The highlight games for this weekend and coming Monday’s action are LEICESTER versus ARSENAL and MAN CITY versus CRYSTAL PALACE. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these as well as all game-week 10 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-10
Saturday 30th
LEICESTER v ARSENAL
12.30 in England.
BT Sport
Leicester got a great professional victory away at the new Brentford Stadium which as mentioned previously needs a rebrand. From now on it will be referred to as the ‘Wellard Stadium’ and those wanting to know why will have to do a bit of investigating.
Youri Tielemans scored early in the 1st-half to give the Foxes a half-time lead.
Brentford did equalise on the hour-mark but James Maddison scored the winner midway through the 2nd-half to give Brendan’s Wonderful’s the away victory by a 2-1 scoreline.
The win leaves Leicester 9th in the table, in a cluster of 4-teams, Arsenal, Everton and Manchester United, with 14-points from the 9-fixtures complete.
Lennon the puppy was nowhere to be seen on Sunday afternoon, with Rod Stewart, wearing his new Brentford shirt with ‘Roddy’ and ‘77’ on the back, Rod’s 77 in January and wanted ‘Roddy‘ instead of ‘Stewart’ to mix things up a little.
As Sir Roderick often says to his lovely wife Penny, it’s good to spice things up every now and again. The pooch was away when Leicester got the victory against Brentford.
Rod was in a good mood later, after his beloved Green and White Hoops had beaten St Johnstone (who?) in the Scottish Pub League by a 2-0 score but then the disappointing Sunday afternoon football results were compounded after Celtics arch-rivals Rangers also got a victory.
Steven Gerrard’s Teddy Bears beat St Mirren (who?) by a 2-1 scoreline to remain at the summit of the Pub League with Celtic in 4th.
It was late on Sunday evening when Rod had calmed down and whilst watching the USA F1 Grand Prix with a nice glass of in hand enquired as to the whereabouts of Lennon who was nowhere to be seen but could be heard barking out the tune,
‘He’s Celtic, United but Brendan has decided that Leicester is the best place to be!’ Woof-Woof!
Arsenal are now unbeaten in 6-Premier League fixtures after Friday’s professional victory against Aston Villa by a 3-1 score.
Thomas Partay opened the scoring, midway through the 1st-half and when the referee was about to blow the half-time whistle, it looked like the Gunners would take a 1-0 lead into the break.
Not so, Alexandre Lacazette was adjudged to have been fouled in the area and the on-field referee Craig Pawson was asked by the dreaded VAR to have a look at his monitor. Everyone then knows what follows and a penalty was awarded on the stroke of half-time.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had his initial kick saved but was first to react and blasted home the rebound.
Emile Smith-Rowe added a 3rd, after the break and despite a late consolation goal from Villa, Mikel Arteta’s much-improved Gunners got the win.
That took Arsenal temporary up to 9th in the table from the 9-fixtures with the same 14-points as Everton, Leicester and Manchester United before the rest of the weekend’s results came in and subsequently finished in 10th-place.
It is a good spell that the Gooners are witnessing following the horrendous displays against Brentford, Chelsea and Man City earlier on in the campaign and it’s quite possible that Pep 2 could push his men on into the Top Four, considering there isn’t the distraction of European football.
Arsenal got the away-day victory last season, by a 3-1 scoreline. The game at the King Power Stadium took place in late February.
Youri Tielemans opened the scoring for the Foxes in the 8th-minute, however, David Luiz and Alexandre Lacazette scored for the Gunners to give Pep 2s men the lead at half-time.
Nicolas Pepe added a 3rd just after the break and with no further goals, Arsenal secured the away win.
888 Sport offer Leicester at 29/20, the draw at 12/5 and 17/10 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
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BURNLEY v BRENTFORD
15.00 in England.
Burnley played in a very entertaining game down at St Mary’s on Saturday, with the fixture against Southampton ending in a draw by a Desmond 2-2 score.
The cool as ice, Maxwell Cornet scored first for Sean Dyche’s Clarets with the Saints equalising before half-time to take both teams in level at the break.
Southampton started the 2nd-half stronger, scoring within 5-minutes of the restart, however, that man Mr Cornet, scored his and Burnley’s 2nd just before the hour mark and with no further goals, the game ended in Mr Tutu’s favourite score.
The point wasn’t enough to take the Clarets out of the bottom-3 but does give them 4-points from the 9-fixtures, 3 less than Leeds United and 4 away from Southampton.
Sean won’t be panicking just yet as there’s a long way to go but will want to get a first victory on the board having only registered draws up to just.
Brentford suffered a defeat on Sunday succumbing to a 2nd successive loss and just their 3rd-defeat of the new campaign.
Against Leicester at the Wellard Stadium, trailing at the break, Mathias Jorgensen equalised for the Bees on the hour-mark but conceded 15-minutes later to ultimately lose the game against the Foxes by a 2-1 scoreline.
Brentford sit 12th in the Premier League table with 12-points from the 9-fixtures played, which is still a great return for Thomas Frank and his boys.
The Clarets last took on the Bees at Turf Moor back in August 2015, however, that was a Championship fixture that saw the home team get the victory by a single 1-0 score.
Michael Keane with the solitary winning goal midway through the 1st-half.
Burnley’s current Centre-Back Ben Mee is the only survivor from the Clarets starting eleven chosen by Sean Dyche that day in 2015.
Brentford were under the guidance of Marinus Dijkhuizen. Most will now be thinking, Who?
The Bees had Mark Warburton at the helm for the 2014/15 season but Mark left at the end of the campaign, so the Griffin Park hierarchy decided to appoint Marinus Dijkhuizen, who, let’s be fair, wasn’t well known in England.
Marinus only lasted until the end of September, being in charge of just 8-Brentford fixtures, with a record of 2-Wins, 2-Draws and 4-Losses.
For those interested, Mr Dijkhuizen is currently the manager of SVB Excelsior, who are a team in the Dutch 2nd Division, the Eerste Divisie, the equivalent of England’s Championship.
SVB currently sit 2nd in the table and could gain promotion to the Netherlands Promised Land, the Eredivisie.
In the Bees starting eleven, at Turf Moor in the Championship, was a certain James Tarkowski, who then joined Burnley in the January Transfer Window of that season.
Burnley’s reverse fixture against Brentford at Griffin Park took place in the middle of that January Transfer Window and without knowing the exact details, James didn’t play in the game, didn’t wear a Bees shirt again and subsequently left West London and headed to Lancashire.
888 Sport offer Burnley at 17/10, the draw at 11/5 and 8/5 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
888 Sport offer 11/1 that James Tarkowski Scores Anytime and slight Odds On 4/6 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
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LIVERPOOL v BRIGHTON
15.00 in England.
There’s a term in Cricket called ‘declaring’ which is when a team batting have scored enough runs and feel that it’s now time for a bowl.
It usually only happens in Cricket and seldom occurs in Football, however, Liverpool actually declared on Sunday following Mo Salah’s 3rd and the Reds 5th-goal at Old Trafford which was scored in the 50th-minute.
That meant that there was still 40-minutes to go and in truth, Liverpool could have added to the tally scoring more than Joe Root does with the bat.
Naby Keita opened the scoring after 5-minutes with Diogo Jota, who was in the starting eleven in place of Sadio Mane, getting the 2nd-goal, soon after Naby’s opener. Then it was the Mo Show, with the Egyptian King ripping the United defence to shreds, scoring 2, before the break.
Mr Salah then rounded off his sublime hat-trick, 5-minutes after the restart before declaring and going in for the cucumber sandwiches. Mo has 10-goals in the Premier League so far, sitting at the top of that particular chart, 3-more than Jamie Vardy.
A lot has come out after the game regarding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but Jurgen Klopp and his team should have had most of the headlines, following the superb destruction of their fiercest rivals.
There were images of Sir Kenny Dalglish laughing throughout the game with a devastated Sir Alex Ferguson looking distraught and as the two Great Scots don’t get on, it must have irked Fergie, seeing Kenny laughing out loud.
The victory by the 5-0 away-day scoreline, leaves Liverpool in 2nd-place with 21-points, a point behind Chelsea at the summit and now 7-more than Manchester United after 9-fixtures completed. How’s That!
Brighton suffered a defeat against Man City on Saturday evening with Graham Potter’s Seagulls losing against Pep’s High Flying Blues by a 4-1 scoreline.
After conceding 3-goals in the 1st-half, Alexis Mac Allister pulled a goal back from the penalty spot, midway through the 2nd-half, however, this was ultimately a consolation with City soon adding a 4th to run out easy winners.
Brighton sit 5th in the table, with 15-points from the opening 9-games which is a great return for Harry and his Wizardry. At Anfield last term, Brighton were one of six teams to defeat Liverpool at their iconic stadium.
After a goalless 1st-half, Steven Alzate scored the solitary winning goal for the Seagulls to give Graham Potter the victory over Jurgen Klopp.
Burnley had just beaten Liverpool, with the Seagulls then inflicting the 2nd-home defeat in succession. Following those 2-losses, Man City, Everton, Chelsea and Fulham all beat Jurgen’s Reds at Anfield.
888 Sport offer Liverpool at Odds On 2/9, the draw at 51/10 and 41/4 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
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MAN CITY v CRYSTAL PALACE
15.00 in England.
Man City got a great away-day victory on Saturday evening, inflicting a defeat on Brighton by a 4-1 scoreline. Ilkay Gundogan and a couple of Phil Foden goals gave City the lead at the break.
Ederson was then adjudged to have brought down a Brighton player, that gave the home team a penalty and allowed the Seagulls to pull a goal back. However, with 5-minutes of stoppage time up on the clock, Riyad Mahrez rounded off the scoring to inflict the heavy defeat on the South Coast club.
Pep’s City Boys sit 3rd in the table, with 20-points, on the coattails of Liverpool and Chelsea, who have 21 and 22-points respectively.
There is now a gap of 3-points to West Ham in 4th, so it appears that there are 3-heavyweight contenders and the rest are playing for the remaining Champions League spot.
Phil Foden played a more advanced role and produced the goods, scoring twice at the Amex. Pep Guardiola commented afterwards, ‘There are players who play positions and there are players who play football, Phil is one of these players’
What Pep is saying is that it’s perceived that Phil Foden was the Striker against Brighton, however, Young Phil just plays football and is sublime.
One further note to add is John Stones wasn’t used against Brighton and City conceded a goal. When John Stones plays, City don’t concede!
Crystal Palace rarely lose, however, are finding getting a victory elusive, having played out their 6th-draw of the campaign so far.
The latest stalemate was a draw by a 1-1 scoreline at Selhurst Park against Newcastle on Saturday.
After a goalless 1st-half, Christian Benteke opened the scoring just after the break. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the Magpies quickly equalised and with no further goals, both earned a point.
That’s the 4th-draw in succession, leaving Palace in 15th-place with 9-points, 6-draws and 1-victory, with 2-losses from the 9-fixtures completed.
Wilfried Zaha was back from injury and got the last 25-minutes of the tie against Newcastle and will most likely start against Man City today.
There was a banner unfurled by the Eagle Ultras demonstrating against the Newcastle owners that at first was thought to be illegal, however, the Metropolitan Police are not pursuing any action which could just start a trend so don’t be surprised if the Citizens have their own banner on show.
Although Patrick Vieira is an Arsenal legend, it’s sometimes forgotten that the Frenchman also played a few games for Man City at the back end of the 2009/10 campaign and most of the 2010/11 season, culminating in winning an FA Cup Winners Medal, in City’s victory against Stoke.
Man City got a comfortable victory against Crystal Palace at the Etihad, last season, inflicting a defeat on Roy Hodgson’s Eagles by a 4-0 scoreline.
John Stones scored the opener midway through the 1st-half to give the home team a lead at the break.
Ilkay Gundogan scored just after the restart before the Barnsley Stone, added his 2nd and City’s 3rd.
Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring late on in proceedings to give Pep’s High Flying Blues the easy win.
888 Sport offer Man City at Odds On 2/13, the draw at 33/5 and 15/1 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
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NEWCASTLE v CHELSEA
15.00 in England.
Newcastle did come away from Selhurst Park with a well-earned point following a draw by a 1-1 scoreline. The new interim manager Graeme Jones, who is in charge of the next two fixtures, stuck with most of the players that Big Brucey chose, with Callum Wilson cancelling out an earlier Palace goal, both in the 2nd-half to get a great away-day draw.
The Magpies remain in the bottom-3 of the table, 19th, with 4-points from the 9-games completed. The inevitable has happened with the new owners of Newcastle sacking Steve Bruce and placing Graeme Jones in temporary charge.
When Amanda Staveley and the Reuben Brothers along with the Saudi Arabian guys came into St James Park, it was rumoured that Big Brucey would be gone straight away, however, Steve had accrued 999-Managerial games so it would have been harsh to sack the lad before the 1000th fixture. Fair play!
That 1000th was a disastrous defeat against Tottenham so the P45 was on its way to Steve and a trip to the Job Centre followed.
Another rumour on the grapevine is that, whilst Mr Bruce was requesting a Job Seekers Allowance application form, he asked for 2, the other being for his fellow Manchester United mate, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Bit harsh!
There are all sorts of candidates lined up for the coveted position at Newcastle, however, Amanda ‘the Joker’ Staveley, needs to get the appointment right the first time, otherwise, the Toon Army might just send for the Caped Crusader.
The current favourites with the Bookmakers 888 Sport are as follows,
Paulo Fonseca
2/7
Eddie Howe
13/2
Lucien Favre
8/1
Roberto Martinez
14/1
Frank Lampard
16/1
Steven Gerrard
18/1
Brendan Rodgers
25/1
Graeme Jones
25/1
Jose Mourinho
25/1
Antonio Conte
28/1
Graham Potter
28/1
Unai Emery
28/1
Fabio Cannavaro
33/1
Rafael Benitez
33/1
Ralf Rangnick
33/1
Roberto Mancini
33/1
The interesting person on that list is Fabio Cannavaro at 33/1. Whilst the Italian World Cup Winning Defender and one of only 3-players to win the coveted Ballon d’Or since 2006, that wasn’t called Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, (the other two being Kaka in 2007 and Luka Modric in 2018) might not be on anyone’s immediate list of potential Geordie managers. The lad was in London last Monday, in attendance at the Emirates for Arsenal’s clash against Crystal Palace.
Granted, not a concrete foundation to build a bet but John Newsome is just putting it out there. Remember also, that Saudi Arabia isn’t built on concrete foundations, it’s a country of sand.
It’s rare in the Premier League that a team dominates another in the way Chelsea did against Norwich last Saturday and if a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the fight at half-time.
With Thomas Tuchel unable to pick Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner following injuries that the pair picked up in the midweek Champions League tie, goals from Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James gave the Blues a strong half-time lead.
Ben Chilwell continued his fine goal-scoring streak adding the 4th, after the break and despite Norwich having a man sent off, it was already 4-0 by then, with the 5th Chelsea goal being attributed as an OG.
Mason Mount then completed his hat-trick scoring twice late on, one being a penalty. The victory by a devastating 7-0 scoreline keeps Thomas’s Blue Engines at the summit of the Premier League table with 22-points from the 9-fixtures played, 1-more than Jurgen’s Reds.
This fixture between the two will see both teams under the guidance of a new manager, then that of last season.
At St James Park, in November 2020, Chelsea were still called Frank Lampard’s Chelsea, with the Blues getting the away-day victory by a 2-0 score. The unfortunate Federico Fernandez scored an own goal to gift Chelsea the opener after 10-minutes, with Tammy Abraham adding a 2nd after the break.
888 Sport offer Newcastle at 15/2, the draw at 19/5 and slight Odds On 1/3 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
888 Sport offer 13/5 that Jorginho Scores Anytime and 23/20 that Chelsea Score in Both Halves.
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**********NEW FEATURE************
Premier League Team of the Week
GOALKEEPER-Lukasz Fabianski- West Ham
RIGHT-BACK- Ben Johnson- West Ham
CENTRE BACK- Virgil Van Dijk- Liverpool
CENTRE BACK- William Troost-Ekong- Watford
LEFT-BACK- Ben Chilwell- Chelsea
MIDFIELDER- Youri Tielemans- Leicester
MIDFIELDER- Emile Smith-Rowe-Arsenal
MIDFIELDER- Mason Mount- Chelsea
FORWARD- Josh King- Everton
FORWARD- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang- Arsenal
FORWARD- Mo Salah- Liverpool
STAR MAN- Mo Salah- Liverpool
WATFORD v SOUTHAMPTON
15.00 in England.
Despite Chelsea and Liverpool gaining superb results over the weekend, Watford themselves got a result to match the two leaders, coming from behind to beat Rafa’s Toffees by an incredible 5-2 away-day scoreline.
After last week’s capitulation at the hands of the other Merseysider’s, Claudio Ranieri took his Hornets up to Goodison Park with most predicting an easy home win.
Watford conceded an Everton goal after 3-minutes, however, Josh King equalised to take both teams in level at the break.
Josh played a total of 212-minutes in a disappointing 6-month spell at Everton before leaving to join the Hornets, never starting a game under Carlo Ancelotti, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the Norwegian Striker was up for the fight.
Everton took the lead again midway through the 2nd-half and with 78-minutes up on the clock, not many envisaged the outcome.
Juraj Kucka equalised with 12-minutes remaining before Mr King scored 2-more to complete a very satisfying hat-trick making it 4-2.
Emmanuel Dennis added the 5th in stoppage time to give Watford the brilliant but surprising victory by a 5-2 scoreline.
Watford sit in 14th-place with the same 10-points as Aston Villa from the opening 9-fixtures. The Hornets have 2-points more than today’s visitors.
Southampton played in a very entertaining game against Burnley on Saturday, which ended in a draw by a Desmond 2-2 score.
Valentino Livramento equalised an earlier Clarets goal to take both teams in level at the break.
Armando Broja scored after the restart to give the Saints a lead, however, this was short-lived with Burnley scoring soon after to give both teams a share of the points.
Both Valentino and Armando are ex-Chelsea boys with Mr Broja at St Mary’s on a loan deal.
Mr Livramento has been signed permanently by Ralph Hasenhuttl, who will be hoping that Armando also makes the move permanent too.
Wreck-It was in his Peaky Blunders attire once again, that someone brave enough needs to have a word about. Something along the lines of, ‘Ralph, you look a right plonker!’
Southampton sit in 16th-place with 8-points from the 9-games completed. As mentioned, 2-behind today’s hosts so the incentive is there to get the victory to jump above the Hornets.
It was June 2020, in the protracted Coronavirus affected campaign, that the Saints last visited Vicarage Rd.
Danny Ings opened the scoring in the 16th-minute that gave Southampton the lead at half-time. Danny then added a 2nd, after the break, before Jan Bednarek, unfortunately, scored an own goal to gift Watford a consolation.
James Ward-Prowse added a 3rd to give Wreck-It’s Saints the victory over Nigel Pearson’s Hornets by a 3-1 away-day scoreline.
888 Sport offer Watford at 85/40, the draw at 119/50 and 5/4 for Southampton to come away with all 3-points.
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TOTTENHAM v MANCHESTER UNITED
17.30 in England.
Sky Sports
Tottenham were beaten on Sunday, succumbing to a defeat against West Ham at the London Stadium by a 1-0 scoreline. After a goalless 1st-half, the Hammers scored the solitary winning goal after the break, to inflict the 2nd-loss in succession for another under-fire manager, Nuno Espírito Santo.
Granted the other defeat was in the Europa Conference League that no one is bothered about.
There was an image put in the newspaper that showed 6-Tottenham players in the penalty area, with just 1-Hammer, Michail Antonio in view, who scored the goal.
With Harry Kane unable to prevent Michail from notching. Tottenham sit 6th, a place above today’s opponents with 15-points from the 9-fixtures completed, a point more than all of Manchester United, Everton, Leicester and Arsenal.
This weekend could see the North London rivals switch places, which won’t sit well with the Lilywhite faithful. This is just a little extract from last week’s EveryTip/John Newsome column,
‘Whilst form usually goes out of the window for these games between Liverpool and Manchester United, it’s hoped for all connections at Old Trafford that the window is open as if Jurgen’s Reds perform anywhere near the level of that at Vicarage Rd on Saturday and Manchester United perform the same as against Leicester, then the abacus might be needed.
There is now a 4-point gap between Ole’s Trollies and Klipperties Klopp’s which could be widened even further if Liverpool put on a display, mirroring that at Vicarage Rd.
Granted today’s fixture is at Old Trafford but if Ole’s Trollies are embarrassed by Jurgen’s Reds, then Mr Solskjaer could just find himself down the concrete.’
An abacus is a simple device for calculating, consisting of a frame with rows of wires or grooves along which beads are slid.
Whilst John Newsome makes no apology for predicting the demise of Manchester United, it’s strange that if a numpty from Barnsley can see it, why can’t the hierarchy at United see it?
It’s not a surprise or something that is out of the ordinary, this EveryTip column has been stating the obvious for months if not years.
No Manchester United fan, cardboard or real, pundit or just the occasional observer can say that they were not warned and that John is wrong.
There isn’t anyone on this planet or Fullers who can say that they are shocked with what’s going on at Old Trafford, not if this column is read weekly!
Manchester United were simply embarrassed by their fiercest rivals, who scored 4-goals before the break and a 5th, 5-minutes after the restart.
For those who skip through this weekly preview to just read certain sections, which is fine but there are hidden gems throughout the column so read everything, a quick reminder of what was said in the Liverpool notes.
‘There’s a term in Cricket called ‘declaring’ which is when a team batting have scored enough runs and feel that it’s now time for a bowl.
It usually only happens in Cricket and seldom occurs in Football, however, Liverpool actually declared on Sunday following Mo Salah’s 3rd and the Reds 5th-goal at Old Trafford which was scored in the 50th-minute.
That meant that there was still 40-minutes to go and in truth, Liverpool could have added to the tally scoring more than Joe Root does with the bat.
Naby Keita opened the scoring after 5-minutes with Diogo Jota, who was in the starting eleven in place of Sadio Mane, getting the 2nd-goal, soon after Naby’s opener.
Then it was the Mo Show, with the Egyptian King ripping the United defence to shreds, scoring 2, before the break.
Mr Salah then rounded off his sublime hat-trick, 5-minutes after the restart before declaring and going in for the cucumber sandwiches.’ How’s that!
A couple of weeks back, a comment was made by John Newsome that it’s better to wait until the team-sheet is handed in, an hour before kick-off, before a bet is placed.
On Sunday, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named his starting eleven, the result could have been predicted there and then.
It was just a matter of what number Liverpool wanted to stop at, not whether Jurgen’s Reds would win. Eventually, that number was 5!
Ole chose the same starting eleven that played against Atalanta the previous Wednesday in the Champions League. At half-time in the European tie at Old Trafford, Manchester United were trailing by 2-goals to nil.
In the BT Sport studio, the United legend that is Paul Scholes stated that a better team would have destroyed the hosts against the eleven put out by OGS and it was a gamble against Atalanta.
United could win 3-2 or 4-2, which Mr Scholes was scoffed at by the presenter, however, Paul was correct. The Midfield are just not good enough.
That better team, Liverpool, turned up on Sunday and destroyed Ole’s Trollies. At the minute, Ole is still in a job but for how long?
If the manager picks Fred and Scott McTominay against Tottenham, then the lad is surely not learning from his mistakes and literally wants the sack. Ole needs to start trying alternatives, Donny Van De Beek and Jesse Lingard must be given a chance.
Eric Bailley needs a game and Harry Maguire needs a rest, it’s obvious Harry is carrying an injury.
Luke Shaw’s brother needs to be dropped and the Luke that starred for England at the Euros has to come in.
Give Edinson Cavanni a start.
Paul Pogba won’t be playing having been sent off against Liverpool.
There’s always a lot of talk about Paul as to whether the Frenchman’s attitude is right and whether Mr Pogba gives his all for United. Turn that around slightly and ask this question, ‘What must a World Cup Winner think when the manager puts his team-sheet up and sees Fred and Scott in the eleven and Paul Pogba on the bench?’
Paul got a Red Card against Liverpool for a horrendous challenge, however, must have been angry that Ole left him on the bench for the fixture against Atalanta and against Liverpool.
United were trailing by 2-goals to 1, on Wednesday when Paul was introduced, for Scott in the 66th-minute and helped the home team get the great result against a very poor Italian outfit who had 5 of the first team missing.
As Mr Scholes said, a better team would have destroyed United on Wednesday. What did Ole do? Pick the same eleven.
Not wanting to make excuses for Paul Pogba but the lad must have been annoyed being left out of the starting line after coming on as a substitute and helping United get the victory against Atalanta.
This fixture against Tottenham will either be a turning point for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United, depending on the team the gaffer picks, or the start of the end for his reign at Old Trafford.
At the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium in April, Ole’s Wheels got the victory by a 3-1 score. Son Heung-Min scored midway through the 1st-half to give the hosts a half-time lead.
Surprisingly, for the watching millions at home and certainly John Newsome, Fred equalised after the break. Yes, Fred!
Edinson Cavanni and Mason Greenwood added 2 and 3 to give Manchester United the away-day win. This was Jose Mourinho’s penultimate fixture in charge of Spurs before Dracula was shown the door and headed back to Romania.
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Sunday 31st
NORWICH v LEEDS UNITED
14.30 in England.
Norwich were hammered on Saturday, away at Stamford Bridge, with the home team inflicting a defeat on the Canaries by a 7-0 scoreline. Yes, Seven!
It was 3-0 at half-time, then the unfortunate Max Aarons added a 5th with an own goal, following Chelsea scoring after the break. Ben Gibson had seen enough and wanted an early bath, receiving a 2nd-Yellow Card and ultimately the Red, when the score was 5-0.
Daniel Farke’s Exciteables conceded another 2, to succumb to the 7th-defeat from the 9-fixtures played so far.
Norwich remain at the bottom of the table with 2-points, gained from 2-Draws.
James from Swinton, nowhere near Carrow Rd, was distraught on Saturday seeing the result of the fixture at Stamford Bridge. However, the Little Blunt was at Oakwell on Sunday morning, with his half and half shirt on that the lovely girlfriend sewed together.
Half Sheffield United and half Jim’s first footballing love, Barnsley.
The Blades took a 3-goal lead after the break that kicked the Reds into gear, with the home side pulling 2-goals back, however, time ran out and Barnsley suffered another defeat against Sheffield United.
Little Jimbo was straight back in Spoons on the fruit cider and wasn’t seen for 3-days, celebrating the victory but also gutted that his first team lost.
When a team is struggling, probably the fixture most needed is against Norwich who are quite happy to go from the Premier League to the Championship and back every season.
Leeds United get that fixture after a poor start to this new season.
Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites have only achieved 1-victory from the 9-fixtures, however, have 4-draws, the latest being against Wolves last Saturday at Elland Rd, in front of the fanatical Marching On Together crew.
It could be argued that Leeds were lucky to be awarded a late penalty enabling Rodrigo to equalise in the 94th-minute.
Luke Ayling, Robin Koch, Junior Firpo and Patrick Bamford, were still missing against Wolves, with Raphinha getting 54-minutes under his belt and although Kalvin Phillips was named as a substitute by Marcelo, didn’t see any game time.
There is a midweek Carabao Cup fixture that could give Kalvin a run-out giving the lad a fitness test for this away trip against Norwich.
The point gained leaves the Whites just above the relegation zone in 17th, with 7-points. Marching On Together!
Leeds United got a brilliant away-day win at Carrow Rd when these two teams last met in August 2018.
Mateusz Klich and Ezgjan Alioski scored the 1st-half goals to give the Whites a half-time lead.
Pablo Hernandez added a 3rd, midway through the 2nd-half to give Leeds the victory by a 3-0 scoreline.
Daniel Farke’s Norwich went on to win the Championship in the 2018/19 campaign with Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United finishing 3rd in the table, however, suffering a defeat against Derby in the Semi-Final Play-Offs.
Leeds went on to win the Championship title and promotion to the Promised Land a year later, replacing Norwich who were relegated from the Premier League. It’s a funny old game!
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ASTON VILLA v WEST HAM
16.30 in England.
Aston Villa did put up a fight at the Emirates last Friday night but ultimately lost the away fixture against Arsenal by a 3-1 score.
After conceding midway through the 1st-half it appeared that Dean Smith’s half-time talk was to cajole his Claret and Blues and try and get an equaliser early after the restart.
Unfortunately, with 1st-half time virtually up on the clock, Matty Cash was adjudged to have fouled Alexandre Lacazette and after the dreaded VAR, switched over the telly, from watching Coronation St, advised the on-field referee, Craig Pawson to check the monitor and as is the norm now, once that occurs, usually, the decision is reversed and a penalty was awarded.
Villa’s goalkeeper and ex-Gunner Emiliano Martinez initially saved the spot-kick but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the first to react and put away the rebound to leave Aston Villa trailing at the break.
The half-time team talk did appear to work, with Dean introducing Leon Bailey for the 2nd-half in place of Axel Tuanzebe which produced a spirited 10-minutes until Arsenal scored a 3rd to put the game to bed.
Jacob Ramsey did score a late consolation but in truth, the Gunners were too strong for Villa and ran out convincing winners. The defeat leaves Aston Villa in 14th-place with 10-points from the 9-fixtures completed.
West Ham got a great victory against Tottenham at the London Stadium on Sunday, with the superb Michail Antonio scoring the solitary winning goal in the 2nd-half.
The win gives the Hammers 17-points and leaves David Moyes Boys in the final Champions League place, behind Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, which is all the Bubbles faithful can ask for.
At Villa Park last season, this fixture took place in the cold of February with the Hammers getting a brilliant away-night victory by a 3-1 scoreline.
After a goalless 1st-half, Tomas Soucek and Jesse Lingard scored just after the break before Ollie Watkins pulled a goal back giving the cardboard Villains hope of a comeback.
Unfortunately, Ollie’s goal turned out to be just a consolation with Jesse adding his 2nd and West Ham’s 3rd late on to ultimately seal the victory for David Moyes Boys.
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Monday 01st
WOLVES v EVERTON
20.00 in England.
Sky Sports
Wolves took the lead against Leeds United at Elland Rd on Saturday with Hwang Hee-Chan scoring in the 10th-minute. With time up on the clock, it looked like a victory for Bruno Lage’s Gold and Blacks until the referee awarded a penalty to the home team.
It did appear harsh but after being converted, the game finished in a draw by a 1-1 scoreline. The point gained at Elland Rd leaves Bruno’s men in 11th-place, with 13-points from the 9-fixtures completed.
Everton were cruising against Watford on Saturday but somehow succumbed to a defeat by a disastrous 5-2 scoreline.
Tom Davies scored first after 3-minutes but then an Everton old boy came back to Goodison Park to haunt the Toffees.
Josh King equalised Tom’s opener 10-minutes later and with no further goals in the 1st-half, both teams went in level at the break.
The old boy, Josh, had 6-months on Merseyside, never starting in a Toffees jersey before leaving to join the Hornets in the Summer. If ever there was a sure-fire bet, it was that Mr King would score against Everton.
The Toffee Rafa’s did take the lead again with Richarlison, who was a 2nd-half substitute scoring, 3-minutes after being introduced.
With 12-minutes remaining, no one could predict what was about to happen, when Everton conceded 4-goals, 2 more for Josh giving the lad the match-ball from a superb hat-trick, helping the TinkerMan get the victory over Rafa Benitez. Fact!
The defeat leaves Everton in 8th-place, with the same 14-points as Arsenal, Leicester and Manchester United.
Both teams were under the guidance of different managers back in January, in last season’s fixture at Molineux, with Carlo Ancelotti’s Blues getting the away-night win over Nuno Espírito Santo’s Gold and Blacks.
Ruben Neves scored to cancel out an earlier Alex Iwobi strike to take both teams in level at the break.
Michael Keane scored in the 77th-minute and with no further goals, Everton held on for the victory by a narrow 2-1 scoreline.
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