The highlight games for this weekend’s action are MAN CITY versus CRYSTAL PALACE and ARSENAL versus FULHAM. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these as well as all game week 4 matches with his unique and insightful commentary. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.
Please note all prices quoted below were correct at the time of publication
Game Week-4
Saturday 27th
SOUTHAMPTON v MANCHESTER UNITED
12.30 in England
BT Sport
Southampton upset the odds on Saturday, with it, also upsetting the Foxes faithful by inflicting a defeat on Leicester by a 2-1 away-day scoreline.
After a goalless 1st-half, it was Brendan’s Wonderful’s that took the lead, 10-minutes after the restart.
Che Adams, equalised for Wreck-It’s Saints before adding the winner with time running out, to give Southampton their first victory of this new campaign.
It’s a full set of results for Ralph Hasenhuttl and his boys, now having a loss, a draw and a win from the opening 3-games, leaving Southampton with 4-points from a possible 9 on offer, in the infancy of this season.
Manchester United excelled in the 1st-half against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday Night Football.
It’s been stated on numerous occasions in this EveryTip article that the opposition team and fans whether in the stadium or watching on the 55-inch at home just have to wait until the team sheet is handed in, an hour before kickoff to get an understanding of how United will perform.
In previous columns, John Newsome has made a few observations regarding Harry Maguire, the Captaincy of Harry, Luke Shaw, Cristiano Ronaldo and of course Fred.
So at 7.00 PM on Monday when the starting lineup was put out there, seeing that Harry, Luke, Cristiano and Fred were all on the bench, married with the fact that Liverpool were missing Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho, having James Milner and Jordan Henderson as the midfield pair, then the prospect of a Manchester United victory had greatly improved.
Jadon Sancho, who is a better player when not in Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow scored a superb individual goal to give United the lead after 16-minutes.
Scott McTominay is a different player without Fred at the side but overall the players were dynamic throughout the 1st-half with everyone working hard which didn’t happen at Brentford last week and in truth hasn’t happened for a long time.
It was the youngest Manchester United team in an age which showed.
Anthony Elanga was replaced at half-time with the other Anthony, him being Mr Martial, who played the ball to Marcus Rashford, 10-minutes into the restart where Marcus ran through to score a 2nd.
Liverpool did pull a goal back with 10-minutes remaining but with no further goals, Manchester United held on for what can easily be considered the best victory in 2-years and that’s not an exaggeration.
John Newsome doesn’t want to go over old ground tonight, it has been well documented in this EveryTip column as to the failings at Old Trafford, none more so than in last week’s Premier League Preview.
However, there is a sense of pride when one details a situation over some time and those details are borne out.
The superb victory against Liverpool by a 2-1 scoreline gives Manchester United a platform to build on and with a couple more players before the Transfer Window closes next week, Erik the Red could just turn around the fortunes of Manchester United.
Marcus Rashford, had a brilliant game as did every other United player.
The 2-opening losses added to this win, give United 3-points and lifts them out of the Bottom 3 and more importantly for the Red Devil faithful, above Liverpool.
Elon Musk said, ‘I’m buying Manchester United, ur welcome!’
Later exclaiming that it was false and a ‘Long running joke!’
‘Although if it were a team it would be Man U, they were my fav team as a kid.’
A little advice to Elon, don’t open with that on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.
Manchester United have signed Casemiro from Real Madrid, for a fee of £60 Million.
This looks to be the first real signing (pardon the pun) for Erik Ten Hag that the fans should be excited about.
The Brazilian is 30 years old, however, will be an upgrade on the current squad.
Granted, Real Madrid don’t want him and some of the United faithful will probably scoff, like they do but Manchester United are not able to shop at Harrods anymore, none of the up-and-coming youngsters want to come to Old Trafford because Erik’s team are not in the Champions League.
Casemiro is a talent, has 5-Champions League Winners medals, 3-FIFA World Club Winners medals and 3-La Liga Winners medals.
The only slight negative John Newsome can offer up is that Casemiro plays at the side of Fred in the Brazilian National Team.
Is Erik Ten Hag bringing in Cassie, to partner with the enigmatic Fred, as a partner to Scott McTominay or has Erik the Red another plan up his sleeve?
As mentioned last week, Lisandro Martinez could play in front of the Back-Line and Cassie could be in there too, meaning Fred and Scott spend time on the sidelines.
Regardless of what role Casemiro is to be deployed at Old Trafford, the Manchester United faithful should be upbeat as already stated, Cassie Casemiro is an upgrade on the current incumbents of the Red Devil Midfield shirt.
At St Mary’s last season, this fixture was a Game Week-2 affair that took place a week earlier in August 2021.
United, under the guidance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, gained a point against Wreck-Its Saints from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Fred scored an own goal after 30-minutes to gift Southampton the lead at the break.
Mason Greenwood equalised, soon after the restart and with no further goals, both shared the early points on offer.
The fixture at Old Trafford between these two, ended in a draw by a 1-1 scoreline too.
So don’t be surprised if today offers up a stalemate.
Betfred offer Southampton at 13/5, the draw at 11/4 and slight Odds On 10/11 for Manchester United to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Che Adams Scores Anytime and 11/8 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
Away Win 1-2- Get 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BRENTFORD v EVERTON
15.00 in England
Brentford suffered a defeat on Saturday, away against the West London rivals Fulham, at the new look Craven Cottage.
The home team took an early 2-goal lead before Christian Norgaard pulled a goal back for the Bees just before the half-time whistle.
Ivan Toney then scored the equaliser, midway through the 2nd-half and when it appeared that both would share the points, Fulham got the winning goal in the 90th minute to inflict a defeat on Thomas Frank’s Bees by a 3-2 scoreline.
Brentford have 4-points from the opening fixtures matching 4-teams (Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Chelsea) with a win, a draw and a loss from the 3-games played so far.
Frank Lampard’s Everton gained their first point of this 2022/23 Premier League season following a draw against Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park by a 1-1 score.
After a goalless 80-minutes, Forest scored the opener to take a late advantage, however, Demarai Gray equalised for the Toffees, 7-minutes later and with no further action, both shared the points.
After suffering defeats in the opening 2-fixtures, Frank’s Blues will be happy that there is a point on the board to kick-start the new campaign.
A single Ivan Toney goal midway through the 1st-half was the difference between these two teams at the Brentford Community Stadium back in November 2021, with Thomas Frank getting the better of Rafa Benitez by a 1-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Brentford at slight Odds On 19/20, the draw at 12/5 and 11/4 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Brian Mbeumo Scores Anytime and 23/10 that Brentford Win To Nil.
Home Win 2-0- Get 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BRIGHTON v LEEDS UNITED
15.00 in England
Brighton gained a brilliant away day victory against West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday, inflicting a defeat on the Hammers by a 2-0 score.
Manchester boy Danny Welbeck, who was deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford, was superb throughout the 90-minutes and earned a penalty after 20, that allowed Alexis Mac Allister to score from the spot.
Danny has played the full 90-minutes in the opening 3-fixtures for Brighton after being deemed surplus to requirements at the Emirates too.
Whilst the 31-year-old isn’t needed at the moment for Mikel Arteta’s Young Guns, the lad could definitely do a job for Erik the Red and his Sorry Devils, whatever colour shirt is on offer.
Graham Potter is getting the best out of the Striker, who hasn’t yet scored this term but is a vital cog in the Seagulls’ playing formation.
The movement offered up by Dan, allows space for others to manipulate as was shown in Brighton’s 2nd goal against West Ham on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard utilised the space created by Mr Welbeck to score a superb 2nd, midway through the 2nd-half.
The brilliant victory gives Graham Potter’s Wizards 7-points from 2-wins and a draw, the same as Man City, Leeds United and Tottenham, which is simply brilliant for the Seagulls, who hopefully will lay off from nicking chips from the punters on the Brighton front.
‘Chelsea, Chelsea are falling apart again, Chelsea, Chelsea are falling apart again!’
The Joy Division tune was in full flow once more at Elland Rd on Sunday, however, it wasn’t for the home team, it was aimed at the travelling Blues who were simply torn apart by Leeds United.
The Marching On Together crew witnessed their White Idols demolish Thomas’s Blue Engines and in truth were superb throughout the 90-minutes in the West Yorkshire Sunshine.
The American, Brenden Aaronson opened the scoring, following a horrendous error by the Chelsea goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy, who tried doing a Cruyff Turn on his own goal line that would have embarrassed the Dutch Legend having his turn being associated.
Brenden nipped in and took the ball off the ‘keeper and tapped into an empty net.
Rodrigo then got his head onto a Jack Harrison free-kick to score, giving Leeds United a comfortable lead at the break.
Jack Harrison has now assisted Rodrigo in every game of the season so far.
The new Harry Kane and Son Heung-min?
Jack sits joint-top of the Premier League Assists chart (3) while Rodrigo is top of the goal-scoring chart (4).
Rodrigo is only the 4th ever Leeds player to score in each of the club’s opening 3-League games of a Top Flight season, after Arthur Hydes in 1933/34, Mick Jones in 1968/69 and Patrick Bamford in 2020/21.
Jesse’s Whites had a 2-goal to nil advantage last week against Southampton but ended up with just a point when the Saints made a comeback.
This week, the Men In White weren’t going to allow the bad dog walker into Elland Rd.
Jack Harrison then scored himself after being influential throughout the 82-minutes on the pitch and with no further goals, Leeds held on for a memorable victory by a 3-0 scoreline.
The Marching On Together ditty was sung around the iconic stadium by 34,000 fans who all went off into the West Yorkshire sunset bound for the local drinking hostelries.
Before the Yorkshire puddings state that the attendance on Sunday was more than 36,000 at Elland Rd, there was a couple of thousand Chelsea faithful who obviously weren’t singing ‘Marching On Together.’
Although John Newsome does give Leeds United a bit of ribbing each week, the performance by Jesse Marsch’s Whites was superb throughout the game and thoroughly deserved the victory against a Chelsea team that had no answers and no idea.
Illan Meslier was a spectator for most of the game that did see a Red Card for Kalidou Koulibaly, late on in proceedings for 2-bookable offences.
It’s the first victory against Chelsea in the Premier League for 20 years, which is brilliant for the West Yorkshire puddings.
In that last win against the Blues, December 28th, 2002, James Milner, was one of the Leeds United goal scorers, aged 16 at the time.
That’s 2-wins and 1-draw, 7-points from a possible 9, which leaves Leeds United in the Champions League places after Game Week-3.
Marsching On Together!
When the Marching On Together crew ventured the long-distance South to the Amex for the Game Week-13 affair last season, the scorer wasn’t needed with Graham Potter’s Wizards and Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites unable to find the net, resulting in a draw by a 0-0 score.
Betfred offer Brighton at Odds On 17/20, the draw at 13/5 and 3/1 for Leeds United to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Rodrigo Scores Anytime and Evens 1/1 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
Draw 1-1- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
CHELSEA v LEICESTER
15.00 in England
‘Chelsea, Chelsea are falling apart again, Chelsea, Chelsea are falling apart again!’
It’s usually the away fans that sing this Joy Division tune to the Leeds United faithful at Elland Rd, however, on Sunday it was Thomas’s Blue Engines that fell apart with Jesse Marsch’s Whites inflicting a devastating defeat on Chelsea by a 3-0 scoreline.
Thomas Tuchel was on the touchline after having a one-game ban suspended for the time being, due to the handbags at Stamford Bridge last week.
TT chose Conor Gallagher to start in a Chelsea shirt for the first time but unfortunately for the youngster who excelled on loan at Crystal Palace last season, the plan didn’t work and the Blues were overrun in midfield without the legs of N’Golo Kante.
Kalidou Koulibaly received a Yellow Card in the 1st-half for grabbing hold of Brenden Aaronson which would come back to haunt the Big Defender later on.
Brenden then harried Edouard Mendy, who looked like a Giraffe on Ice with the ball at his feet and nicked the ball off the goalkeeper to tap into an empty net.
That incident was basically played out all over the pitch for 90-minutes which led to 2-further goals and the subsequent away day defeat.
Kalidou Koulibaly was later shown a 2nd-Yellow Card and ultimately a Red and an early bath, which means Thomas needs another Centre-Back for this game against Leicester.
Jesse Marsch and Leeds United could have inadvertently offered up a blueprint for other teams as to how to play against Chelsea.
As mentioned last week, the back-line of Chelsea is not young and although Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly are class players, Father Time does eventually catch up on everyone.
Jorginho needs ‘Kante-Legs’ around him, as does Mateo Kovacic.
Added to those little problems, there isn’t a focal point up front.
Is Kai Havertz the long-term solution?
Kai is a great player and Chelsea no doubt have great players in the squad but Leeds United weren’t just ‘lucky’ Jesse’s Whites had a game-plan that was executed perfectly, so other teams will at least look at that.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is rumoured to be returning to London if Chelsea and Barcelona can agree to a deal for the ex-Arsenal Striker.
Mr Aubameyang still has his superb home in the Capital which has been featured on MTV Cribs.
There was a stat floating around that the Leeds players ran a staggering 11 Kilometres more than the Chelsea players throughout the 90-minutes.
Chelsea are one of the ‘Full Set Posse’ with a win, a draw and a loss from the opening 3-games.
Leicester suffered a defeat on Saturday at the King Power Stadium against Southampton.
After a goalless 1st-half, James Maddison opened the scoring for the home side with a superb free-kick to give the Foxes faithful hopes of a much-needed victory.
Unfortunately, it was all Southampton from then on with the away team scoring twice to inflict the defeat on Brendan’s (not so) Wonderful’s by a 2-1 scoreline.
Wesley Fofana was left out of the game-day squad with ongoing speculation that Want-away-Wes is off to today’s opponents in the coming days.
This decision by Brendan Rodgers appeared to irk the ex-Fox and Match Of The Day host, Gary Lineker who wasn’t happy with the omission.
The lad won’t be playing today either.
Youri Tielemans was in the game-day squad but started on the bench being introduced by Mr Rodgers in the 65th minute.
Youri is another Fox that could be out of the King Power Stadium in the next 10-days before the Transfer Window closes on the 1st of September.
Leicester are 1 of 3-teams to have 2 losses and a draw from the opening 3 fixtures, with just a point, failing yet to record a win.
The Foxes faithful showed their displeasure at the final whistle, with a chorus of boos ringing around the stadium, disgruntled fans upset about the ongoings at their club, who appear to be losing players, yet are not recruiting.
That said, Jamie Vardy is going nowhere, after the Sheffield Superstar signed a 2-year extension to his contract, which will take the lad past his 37th birthday.
Blackburn won the Premier League in 1994/95 and are 1 of only 7-teams to have won the title but were relegated 4-years later in the 1998/99 season.
Leicester won the Premier League title in 2015/16, it’s been 6-years since that 5000/1 sensation but Blackburn’s relegation should be seen as a warning that a team who has won the Premier League can be relegated.
Blackburn did return to the Promised Land in 2001 and had a good 11 years but were once again relegated in 2011/12, never to return, even dropping down to the 3rd-tier at one point in 2017.
Leicester take note!
None of the other 5-clubs that are Premier League winners have been relegated.
Marcos Alonso scored to cancel out an earlier James Maddison goal, both before the half-time cup of tea, at Stamford Bridge in a rearranged affair back in May.
With no further goals, both shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Betfred offer Chelsea at Odds On 4/11, the draw at 19/5 and 7/1 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 3/1 that Jorginho Scores Anytime and 2/1 that Jamie Vardy Scores Anytime.
Home Win 2-1- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
LIVERPOOL v BOURNEMOUTH
15.00 in England
A rare 15.00 kickoff at Anfield for the Scousers sees Jurgen’s Reds host Scott’s Cherries.
Although a victory for Liverpool was predicted against Manchester United in this EveryTip column last week, it was based on who both managers put out as the starting lineup.
With Jurgen Klopp not having the services of Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Ibrahima Konate, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez, along with Erik Ten Hag switching up the United eleven, it was always going to be a tougher game than first predicted.
Liverpool conceded a goal in each half before Mo Salah scored to half the deficit with 10-minutes remaining.
Following a nervy end to proceedings, Jurgen’s Reds couldn’t find an equaliser, suffering a 1st-defeat of the campaign and a 1st-defeat in 2022.
That’s 2-draws and a loss from the 3-games played which isn’t what was expected, however, the Anfield Rappers shouldn’t be too dejected, as stated, there are mitigating circumstances with the missing players, not least the main missing player, him being Sadio Mane.
Obviously, Sadio isn’t coming back but once the others return, Liverpool will get back to winning ways.
Bournemouth suffered a defeat against Arsenal in the late Saturday afternoon kickoff at the Vitality, with the Gunners getting the victory by a 3-0 away day score.
In truth, although the Cherrys put up a fight, Mikel Arteta’s men were too strong for the Premier League new boys who have faced Aston Villa, Man City and Arsenal in the opening 3-fixtures.
One of those 3-teams is sat at the summit of the table having a 100% record.
Following tough games against Man City and Arsenal, the Premier League Fixture Compilers then throw in a trip to Anfield.
Four Stripes Scotty, as Mr Parker is affectionately known says,
Cheers PLFC!
It was March 2020, just before the Premier League was put on hold due to the Coronavirus situation, that Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth team last visited the Red half of Merseyside.
Callum Wilson scored first before goals by Mo Salah and Sade Mane gave Liverpool the lead at the break.
With no further goals in the 2nd half, Jurgen’s Reds gained the victory by a 2-1 score on their way to their 1st-Premier League title.
Bournemouth headed back to the Championship at the end of that particular campaign.
Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 1/12, the draw at 9/1 and 22/1 for Bournemouth to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 3/1 that Mo Salah Scores First and slight Odds On 1/2 that Liverpool Win To Nil.
Home Win 2-0- Get 5/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Illan Meslier- Leeds United
RIGHT-BACK- Diogo Dalot- Manchester United
CENTRE-BACK- William Saliba- Arsenal
CENTRE-BACK- Diego Llorente- Leeds United
LEFT-BACK- Tyrell Malacia- Manchester United
MIDFIELDER- Jack Harrison- Leeds United
MIDFIELDER- Martin Odegaard- Arsenal
MIDFIELDER- Allan Saint-Maximin- Newcastle
FORWARD- Che Adams- Southampton
FORWARD- Harry Kane- Tottenham
FORWARD- Rodrigo- Leeds United
STAR MAN- Jack Harrison- Leeds United
MAN CITY v CRYSTAL PALACE
15.00 in England
One thing is for certain when Pep’s High Flying Blues are on show and That’s Entertainment as Mr Weller would say.
Man City, paired against Newcastle on Sunday at St James Park, served up a superb post-Sunday Dinner football match offering up a 6-goal thriller.
Ilkay Gundogan found acres of space in the Newcastle penalty area to easily tap home after 5-minutes, from a Bernardo Silva assist, to give City an early lead.
Newcastle then scored twice before the half-time cup of tea and a 3rd soon after the restart to leave Pep’s Low Flyers trailing by 3 goals to 1.
Erling Haaland, who a certain Sergeant in Manchester stated,
‘Needs 5-chances, to score 1.’
To be fair, John Newsome couldn’t offer up an argument against, scored from one of the 5-chances to reduce the deficit.
It was then left to Man City’s best player on the day, Bernardo Silva to coolly slot home from a superb Kevin De Bruyne pass, that made the scores level and with no further goals, both shared the points from a brilliant draw by a 3-3 scoreline.
There’s talk (silly!) that Bernardo is not wanted at the Etihad and Pep Guardiola is looking to get rid of the Spaniard.
Not to tell Mr Guardiola what to do but this EveryTip contributor will just say to Pep,
‘Don’t sell Bernardo Silva!’
The lad is class and is needed in the Manchester rain.
The same ‘talk’ has been bandied about regarding John Stones, however, although regular readers will know John Newsome is a massive fan of his fellow Barnsley Boy, Mr Stones has to up his game or the lad will be on his way out of the Etihad.
There was a mantra in this column that went,
When John Stones plays, City don’t concede.
That is on hold at the moment as John played on Sunday, the first start of the season and City conceded 3-times when City hadn’t conceded a goal in the previous 2-fixtures without John Stones.
Added to that, the Barnsley Stone played in the disastrous England International against Hungary in June, where not only did Gareth’s tame Lions suffer a defeat by a 4-0 scoreline, John Stones was sent off following 2-Yellow Cards.
John Newsome mentioned to the Serg, whilst watching the Sunday afternoon showpiece from St James Park.
‘Imagine John Stones and Harry Maguire being the England Centre-Backs at the World Cup?’
Frightening.
If Gareth Southgate opts for those pairings, the only thing that’s ‘Coming Home’ are the England team, early!
More on the World Cup, from this EveryTip column at the beginning of November.
Pep’s High Flying Blues sit 2nd in the table, with 7-points, from 2-wins and a draw, the same as Tottenham, Leeds United and Brighton.
Two points adrift of Pep 2 and his Young Guns who are the only team left with a 100% record.
The Citizens are getting used to this 3.00 PM start time on a Saturday, with the 2nd mid-afternoon kickoff at the Etihad in succession.
Ricky’s ball and chain will be pleased, knowing that the lad will be doing the gardening on Sunday after she has been taken out for a nice meal on Saturday evening.
The Manchester youngster was at St James Park last Sunday so the weeds still need attending to.
Crystal Palace registered their 1st-victory of the campaign following a loss and a draw in the previous 2-games.
In Saturday’s fixture against Aston Villa at Selhurst Park, Wilfried Zaha was superb scoring the opening 2-Palace goals before Jean-Phillipe Mateta added a 3rd.
Villa had equalised Wilfried’s 1st-goal.
Mr Zaha’s 2nd resulted from a penalty that the Striker originally had brilliantly saved by the Villa goalkeeper but converted the rebound when the scores were level.
Patrick Vieira’s Eagles join 4-teams who have the full set of results from the opening 3-games played.
A loss, a draw and a win.
Crystal Palace inflicted a rare home defeat on Man City last season when Patrick’s Eagles gained the victory over Pep’s Low Flying Blues by a 2-0 away day scoreline.
Wilfried Zaha scored the opener after 6-minutes then just before the half-time whistle, Aymeric Laporte was shown a straight Red Card for a professional foul, bringing down Wilfried that was deemed as preventing a goal-scoring opportunity.
The 10-man of City did put up a fight but couldn’t get back into the game and with time running out, Conor Gallagher added a 2nd for Palace to give Mr Vieira the points over his former club.
Crystal Palace held out for a point from a goalless draw when Man City ventured to Selhurst Park, later on in the campaign so were unbeaten against the Premier League champions, gaining 4-points from a possible 6.
Betfred offer Man City at Odds On 1/7, the draw at 13/2 and 14/1 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/4 that Kevin De Bruyne Scores Anytime and slight Evens 1/1 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Home Win 3-1- Get 9/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
ARSENAL v FULHAM
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Arsenal gained the expected win against Bournemouth in the late Saturday afternoon kickoff with a couple of goals from Martin Odegaard before the break and a 2nd-half strike from William Saliba, giving the Gunners the victory by a 3-0 away day score.
Mikel Arteta’s Young Guns jumped above Man City to the summit of the Premier League, with Pep’s High Flying Blues playing their Game Week-3 fixture 24 hours later.
Following Man City’s draw against Newcastle, Arsenal sit proudly at the top of the Premier League table being the only team out of the 20 that have a 100% record, 3-wins from 3-games played.
There will be tougher fixtures to face but all that the Gunners can do is play the teams put in front of them and continue the form that is currently being offered up.
There is a catchy tune called ‘Tequila’ originally performed by The Champs back in the late 1950s that the Gooners sing referring to William Saliba.
There is simply a long tune followed by the word ‘Tequila’ which the Arsenal faithful replace with ‘Saliba!’
Inventive.
Fulham left it late to record a victory against Brentford on Saturday.
After goals from Bobby Decordova-Reid and Joao Palhinha had given Marco Silva’s men an early advantage with 20-minutes on the clock it looked like the home team would register an easy win, however, Brentford are renowned for coming back, scoring twice to level before that man Aleksandar Mitrovic headed the Cottagers winner in the 90th-minute.
It’s now a win and 2 draws on the record giving Fulham 5-points from the opening 3-fixtures
It was April 2021, when Scott Parker’s Fulham team last visited the Emirates.
After a goalless 1st-half, Josh Maja scored to give the Cottagers the lead before Eddie Nketiah equalised in the 97th minute to knock the stuffing out of Fulham who were moments away from a victory.
Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Betfred offer Arsenal at Odds On 3/10, the draw at 9/2 and 8/1 for Fulham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 3/1 that Gabriel Jesus Scores Two Plus Goals and 8/5 that Aleksandar Mitrovic Scores Anytime.
Home Win 3-1- Get 9/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 28th
ASTON VILLA v WEST HAM
14.00 in England
The Claret and Blues host The Claret and Blues.
Aston Villa suffered another away day defeat on Saturday, this time against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park by a 3-1 scoreline.
Ollie Watkins had scored after 5-minutes to give Stevie G’s Claret and Blues an early lead, however, it was then the Wilfried Zaha show, with Big Wilf scoring to take both teams in level at the break.
After Villa conceded a penalty, Wilfried then saw his tame spot-kick saved but unfortunately for the travelling Villains, the ball rebounded back to the Striker who tucked home to give the Eagles a 2nd-half lead.
Crystal Palace added a 3rd late on to inflict the defeat on Aston Villa, leaving Mr Gerrard’s boys with a win and 2 losses, meaning 3-points from a possible 9, the same as Manchester United and Bournemouth.
West Ham are now 3-from-3 in the loss column following Sunday’s defeat against Brighton at the London Stadium by a 3-0 score.
David Moyes Boys did play well in the defeat against Nottingham Forest last week, however, couldn’t improve on the display against Graham Potter’s Wizards.
David had brought in Thilo Kehrer from Paris Saint-Germain in midweek for a fee of £15 Million and thrust the German straight into the starting eleven against Brighton, however, Thilo, whose name is causing problems for Mr Moyes, had a nightmare start, giving away a penalty that allowed the away team to take the lead after 20-minutes.
Just call the lad ‘Max’ David!
West Ham conceded a 2nd after the break and with no further goals, the Hammers suffered the 3rd-defeat of the new campaign, leaving Moyes Boys with the Eurovision Nil-Points, now sitting at the foot of the Premier League table.
West Ham did get a victory in the 1st-leg of the Europa Conference League (still no idea?) inflicting defeat on the Danish club Viborg by a 3-1 score.
Gianluca Scamacca started and scored against Viborg but was dropped to the bench against Brighton.
If the Italian does well in the 2nd-leg, it might push David Moyes into starting the boy against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Whatever the lineup, Mr Moyes and his Hammers need an upturn in fortunes to get some Premier League points on the board.
The 2nd-leg over in Denmark takes place on Thursday before this fixture against Aston Villa.
It was the 31st of October 2021 when David Moyes West Ham last visited Villa Park to take on Dean Smith’s Aston Villa team.
It really was a Halloween Horror show for the home team with the Hammers inflicting a defeat on Villa by a 4-1 away day scoreline.
Ben Johnson scored 1st before Ollie Watkins equalised in the 34th minute.
Declan Rice scored a 2nd Hammers goal to restore West Ham’s lead going into the break.
Aston Villa were dealt a blow soon after the restart when Ezri Konza was shown a straight Red Card, leaving Villa a man light for 40-minutes.
Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen scored late on in proceedings to give West Ham the emphatic Claret and Blue bragging rights.
Dean Smith didn’t last much longer following the Halloween Horror and was down the concrete a game later after 5-defeats in a row.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at 6/5, the draw at 23/10 and 11/5 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred Offer 7/5 that Danny Ings Scores Anytime and slight Odds On 10/11 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
Draw 1-1- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
WOLVES v NEWCASTLE
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Wolves could consider themselves unlucky following Saturday’s defeat against Tottenham at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium by a 1-0 scoreline.
In the lunchtime kickoff, Bruno Lage set up his Gold and Blacks to harass the home team for the majority of the game and despite tremendous endeavour, there was 1-man that ultimately made the difference, him being Harry Kane.
Wolves couldn’t score, which has been a problem this term, with only 1-goal so far but there was a glimmer of hope for the Lage Louts with the reappearance of Raul Jimenez who got 30-minutes of game time following injury.
Bruno has brought in Matheus Nunes from Sporting Lisbon and Concalo Guedes from Valencia who both started against Tottenham.
Pep Guardiola rates the ex-Sporting player which begs the question, why hasn’t Mr Guardiola signed Matheus?
The Lage Louts won’t worry too much about that and should relish seeing Mr Nunes showcase his talent at Molineux before a Summer move to the Etihad.
Concalo had a great game against Spurs and both should improve a Wolves team that has just a point from the opening 3-fixtures.
Newcastle played in the fixture of the weekend, gaining a point against Man City at St James Park, from a very entertaining draw by a 3-3 score.
After conceding an early City goal, Miguel Almiron eventually had his bungled attempt confirmed as the equaliser.
‘Eventually’ because the linesman initially stated that someone was offside.
The dreaded VAR, who was watching Barry Hawkins take on Kyren Wilson in the European Snooker Masters, had to quickly switch back to the football and confirm that no Newcastle player was offside and the goal should be awarded.
Callum Wilson scored a 2nd-Magpies goal to give the home side a lead at the break.
Allan Saint-Maximin, who rivalled Bernardo Silva as the Man of the Match (John Newsome refuses to use the phrase, Player of the Match, which the PC brigade want to state!) provided the assist for both of the Newcastle goals.
After the break, the Bury Beckham and ex-Man City youth, Kieran Trippier scored a superb free-kick to give Newcastle a 2-goal advantage.
Kieran was shown a Red Card for a foul on Kevin De Bruyne but the Stockley Park gang, during the interval of the snooker, advised the on-field referee, Jarred Gillett, who is an overseas referee from the Australian A-League to have a look at the pitch-side monitor and downgrade the Red Card to a Yellow as the tackle wasn’t too bad.
Jarred didn’t add much injury time as the lad has a part-time job at the Manchester Walkabout and was due behind the bar on Sunday night.
Unfortunately for the Toon Army, their idols conceded 2-further City goals to ultimately see Newcastle gain a well-deserved point from a very entertaining draw.
Eddie and the Magpies have 5-points from a win and 2-draws which is a great start to the new campaign.
Newcastle have enquired about Jack Harrison but unless a fist full of Saudi Riyal is offered to the Leeds United hierarchy, it’s unlikely the lad will be heading to St James Park anytime soon.
However, as everyone knows, money does talk, especially if in a Saudi Arabian accent.
Steve Bruce was still at the Newcastle helm when the Magpies travelled to the Black Country last season.
Hwang Hee-Chan opened the scoring for Wolves after 20-minutes before Jeff Hendrick equalised to take both teams in level at the break.
Hwang Hee-Chan added his and Wolves 2nd on the hour-mark and with no further goals, Bruno Lage got the victory over Steve Bruce by a 2-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Wolves at 17/10, the draw at 11/5 and 8/5 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/5 that Bruno Guimaraes Scores Anytime and 3/1 that Newcastle Score in Both Halves.
Away Win 0-2- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
NOTTINGHAM FOREST v TOTTENHAM
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
The Teddy Sheringham Derby
Teddy scored Nottingham Forest’s first ever Premier League goal back in August 1992, against Liverpool, before being sold to Tottenham a few days later.
Steve Cooper has brought in another couple of signings this week, that’s 16 so far in this window.
Emmanuel Dennis comes in from Watford for a Transfer Fee of £20 Million.
The owner of Forest is a Greek Billionaire Shipping Magnate named Evangelos Marinakis, who has certainly spent a boatload of money (sorry) on Steve Cooper’s new Tricky Trees.
Added to the Dennis the Menace signing, Morgan Gibbs-White heads to the City Ground from Molineux for a fee which starts initially at £25 Million but could rise to around £42 Million.
Whilst Dennis the Menace is maybe a jovial name-take on the Beano Comic character, it has been rumoured that Emmanuel wasn’t the most popular in the Watford dressing room and is possibly a menace to his teammates.
That could just be hearsay and the Forest Faithful won’t care a jot if ED scores the goals that keep their beloved team in the Premier League.
Here’s a little extract that was in this EveryTip column, published 25th July 2022.
‘Wolves Morgan Gibbs-White is a possible target, with the Striker, who spent last season on loan at Bramall Lane, thought to be close to signing for Palace, however, new boys Nottingham Forest are also after Morgan which would mean that the lad doesn’t have to move houses, with Nottingham and Wolverhampton being close to each other.
Well, closer than Selhurst Park!
Frank Lampard’s Everton have also made a bid for young Morgan but Wolves rejected the £25 Million offer from the Toffees.’
Stick with EveryTip and John Newsome for all the latest news.
Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest which is not a contractual obligation to have stated in such a way, gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 scoreline, against Frank Lampard’s Everton, which is.
In Forest’s first visit to Goodison Park in 23-years on Saturday, there wasn’t much goal-mouth action for 80-minutes until Brennan Johnson scored to give the travelling Tricky Trees something to cheer.
Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last long when the Toffees equalised 6-minutes later and with no further goals both shared the points.
Forest join 4-other teams who have the full set of results from the opening 3 fixtures.
A loss, a win and a draw.
Known by absolutely no one as the ‘Full Set Posse!’
Not a bad start for the new boys with a certain Mr Clough sat upstairs, glass in hand and a broad smile on his face.
Nice one Young Man.
Tottenham looked lethargic in the early Saturday afternoon kickoff against Wolves at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium but despite labouring over the 90-minutes, it was left to the main man Harry Kane to score the only goal of the game to give Antonio’s Spurs the victory over Bruno’s Gold and Blacks by a 1-0 scoreline.
Mr Conte brought in Ivan Perisic in place of Ryan Sessegnon, switching the two in the 75th minute.
Ivan is a great player that has played in a World Cup Final and will need a few games to get up to speed, however, Tottenham did lack the energy that Ryan does provide, so maybe Mr Conte needs a different approach on how to use Mr Perisic.
The victory against a good Wolves team, gives Tottenham 7-points from 2-wins and a draw, matching Man City, Leeds United and Brighton.
It was April 1999 when Tottenham, managed by George Graham last ventured North to the City Ground for a Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest who had Ron Atkinson at the helm.
The lineups put out that day were,
Nottingham Forest-
Mark Crossley, Matthieu Louis-Jean, Richard Gough, Steve Chettle, Alan Rogers, Christian Edwards, Thierry Bonalair, Andy Johnson, Dougie Freedman, Neil Shipperley and Pierre Van Hooijdonk.
Substitutes-
Ian Woan for Thierry Bonalair 20th-minute
Stale Stensaas for Christian Edwards 73rd-minute
Marlon Harewood for Neil Shipperley 80th-minute
Tottenham-
Ian Walker, Stephen Carr, Sol Campbell, Luke Young, Mauricio Taricco, Steffen Freund, Allan Nielsen, Tim Sherwood, Chris Armstrong, Les Ferdinand and Steffen Iversen.
Substitutes-
Darren Anderton for Les Ferdinand 46th-minute
Steffen Iversen with the only goal of the game just after the hour mark gave Tottenham the away day victory by a 1-0 score.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 6/1, the draw at 10/3 and slight Odds On 4/9 for Tottenham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Son Heung-Min Scores First and 11/8 that Tottenham Win To Nil.
Away Win 0-2- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Game Week-4 (1997/98)
Wednesday, August 27th 1997
BARNSLEY v BOLTON
Oakwell
19.45 in England
Three days after the mauling by Gianluca Vialli and his Chelsea mates, the Super Reds were back at Oakwell to take on Bolton who had gained promotion to the Promised Land by finishing at the top of the Championship, with Barnsley in 2nd.
Crystal Palace were the 3rd-team promoted and came up via the playoffs.
Team Sheet-
Barnsley- David Watson, Nicky Eaden, Adie Moses, Arjan De Zeew, Matty Appleby, Darren Barnard, Neil Redfearn, Eric Tinkler, John Hendrie, Georgi Hristov and Clint Marcelle.
Substitutes-
Lars Leese for David Watson 36th-minute
Martin Bullock for Clint Marcelle 63rd-minute
Andy Liddell for Georgi Hristov 68th-minute
Bolton- Keith Branagan, Gudni Bergsson, Gerry Taggart, Robbie Elliott, Jimmy Phillips, Per Frandsen, Jamie Pollock, Scott Sellars, Alan Thompson, Nathan Blake and Peter Beardsley.
Substitutes-
Michael Johansen for Jamie Pollock 64th-minute
John McGinley for Robbie Elliott 85th-minute
Danny Wilson made a few changes to the starting lineup from the defeat against Chelsea, bringing in Matty Appleby for Darren Sheridan, Clint Marcelle replacing Martin Bullock and Georgi Hristov, in place of Paul Wilkinson, with the Macedonian making his first start for the Reds.
Eric Tinkler who was a South African International, that Barnsley had signed in the Summer of 1997 for a fee of around £650,000 from the Italian club, Cagliari, got his head onto a free-kick by Neil Redfearn and opened the scoring in the 12th-minute.
The ex-Newcastle, Liverpool, Everton (and Manchester United) Striker, Peter Beardsley equalised for Bolton on the half-hour mark.
Mr Beardsley doesn’t like to talk about his time at Old Trafford but actually played for United before his stint at Newcastle.
Peter was 36 in August 1997 but still a class player, always one step ahead of the rest.
Georgi Hristov then scored the Barnsley winner, just after the half-time cup of tea to get Danny Wilson’s Red and White Army back on track following Sunday’s humiliation at the hands of Ruud Gullit’s Blue Superstars.
Nowadays it’s rare that a home-grown lad helps get his hometown club, promoted to the Promised Land.
Back in 1997, Barnsley FC had 1-home-grown boy in the promotion team and a couple born a few miles outside the town.
Goalkeeper David Watson hails from Royston, a very working-class village in Barnsley that produces Men! Real Men, even some of the women are Men.
David now helps out at Southampton and has worked with England.
The lad from Royston hasn’t done too bad for himself.
Barnsley’s Right-Back Nicky Eaden comes from close to the town, as does Centre-Back Adie Moses, again born within spitting distance of Oakwell.
All played in the promotion-winning side and all started in the 1st-few games in the Premier League.
David suffered an injury in the game against Bolton and had to be replaced just after Mr Beardsley’s goal.
Danny Wilson sent on the German goalkeeper, Lars Leese, whom the Oakwell faithful quickly penned a natty terrace tune for,
‘Lars Leese, as big as trees, Lars Leese, as big as trees.’
Catchy!
Georgi was a character both on and off the field and regular readers will know what the Macedonian Striker got up to in the time the lad was in Barnsley.
This extract is taken from an EveryTip column published on May 29th 2020,
‘Most won’t be experts on the former Yugoslavian successor state football team Macedonia and most won’t have come across Mr Hristov, however, not only does this EveryTip contributor know about the Macedonian striker, John Newsome as met the guy and kicked the odd football about with the lad.
In 1997, Barnsley FC gained promotion to the Premier League and spent just one memorable season in the Top Flight.
A place in the Premier League now is worth in the region of around £160 Million, back in 1997, the prize was about £40 Million.
The Reds used some of that money to purchase a young Partisan Belgrade player aged 21 years old, called Georgi Hristov.
The youngster had scored 21 goals for the Serbian club and at £1.5 Million was Barnsley FC’s record signing.
Georgi Boy didn’t score many in the Premier League but did win a penalty, at Oakwell, against Michael Owen’s 12-man Liverpool in March 1998, where with only 8 men, Liverpool just managed a 3-2 victory scoring the winner in the last minute.
Liverpool had an extra-man wearing Black that day, rumours being, that he was Young Michael’s uncle.
(EveryTip’s All-Time Liverpool Best Eleven details the game) April 20th, 2020.
During the time at Oakwell Georgi only scored 8-goals one being in the 2000 Play-Off final against Ipswich Town.
It is fair to say that Hristov was injured a lot and only appeared 41-times for the Reds in 3-seasons.
Following the defeat in the Play-Off final and failure to get back to the Premier League, Georgi Boy left Barnsley.
At the start of his time in the Yorkshire town, Georgi spiced things up a bit off the pitch by calling the lovely ladies of Barnsley ‘ugly’.
Whilst not scoring many on the pitch, the lad did score an own-goal off it.
The Macedonia International striker who scored against England in the game Wayne Rooney scored his first goal, must be ruing the day he made public his feelings about the Barnsley girls.
Whilst back in Belgrade, Georgi Boy decided to do an interview with a local magazine and commented,
“I’m finding it difficult to find a girlfriend in Barnsley, or indeed settle into a decent way of life.”
“The local girls are far uglier than the ones back in Belgrade or Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, where I come from.”
“Our women are much prettier and besides, they don’t drink as much beer as the Barnsley girls do, which is something I don’t like at all.”
Georgi, Georgi, Georgi-what have you said?
The young ladies of the Town, whose football team were newly promoted, were not happy with Mr Hristov and challenged him to judge a beauty contest.
The local girls got together and Georgi judged.
In the end, the Mac Lad got a date with an older lady, who showed Georgi Boy, what the girls of Barnsley are really like.
To be fair to Georgi, he’s not wrong, the ladies do sup more than us.’
The antics of Georgi were nothing compared to life in Barnsley that a certain Bolton player, who was on show that night in August 1997, experienced back in 1990-95.
Gerry Taggart signed for Barnsley in 1990, coming in from Man City, aged 21.
The hierarchy, in their wisdom, placed Gerry in a hotel which was across from the Barnsley Bus Station and 50-yards away from the legendary Japanese Whispers Nightclub.
Mr Taggart soon became a Barnsley legend, even in his tender years and took advantage of the adulation that the good folk of the Town afforded him.
It’s fair to say on most nights, there were copious amounts of lager consumed in Whispers and a few female admirers got to see a nice hotel room close to Oakwell.
Nice one Gerry, however, although a club legend and revered in Barnsley, the Super Reds got the better of Bolton back in August 1997, where it’s rumoured, that after the game, GT was straight into the Nightclub to reminisce, so to speak.
Ooh Gerry, Gerry!
As mentioned previously, at the time John Newsome worked nights in the local Motorway Services, working 11.00 PM-07.00 AM.
Over the years, this EveryTip contributor has had numerous employment positions, mostly just jobs being a means to an end, however, the job at Woolley Edge Services between 1995-1997 was one of the best.
John wants to add that the Barnsley Boy hasn’t slept since but that’s by-the-by.
As an avid football fan, the job allowed John to make most games whether afternoon or evening fixtures, either home or away.
There were the odd occasion when the afternoon staff would be looking at their watches at 11.05 PM thinking,
‘Where’s that little so and so!’
On a Match-Evening, John Newsome would always arrive ‘close’ to 11, with a Barnsley FC scarf in hand, shouting,
‘You Reds!’
The period at Woolley Edge on nights, coincided with Barnsley’s Promotion Season, that John attended 39 out of 46 fixtures both home and away.
The games missed were away that John was working and couldn’t make it back to Barnsley for the 11.00 PM start.
Back in 1996, around September time, John was busy serving customers when a guy came to the counter, with a bottle of Coke, a Mars Bar and the Match magazine with David Beckham on the cover.
On looking up, the guy was the same person who was on the cover of the football magazine.
Mr David Beckham, who had just scored the wonder goal against Wimbledon was standing in front of John Newsome.
Nowadays it would offer up the chance of a Selfie but back then, there were no Camera phones (happier times!) it was a request for an autograph, which Mr Beckham kindly provided.
The lads’ dad was outside putting unleaded into an MGB Roadster.
Well everyone needs to fill up their car with juice at some point, Mr Beckham was no different.
That was 2-Wins and 2-Losses from the opening 4-Premier League fixtures for the Oakwell outfit, not a bad start to life in the Promised Land.
Home Win 2-1
Life in the Pub League is starting to become a 1-horse race following the weekend’s SPL fixtures.
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s Rangers could only manage a (lucky) draw against Hibernian (who?) on Saturday by a 2-2 away day scoreline.
Lucky, because the ‘Gers were awarded a very dubious penalty that was definitely influenced by the travelling Ibrox faithful with the referee instantly pointing to the spot just before the half-time Haggis Pie and Can of Tennents Extra.
Hibernian, surprisingly managed by Lee Johnson, the ex-Oldham, Barnsley, Bristol City and Sunderland manager, could consider themselves extremely unlucky and as Mr Johnson, who’s had more clubs than Tiger Woods, stated afterwards, the dreaded VAR, that will finally be introduced into the Scottish Premier League in December, would not have awarded the penalty.
Rangers saw John Lundstram and Alfredo Morelos both receive a Red Card and an early bath.
The loveable OzScot went missing following the Archbishops’ favourite scoreline and resurfaced a few days later to watch Rangers take on PSV Eindhoven in the 2nd-leg of the Champions League Final Qualifying round.
The tie is poised on a knife edge, following the 1st-leg at Ibrox that finished in a draw by a 2-2 score.
Luckily for the Teddy Bears, who will all be on the Ferry from Scotland over to the Netherlands, drinking paraffin, for the clash on Wednesday, the ‘away-goal’ rule has been scrapped now meaning the tie is level.
In the olden days, some would say ‘good’ and others ‘bad’, although the score of 2-2 is level, all PSV would have to do is match Rangers on the night and prevent the ‘Gers from scoring twice to progress to the Group Stages.
As this column will be completed before Wednesday evening’s 2nd leg, the result is unknown so more on that next week.
Celtic are now 4 from 4 in the win column following Sunday’s victory against Hearts (who?) by a 2-0 score.
Hearts, like Rangers on Saturday, had 2-men sent off.
It means that Ange Postecoglou’s Green and White Hoops sit on their own at the summit of the Pub League with 12-points, 2-more than the fierce Glasgow rivals.
Sir Roderick and Lennon are happy.
‘He’s Celtic, United but Ange has decided that Glasgow is the best place to be.’
Related Reading
Best betting site for accumulators
Bet365 review
Best cash-out betting sites
Best low or no minimum deposit betting sites