are six points from safety. They know that they must start winning matches if they are to save themselves as they have lost six of their last seven games and have just a single point in this time, and their extra game is against Manchester City so the outlook for The Magpies is bleak. Frustrations are overflowing at St. James’ Park as Daryl Janmaat is out of this game at home to Swansea with duel injuries as he injured his groin against Southampton last week then broke two fingers punching a wall in anger. They face a Swansea side that has lost just one of their last six matches and has been both Arsenal and Chelsea during this time, so do the away side offer value as the outsiders to win this match?
The Swans have taken seven points from their last three matches since suffering a 3-2 defeat away at Bournemouth and, after an awful start to the season, they are now 13th in the table and moving towards the top half of the league. They have a fully fit squad for this match but are inconsistent on the road with them having won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six away games. However, with goals in each of their last seven away matches we can see the Welsh side posing a number of questions to a poor Newcastle defence that has just one clean sheet in 17 matches since the start of December. As a result of this we are backing the away side to take something back to the Liberty Stadium.
We are backing Swansea to beat Newcastle on the Draw No Bet market at odds of 2.30 at 10Bet.
Chelsea v Man City: 2.65 – 3.40 – 2.65
Chelsea suffered their first defeat under interim manager Guus Hiddink last weekend as they were stunned by the in-form Swansea side at The Liberty Stadium and with them tenth in the league, nine points behind Manchester United in the final European qualification spot they have nothing left to play for in the league this season. The players will want to impress for incoming manager for next season Antonio Conte, but with them facing a Manchester City side riding the crest of a wave after securing their first ever Champions League semi final spot this weekend will the home side be able to bounce back from last weekend’s loss?
They do welcome back key striker Diego Costa as his three match ban has ended, although John Terry, Edin Hazard and Loic Remy are still all on the sidelines with injuries. City have a number of key players missing still with Vincent Kompany and Raheem Stirling both close to recovery, but this game has come to early for the Belgian defender and English midfielder.
Despite this historic result for City they are still inconsistent away from home in the league with just three wins on the road since September, but the side has been boosted by the return of Kevin De Bruyne recently with three goals in three starts since he returned and we feel that his stability and attacking ability will help City find the net at Stamford Bridge. With Costa returning for the home side we can see them causing problems for a City defence that does not do well without Kompany and, as such, we see goals in this match this weekend.
Our money is on Over 2.5 goals to be scored and Both Teams to Score – Yes @ 2.10.
Everton v Southampton: 2.65 – 3.30 – 2.75
There is considerable pressure on Everton manager Roberto Martinez at this time with fans calling for his head at the Merseyside club and you can understand why. Everton are a side that feature Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley, Gerard Deulofeu and attacking defenders such as Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman and John Stones yet are 12th in the Premier League table at this late stage of the season. They are without a win in five EPL matches and although they have these quality attacking players at their disposal have just a single goal in four games. Their home form has been terrible recently too with them having won just one match – against relegation threatened Newcastle – at Goodison Park since November when they claimed three points against other relegation threatened sides Aston Villa and Sunderland.
Their only win against a side that is not in the bottom three in the league this season came against Chelsea and although they are currently mid-table when Everton defeated them 3-1 in September they were near the foot of the table too. Today’s opponents are nowhere near the bottom of the table and with them just three points away from Manchester United in fifth place will still hold thoughts of reaching Europe next season.
The Saints come into this game having won three of their last four, losing only to top of the league Leicester, and while striker Charlie Austin is missing through injury the in-form Shane Long is raring to add to the goal he scored on his return last weekend. With Saido Mane and Graziano Pellé both scoring at the moment too, while Everton have doubts over Lukaku, Ross Barkley, Leighton Baines and Aaron Lennon for this game and James McCarthy is banned we cannot see anything but an away win at Goodison Park this weekend.
Our best bet on this Everton v Southampton match is back the away win at odds of 2.75 with 10Bet.com.
West Brom v Watford: 2.35 – 3.15 – 3.35
Although these two sides come into this match in 14th and 15th places they are 13 and 11 points above the relegation zone respectively and know that there is no chance of them being relegated. As a result of this we expect both side’s poor runs of form to continue in a match that will have no bearing on the table and will be described as having an “end of season” feel to it.
The Baggies are without a win three since defeating Manchester United at home six weeks ago, while Watford are focusing on the FA Cup right now and are without a win in two months, having collected two points from their last six matches.
With West Brom having won four and drawn two of their last seven at The Hawthorns while Watford having lost five of their last six away matches without scoring a goal in the league and are likely to make changes for this match with the FA Cup Semi Final against Crystal Palace next weekend we are backing the home win in this match.
Our top West Brom v Watford tip is back the home win @ 2.35 in the 10Bet Sportsbook!
EPL Picks:
Only one of our three picks came in last weekend as Bournemouth secured victory against Aston Villa, although Chelsea did not show against Swansea and Kevin De Bruyne did not start for Man City. This weekend’s three top EPL picks are as follows:
– Manchester United to beat Aston Villa by at least two goals @ 1.71. No matter who Villa have played recently they have been beaten and with United in excellent spirits after securing a place in the FA Cup semi finals during the week we see them exploiting the worst team in the league to cruise to victory and relegate the Midlanders.
– Southampton to beat Everton @ 2.75. Everton have won just three home matches all season and all of these came against sides near the bottom of the table at the time. The Saints are in fine form right now and will ease past an injury hit Everton team.
– West Brom to beat Watford @ 2.35. Watford will have their minds on the FA Cup semi finals next weekend as they arrive at The Hawthorns and with their poor away form combined with West Brom’s excellent home results recently this match will go the way of the home team.