The highlight games for this weekend and early next week’s action are CHELSEA versus MANCHESTER UNITED and SOUTHAMPTON versus ARSENAL. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these as well as all game week 13 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-13
Saturday 22nd
NOTTINGHAM FOREST v LIVERPOOL
12.30 in England
BT Sport
There’s a quick turnaround for 18 teams following the trip to the Amazon Jungle in midweek.
In those games, there weren’t many goals, with a total of 13 from the 9 fixtures, which included 2 that finished in a 0-0 scoreline.
Ten out of the 18 teams that played failed to score,
In last weekend’s matches, there weren’t many balls hitting the back of the net either, with just 15 goals from the 10 set of Game Week-11 fixtures.
Compare that to the 10 Game Week-10 fixtures that produced 34 goals between the 20 teams and 36 goals in Game Week-9.
There were 23 combined goals scored in Game Week-8 and that was from just 7 fixtures due to the sad passing of our beloved Queen Elizabeth.
That suggests a few things,
1- the Strikers are going through a bad patch,
2- the Goalkeeper and Defenders are playing extremely well or and
3- the change in the Seasons with Summer going into Autumn and the Moon becoming prevalent in Uranus, is affecting all the players.
Whatever the reason, the Premier League hasn’t produced many goals for the fans in attendance at the stadiums or the watching Millions worldwide.
Nottingham Forest were one of the teams that failed to score a goal in the Tuesday night fixture against Brighton at the Amex.
The positive for the travelling faithful was that none were conceded either meaning a draw on the South Coast by a 0-0 scoreline.
There really isn’t much else to say about that game other than the commentator gave the Man of the Match award to Forest’s Ryan Yates who did put in a shift disrupting the Brighton Midfield but couldn’t provide his own Forwards with any real chances.
The phrase ‘Player of the Match is creeping into the commentators’ vocabulary.
This is obviously used as not to upset anyone, however, if one looks at this sensibly, it is the Man of the Match as Men are the only participants.
The point gained against Brighton gives Forest 6 for the campaign so far, leaving the Tricky Trees at the foot of the table following the midweek fixtures.
A single Darwin Nunez goal midway through the 1st-half gave Liverpool the victory against West Ham on Wednesday by a 1-0 score.
That’s back-to-back victories at Anfield for Jurgen’s Reds, by the same 1-0 scoreline.
West Ham did have a chance to equalise on the stroke of half-time when the dreaded VAR instructed the on-field referee, Stuart Attwell to have a rethink about a foul on Jarrod Bowen by Joe Gomez and look at the pitch-side monitor.
Stuart did just that and decided that the Liverpool defender had bumped Jarrod enough to award the Hammers a penalty.
Fortunately for the Anfield Rappers, Jarrod’s tame spot-kick was saved by Alisson and with no further goals, Liverpool gained all 3-points.
Darwin Nunez was superb throughout the 56 minutes on the pitch and is settling to life in the Premier League like a duck to water.
Liverpool sit 7th in the table with 16 points from 10 fixtures completed.
This fixture at the City Ground for the Game Week-13 opener evokes memories of the inaugural Premier League season back in 1992.
A Liverpool team, guided by Graeme Souness headed to Nottingham to take on Brian Clough’s Forest side.
Mr Clough’s starting lineup-
Mark Crossley, Steve Chettle, Brian Laws, Stuart Pearce, Terry Wilson, Scott Gemmill, Gary Crosby, Roy Keane, Ian Woan, Nigel Clough and Teddy Sheringham.
Substitutes-
Kingsley Black for Nigel Clough 84th Minute
Graeme’s eleven-
David James, David Burrows, Nicky Tanner, Mark Wright, Steve Nicol, Mark Walters, Michael Thomas, Ronnie Whelan, Dean Saunders, Paul Stewart and Ian Rush.
Substitutes-
Steve McManaman for Ian Rush 46th Minute
Ronnie Rosenthal for Mark Walters 75th Minute
This was a Sunday game on the opening weekend of that historic 1992/93 season where the English First Division changed the branding to the Premier League and the fixture at the City Ground was chosen as the first live television fixture for Sky Sports.
After half an hour of action, Teddy Sheringham scored the solitary winning goal to give Nottingham Forest the victory over Liverpool by a 1-0 scoreline.
A great start for Mr Brian Clough and his Tricky Trees, however, that appeared to be the pinnacle of the new season, with Forest suffering 6 straight defeats following the win against Liverpool.
Teddy left Nottingham a few days later, to join Tottenham and the Tricky Trees were never the same after his departure.
Forest were eventually relegated at the end of the 1992/93 campaign finishing bottom of the inaugural Premier League table.
This also signalled the end for the legendary Mr Clough who retired in 1993.
Roy Keane also left Nottingham at the end of the campaign joining Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.
The last time these two iconic English Football teams met in the Premier League was in April 1999, with the fixture at the City Ground ending in a draw by a 2-2 scoreline.
Dougie Freedman and Pierre Van Hooijdonk with the Forest goals and Jamie Redknapp and Michael Owen scoring for Liverpool.
The Archbishop was happy.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 12/1, the draw at 11/2 and Odds On 1/4 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/4 that Mo Salah Scores First and 21/20 that Liverpool Win To Nil.
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EVERTON v CRYSTAL PALACE
15.00 in England
Frank Lampard’s Everton suffered another defeat on Wednesday, the Toffees’ 3rd in succession and the 5th of the campaign from the opening 11 fixtures.
In the game at St James Park against a resurgent set of Magpies, Frank’s Blues failed to score and have just 1 goal in the previous 3 defeats.
Newcastle scored the solitary winning goal on the half-hour mark and with no further significant action gained the points from a victory by a 1-0 score.
The defeat leaves Frank Lampard’s Everton in 15th place with 10 points.
Frank needs to see an upturn in fortunes for the Blue half of Merseyside as if the defeats continue, those high voices of the Scousers will get the dogs barking all around Goodison Park and surrounding areas.
Crystal Palace conceded a 1st-half goal against Wolves at Selhurst Park on Tuesday to go in at the break trailing.
Eberechi Eze equalised for the home team just after the restart, to take control of the game and after Wilfried Zaha had scored a 2nd, the Eagles inflicted a defeat on the Wolves by a 2-1 scoreline.
That’s now 3 wins out of the 10 fixtures completed, all achieved at Selhurst Park.
With 4 draws and 3 losses thrown in, those good at Math will have worked out that Palace have 13 points and sit in 11th place in the Premier League table.
When Patrick’s Eagles headed the long distance up the M6 to Merseyside, the fixture was the penultimate game of the season back in May 2022, however, not a Game Week-37 affair but a rearranged 33 fixture.
Crystal Palace were in complete control for the opening 45 minutes with Jean-Phillipe Mateta and Jordan Ayew scoring the goals to give the away team a lead at the break.
Everton were in a precarious position at that time and fought back in the 2nd-half and following goals from Michael Keane, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Frank’s Toffees gained the victory by a 3-2 score.
Betfred offer Everton at 8/5, the draw at 9/4 and 2/1 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/2 that Wilfried Zaha Scores First and 7/2 that Crystal Palace Score in Both Halves.
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MAN CITY v BRIGHTON
15.00 in England
Man City didn’t play in midweek and come into this home fixture against Brighton off the back of their first defeat of the season against Liverpool at Anfield last Sunday.
In a very tight affair against Jurgen’s Reds, Phil Foden had a goal disallowed early in the 2nd-half due to a foul by Erling Haaland.
Pep Guardiola wasn’t happy but in truth, if the first foul wasn’t picked up by the VAR then Erling kicking the ball out of Alisson’s hands just before Phil scored, would have cancelled out the goal anyway.
Joao Cancelo was culpable for the goal when Alisson hit the ball long to Mo Salah and Joao failed to control, allowing Mo in to score past Ederson.
The Egyptian King did have a similar chance earlier but Ederson got a fingertip on Mo’s effort and the ball went wide.
With Arsenal gaining the victory over Leeds United before the game at Anfield kicked off, City were looking to at least get a point to keep the pressure on at the top of the table.
Man City remain 2nd, following Tottenham’s defeat in midweek, with both having 23 points, however, City have only played 10 fixtures, not the 11 Spurs have completed.
Arsenal remain at the summit despite not playing, having 27 points from the same 10 fixtures played as Man City.
As the Gunners don’t play until Sunday, Pep 2 will still be above Pep 1, even if City gain a victory.
Brighton played out a draw on Tuesday against Nottingham Forest at the Amex, with both teams unable to find the back of the net, meaning a point apiece from the 0-0 score.
Roberto De Zerbi is slowly putting his own stamp on the Seagulls following Graham Potter’s departure, however, Brighton haven’t scored a goal in the last 3 fixtures, which does need addressing.
In the Italians’ first game in charge, the Seagulls scored 3 times at Anfield, something Man City couldn’t do, yet since that trip to Merseyside on the 1st of the Month, Brighton haven’t scored.
Roberto’s Seagulls sit 8th in the table with 15 points from 10 fixtures played.
Graham Potters Seagulls held out for the opening 45 minutes at the Etihad in April, with both teams going in goalless at the interval.
Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva scored the City goals in the 2nd-half to give Pep’s High Flying Blues the victory over Graham’s Wizards by a 3-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Man City at Odds On 1/5, the draw at 13/2 and 14/1 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 2/1 that Erling Haaland Scores Two Plus Goals and slight Odds On 20/21 that Man City Win To Nil.
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CHELSEA v MANCHESTER UNITED
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Chelsea failed to score for the first time since August in the fixture against Brentford on Wednesday with both teams unable to trouble the netting.
There’s not much more to say about that particular game between the two West Londoners, other than it’s the first time that Graham Potter has dropped points since taking over.
Chelsea remain 4th with 20 points from 10 fixtures played, however, are now just a point and a place ahead of today’s opponents, who sit in 5th with 19.
There was a team that came out of the corner tunnel at Old Trafford on Wednesday, played like World Beaters and resembled a side that used to win the Premier League title regularly.
That team was Manchester United who tore Tottenham to shreds in a performance that is up there with the best produced over the past couple of seasons.
Even Fred was inspiring, everyone knows John’s view on the Brazilian but credit where credit is due.
After a goalless 1st-half, where the United players peppered the Tottenham goal, with Hugo Lloris making a string of fine saves, Fred saw a shot deflected past the Spurs goalkeeper to give the home team a lead just after the restart.
The goal was well deserved and gave Manchester United the catalyst to push on for a 2nd, which came in the 69th minute following a superb strike by Bruno Fernandes.
Captain Bruno was inspirational throughout and is a different player when Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t playing, with Erik Ten Hag leaving Cristiano on the bench.
This didn’t go down well with the Portuguese legend who was clearly frustrated with not being involved in a brilliant team performance and just before the final whistle, headed into the dressing room to beat his joyous mates into the team bath.
Obviously, the lad wanted to get in the clean water first.
It did appear petulant and Mr Ronaldo should have been there at the end to celebrate a superb victory with the rest of the United players.
The defeat inflicted on Spurs by a 2-0 scoreline leaves Manchester United in 5th place with 19 points, a place and a point adrift of today’s opponents, both having played 10 times.
Erik the Red went with Fred and Casemiro and it worked with both Brazilians giving United energy, especially Fred who was excellent.
If Fred continues in the way he played against Tottenham then the partnership Made in Brazil will push Manchester United on and could propel the Red Devils into the Top Four.
That said, there’s a saying in England, which goes,
‘One swallow doesn’t make a Summer!’
To mean that although something good has happened, the situation may not continue to be good and one cannot rely on it.
Let’s see how the enigmatic Fred performs against Chelsea today.
As for Cristiano Ronaldo, the end might be nigh for the Portugal Superstar, who could be on the way out of Old Trafford, just after the New Year Celebrations have stopped.
At Stamford Bridge last season, Michael Carrick was in temporary charge of Manchester United following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Following a corner to Chelsea, a speculative punt downfield was missed by Jorginho who was the last man and allowed Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford to run clear on goal.
Jadon didn’t pass to Marcus and coolly slotted home to give United the lead.
Chelsea were then awarded a penalty that allowed Jorginho to redeem himself, which the Italian converted to equalise and with no further goals, both shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 scoreline.
The fixture at Old Trafford in April 2022, also finished by the same 1-1 score.
It’s worth mentioning that Brighton, under the guidance of Graham Potter have scored 6 goals against United in the 2 previous fixtures between the Seagulls and the Red Devils.
Betfred offer Chelsea at 23/20, the draw at 13/5 and 5/2 for Manchester United to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Jorginho Scores Anytime and Evens 1/1 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
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Sunday 23rd
ASTON VILLA v BRENTFORD
14.00 in England
Steven Gerrard is under extreme pressure following another defeat on Wednesday, this time away against Fulham by a 3-0 scoreline.
**********BREAKING NEWS***********
Aston Villa have sacked Steven Gerrard.
When John Newsome was working on this column, the news came through around 11.30 PM, that the hierarchy at Villa Park had indeed sacked Stevie G.
After conceding a goal in the 1st-half and 2 after the break, Villa suffered the defeat that as ultimately cost Mr Gerrard his job.
Douglas Luiz was shown a straight Red Card in the 62nd minute by the on-field referee Michael Oliver, again following the advice from the Stockley Park gang.
It appeared that Douglas head-butted Aleksandar Mitrovic and although Big Mit went down easier than a busted balloon, one can’t do that on a football pitch and the sending-off was warranted.
Stevens Claret and Blues were trailing by 1 goal at the time.
The unfortunate Tyrone Mings was credited with the 3rd Fulham goal after a speculative cross deflected off the Big Defender.
That’s the 2nd defeat in succession with just 2 points from a possible 12, leaving Aston Villa in 17th place in the table, with 9 points from the opening 11 fixtures.
Wolves, who sit in the final relegation place, have 9 points, as do Leeds United.
Steven Gerrard will now be joining Liz Truss at the Job Centre, with the Villains preferring Young Lizzy over Stevie G.
Brentford and Chelsea played out a goalless draw on Wednesday at the Gtech Stadium with both teams not requiring any charging up after the game.
Following the draw by a 0-0 score, Thomas’s Bees sit in 10th place with 14 points from 11 games completed.
Ivan Toney and Emiliano Buendia scored the 1st-half goals to take both teams in level at the break at Villa Park in August 2021.
The surprise in that was Ivan’s goal was in the 7th minute and Emiliano’s in the 13th.
With no further goals for the following 77 minutes, both shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at 11/10, the draw at 11/4 and 5/2 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/2 that Ollie Watkins Scores First and 11/8 that Ivan Toney Scores Anytime.
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***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Hugo Lloris- Tottenham
RIGHT-BACK- Kieran Trippier- Newcastle
CENTRE-BACK- Virgil Van Dijk- Liverpool
CENTRE-BACK- Raphael Varane- Manchester
LEFT-BACK- Luke Shaw- Manchester United
MIDFIELDER- Eberechi Eze- Crystal Palace
MIDFIELDER- Fred- Manchester United
MIDFIELDER- Miguel Almiron- Newcastle
FORWARD- Aleksandar Mitrovic- Fulham
FORWARD- Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United
FORWARD- Darwin Nunez- Liverpool
STAR MAN- Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United
LEEDS UNITED v FULHAM
14.00 in England
‘Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again, Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again.’
Jesse Marsch’s Whites headed down the M1 to the King Power on Wednesday and suffered another defeat, this time by a 2-0 scoreline.
Leeds United competed for a while, then the referee blew his whistle for the kickoff.
After conceding 2 goals in the 1st-half, the American Drama Queen has now seen his Boys suffer 5 defeats in the last 7 fixtures, with 3 in succession.
The other 2 finished in draws.
That’s 2 points from a possible 21, which prompted the Joy Division tune,
‘Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again!’
Robert Koch was credited with the Foxes’ opener, converting a cross by Dennis Praet that in truth was a brilliant finish, however, in the wrong net.
Funny though.
Jesse won’t last much longer and will be down the concrete pretty soon, joining Steven Gerrard and Liz Truss in filling out a Job Seekers Allowance form.
Maybe the Elland Rd hierarchy will ask Mr Gerrard to come up the M1 (or Liz?)
The travelling Whites all left Leicester in a grumpy mood, found an off-licence and purchased several cans of Special Brew, the preferred tipple of the West Yorkshire puddings.
Marsching On Together.
(To the Championship!)
Fulham gained a great victory against Aston Villa on Thursday, with the Cottagers inflicting a defeat on the Claret and Blues by a 3-0 scoreline.
Harrison Reed scored in the 1st-half to give Marco Silva’s men a lead at the break.
Aston Villa then had a player sent off and Fulham took immediate advantage with Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring soon after the Red Card.
Aleksandar was on the end of a slight heat butt by Douglas Luiz that resulted in Dougie’s dismissal.
A cross by Neeskens Kebano took a deflection off Tyrone Mings and ended up in the net to gift the home team a 3rd and all 3 points.
Fulham sit 9th in the table with 15 points from the opening 11 fixtures.
It’s all that the Cottagers can hope for after a Yo-Yo time from the Premier League to the Championship and back over the past 5 seasons.
It was September 2020, when the Cottagers ventured up the M1 motorway and on the train to Leeds, to take on the Whites.
Both were under the guidance of different managers with Marcelo Bielsa at the Leeds United helm and Scott Parker in charge of Fulham.
In a very entertaining game, it was the home team that gained the victory by a 4-3 score.
The goals went in as follows,
Leeds United- 5th Minute Helder Costa
Fulham- 34th Minute Aleksandar Mitrovic
Leeds United- 41st Minute Mateusz Klich
Half-time whistle.
Leeds United- 50th Minute Patrick Bamford
Leeds United- 57th Minute Helder Costa
Fulham- 62nd Minute Bobby Decordova-Reid
Fulham- 67th Minute Aleksandar Mitrovic
Full-time whistle.
Betfred offer Leeds United at 11/10, the draw at 13/5 and 13/5 for Fulham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/4 that Patrick Bamford Scores Anytime and 11/10 that Aleksandar Mitrovic Scores Anytime.
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SOUTHAMPTON v ARSENAL
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Southampton finally gained a victory on Wednesday, following 4 defeats and a draw in the previous 5 fixtures.
A single Che Adams goal after 9 minutes was the difference between the Saints and the Cherries giving Southampton the victory against Bournemouth at the Vitality by a 1-0 away night score.
Wreck-It Ralph Hasenhuttl was emotional afterwards, one because of the win and secondly because it appears the audition for a part on the Peaky Blunders didn’t work out, with Ralph sporting the training gear on the touchline.
The 3 points gained in the South Coast Derby, give the Saints 11 points from 11 fixtures played and leave Southampton in 14th place.
It will be worth keeping an eye on what Mr Hasenhuttl is wearing and whether the part on the popular Peaky Blunders TV series is still on the cards.
Arsenal remain at the summit of the Premier League with 27 points from 10 fixtures completed, despite not playing in Game Week-12 due to the Europa League tie against PSV Eindhoven taking precedence over the English Top Flight.
Man City didn’t play either and Tottenham suffered a defeat against Manchester United meaning that the 4-point lead over the two remains going into this next round of fixtures.
Man City play on Saturday but even with a victory for Pep’s High Flying Blues, Mikel’s Young Guns will still be at the top of the Premier League table come the start of this fixture at St Mary’s.
The Gunners faced PSV on Thursday before this trip to play St Mary’s.
The fixture against PSV evoked memories of a game against Manchester United back in 2003, when the current manager of the Dutch club, Ruud Van Nistelrooy was assaulted on the pitch by most of the Arsenal players.
Martin Keown, Ray Parlour and Edu plus the rest were incensed when United were awarded a late penalty following a foul on Diego Forlan by Martin.
Ruud had been involved in an incident with Patrick Vieira which saw the Midfielder shown a 2nd-Yellow and a Red, with the Arsenal players all thinking that Mr Van Nistelrooy had been guilty of playacting to get Patrick sent off.
With the score at 0-0, United were awarded a very late penalty, an Old Trafford/Fergie Time penalty, that gave Ruud Van Nistelrooy the chance to score and give United the victory.
Unfortunately for the Red Devil faithful, Ruud smashed the ball against the crossbar and that was that.
The referee blew the final whistle and the players erupted, with Mr Keown jumping on Ruud.
The Gooners gave Mr VN a great reception. at the Emirates last night.
The date of that particular fixture was the 21st of September 2003, 19 years ago.
How time flies!
At St Mary’s last season, a single Jan Bednarek goal just before the half-time whistle, gave Southampton the victory over Arsenal by a 1-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Southampton at 5/1, the draw at 10/3 and slight Odds On 3/5 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 10/3 that Gabriel Jesus Scores First and 5/4 that Arsenal Score in Both Halves.
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WOLVES v LEICESTER
14.00 in England
The David Attenborough Derby.
Wolves v Foxes.
Wolves suffered a defeat on Tuesday away at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace.
The away team, still under the guidance of the Caretaker Manager Steve Davis, scored the opener in the 1st-half when Adama Traore got his head onto a Hugo Bueno cross to give Wolves a lead at the break.
Unfortunately for the travelling Gold and Blacks the home team scored twice after the interval to inflict the defeat on Wolves by a 2-1 score.
The next name on the Wolves’ potential Managers list is Peter Bosz who is a Dutch Manager, having been in charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon.
However, Peter doesn’t appear to stay at clubs long with those 5 stints coming in the last 6 years.
For the time being, Steve Davis (not the Snooker player!) is still in charge and it could be for a while yet.
Wolves sit in the relegation zone, in 18th place with 9 points from the opening 11 games played.
The same 9 points as Aston Villa and Leeds United.
The problem for Steve’s Men is scoring goals with just 5 scored in the 11 fixtures.
Mr Davis or the new Manager’s immediate task is to improve that statistic.
There was a positive for the faithful to dwell on and that was the performance of Hugo Bueno, who made his first start of the season in the game against Palace.
The young Spanish Left-Back had a great game, providing a superb cross for Adama’s goal and was unfortunate to finish on the losing team.
Leicester gained a much-needed victory at the King Power against Leeds United on Wednesday to give Brendan Rodgers a bit of breathing space in the quest to keep his job.
Leeds gave Leicester a start when the German Defender Robert Koch turned past his own goalkeeper to gift the Foxes an opener.
Dennis Praet crossed the ball in for Harvey Barnes but Mr Koch thought,
‘I’m having that!’ and coolly slotted home.
Harvey then added a 2nd before the break and with no further in the 2nd-half, gained the victory by a 2-0 score.
Mr Barnes goal came from a superb team move by the Leicester players that showed that the Foxes can play at times.
The problem is, it’s not consistent enough.
The win lifts Brendan’s Wonderfuls off the foot of the table, sitting in 19th place with 8 points from 11 games completed.
It’s tight at the bottom of the Premier League, so any team that strings a few victories together will pull away from the drop zone.
Leicester could quite easily do that.
When the Foxes took on the Wolves at Molineux last season, Bruno’s Gold and Blacks gained the victory over Brendan’s Wonderfuls by a narrow 2-1 scoreline.
Ruben Neves scored first for the home team, with Ademola Lookman equalising to take both teams in level at the break.
Daniel Podence scored the winner just after the hour mark.
Betfred offer Wolves at 5/4, the draw at 5/2 and 23/10 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/2 that Jamie Vardy Scores First and slight Odds On 10/11 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
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TOTTENHAM v NEWCASTLE
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
Tottenham suffered a defeat on Wednesday against Manchester United at Old Trafford, with the home team inflicting a defeat on Antonio’s Spurs by a 2-0 score.
In truth, Tottenham had Hugo Lloris to thank for the scoreline not being far wider, with the Frenchman making a string of superb saves in the 1st-half to deny United from scoring.
Unfortunately, for the travelling Lilywhites, Hugo conceded just after the restart with a deflected shot going into the goal.
It was unlucky for Mr Lloris, however, it was coming and inevitable that Tottenham would concede.
United scored a 2nd and with no further goals, Mr Conte’s Spurs suffered their 2nd defeat from the opening 11 fixtures.
Tottenham remain 3rd in the table with 23 points, the same as Man City who have only completed 10 games and play on Saturday.
Chelsea sit in 4th with 20 points and depending on the result of their fixture against Manchester United, also on Saturday, Spurs could be as low as 4th come kick-off against Newcastle.
That said, Graham’s New Blue Wizards would have to score 6 goals more than United to jump above Antonio’s Men.
Newcastle are one of the form teams at the moment, gaining another victory on Wednesday, with the Magpies inflicting a defeat on the Toffees by a 1-0 scoreline.
Miguel Almiron scored the solitary winning goal after half an hour at St James Park to give the Black and Whites the points.
Only Chelsea and Arsenal have more points than Newcastle out of the previous 5 fixtures.
The goal was Miguel’s 5th of the campaign so far which is an excellent return for the Paraguayan.
The Toon Army will be hoping that goal-scoring form continues.
Newcastle sit in 6th place with 18 points from 11 games played.
Eddie’s Magpies got taught a lesson at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium in April with Antonio’s Spurs getting the victory by a 5-1 scoreline.
It was Newcastle that scored 1st, with Fabian Schar giving the away team a lead after 39 minutes.
Ben Davies equalised for Tottenham 4 minutes later to take both teams in level at the break.
It was then the home team that took control, with 2nd-half goals from Matt Doherty, Son Heung-Min, Emerson Royal and Steven Bergwijn giving Spurs the emphatic victory.
Betfred offer Tottenham at 11/10, the draw at 13/5 and 13/5 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/4 that Harry Kane Scores First and Evens 1/1 that there are Over 2.5 Goals.
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Monday 24th
WEST HAM v BOURNEMOUTH
20.00 in England
Sky Sports
West Ham suffered a narrow defeat away at Anfield against Liverpool on Wednesday.
After conceding a goal in the 22nd minute, the Hammers had the chance to equalise when Jarrod Bowen was bungled over in the area.
The dreaded VAR had to get involved and informed the on-field referee Stuart Attwell to have a look at the pitch-side monitor.
As most now know, this usually means the original decision is changed.
The original decision by Stuart was to play on and ignore the foul on Jarrod.
Once Mr Attwell had another look, the penalty was awarded.
Mr Bowen dusted himself down and took the spot-kick, however, had the tame kick saved by the Liverpool stopper.
With no further goals, the travelling Bubbles witnessed a defeat by a 1-0 scoreline.
West Ham remain in 13th place in the table, with the same 11 points as Southampton but with a slightly inferior goal difference, both having completed 11 games.
Bournemouth suffered their 1st defeat on Wednesday since Gary O’Neil took over as Caretaker Manager.
After conceding a goal early on in proceedings against Southampton at the Vitality, the Cherries couldn’t score in the remainder of the game giving the Saints the points from a victory by a 1-0 score.
Bournemouth sit 12th in the table with the same 13 points as Crystal Palace having both completed 11 fixtures.
There’s no new news regarding the permanent Manager position so Gary will just continue until informed otherwise.
Despite the temporary set back Mr O’Neil has done excellent whilst being in temporary charge.
It was New Year’s Day in 2020 when the Cherries last ventured up to the London Stadium to take on the Hammers.
David Moyes Boys gained the victory over Eddie Howe’s Men by a 4-0 scoreline.
Goals from Sebastian Haller in between a couple of Mark Noble strikes gave West Ham a comfortable lead at half-time.
Felipe Anderson added a 4th midway through the 2nd-half to give the Bubbles something extra to celebrate.
Happy New Year.
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Game Week-13 (1997/98)
Saturday 1st November 1997
BARNSLEY v BLACKBURN
Oakwell
15.00 in England
This fixture between the two Northerners dates back to February 1913, when Barnsley hosted Blackburn at Oakwell in a FA Cup tie.
It was the away team, Rovers that got the victory by a 3-2 score and knocked the current holders of the coveted trophy out of the competition.
The current holders, due to Barnsley FC winning the 1912 FA Cup for the one and only time in their history.
The same year as the Titanic sank.
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio starred in the famous movie, Titanic which came out in 1997.
For a short period of time, the good folk of Barnsley thought that the new film was an omen and the Super Reds were going to win the FA Cup again in the 1997/98 campaign.
The two B teams (Barnsley and Blackburn) met regularly over the next 84 years in various divisions that both found themselves in but it was on November the 1st 1997 that Barnsley took on Blackburn for the first time in the Top Flight of English football.
Barnsley had just been taught a footballing lesson the week before, suffering another defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford by a 7-0 score.
Danny Wilson’s lineup against Blackburn-
David Watson, Ales Krizan, Arjan De Zeeuw, Adie Moses, Peter Shirtcliffe, Jovo Bosancic, Martin Bullock, Neil Redfearn, Darren Sheridan, John Hendrie and Georgi Hristov.
Substitutes-
Nicky Eaden for Darren Sheridan 45th Minute
Andy Liddell for Georgi Hristov 55th Minute
Darren Barnard for Ales Krizan 73rd Minute
Roy Hodgson was in charge of Blackburn and sent out the following-
Tim Flowers, Stephane Henchoz, Colin Hendry, Jeff Kenna, Chris Sutton, Gary Croft, Damian Duff, Billy McKinlay, Stuart Ripley, Tim Sherwood and Kevin Gallacher.
Substitutes-
Tore Andre Pedersen for Colin Hendry 27th Minute
Jason Wilcox for Damien Duff 64th Minute
The Red and White Army were out in force to see a Blackburn team that had been Premier League Champions, just 2-years earlier, with Rovers under the guidance of Sir Kenny Dalglish, winning the title in the 1994/95 campaign.
Although the Oakwell stadium wasn’t at full capacity, there were around 16,000 or so Reds and a couple of thousand of the travelling Blackburn faithful that ventured East over the M62.
After dominating most of the possession for the opening half hour, the pressure paid off when the Rovers’ Captain, Tim Sherwood scored the opener for the visitors.
Danny Wilson had brought his old Sheffield Wednesday mate, the Big Defender Peter Shirtcliffe into the starting eleven following the previous week’s destruction in Manchester.
Peter, who played most of his career at Hillsborough, is a Barnsley boy, born in a village called Hoyland and was part of the promotion-winning team but now aged 36, it was thought the lad had retired before being asked to put the boots back on for the visit of Blackburn.
Mr Shirtcliffe started in Barnsley’s inaugural Premier League fixture against West Ham back in August 1997, then against Everton at Goodison Park in September 1997.
This game against Blackburn was the 3rd outing of the season for the Old Boy.
The defence appeared a bit more solid against Rovers despite conceding the opener.
Barnsley came back into the game in the 2nd-half when the Serbian, Jovo Bosancic scored a superb equaliser with 10 minutes remaining.
With no further goals, Barnsley held on for a valuable point from the first drawn game of the season following 3 wins and 9 losses out of the previous 12 fixtures.
The Barnsley fans booked an open-top bus to get on for the short trip back into town and then the celebrations started, with choruses of,
‘Bra-zil, it’s just like watching Bra-zil!’
Well, that’s how John remembers the night, however, it was 25 years ago.
The other 3 singing in the pub, along with this EveryTip contributor were politely asked to,
‘Shut the ! Up.’
If one looks at the league table below it’s quite apparent that the problem for Barnsley was conceding goals.
The Reds had scored 10 in the 13 games but had let in 36 giving a minus-26 goal difference.
However, the point gained against Blackburn, lifted Barnsley off the foot of the table, with the Reds’ Yorkshire rivals, Sheffield Wednesday dropping to the bottom, which did please the Oakwell faithful.
In Japanese Whispers later that night, John, reminiscent of Leonardo had a cheeky drunken dance with a young lady and with arms outstretched, in front of the DJ stand, sang out,
‘My heart will go on!’
The lovely girl thought it was aimed at her, however, it was really for Danny Wilson and the Super Reds.
15-Tottenham 13 pts (minus-6 goals)
16- Southampton 13 pts (minus-7 goals)
17- Everton 12 pts (minus-5 goals)
18- Bolton 12 pts (minus-6 goals)
19- Barnsley 10 pts (minus-26 goals)
20- Sheffield Wednesday 9 pts (minus-17 goals)
Draw 1-1
The Pub League in Scotland haven’t played since the weekend with Celtic and Rangers competing in the Scottish Pub Cup.
Celtic got a convincing victory over Motherwell (who?) by a 6-1 scoreline and Rangers inflicted a defeat on Dundee (who?) by a 1-0 score, both progressing to the next round.
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