The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are MANCHESTER UNITED versus BRENTFORD and LIVERPOOL versus CHELSEA. Our feature columnist, John Newsome, previews these and all game week 8 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-8
Saturday 19th
TOTTENHAM v WEST HAM
12.30 in England
TNT Sports
After gaining a superb victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford the previous week, Tottenham were once again on their travels and took on Brighton at the Amex before the International Break.
Goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison gave Ange’s Spurs a comfortable lead at the break and back-to-back away victories were on the cards.
Not so, the term ‘Spursy’ is often used to describe Tottenham as flakey and ‘Spursy Spurs’ were just that in the 2nd-half against Fab’s Seagulls who scored 3 goals in the space of 18 minutes to inflict a devastating defeat on Ange Postecoglou’s boys by a 3-2 scoreline.
Ange was literally in a daze doing the post-match interview, not knowing what had just happened.
Spursy Spurs sit in 9th place with the same 10 points as Nottingham Forest and Brentford from the initial 7 games completed.
West Ham hammered Ipswich at the London Stadium on Saturday.
Kalvin Phillips, who had a disastrous spell on loan in the Capital last season, must have thought he was still in a Claret and Blues shirt when gifting Jarrod Bowen the ball in the opening minute, which led to JB passing to Michail Antonio who scored the opener.
Cheers Kalvin!
Ipswich did equalise the first goal but Mohammed Kudos scored just before the break to give the Bubbles faithful a nice half-time Pie and Pint, even though that combination is the priciest in the Premier League at £11.30.
Jarrod got on the scoresheet himself just after the restart, scoring West Ham’s 3rd before having another assist, passing to Lucas Paqueta to tap home a 4th.
With no further goals, West Ham gained the home victory over Ipswich by a 4-1 scoreline.
That leaves Julen Lopetegui’s Hammers in 12th place with the same 8 points as Bournemouth and Manchester United.
West Ham gained an away day victory against Tottenham in last season’s encounter at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium.
Cristian Romero scored first for the home team to give Ange’s Spurs a lead at the break.
Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse then scored for the Hammers in the 2nd-half to give David Moyes’ Boys the points from a 2-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Tottenham at Odds On 4/9, the Draw at 18/5 and 9/2 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/1 that Brennan Johnson Scores First and 5/2 that Jarrod Bowen Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 3-1- Get 9/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
FULHAM v ASTON VILLA
15.00 in England
Marco Silva’s Cottagers put in a great display against Pep’s High Flying Blues at the Etihad before the Internationals and if not for a couple of saves from Ederson, could quite easily have come away with a victory.
However, despite Andreas Pereira scoring 1st then Rodrigo Muniz adding a 2nd late on, the 3 goals scored in between by Man City, ultimately meant that Fulham suffered an away day defeat by a 3-2 scoreline.
Andreas’s goal was a thing of beauty, with Raul Jimenez supplying a superb backheel that took the City Defence out of the game and allowed the ex-Manchester United Midfielder to tap home.
Adama Traore had 2 great chances to score but as mentioned, both were saved by Ederson.
It’s often assumed that Kyle Walker is one of the fastest players in the Premier League and that is the case, however, Adama showed that he was quicker when the two had a foot race over 40 metres, with AT giving KW a 3-metre start.
Mr Traore blew Mr Walker away but couldn’t score past the City ‘Keeper.
Despite the defeat, Fulham showed they were capable of matching Man City and the travelling faithful should be proud of their boys in White and Black.
Fulham sit in 8th place with 11 points from the opening 7 games and if the team continue without injuries, could quite easily gain a European place in May.
Aston Villa were held to a goalless draw against Manchester United before the International Break.
Unai’s Claret and Blues had just gained a monumental victory over Bayern Munich a few days earlier and it could be seen that the performance against United was a bit of a comedown from that win.
Villa won the European Cup back in 1982, inflicting a defeat on Bayern by a 1-0 score, with Peter Withe getting the goal.
Forty-two years later, in only the 2nd meeting between the two clubs, Aston Villa got the win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League-League Phase by the same 1-0 score, with the Wild Boy Jhon Duran getting the goal.
It could have been assumed that Jhon would have started against United but again, the lad was left on the bench and introduced by Mr Emery in the 63rd minute which seems to be the norm at the moment.
Unfortunately, Mr Duran couldn’t continue his scoring streak with both teams failing to find the back of the net and eventually sharing the points.
Aston Villa sit in 5th place with the same 14 points as Chelsea from the opening 7 fixtures.
It was Aston Villa who gained the victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage last season.
Ollie Watkins scored twice, with a goal either side of the break to give Villa a lead going into the last half-hour.
Rodrigo Muniz did pull a goal back for the home team but time ran out and Unai’s Claret and Blues got the win over Marco’s Cottagers by a 2-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Fulham at 13/10, the Draw at 12/5 and 15/8 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 100/30 that Adama Traore Scores Anytime and 11/4 that Jhon Duran Scores Anytime.
Draw 1-1- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
IPSWICH v EVERTON
15.00 in England
After a run of 4 draws, Ipswich succumbed to a defeat against West Ham at the London Stadium last time out.
The ex-Hammers loanee, Kalvin Phillips must have thought he was still a Bubble when giving the ball away 49 seconds into the start of the game, which led to the opening goal for West Ham.
Cheers KP!
Liam Delap did equalise for the Tractor Boys, however, Ipswich then conceded a further 3 goals to ultimately suffer the away day loss by a 4-1 scoreline.
Maybe the International Break came at the right time for Kieran McKenna who gets a fortnight to regroup his players.
Ipswich sit just above the relegation zone in 17th with 4 points from the 4 draws out of the 7 games completed.
Everton gained a point from a draw by a 0-0 score against Newcastle at Goodison Park before the break.
Newcastle did have the opportunity to score from the penalty spot when James Tarkowski brought down Sandro Tonali.
The ex-Toffee Anthony Gordon, who was greeted with a chorus of boos whilst going through his ‘process’ saw his kick saved by Jordan Pickford.
The two probably had a good laugh about that when meeting up with the England team for the games against Greece and Finland.
With no further goals, both teams shared the points leaving Everton a place and a point ahead of today’s hosts, sitting in 16th place with 5 points from the 7 games played.
News came through on the day before the fixture between England and Greece that the ex-Sheffield United player George Baldock, who although born in England, was of Greek descent and played a couple of games for the Greece National Team, had sadly died in Athens where the Defender was now playing, after signing for the Greek club Panathinaikos, following the lads spell at Bramall Lane.
Rest In Peace, George Baldock.
It was virtually 24 years ago to the day when Everton last visited Portman Rd to take on Ipswich.
October 13th, 2001 saw both teams share the points from a draw by a 0-0 score.
Not much more can be said about that particular game, other than the scoreline today, may not be much different.
Betfred offer Ipswich at 13/10, the Draw at 23/10 and 15/8 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/5 that Both Teams DON’T Score and 11/4 that there are Under 1.5 Goals.
Away Win 0-1- Get 9/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
MANCHESTER UNITED v BRENTFORD
15.00 in England
Although an Aston Villa win was predicted in this EveryTip column last time out, once the team sheet came through around an hour before kick-off, it was clear that Erik Ten Hag was intent on not losing.
Winning the game would just have been a bonus.
In the week leading up to the game at Villa Park, Manchester United gained an away day draw in the Europa League against Porto by a 3-3 scoreline.
What was disappointing for the Red Devils was that Erik’s Ten Bobs had taken a 2-goal lead, then conceded 3, before Harry Maguire scored the late equaliser.
Erik chose Harry and Jonny Evans as his Centre-Backs against Villa, dropping Matthijs De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez to the bench.
Whilst not wanting to get too involved with the workings of Erik Ten Hag, the Dutchman knew that it was a last-chance game to try and keep his job.
Matthijs isn’t a bad player and may come good over time but needs to get acclimatised to the Premier League.
The lads only 25, so plenty of time still.
Lisandro Martinez is 26 and no doubt a great player but are teams now working out how to play against the little guy, who, let’s face it, is a small Centre-Back.
Erik Ten Hag knew that Jonny and Harry were more than likely going to be a better option against Villa than Matthijs and Lisandro.
One says ‘more than likely’ as nothing in football is guaranteed.
The stats say that it was the right call as Aston Villa only had 1 ‘SOT’ (Shot On Target).
A gritty performance from United produced a draw from a 0-0 score, or as the Gallaghers say, a goalless draw.
Despite probably one of the best performances of the season so far, United dropped to 14th in the Premier League table from the opening 7 games, with the same 8 points as Bournemouth and West Ham.
United have only conceded 8 goals which is the same amount as Man City in 2nd and Chelsea in 4th and less than Aston Villa (5th) who have conceded 9 and Brighton (6th) conceding 10, however, the problem comes from not scoring with just 5 goals in the 7 fixtures and 3 of those came against Southampton.
There was a meeting with the Manchester United owners and hierarchy on the 8th of October but apparently, the future of Erik Ten Hag wasn’t on the agenda.
That is hard to believe but at the moment, Erik is still the United Manager.
There was a rumour that the hierarchy at Old Trafford had offered the job to the Inter Milan Manager Simone Inzaghi, to start in the International Break, however, like Amy Winehouse going into ‘Rehab’ the Italian said ‘No, No, No!’
Is the position a ‘Poison Challis’?
That is the opinion of the Manchester Ball Thrower, (he’s not throwing Sticks anymore) who commented,
‘Poison challis.
Too many on £300 K per week who are not good enough and disrupting the rest of the team.
The next one they set on will be the Coach only not the Manager, so not many will want the job!’
One cannot really argue with that.
The idea that a draw by a 3-3 score against Porto followed by a goalless draw with an Aston Villa team that had just gained a victory over Bayern Munich and were sort of playing in an ‘after the Lord Mayor’s parade’ situation, should offer Erik a reprieve is just bizarre, especially as it extends United’s winless run to five in all competitions.
Not that the results really ought to be relevant.
As it should either be, Erik is shown the door or is told that he’s the Manager and to crack on.
Everyone harps on about the infamous Nottingham Forest v Manchester United FA Cup tie back in 1990 that saw Mark Robins score the solitary winning goal which supposedly kept Sir Alex Ferguson in his job, with what followed being cemented in history.
That was almost 35 years ago when times were different, even pre-dating the Premier League.
In the modern era, that will never happen again.
Erik Ten Hag is a Dead Man Walking and whether he is sacked today, tomorrow or in the next International Break, it will happen.
ETH has spent around £380 Million since he arrived in 2022, yet the majority of the players purchased are failing to make the starting lineup with United still looking tactically devoid of ideas.
The players that offer up a little bit of hope for the faithful, such as Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, plus throwing in Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, were already at Old Trafford.
It was significant that the England Team for the recent Internationals against Greece and Finland didn’t include a single Manchester United player.
One suggests that it’s been a long time since that has happened (approximately 1976!)
The Liccle Fat Lad from Penistone got involved in the conversation and stated,
‘No Man U players, says it all!’
Even at Villa Park, where United were at least Defensively secure, sitting deep and then offering up a counter-attacking approach was entirely at odds with the long-term tactical vision.
The saga will go on until Erik Ten Hag is no longer the Manager, which will be sooner rather than later.
Remember, Manchester United sit in 14th (14th!) place in the table, not in the Top Six where the argument to keep the Dutchman would be stronger.
Taking the words ‘Manchester United’ out of the sentence, not many of the hierarchy at a club that has 3 Losses, 2 Draws with just 2 Wins in 7 Premier League games, scoring just 5 goals and have spent a fortune on Transfers, would be happy with their current Manager and would be at least, at least having a conversation about getting rid.
The Old Trafford hierarchy is no different.
Whilst John Newsome was of the opinion that Gareth Southgate would become the next Manager, Gareth has recently stated that he is having a year off after the England job.
Which is fair enough, however, what does that mean for Manchester United?
Do the Ineos Group and Sir Jim Ratcliffe chalk this season off and allow Erik to continue until Mr Southgate is ready?
Or move away from Gareth and find someone else?
The problem then is, who is available and who would be suitable?
There are a ton of folk who would take the position, Poison Challis or not, however, there aren’t many of quality.
United need to get the next appointment right, otherwise the same scenario will continue.
Brentford gained the victory over Wolves last time out, in a sensational 8-goal thriller.
The goals going in as follows,
2′ Nathan Collins (Brentford 1-0)
4′ Matheus Cunha (Wolves 1-1)
20′ Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford 2-1)
26′ Jorgen Strand-Larsen (Wolves 2-2)
28′ Christian Norgaard (Brentford 3-2)
45+2′ Ethan Pinnock (Brentford 4-2)
Half-Time Buttermilk Chicken Burger and Sweet Potato Fries.
90′ Fabio Carvalho (Brentford 5-2)
90+3′ Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves 5-3)
Full-Time Pint Of Draught.
There was a funny moment from the game that turned out to be quite significant.
While watching Match Of The Day and texting the loveable OzScot over in Ozland, the conversation went something like this, following Ethan Pinnock’s goal just before half-time.
‘Brentford have just taken a corner, the ball went straight to Ethan Pinnock in the box who headed home, then Thomas Frank hugs Keith Andrews, the Bees ‘Set-Piece Coach’?
Hello!’
Keith Andrews-
‘So what you do lads when we get a corner, you cross the ball into the box and maybe one of our players heads it into the goal!’
In an Irish accent obviously.
One wonders how much he’s getting paid for that.
Thomas Frank should have been hugging the Wolves ‘Set-Piece Coach’.
Ironically, the said Wolves ‘Set-Piece Coach’ Jack Wilson, was then sacked by the Molineux outfit.
John Newsome would love that gig,
‘Here’s what you do lads, try and get the ball in between those Rectangular Posts!’
In a Barnsley accent obviously.
Tha knoors!
Brentford sit in 11th place with the same 10 points as Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.
In last season’s encounter between Manchester United and Brentford at Old Trafford, the game took place on the 7th of October 2023, which saw the home team come from a goal behind to get the victory by a 2-1 score.
Mathias Jensen scored in the 1st-half to give the Bees a lead at the break.
When it appeared that Brentford would gain the win, Scott McTominay, who was a 2nd-half substitute, scored in the 93rd and 97th minute to give United the points.
Betfred offer Manchester United at Odds On 8/13, the Draw at 3/1 and 18/5 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/1 that Bryan Mbeumo Scores First and 23/20 that Manchester United Score in Both Halves.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 2-1- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
NEWCASTLE v BRIGHTON
15.00 in England
Newcastle gained a point from a draw by a 0-0 score against Everton at Goodison Park last time out.
The Magpies were awarded a penalty when Sandro Tonali was brought down by James Tarkowski and after a VAR intervention, the spot-kick was given.
Anthony Gordon states he has a ‘process’ when taking a penalty and after going through said ‘process’ saw his kick saved by his England mate Jordan Pickford.
One’s sure that the ‘process’ will have been played out again over the International Break.
Newcastle sit in 7th place with the same 12 points as today’s visitors Brighton from the opening 7 games completed, so this really is the proverbial ‘6 pointer’.
Brighton came from 2 goals down against Tottenham at the Amex to score 3 times and gain a victory by a 3-2 score.
After conceding in the 1st-half and trailing at the break, 2nd-half goals from Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck earned Brighton the brilliant comeback win against a startled set of Tottenham players.
Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls have the same 12 points as Eddie Howe’s Magpies but sit a place above purely on goal difference.
A victory for either team could quite easily see one of the two jump up into 4th place considering Aston Villa (5th) face Fulham away and Chelsea (4th) travel to Anfield.
This fixture last season was the penultimate game of the campaign which saw both teams share the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Joel Veltman scored the opener to give the Travelling Seagulls early hope, however, Sean Longstaff equalised for the Magpies in 1st-half injury time to take both teams in level at the break.
With no more goals in the 2nd-half, both Flying Machines gained a point apiece.
Betfred offer Newcastle at slight Odds On 19/20, the Draw at 11/4 and 23/10 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 21/10 that Anthony Gordon Scores Anytime and 12/5 that Danny Welbeck Scores Anytime.
Home Win 2-1- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Jordan Pickford- Everton
RIGHT-BACK- Trent Alexander-Arnold- Liverpool
CENTRE-BACK- Ethan Pinnock- Brentford
CENTRE-BACK- Nathan Collins- Brentford
LEFT-BACK- Riccardo Calafiori- Arsenal
MIDFIELDER- Mateo Kovacic- Man City
MIDFIELDER- Kaoru Mitoma- Brighton
MIDFIELDER- Facundo Buonanotte- Leicester
FORWARD- Danny Welbeck- Brighton
FORWARD- Bryan Mbeumo- Brentford
FORWARD- Diogo Jota- Liverpool
STAR MAN- Mateo Kovacic- Man City
***Last Week’s Winning Tips-
Liverpool To Win- 1/2
Arsenal To Win- 1/8
Brentford To Win- 5/6
Man City- 1/5
Everton v Newcastle Draw- 5/2
Correct Scores-
Correct Tips-
Brentford To Score In Both Halves- 7/4
Man City v Fulham Over 3.5 Goals- 11/10
West Ham v Ipswich Jarrod Bowen To Score Anytime- 15/8
Brighton v Tottenham Over 3.5 Goals- Evens 1/1
SOUTHAMPTON v LEICESTER
15.00 in England
Southampton stunned everyone in the Emirates before the International Break taking a lead against Arsenal.
After a goalless 1st-half, Cameron Archer scored the opener to shock the watching Gooners and Saints faithful in attendance.
Unfortunately, the goal sort of poked the bear with Arsenal scoring 3 times to inflict the defeat on Russell Martin’s team by a 3-1 score.
Southampton sit in 19th place with the same 1 point as the bottom team Wolves from the opening 7 games.
Leicester gained a great victory over Bournemouth at the King Power last time out.
A solitary goal from Facundo Buonanotte in the 1st-half gave Steve Cooper’s Foxes the win over Andoni Iraola’s Cherries from a 1-0 scoreline.
Leicester sit in 15th place with 6 points from the initial 7 games.
In last season’s encounter between these two at St Mary’s, it was the away team that gained the win over the home team.
However, that was a Championship affair with these two reconvening in the Premier League following promotion in May.
Jamie Vardy and Kasey McAteer scored the openers for the Foxes before Sammy Edozie pulled a goal back for the Saints.
Wilfred Ndidi then scored a 3rd for Leicester to give the away side a comfortable lead at the interval.
Stephy Mavididi added a 4th midway through the 2nd-half which saw the Foxes gain the victory by a 4-1 scoreline.
Leicester also got the win at the King Power later in the season, by a 5-0 score.
There was a memorable game between these two teams at St Mary’s back in October 2019 that saw Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester gain the victory over Wreck-It Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton by a 9 (Nine)-0 scoreline.
So that suggests there will be goals today.
Betfred offer Southampton at 13/10, the Draw at 12/5 and 15/8 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/1 that Jamie Vardy Scores First and 7/4 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-3- Get 20/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BOURNEMOUTH v ARSENAL
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Bournemouth suffered a defeat against Leicester last time out, succumbing to an away day loss by a 1-0 score.
That leaves Andoni Iraola’s Cherries in 13th place with the same 8 points as Manchester United and West Ham.
This will be a tough watch for the home faithful at the Vitality against an in-form set of Gunners.
Arsenal conceded a surprise goal against Southampton at the Emirates last time out.
After a goalless 1st-half, it was the visitors who scored the opener that in truth was just like poking the bear and kicked Mikel’s Young Guns into life with Kai Havertz equalising almost immediately.
Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka added 2 and 3 to give Arsenal the victory from a 3-1 scoreline.
That keeps the Gunners unbeaten and along with Man City and Sheffield United of the Championship, are one of only 3 teams out of the 4 Divisions that still haven’t lost.
In the last column, it was mentioned that Blackburn and Birmingham were also unbeaten, however, both subsequently suffered defeats in their next game, leaving Man City, Arsenal and Sheffield United as the only unbeaten English teams.
Arsenal remain in 3rd place in the Premier League Table with the same 17 points as Man City from the opening 7 games, both a point adrift of Liverpool at the summit.
Arsenal gained a comfortable away day victory over Bournemouth in last season’s fixture between these two at the Vitality.
Goals from Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Ben White gave Mikel’s Young Guns the win over Andoni’s Cherries by a 4-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 18/5, the Draw at 11/4 and Odds On 4/6 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/2 that Kai Havertz Scores First and 15/8 that Arsenal Win To Nil.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 0-3- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 20th
WOLVES v MAN CITY
14.00 in England
Wolves played in a very entertaining game against Brentford at the GTech Stadium last weekend.
Despite goals from Matheus Cunha, Jorgen Strand-Larsen and Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves conceded 5 to ultimately suffer an away day defeat by a 5-3 scoreline.
The loss leaves Wolves at the bottom of the table with the same 1 point as Southampton from the opening 7 games completed.
In the Manchester United v Brentford preview above, it was detailed about the so-called ‘Set Piece Coach’ and how Brentford had supposedly followed his advice.
Well after the loss, Wolves sacked their ‘Set Piece Coach’ Jack Wilson who was at times, seen in conflict with Gary O’Neil.
There is only one winner in that scenario, Manager v Set Piece So and So, however, Gary needs to keep one eye looking over his shoulder at the Molineux hierarchy who must be close to sending Mr O’Neil to join Jack Wilson at the Wolverhampton Job Centre.
International breaks are notorious for being a time when Managers are sacked but for the time being, Gary O’Neil, Erik Ten Hag, Russell Martin and the rest are all still in situ, however, there is a final set of Internationals in 4 weeks which could see the plug pulled on one or more of those who are struggling.
When a team are sat at the foot of the Premier League Table, Man City are not the opposition that one wants to see.
In City’s last outing against Fulham at the Etihad, a couple of goals from Mateo Kovacic and a Jeremy Doku strike gave Pep’s High Flying Blues the victory over Marco Silva’s Cottagers by a 3-2 score.
Man City’s 3 goals were sandwiched in between Fulham’s 2.
Despite the win, the result probably doesn’t tell the whole story, with Fulham having a couple of great chances to score but were thwarted by the excellent City Goalkeeper Ederson.
Kyle Walker, who is considered as one of the fastest players on show was sensationally beaten in a foot race with the ex-Wolves player Adama Traore, who had given Kyle a head start.
There’s no shame in that, as now aged 34, time is catching up with Mr Walker and eventually, the pace will diminish.
It happens to everyone KW.
The victory leaves Man City in 2nd place with the same 17 points as Arsenal both a point adrift of Liverpool at the summit.
This Game Week-8 set of fixtures sees Liverpool face Chelsea and Arsenal take on Bournemouth.
It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Man City or Arsenal could be back at the summit come Monday.
There was a nice moment for the Barnsley Beckenbauer John Stones on Thursday when the lad was named as England Captain for the game against Greece.
It seems a distant memory from back in 2010 when John Newsome used to watch Mr Stones play for the Youth Team on one of the training pitches at Oakwell on a cold and wet Thursday Afternoon, whilst, let’s just say, ‘in between jobs’!
All the best, John Stones.
The game against Greece didn’t go well as England suffered a defeat by a 2-1 scoreline.
The interim Manager Lee Carsley, in only his 3rd game in charge, decided to include a few so-called ‘flair players’ and switched things up a bit.
England lacked any real cohesion and it was clear that the plan didn’t work.
Strange though, as that was what everyone was calling for under Gareth Southgate,
‘Get the flair players in!’
‘Stop being so negative!’
Etc.
The brilliant thing with football, especially England, is it’s very subjective and everyone has a different opinion as to who, what, when and why England play that way.
This EveryTip column published a few articles over the Summer regarding how Gareth and England set up when the Euro’s were on, so there’s no need to go over old news, other than to say, that the England Manager, whoever that is, will not please everyone.
Just calm down regarding the displays against Greece and Finland, it’s the Nations League, which is basically (unless one is Scottish!) a ‘friendly competition’ allowing the respective Managers and Teams to experiment with different styles, lineups and tactics.
As the Scousers often say,
‘Calm down, calm down!’
Plus, there is always the option of not watching and putting something else on the Telly Box such as Celebrity Come Dine With Me Whilst Dancing On Ice Doing Some Pottery!
England subsequently gained a victory over Finland last Sunday by a 3-1 scoreline.
Ruben Dias scored the opener in this fixture at Molineux last season, however, Ruben’s goal was an OG (own goal) which gave Wolves an early lead.
Julian Alvarez equalised for City midway through the 2nd-half which was assumed that Pep’s Blues would push on for the win.
Not so as Hwang-Hee Chan scored a 2nd for Wolves and with no further goals Gary O’Neil’s Gold and Blacks held on for the sensational victory by a 2-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Wolves at 15/2, the Draw at 5/1 and Odds On 1/4 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 2/1 that Erling Haaland Scores First and slight Odds On 4/5 that Both Teams DO Score.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-3- Get 9/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
LIVERPOOL v CHELSEA
16.30 in England
Arne Slot and Enzo Maresca come up against each other for the first time as Liverpool and Chelsea Managers respectively.
Liverpool currently sit at the summit of the Premier League with 18 points from the opening 7 games.
Six Wins and a Loss.
The latest victory came against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park last time out, with a single Diogo Jota goal giving Arne’s Slot Machines the points from Oliver’s Army by a 1-0 away day score.
What maybe was a surprise was Diogo’s goal came in the 9th minute which would have made everyone presume that a goal fest was coming, however, sadly for the watching Millions, not the case.
Arne must be thinking this ‘Premier League’ lark is easy but to be fair to the Dutchman, he did inherit a great set of Klipperty Klopp’s and just needed to say ‘Crack on lads!’
Chelsea come back after the break off the back of a draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
After a goalless 1st-half up in Robin Hood Land, Noni Madueke equalised a Forest goal in the 57th minute (Forest had scored in the 49th) and with no further goals both teams shared the points from a 1-1 score.
With Aston Villa failing to win also, Chelsea stay in 4th place with the same 14 points as Villa from the opening 7 games, 4 points adrift of today’s hosts.
With Arsenal playing on Saturday and Man City kicking off a couple of hours before this fixture, depending on the results of those games, Liverpool could be 3rd in the table come start time.
No doubt, Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta will be watching Liverpool v Chelsea with interest and more than likely will be wanting a draw from the game.
Jurgen’s Reds smashed Mauricio’s Blues in this game at Anfield last season.
Diogo Jota and Conor Bradley scored in the 1st-half to give the home team a lead at the break.
There could have been a 3rd, however, Darwin Nunez missed a penalty on the stroke of half-time.
Mo Salah wasn’t playing so it was left to Darwin to take the spot kick.
Dominik Szoboszlai added a 3rd before Christopher Nkunku pulled a goal back for Chelsea.
Luis Diaz rounded off the scoring with 10 minutes to go to give Liverpool the victory over Chelsea by a 4-1 scoreline.
It’s now up to Arne Slot and Enzo Maresca to oversee this year’s encounter at the Iconic Stadium.
Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 8/13, the Draw at 16/5 and 100/30 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/10 that Mo Salah Scores Anytime and 9/5 that Cole Palmer Scores Anytime.
Home Win 3-2- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Monday 21st
NOTTINGHAM FOREST v CRYSTAL PALACE
20.00 in England
Nottingham Forest gained a great point from a draw by a 1-1 score, against Chelsea at the City Ground before the International Break.
After a goalless 1st-half, Chris Wood scored the opener just after the restart, which was quickly cancelled out by a Chelsea strike and with no further goals Nuno’s Tricky Trees shared the points with Enzo’s Blues.
Forest sit in 10th place with the same 10 points as Tottenham and Brentford from the 7 fixtures so far.
Crystal Palace remain in the relegation zone, sitting in 18th place with 3 points from 3 drawn games and 4 losses out of the 7 played.
The latest defeat came against Liverpool at Selhurst Park last time out, with a single Reds goal scored after 9 minutes giving Oliver Glasner’s Eagles the loss and continuing the sorry start to this campaign.
If one remembers the start of the 2017 season, Frank De Boer lasted 4 games that produced defeats in all 4 with no goals scored.
Roy Hodgson then took over but Palace continued the losing streak over Roy’s opening 3 fixtures and again failed to score before gaining a victory in the 8th game.
Oliver may have credit in the Crystal Palace account from the way the Eagles finished last season, however, that credit will be used up by the Ultras and the hierarchy if a win isn’t forthcoming over the next 4 games before the International Break comes around again in November.
It’s John Newsome’s opinion that at least one, if not more, of the Premier League Managers will lose their job in the November Break.
Oliver Glasner will be hoping that he’s not one of those on that list.
Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score, in last season’s encounter at the City Ground.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the opener to give Palace a lead at the break before Chris Wood equalised for Forest on the hour mark.
With no further goals, both gained a point apiece.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 5/4, the Draw at 23/10 and 2/1 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/1 that Chris Wood Scores First and 11/4 that Jean-Philippe Mateta Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 2-1- Get 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Celtic and Aberdeen stay in 1 and 2 positions of the Scottish Premier League following the Game Week-7 fixtures before the International Break.
Celtic came from a goal behind to clinch a narrow victory over Ross County (who?) by a 2-1 score, to secure their 100% record of 21 points from 7 victories.
Aberdeen matched that following another narrow victory over Hearts (who?) by a 3-2 scoreline to stay 2nd on goal difference with the same 100% winning record.
Rangers are clinging on to 3rd place with 16 points from the opening 7 games, 5 Wins, a Draw and a Loss.
The latest victory came against St Johnstone (who?) by a 2-0 scoreline.
St John Stone, doesn’t he play for Man City?
The Teddy Bears are fighting off Motherwell (who?) for the right to stay in 3rd place behind the Green and White Hoops and the Dandy Dons.
It’s the loveable OzScots birthday on the 22nd of October when Braveheart/Kylie will be 55.
Happy Birthday, Big Man.
‘He’s still spinning around, even at that age!’
Related Reading
Best betting site for accumulators
Bet365 review
Best cash-out betting sites
Best low or no minimum deposit betting sites