The highlight games for this week’s action are BRENTFORD versus CHELSEA and FULHAM versus ASTON VILLA. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these as well as all game week 12 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-12
All of these midweek fixtures are live on the Amazon Prime Streaming Platform.
Tuesday 18th
BRIGHTON v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
19.30 in England
Brighton are back in action following the Friday Night Football against Brentford where Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls suffered a 2nd successive defeat against Brentford by a 2-0 scoreline.
After conceding a goal in the 27th minute, the away team went in trailing at the break.
Brentford were then awarded a penalty after the interval and with Ivan Toney on the pitch, to take the spot kick, the 2nd goal conceded was inevitable.
With no further action, the away team ultimately suffered the loss.
It is now 3 defeats in the last 6 for Brighton (1 under Graham Potter) which leaves the Seagulls in 7th place with 14 points from 9 fixtures played.
Nottingham Forest switch places with Leicester once more and return to the foot of the table following Saturday’s fixture at Molineux.
Steve Cooper’s Tricky Trees suffered their 6th defeat out of the last 7 games with Wolves getting the Midlands victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
After the home team had taken a lead early in the 2nd-half via a VAR-awarded penalty for a handball by Harry Toffolo, Forest were themselves awarded a spot-kick, however, Brennan Johnson saw his tame effort saved by the Wolves goalkeeper.
Like with the earlier Wolves penalty, the on-field referee, Thomas Bramall originally waved play on but the dreaded VAR once again wanted to get involved and advised Thomas to have another look at the pitch side monitor.
It wasn’t clear as to what the penalty was given for, either a foul or handball but either way it was the dreaded that gave the advice.
As with earlier, the original decision was changed, with Mr Bramall pointing to the spot.
Unfortunately, Brennan couldn’t convert and the miss proved costly, with Mr Coopers’ men suffering yet another defeat.
Forest sit at the foot of the table with 5 points from 10 fixtures.
The same 5 points as Leicester but with a far inferior goal difference.
Nottingham Forest and Wolves are the lowest-scoring teams in the Premier League, with the Gold and Blacks’ goal against the Tricky Trees being just the 4th in 10 games.
Forest have scored 7.
There weren’t many goals predicted in last week’s EveryTip column between Wolves and Forest and so it bore out with the Stockley Park gang making the difference.
It was early August 2016 when Nottingham Forest last ventured South to take on Brighton at the Amex, in a Championship affair.
Brighton’s Anthony Knockaert scored in the 1st-half to give the Seagulls a lead at the break.
The old stager Glenn Murray added 2 more in the 2nd-half to give the home team the victory by a 3-0 score.
It’s worth mentioning that Forest gained revenge later on in the 2016/17 campaign inflicting a defeat on Brighton by the same 3-0 home scoreline.
Chris Hughton’s men finished 2nd in the table and were promoted to the Premier League.
Forest finished in 21st and narrowly avoided relegation by the slimmest of margins, with the same 51 points as Blackburn but a minus-10 goal swing, as opposed to Blackburn’s minus-12.
Betfred offer Brighton at Odds On 2/5, the draw at 19/5 and 15/2 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Leandro Trossard Scores First and 6/5 that Brighton Win To Nil.
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CRYSTAL PALACE v WOLVES
20.15 in England
Crystal Palace played in one of several snore-fest games over the weekend, playing out a draw against Leicester by a 0-0 score.
This was BT Sports offering for the 12.30 slot in England.
The viewing of said bore draw did help with the Saturday Afternoon Siesta.
There’s not much else to report.
Patrick’s Palace sit in 13th place with 10 points, however, are one of the 6 teams that have only completed 9 fixtures, not 10.
The Gold and Blacks faithful at Molineux took to singing the old John Lennon tune,
‘All we are saying is give us a goal!’
Following a goalless first half against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, the ditty was still going strong that prompted the Stockley Park gang, who were rumoured to be watching Champions Day at Ascot on ITV, to get involved.
Just after the break, there appeared to be the sight of the ball hitting someone’s hand and although the on-field referee played on, the dreaded VAR was straight in the referee’s ear stating,
‘Baaeed has lost!’
After confirming the Wonder Horse, that
was unbeaten from 10 starts prior to the 4 o clock at Ascot, had indeed been beaten, the gang informed Thomas to look at the pitch-side monitor regarding a possible handball by a Forest player.
Once this happens, 99% of the decisions are changed as was the case when Mr Bramall pointed to the spot.
Ruben Neves converted the penalty to stop the Gold and Blacks tune and give Wolves their first goal in 4 games and just the 4th from the 10 fixtures completed.
There was another contentious penalty decision towards the end of the game that once again, Thomas was asked to look at the monitor by the Stockley Park gang and once again, pointed to the spot.
Fortunately for the faithful at Molineux, Jose Sa saved the Nottingham Forest spot kick and with no further action, Wolves got the victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
It was mentioned in last week’s column that the ex-Seville boss, Julen Lopetegui was being lined up to replace Bruno Lage, however, the Spaniard didn’t fancy the cold of the Black Country and declined the offer.
The old boss, Nuno Espírito Santo wants to come back but at the moment, Steve Davis is still in temporary charge of the team and did oversee the victory on Saturday.
Nuno is the favourite, however, the current Queens Park Rangers manager, Michael Beale is in the running too.
Watch this space.
Wolves sit just outside of the relegation zone with 9 points from 10 games played.
Whoever the new boss is, the goal-scoring department needs to be improved or the Louts will have the ex-Beatle Boy’s tune warbled again.
‘All we are saying is give us a goal!’
At Selhurst Park, last season, Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher scored the 2nd-half goals to give Patrick’s Eagles the victory over Bruno’s Gold and Blacks by a 2-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 5/4, the draw at 23/10 and 5/2 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/8 that Crystal Palace Score 2 Plus Goals and 12/5 that Crystal Palace Win To Nil.
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Wednesday 19th
BOURNEMOUTH v SOUTHAMPTON
19.30 in England
This fixture is a relatively local Derby with around 30 miles between the Vitality and St Mary’s on the South Coast.
Bournemouth remain unbeaten since Scott Parker was sacked following the devastating defeat against Liverpool by a 9-0 scoreline.
Gary McNeil is still the caretaker manager and is performing a brilliant interview to get the position on a permanent basis.
In Saturday’s fixture against Fulham at Craven Cottage, both shared the points from a draw by a 2-2 scoreline.
The Archbishop was happy.
Dominic Solanke scored first after 2 minutes of play before Fulham equalised 20 minutes later.
Jefferson Lerma added a 2nd to restore the lead and take the Cherries in at the break in front.
Unfortunately, for Jefferson and the travelling away fans, the Midfielder gave away a penalty for a reckless challenge just after the restart to gift the Cottagers the chance of an equaliser.
Fulham didn’t miss.
There were just over 40 minutes remaining after the spot-kick, however, neither could add to the tally giving both teams a point from the draw.
Bournemouth sit in 10th place with 13 points from 10 fixtures played.
The same 13 points as Liverpool and Brentford but with a slightly inferior goal-difference to those two teams.
Southampton gained a much-needed point on Sunday, following 4 defeats in a row, getting a draw against West Ham at St Mary’s by a 1-1 scoreline.
The Saints’ Left-Back Romain Perraud scored after 20 minutes to give the home team a lead at the break.
West Ham equalised midway through the 2nd-half and with no further goals, both shared the points.
Wreck-It Ralph Hasenhuttl is under pressure having suffered defeats in 5 of the previous 6 fixtures before the visit of West Ham.
Southampton dropped into the relegation places following the weekend’s results with 8 points from 10 games played.
Sunday’s draw may give the Peaky Blunder a stay of execution for the time being but the Saints faithful are becoming restless and Southampton need to start picking up some victories, or Mr Hasenhuttl may be down the concrete.
It was in July 2020, in the protracted Coronavirus affected 2019/20 campaign that Southampton last visited Bournemouth.
Danny Ings opened the scoring in the 1st-half to give the Saints a lead at the break.
Danny then missed a penalty early in the 2nd-half, before Che Adams scored a 2nd in the 98th minute to give the away team all 3 points.
This was the penultimate game of the season with the Cherries trying to avoid relegation.
Unfortunately, the defeat was the 2nd to the last nail in the coffin with Bournemouth eventually finishing in the drop zone, with 34 points.
Southampton finished in 11th place with 51 points.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 15/8, the draw at 12/5 and 8/5 for Southampton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 23/10 that Chris Billing Scores Anytime and Evens 1/1 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
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ARSENAL v MAN CITY
****FIXTURE POSTPONED DUE TO ARSENAL TAKING ON PSV EINDHOVEN IN THE EUROPA LEAGUE ON THURSDAY ****
BRENTFORD v CHELSEA
19.30 in England
The West London Derby.
Brentford gained a victory against Brighton on Friday Night Football inflicting a defeat on the Seagulls by a 2-0 scoreline at the Gtech.
The cordless wonder that is Ivan Toney scored the opener after half an hour to give the home team a lead at the break.
Brentford were then awarded a penalty midway through the 2nd half and when awarded a penalty, Ivan never misses (unless playing against Barnsley!) and converted to make the score 2-0.
With no further goals, Thomas Frank’s Bees gained the points.
Four years ago in October 2018, Mr T, whilst playing for Peterborough against Barnsley at London Rd had his penalty saved by the Reds goalkeeper, Adam Davies.
Ivan has converted 25 out of 26, with the missed one against Barnsley the only failure.
The 2 goals scored against Brighton take Mr Toney’s tally to 8 for the campaign, 1 less than Harry Kane and 7 adrift of Erling Haaland who is on a different level at the moment.
As mentioned in last week’s column, Gareth Southgate should at least take Ivan to Qatar if only for the inevitable penalty shootout against Germany or Italy.
A quick note regarding Ethan Pinnock.
The Big Defender would easily admit that he had a bit of a nightmare against Newcastle last week but Mr Pinnock put in a brilliant performance against Brighton on Friday, justifying the faith shown by Thomas Frank in starting Ethan again.
Brentford sit in 9th place with 13 points, a point adrift of Brighton, however, have completed 10 fixtures, not the 9 the Seagulls have finished.
Chelsea gained the away day victory on Sunday afternoon, inflicting a defeat on Aston Villa by a 2-0 scoreline, as predicted by John Newsome in this EveryTip column last week.
In truth, Graham Potter’s New Blue Wizards were lucky on 2 accounts in the 1st-half.
Firstly, Tyrone Mings misguided a header into the path of Mason Mount, who scored the opener after 6 minutes and then Ben Chilwell was lucky not to receive a straight Red Card for a challenge on Jacob Ramsey.
The on-field referee Rob Jones just produced a Yellow but it was a bad tackle and looked more Orange than Yellow.
Mason then scored his and Chelsea’s 2nd after the break from a superb free-kick.
Graham’s New Blue Wizards had Kepa Arrizabalaga to thank for making a string of great saves, to hang on for the win.
The victory for Chelsea leaves the Blues in 4th place with 19 points from 9 fixtures played not the 10 some have.
‘I drink too much, I smoke too much and I gamble too much. I am too much.’
No that’s not this EveryTip contributor (although close!) those are the words of the brilliant Robbie Coltrane, in character, who sadly passed away on Friday aged 72.
So says criminal psychologist Eddie ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald but in his self-analysis, Bob left out ‘brilliant’ and ‘famous’ two qualities he uses to aid the police in Manchester, England, profile and catch killers.
A very British actor, Rob would vehemently state Scottish, who famously played the part of Hagrid in the Harry Potter franchise.
John Newsome remembers the Big Guy from the old days starring in the 1980s classic The Young Ones, the brilliant film Nuns on the Run (Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet and Watch) and of course Cracker!
Robbie Coltrane is a British legend.
Rest in Peace, Mr Coltrane.
Cracker!
At the Gtech Stadium last season, just before Christmas, the 2-Thomas’s went head to head with Thomas Tuchel’s Blue Engines gaining the victory over Thomas Frank’s Bees by a 2-0 away night score.
The goals didn’t arrive until the 80th minute with Pontus Jansson being credited with an OG and Jorginho converting a penalty to inflict the defeat.
Betfred offer Brentford at 4/1, the draw at 3/1 and slight Odds On 7/10 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Ivan Toney Scores Anytime and 3/1 that Jorginho Scores Anytime.
Away Win 1-2- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- David De Gea- Manchester United
RIGHT-BACK- James Milner- Liverpool
CENTRE-BACK- Ethan Pinnock-Brentford
CENTRE-BACK- Virgil Van Dijk- Liverpool
LEFT-BACK- Dan Burn- Newcastle
MIDFIELDER- Rodrigo Bentancur- Tottenham
MIDFIELDER- Diogo Jota- Liverpool
MIDFIELDER- Mason Mount- Chelsea
FORWARD- Mo Salah- Liverpool
FORWARD- Harry Kane Tottenham
FORWARD- Ivan Toney- Brentford
STAR MAN- David De Gea- Manchester United (500th Game for Manchester United)
NEWCASTLE v EVERTON
19.30 in England
Newcastle played well at Old Trafford on Sunday putting in a resilient performance that reaped a point from a draw by a 0-0 score.
With plenty of goals predicted it was a surprise that none of the players on show found the back of the net.
Eddie’s Magpies are unbeaten in 5 now with 2 wins and 3 draws from those 5 games.
Newcastle sit 6th in the table with 15 points from 10 games completed.
A place and a point adrift of Manchester United.
Frank Lampard’s Everton suffered another defeat in the late Saturday afternoon kickoff against Tottenham at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium.
That’s back-to-back losses for the Toffees.
After a goalless 1st-half in the Capital, it was the ex-Everton player Richarlison that made the difference.
Not by doing anything on the pitch but by picking up an injury that resulted in Antonio Conte changing the formation slightly in replacing Richarlison with Yves Bissouma.
Instead of a 3-4-2-1 set-up, as of the first 52 minutes, Tottenham changed to a more traditional 4-4-2 that allowed fluidity.
This paid off for Tottenham when a speculative shot was bungled out of Jordan Pickford’s hands that resulted in the Everton goalkeeper bringing down Harry Kane.
There was no need for VAR, the on-field referee Paul Tierney pointed to the spot straight away.
It was lucky really as the Stockley Park gang were watching the Arsenal Legend, Tony Adams on Strictly.
Jordan will have faced 100s of penalties from Harry whilst away with England and got a palm onto HK’s kick but couldn’t prevent the ball from going into the net.
Tottenham scored a 2nd late on to inflict a defeat on Everton by a 2-0 score.
In truth, the Toffees were 2nd best throughout, however, did have a couple of slim chances in the 1st-half that weren’t taken.
Everton remain with 10 points from the opening 10 fixtures and finish the weekend in 14th place in the table.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies gained the victory over Frank Lampard’s Toffees in February 2022, with both teams scoring an own goal in the 1st-half to take the players in level at the break.
Jamaal Lascelles with the Newcastle OG and Mason Holgate scoring past the Everton goalkeeper.
Ryan Fraser and Kieran Trippier added the Magpies winners in the 2nd-half to inflict the defeat by a 3-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Newcastle at slight Odds On 4/6, the draw at 3/1 and 9/2 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Callum Wilson Scores First and 13/8 that Newcastle Score in Both Halves.
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LIVERPOOL v WEST HAM
19.30 in England
Liverpool became the first team this campaign to inflict a defeat on Man City, with Jurgen’s Reds getting the victory over Pep’s Low Flyers by a 1-0 scoreline.
In a tight affair at Anfield, City thought they had taken the lead just after the break when Phil Foden blasted home but the dreaded VAR once again got busy and advised the on-field referee, Anthony Taylor to have a look at the monitor.
There appeared to be a foul on Fabinho by Erling Haaland in the buildup that once Anthony saw the incident in slow motion, disallowed the goal to the delight of the Anfield Rappers and the despair of the Citizens in attendance.
Just before that controversy, Mo Salah was put through but couldn’t beat Ederson who made a fingertip save to thwart the Liverpool Striker.
After 76 minutes, in a similar situation, the Egyptian King wasn’t missing twice and coolly converted past the goalkeeper to give Liverpool the lead.
Mo then got involved in a scuffle with Bernardo Silva deep in the City half and whilst it appeared a foul the referee played on.
This sent Klipperty Klopp into a meltdown that resulted in Jurgen being shown a Red Card so will be in the stands against the Hammers tonight.
Mr Klopp appeared to wish the linesman a Happy Halloween, or words similar that saw Anthony produce the Card.
Despite not being on the touchline for the last 10 minutes, Jurgen’s Reds held on for the victory.
James Milner was handed a start at Right-Back in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold and despite most having reservations that Phil Foden would give James problems, Mr Milner had a great game and produced a brilliant performance throughout the 90 minutes.
Liverpool jump up to 8th place, with the same 13 points as Brentford and Bournemouth but above the two having a better goal difference.
The Cherries and the Bees have played 10 games as opposed to the 9 the Reds have completed.
West Ham gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday, as predicted by John Newsome in this EveryTip column last week.
After conceding a Southampton goal in the 1st-half, to go in at the break trailing, Declan Rice scored the equaliser midway through the 2nd-half and with no further goals, both shared the points on the South Coast.
The Hammers sit in 12th place with 11 points from 10 fixtures completed.
A solitary Sadio Mane goal in the 27th minute gave Jurgen’s Reds the victory over David’s Hammers by a 1-0 scoreline back in March 2022 at Anfield.
Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 9/20, the draw at 4/1 and 6/1 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Mo Salah Scores First and 6/4 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
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MANCHESTER UNITED v TOTTENHAM
20.15 in England
Having predicted a goal fest between Manchester United and Newcastle, the game didn’t live up to the billing with both firing blanks to produce a draw by a 0-0 score, or as some might say a goalless draw.
The Red Devil faithful must have been worried when seeing the team sheet an hour before kickoff.
Christian Eriksen was missing with illness and Marcus Rashford was on the bench with a bit of a sniffle too.
The main worry was the inclusion of the enigmatic Fred alongside Casemiro.
John Newsome won’t revisit that particular issue as most now know the opinion of this EveryTip column.
The other slight negative from the starting eleven, if one can call it that, was the inclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Again, not to dwell on that too much as it’s been covered but Cristiano is past the Sell By Date and is now a yard slower than in previous days.
Not to tell Erik Ten Hag how to manage United (one has offered advice) but try another Striker, however, that said, there aren’t many alternatives to CR7 at the moment, if Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are not fully fit.
Cristiano didn’t look happy when substituted in the 72nd minute which is just down to pride but did shake hands with Erik so no hard feelings.
One noticeable thing to take from the game against Newcastle was that United kicked towards the Stretford End in the 1st-half which is not usually the case, meaning it was a deliberate ploy by Eddie Howe should his Captain, Kieran Trippier win the coin toss.
This shouldn’t be an excuse as to why the Red Devils didn’t score but maybe was a factor.
Straws-clutching at?
Manchester United stay in 5th place with 16 points from just the 9 played, 7 points adrift of today’s opponents.
Tottenham gained a great professional victory against Everton on Saturday by a 2-0 scoreline.
In the 1st-half of the late afternoon kickoff, Antonio’s Spurs couldn’t break down a resilient set of Toffees who held on to take both teams in at the break goalless.
In a twist of fate, it was the ex-Everton Striker Richarlison that changed the game, not by anything the Brazilian did with the ball but by becoming injured just after the restart that resulted in Mr Conte sending on Yves Bissouma to replace Richarlison.
This gave Tottenham a sturdier midfield that ultimately broke down Everton bringing about an error from Jordan Pickford who brought down Harry Kane conceding a penalty.
Big Harry has taken 100s against JP in the Three Lions training camp so knew where to put the ball and despite his mate getting a hand on the effort, the kick was too strong and went into the back of the net.
Harry then sent Rodrigo Bentancur down the right who produced a great cross for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to coolly control the ball and place it past Jordan, that did take a slight deflection which gave JP no chance.
It was a great organised display by Antonio and his Spurs.
Tottenham remain in 3rd place in the table with 23 points from 10 fixtures played.
The same 23 as Man City who sit 2nd but with a slightly inferior goal difference.
This fixture at Old Trafford last season was a very entertaining 5-goal thriller with Ralph Rangnick’s Roadsters getting the narrow victory over Antonio Conte’s Spurs by a 3-2 scoreline.
Harry Kane scored for Tottenham in between 2 Cristiano Ronaldo goals that gave the home team a lead at the break.
Harry Maguire then converted past David De Gea to gift Spurs an equaliser midway through the 2nd-half before That Boy Ronaldo scored his hat-trick goal and United’s winner in the 81st minute.
Betfred offer Manchester United at 11/8, the draw at 13/5 and 2/1 for Tottenham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/5 that Christian Eriksen Scores Anytime and 7/4 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
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Thursday 20th
FULHAM v ASTON VILLA
19.30 in England
Fulham halted the losing streak on Saturday, following 2 defeats in the previous 2 games.
The Cottagers gained a point against Bournemouth from a draw by a 2-2 score.
The game started badly for the Craven Cottage faithful, with Fulham conceding a goal after just 2 minutes.
Issa Diop scored an equaliser 20 minutes later but again the Cottagers conceded a goal to go in at the interval trailing.
Fulham were awarded a penalty just after the restart, which presented Aleksandar Mitrovic the opportunity to score the Serbian’s 7th of the season so far.
Big Mit didn’t miss and the only surprise that followed was there weren’t any more goals in the remaining 40 minutes or so, meaning both shared the points from the Archbishop’s favourite scoreline.
Fulham sit just below Liverpool, Brentford and Bournemouth in 11th place, with 12 points from the opening 10 fixtures completed.
Steven Gerrard is under increasing pressure following Aston Villa’s defeat against Chelsea on Sunday.
After an error by Tyrone Mings, that gifted his England teammate Mason Mount an early goal, Villa trailed at the break.
Chelsea were lucky not to have Ben Chilwell sent off for a horrendous challenge on Jacob Ramsey.
The on-field referee, Rob Jones produced a Yellow Card for Ben and with no interruption from the dreaded VAR, the player stayed on the pitch.
Mason then scored a superb free-kick that bamboozled Emiliano Martinez in the Villa goal to score a 2nd.
Aston Villa did have numerous chances but were denied by the Chelsea goalkeeper who made a string of great saves to keep a clean sheet.
Chelsea hung on for the win, inflicting the defeat on Villa by a 2-0 away day scoreline.
That leaves Stevie G and his Claret and Blues in the precarious position of 16th with the same 9 points as Wolves and Leeds United, with Aston Villa and Wolves completing 10 fixtures and Leeds only 9.
It’s a toss-up as to who goes first, Brendan Rodgers, Ralph Hasenhuttl or Steven Gerrard.
There’s a possibility that all 3 could book an appointment at the Job Centre in the next couple of weeks.
It was late September 2020, when Dean Smith’s Aston Villa last ventured to the Capital to take on Scott Parker’s Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Jack Grealish and Conor Hourihane scored for the away team to give Villa a comfortable lead at half-time with Tyrone Mings adding a 3rd just after the restart to gain the away night victory by a 3-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Fulham at 9/5, the draw at 5/2 and 8/5 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Aleksandar Mitrovic Scores First and 11/4 that Fulham Score in Both Halves.
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LEICESTER v LEEDS UNITED
20.15 in England
The stadium announcer at the King Power on Saturday was informed not to read out any messages or celebratory requests such as Birthdays etc, as there were a few spurious names sent in by the Foxes Faithful.
Names such as Brenda Nout and Zac Rodgers.
That was a bit of a shame as there wasn’t much else to talk about regarding the midday game against Crystal Palace.
At the time of print, Brendan Rodgers is still in charge of Leicester but the performance by the Pack of Foxes sent out against the Eagles didn’t do much to suggest that Little Brendan will last much longer.
There were the obligatory boos at Full Time, something John Newsome has never understood.
Why pay a fortune to watch one’s team which is part of one’s life and ingrained then boo because the team are just going through a bad patch.
It is one’s prerogative but in the 45 years John has been following Barnsley FC, home and away, the boy has never booed the team.
Leicester swapped places with Nottingham Forest at the foot of the table with both now having 5 points from the 10 fixtures played, however, the Foxes have a slightly better goal difference, lifting them above the Tricky Trees.
‘Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again, Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again.’
Leeds United could consider themselves unlucky following Sunday’s fixture against Arsenal at Elland Rd.
With the Gunners sitting at the summit of the Premier League and coming off the back of a victory against Liverpool, there was a fear that Jesse’s Whites could concede a boatload of goals.
However, despite conceding a 1st-half goal to trail at the break, Leeds put up a great fight against the league leaders and had the opportunity to equalise when awarded a penalty, when the VAR spotted a handball that the on-field referee, Chris Kavanagh had missed.
Patrick Bamford, who had come on at half-time in place of Rodrigo, took the spot-kick but unfortunately for the watching West Yorkshire puddings, kicked the ball wide.
With no further goals, Jesse Marsch’s Whites suffered a defeat by a 1-0 scoreline.
That was the 1st defeat at Elland Rd this season, out of the last 6 games in all competitions, which is a terrific effort from Leeds United.
That said, it is now 4 defeats in the last 6 Premier League games with 2 draws thrown in, meaning 2 points from a possible 18.
That’s not good for everyone connected with Leeds and leaves the Whites in 15th place with the same 9 points as Aston Villa and Wolves, however, have played a game less than those two.
Wolves have gotten rid of Bruno Lage, Steven Gerrard is under pressure at Aston Villa and Ralph Hasenhuttl is struggling too at Southampton.
Today’s opponents are at the foot of the table so Brendan Rodgers is on that list.
Can Jesse Marsch be included in a conversation regarding under pressure Managers or are the Whites faithful happy with the American Drama Queen?
The result of this fixture could spell the end for Brendan or Jesse.
This was Jesse Marsch’s first game in charge of the Whites when Leicester hosted Leeds United back in March 2022.
Harvey Barnes scored the only goal of the game, midway through the 2nd-half to give the Foxes the victory by a 1-0 score and make the Drama Queen’s start to life in West Yorkshire, a losing one.
Betfred offer Leicester at 23/20, the draw at 11/4 and 12/5 for Leeds United to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/5 that Kelechi Iheanacho Scores Anytime and 7/4 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Home Win 3-1
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Game Week-12 (1997/98)
Saturday 25th October 1997
MANCHESTER UNITED v BARNSLEY
Old Trafford
15.00 in England
There was a layer of frost covering the North of England on the morning of the 25th of October 1997.
The date also signified the end of BST (British Summer Time) with the clocks going back within 24 hours.
Barnsley FC had not visited Old Trafford, for a league fixture, since 1937.
There were a couple of FA Cup fixtures between the two teams in the same season, with the trip to the Manchester Theatre of Dreams finishing in a draw, thus producing a replay at the original Theatre of Dreams in Barnsley.
In February 1964, a United team that included the legends of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, turned up at Oakwell and inflicted a defeat on the Super Reds by a 4-0 score, also in the FA Cup.
Denis scored two, George scored one plus a goal by David Herd.
On a cold Saturday morning in 1997, resulting in the Ford Escort struggling to start, John and 3 mates, ventured over the tops to Manchester.
Over the tops is a term used in Barnsley for travelling over the Pennines, either along the M62 or the Woodhead Pass, with both routes resembling the Chris Rea tune ‘Road To Hell!’
It was the M62 this time, with frost on the ground, as Woodhead is notorious for being a dangerous drive in the Winter(and not too brilliant in the Summer).
Barnsley had renewed optimism following the victory against Coventry on Monday Night Football and entered Stretford with the hopes and dreams of an upset against the current Premier League Champions.
Sir Alex Ferguson chose the following to fight off the spirited Reds.
Manchester United-
Peter Schmeichel, John Curtis, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Gary Pallister, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Andy Cole and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Substitutes-
Karel Poborsky for David Beckham 55th Minute
Ronnie Wallwork for Gary Pallister 63rd Minute
Jordi Cruff for Paul Scholes 69th Minute
Danny Wilson put out a strong team,
Barnsley-
David Watson, Nicky Eaden, Darren Barnard, Ales Krizan, Arjan De Zeeuw, Neil Thompson, Martin Bullock, Neil Redfearn, Darren Sheridan, Georgi Hristov and Ashley Ward.
Substitutes-
John Hendrie for Georgi Hristov 58th Minute
Adie Moses for Ales Krizan 58th Minute
Jovo Bosancic for Neil Thompson 69th Minute
Due to being the designated driver (John had lost a bet!) this EveryTip contributor couldn’t partake in the customary pre-Match drinking, which although very responsible, did irk the Barnsley Boy, who was extremely jealous seeing the majority of the travelling Red and White Army, becoming intoxicated.
John Newsome became intoxicated with the atmosphere of Old Trafford, seeing his beloved idols match the Premier League Champions stride for stride.
Then the referee, Mike Riley blew the whistle to kick off the game.
Mike would feature again at Old Trafford in an FA Cup tie later in the season but that’s for another day.
Although Barnsley had a lot of the ball in United’s back garden, the impact made from possession was minimal and it largely produced sideways and backward passes to each other, with no positive movement.
Manchester United, however, on gaining control of the ball, tore forward with lightning pace and scored goal after goal to inflict a devastating defeat on the (not so) Super Reds by a 7 (Seven)-0 scoreline.
Andy Cole scored a hat-trick before the half-time cup of tea, with Ryan Giggs scoring in between Andrew’s 2nd and 3rd to give United a comfortable lead at the break.
Ryan added a 2nd for himself and a 5th for United just after the restart with Paul Scholes making it 6 soon after.
Karel Poborsky rounded off the rout in the 80th minute to gain the Magnificent Seven victory.
Little old Barnsley couldn’t compete with the Red Devils on that brisk Autumnal day, 25 years ago, with David Watson commenting,
‘I didn’t get a sniff of any of the goals!’
There was a sniff of a heavy defeat and professional humiliation, however.
Darren Sheridan was a true Manc and lived just a mile or so away from Old Trafford, even whilst playing at Oakwell.
The lad was an ardent United fan and it did show when Darren passed the ball, supposedly to his teammates Arjan De Zeeuw and Darren Barnard, however, it turned out to be a sublime assist for Andy Cole who raced in and scored the opener.
All of the Barnsley faithful in attendance at Old Trafford and the Millions watching Match of the Day later that night, berated young Mr Sheridan, who had gifted, when gifts were not needed, the opening goal for Manchester United.
In truth, Darren’s indiscretion didn’t make much difference, Manchester United were on another level and were simply too good for Barnsley.
It was a stroll back to the Ford (when one could remember where it was left) and a drive back over the M62 to South Yorkshire after the loss.
A quick splash of Aramis and another Saturday night in Town, talking rubbish in the pubs about what Barnsley should have, could have or would have done earlier in the day.
As one knows, those words are the last ones of a fool.
The foolery continued in Japanese Whispers, with a few more liveners and a cheeky dance with the opposition who were in awe of the legend’s day trip to Manchester.
One thing that was lost in all of the late-night commotions was the clock had gone back an hour, meaning, when John Newsome awoke for the obligatory Sunday morning football match playing for the Tin Hat against the Dog and Duck (Rangers!), the Barnsley boy was early for the kickoff.
The usual 11 o’clock kickoff remained but technically it was 12, if one understands.
So when the alarm went off at 09.30, in reality following the clocks going back, it was only 08.30.
It didn’t matter too much as the local Barnsley Sunday League was full of Yorkshire Puddings, even the referees, with the majority of the players and officials all forgetting that British Summer Time had ended.
Ninety-nine per cent of the participants all turned up an hour early too.
Most of the games got underway once the nets were up and the litter cleared from the pitch.
The only drawback was one had an hour less to recover from the previous nights drinking and the hangover continued well into the 1st-half.
Those were the days!
The young Right-Back for United that day was a guy called John Curtis, who most may not know as being part of Sir Alex’s superstars.
The youth only played 14 times for the famous club with the fixture against Barnsley being a memorable debut.
However, John Curtis then came to Oakwell on loan, a couple of years after the 7-0 drubbing and despite being part of the destructive Manchester United team in October 1997, became a firm favourite with the Barnsley faithful, being part of the team that made the Playoff Final in the 1999/2000 Championship campaign that saw the Super Reds suffer an emotional defeat against Ipswich by a 4-2 score.
This was one of the final fixtures at the old Wembley Stadium before it was torn down and the new one built.
Due to Mr Curtis only being on loan from Old Trafford and Barnsley failing to get back to the Premier League, John was signed by Blackburn Rovers on a permanent deal following the Playoff Final defeat.
All the best for the future John Curtis.
Another youth making an outing and debut for Manchester United against Barnsley back in October 1997, was a guy called Ronnie Wallwork who came on as a substitute for Gary Pallister late on in proceedings.
Ronnie also made his way to Oakwell, signing for Barnsley in 2006, however, didn’t really feature, as a week after the move, Mr Wallwork was attacked in a bar in Manchester, suffering severe injuries that resulted in the ex-United lad returning to his parent club West Bromwich Albion.
All the best Ronnie Wallwork.
A third notable story regarding the players on show at Old Trafford back in October 1997 is the Reds Defender, Neil Thompson.
The following is an extract from an EveryTip column published on March 24th, 2020, entitled,
‘The Greatest Premier League Football Games of All Time.’
Still available to peruse.
‘Saturday 4th March 1995
Manchester United 9 (Nine) Ipswich 0
In the Ipswich starting eleven back in March 1995 was a certain Neil Thompson who played at Left-Back.
Neil had been at Portman Rd since 1989 and had appeared over 200-times for the Suffolk club.
When the season finished and despite the reoccurring nightmares from the United-9, which sounds like a group of Manc Scally’s on trial, Neil joined Barnsley FC and with 27 appearances for the Yorkshiremen, gained promotion to the Premier League playing in the historic game against Bradford that sealed the Reds promotion to the Promised Land.
Neil started 3-times in the Premier League for Barnsley before moving on but will be always welcome at Oakwell and is a legend to the faithful.
The games against Manchester United, however, are ones Neil will probably want to forget.’
One doubts whether a player has played in two fixtures at Old Trafford, for two different clubs and has suffered an aggregate defeat by a 16 (Sixteen)-0 scoreline.
All the best Neil Thompson.
Game Week-12
15-Coventry 13 pts (minus-5 goals)
16-Everton 12 pts (minus-3 goals)
17-Bolton 11 pts (minus-6 goals)
18-Southampton 10 pts (minus-9 goals)
19-Sheffield Wednesday 9 pts (minus-12 goals)
20-Barnsley 9 pts (minus-26 goals)
Home Win 7-0
The status quo at the top of the Scottish Premier League remains the same following the weekend’s set of fixtures.
That sentence just needs to be repeated for the remainder of the campaign as nothing changes in the Pub League.
Celtic are at the summit with 27 points following their victory against Hibernian (who?) on Saturday, whilst the Glasgow rivals Rangers, after inflicting a defeat on Motherwell (who?) the following day, remain 2 points adrift with 25, having played 10 games.
Both played last week in the Champions League, both with home fixtures at Celtic Park and Ibrox and both suffered defeats.
RB Leipzig gained a victory against Ange Postecoglou’s Green and White Hoops, whilst Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s Teddy Bears suffered a devastating defeat against Liverpool.
The loveable OzScot was up early in Melbourne to watch the game at Ibrox on the 55-inch and needed all of the fingers and toes plus the beads on the Abacus to keep tabs on the Liverpool goals.
What was amusing was the fact that Rangers actually scored first to give the Teddy Bear faithful false hopes of a victory.
Funny.
Then Jurgen’s Reds woke up and scored 7 (Seven) with the Egyptian King Mo Salah, who started as a substitute, was introduced by Klipperty Klopp in the 68th minute and came on to score a 6-minute hat-trick.
When the referee finally blew his whistle, the Abacus was thrown at the cat.
Luckily the intuitive feline was one step ahead of the Big Fella and was off before the beads found the intended target, giving out a joyous meow that sounded like,
‘We hate Kurt Zouma!’
The OzScot and CSI Jonny are coming back to England for the wedding of our other good friend and Ilkleys finest, The Widster which takes place on the 29th of October.
It should be a great occasion, with plenty of alcohol, a few laughs, a bit of crying and a couple of folk saying,
‘I do.’
Or as the good people of Barnsley say,
‘How do!’
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