Sport
Premier League 1X2 Pick 10 preview GW14
Leicester v Man City
The Foxes upturn in form continued apace following a 4-0 thrashing of Wolves. Remarkably scoring with their only four shots in the opening 85 minutes. That win moved Brendan Rodgers’ men out of the relegation zone. A severe step up in class awaits here at the King Power however.
Erling Haaland plundered his 16th and 17th league goals of an incredible start to the season and Kevin De Bruyne chipped in with a sublime third goal as the Champions saw off the plucky Seagulls last Saturday. The Norwegian picked up a slight knock in the midweek 0-0 UCL draw with Dortmund and came off at half-time.
Haaland’s absence would make this assignment marginally easier for a revitalised Leicester but Pep should still have too many aces up his sleeve regardless. Away win – but maybe closer than we would have expected a couple of weeks ago!
Brighton v Chelsea
The Seagulls are still searching for their first win under new coach Roberto De Zerbi. His fifth attempt saw his side, by his own admission outclassed by Manchester City. Things are not getting a whole lot easier here.
In contrast the man De Zerbi replaced, Graham Potter has got off to a fantastic start in charge of the Stamford Bridge club. Unbeaten in his first nine fixtures across all competitions, winning six. A midweek trip to Salzburg saw the Blues both end the Austrian side’s 40-match unbeaten run at home and also secure their own UCL qualification to the knockout stages.
With the opposition boss knowing more about the home side than their own manager it would suggest an away win is the most likely result here despite Chelsea’s midweek exertions.
Bournemouth v Tottenham
After starting his role as Bournemouth manager with an unbeaten run of six matches, Gary O’Neil has now seen his side fall to successive defeats. The Cherries do not have a good record against the Big 6 so far this season. Defeats to Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool saw them ship 16 goals without managing to get on the scoresheet themselves. All three defeats were under Scott Parker’s watch however.
Spurs suffered late heartache on Wednesday as Harry Kane was denied a dramatic last-minute winner by VAR for offside. Antonio Conte pulled no punches when describing VAR as creating “big damage” and questioning whether the same outcome would have been reached had it been to rule out a vital goal for a “top team”.
Spurs to get back to winning ways and edge a tight encounter on the South Coast.
Newcastle v Aston Villa
Eddie Howe saw his side post a statement win on Sunday. Emerging victorious from a visit to Tottenham and breaking into the top 4 as a result. The Magpies also boast the best defence in the top flight, having leaked just 10 goals.
Villa’s players responded to the dismissal of Steven Gerrard with a rampant 4-0 thumping of Brentford under the stewardship of Aaron Danks. This will be the Caretaker Manager’s final game in charge regardless of the outcome with newly appointed Unai Emery set to take over on November 1st.
One defeat this season and just one loss at home in 2022 – both of which at the hands of Liverpool. St James Park really is a fortress again and I am taking the home side to have too much for the Villans here.
Crystal Palace v Southampton
It’s not often we’ve seen the Eagles easily beaten under Patrick Vieira. But the 3-0 loss at Goodison Park last weekend definitely falls into that category. A performance from his players the Palace boss described as being ‘second best in every department’.
Saints slowed down if not derailed the Arsenal train last weekend. A 1-1 draw with the league leaders extended his side’s unbeaten run to three games. Ralph Hasenhüttl will be looking for his side to follow up their first clean sheet of the season in their last road trip – a 1-0 win at Bournemouth.
Selhurst Park is a notoriously difficult place to visit, and Crystal Palace seem to have a happy knack of picking up wins against teams around them in the table. Three points for the home side here.
Brentford v Wolves
It was wrong place wrong time for the Bees last weekend. Arriving at Villa Park following the dismissal of Steven Gerrard, Brentford found themselves 3-0 down inside the opening 15 minutes and from there on the result was never in question. Something that was in question was the future of Thomas Frank but that speculation appears to have been quashed for now allowing all to concentrate on getting back to winning ways.
Wolves would appear to be the perfect visitors to do that. Just one point collected on the road so far this season having scored only twice. A 4-0 thumping at home by Leicester was hardly the perfect pick-me-up for a side now only off the bottom thanks to goal difference.
It’s three defeats from four games for Wolves’ interim manager Steve Davis but the Old Gold board have pledged he will remain in charge until the New Year. Brentford have a top-6 home record and will be too strong for this brittle Wanderers outfit here.
Fulham v Everton
The Cottagers have crept up the table pretty much un-noticed. Their 3-2 win away at Leeds on Sunday lifted them to 7th in the table and remarkably just three points outside the top 4. Marco Silva will undoubtedly be keen on exacting some revenge against his former employers here too.
The Toffees recorded a much-needed win at the weekend. Their 3-0 triumph over Crystal Palace halted a run of three successive defeats. For his next trick Frank Lampard must get his side to perform to a similar level on the road.
Everton have more EPL defeats in London than any other side (85) and have failed to win any of their last eight visits. That run to be extended here against this impressive Fulham side.
Liverpool v Leeds
The Reds bounced back from a disappointing loss at Nottingham Forest last weekend to soundly beat Ajax in Amsterdam on Wednesday and qualify for the knockout stages of the UCL. With a third league defeat recorded before the end of October – one more than the entirety of last season – it seems a cup competition is already Jurgen Klopp’s only hope of adding another piece of silverware to his time at the Anfield club.
The pressure is mounting on Jesse Marsch. A 3-2 home defeat to Fulham dropped his isde into the relegation zone and extended their winless run to eight games, six of which ending in defeat. The Whites have collected just one point from five road trips this term, losing each of the last four shipping 10 goals in the process.
It’s 29 home games unbeaten in the league for Liverpool with a goal difference of +57 – expect both those stats to improve come the full-time whistle here.
Arsenal v Nottingham Forest
The Gunners winning run came to an end with a 1-1 draw at Southampton and with it their lead cut at the top of the table to two points. Mikel Arteta’s side still posted a dominant first half performance and possibly will be kicking themselves they did not put the three points safe. Arsenal also missed the chance to seal top spot in their Europa League group following a midweek loss to PSV.
Rock bottom Forest sprung the surprise of the weekend with a shock 1-0 win over Liverpool. Back-to-back clean sheets has vindicated a change of system and tactic from Steve Cooper. As does a return of five points from those four games – and but for a missed penalty that tally would have been higher.
Forest will look to keep things tight against the league leaders – but with the attacking talent at their disposal expect Arsenal to find a way to claim all three points at the Emirates.
Man Utd v West Ham
Following what had been a fairly stale battle at the Bridge for Man United there was late drama. Following conceding what looked like a match deciding 86th minute penalty – converted by Jorginho. Casemiro chose the perfect time to open his scoring account for his new club when he nodded in a cross deep into injury time.
The Hammers continue their climb up the table as goals at the end of each half were enough to see off Bournemouth. David Moyes was delighted with both another clean sheet and also that a couple of decisions went his way. Now up into the top half West Ham will be aiming to keep upwardly mobile.
A very tough game to call in a match which often produces tight low scoring affairs. As a result, I will take the home side to shade this one by the odd goal.
