There was a big surprise in midweek. Man City actually won a game (apologies, City fans), as they comfortably saw off Forest 3-0 at the Etihad. There was also a thriller at St James’ Park where Newcastle and Liverpool played out a 3-3 draw, while Everton suddenly found their scoring boots, piling the pressure on Gary O’Neil after thumping Wolves 4-0.
The action doesn’t stop, let’s take a look at some games for this weekend.
Everton vs Liverpool
Details: Saturday, 7th December, 12.30 pm
What better way to kick off the weekend’s Premier League fixtures than with the 245th edition of the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park. Everton come into this with one of their most dominant wins under Sean Dyche. The worry for the Toffees all season has been a lack of goals, but those worries were put to one side for a night as they scored 4 at home to Wolves. Sure, two of those were own goals, but it will no doubt instil belief that they can score goals, something they will need on Saturday against their closest rivals.
It is difficult to tell whether Liverpool will be happy or unhappy with their draw at Newcastle on Wednesday. They were behind twice, but were leading heading into injury time before conceding a late leveller. One thing we do know is Mohammed Salah continues to be lethal, the Egyptian netting another two goals. Surely the club can get a new contract sorted with Salah, he is showing no signs of slowing down.
This fixture has caused Liverpool problems in recent years, and Derbies are always tricky to call. But, I think Liverpool will overcome all of the noise and secure a huge win.
Liverpool to win outright @ 2/5
Brentford vs Newcastle – Draw
Details: Saturday, 7th December, 3.00 pm
It was a difficult night for Brentford on Wednesday, as the Bees fell to a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa. It was an uncharacteristic performance from Thomas Frank’s men, who looked soft and were duly punished by Villa. They found themselves 3-0 down after just 34 minutes, with their former player Ollie Watkins also on the scoresheet from the penalty spot. They did have a better second half, getting a goal back through Mikkel Damsaard, but the damage was already done.
It was a very eventful night under the lights for Newcastle on Wednesday. There were loads of positives for Eddie Howe’s man but also quite a few negatives. After twice taking the lead, they were pegged back by Liverpool and were starting defeat in the face before Fabian Schar rescued a point in injury time. They took the game to the league leaders and scored a wonderful goal from Alexander Isak, proving they can go head to head with the best in the league. The key for Newcastle is doing it consistently.
Brentford are very good at home while Newcastle can be flaky away, I am going for a draw with over 2.5 goals.
Draw at 13/5
Aston Villa vs Southampton – Home Win
Details: Saturday, 7th December, 3.00 pm
There was a sense of relief around Villa Park following their 3-1 win over Brentford. There has been a lot of talk of Champions League football becoming a distraction for Villa in the league, with lots of criticism pouring down over their recent performances. They looked back on song during the week, though, racing into a 3-0 lead inside 35 minutes. You could see the confidence returning to the players and when on song Villa are a very good side, as they have proven since Unai Emery took the reigns.
Southampton had a bad night on Wednesday at home to Chelsea, going down 5-1 and seeing their captain for the night, Jack Stephens, sent off for a ridiculous hair pull on Marc Cucurella. It is the sort of undisciplined action manager Russell Martin really doesn’t need. They are already up against it, bottom of the league and were missing key players through suspension on Wednesday. They need all of their players available for the fight, and will need to be more difficult to play against than they were against Chelsea.
I expect Villa to make it two wins on the bounce.
Villa to win outright @ 2/5
Man Utd vs Nottingham Forest
It was a sobering night for Ruben Amorim at Arsenal on Wednesday, as his new team lost 2-0. The new manager insisted that he already knew there was a lot of work to do before the defeat, and the 90 minutes hasn’t changed anything. The truth is, Utd aren’t good enough to live with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool at the moment, Amorim will need time and his own players before that happens. He will keep finding out about which players he wants to move forward with, and which one’s may have to move on.
Although Forest lost to City on Wednesday, it has still been some start to the season for Nuno’s men. They look far stronger this year than at any time since they were promoted, as the club looks to establish itself in the Premier League. They can give anyone a game on their day, but perhaps they will be slightly concerned they have now lost to both Arsenal and City 3-0 recently. They will look to get back to being solid this weekend.
I think Utd will have enough at home to get three points in this one.
Man Utd to win outright @ 4/6
Premier League Week 15 Acca
I’m going with the favourites for the wins but am sitting on the fence in the Brentford v Newcastle game as I think that is really good value. Newcastle will be feeling better about themselves after a really good performance against Liverpool while Brentford are really good at home.
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