The highlight games for the weekend action are CRYSTAL PALACE versus LIVERPOOL and ASTON VILLA versus ARSENAL. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these and all game week 16 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-16
Saturday 09th
CRYSTAL PALACE v LIVERPOOL
12.30 in England
TNT Sport
Can one believe it’s been over a year since the World Cup in Qatar?
The 3rd Premier League fixture comes up in the space of 9 days for these two and for that matter most of the 20 teams in the Promised Land.
The Eagle Ultras are becoming restless at Selhurst Park following another uninspiring performance on the pitch, this time against the Cherries on Wednesday night.
Crystal Palace suffered a home defeat against Bournemouth by a 2-0 scoreline, which is now 7 losses out of the 15 games completed so far.
The other 8 have produced 4 wins and 4 draws giving Palace 16 points from a possible 45.
Roy Hodgson will always keep the team in the Premier League but as time goes on, is that what the Eagles faithful want?
As time goes on also, Mr Hodgson isn’t getting any younger and maybe it’s time for the Old Boy to get out his slippers and stay at home watching Homes Under The Hammer and adopting a Donkey, bearing in mind that the old lad has signed a few in his day.
Crystal Palace sit in 14th place with the same 16 points as Bournemouth from 15 games.
14,15,16
Liverpool gained a professional victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Wednesday by a 2-0 scoreline.
Professional due to the emotion of the fixture with Sheffield United sacking Paul Heckinbottom and bringing back the ex-Blades Boss Chris Wilder.
Meaning that Jurgen’s Reds had to take the sentiment out of the game and just play the opponent.
Liverpool are a better team than Sheffield United which was borne out by goals from Virgil Van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai giving the away team a great 3 points.
With Arsenal gaining a victory the night before, it was imperative that Liverpool got the victory to keep on the coattails in 2nd place, with the win leaving the Reds with 34 points from the 15 games.
Two adrift of the Gunners.
The added bonus for Mr Klopp and the Anfield Rappers was that Man City suffered a defeat and are now sitting in 4th place with 30 points.
Aston Villa moved up to 3rd with 32, meaning there are 6 points between the Top Four.
All to play for!
In last season’s encounter at Selhurst Park, which took place in February, both sets of players failed to find the back of the net, with the game finishing in a draw by a 0-0 score.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 5/1, the draw at 16/5 and Odds On 8/15 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/2 that Michael Olise Scores Anytime and 6/5 that Liverpool Score in Both Halves.
Away Win 1-2- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BRIGHTON v BURNLEY
15.00 in England
Brighton gained a home victory over Brentford at the Amex on Wednesday with the Seagulls inflicting the defeat on the Bees by a 2-1 scoreline.
After conceding a penalty that was converted, goals from Pascal Gross and Jack Hinshelwood gave the home team all 3 points from a relatively tight affair.
Brighton are straight back at the Amex against one of the favourites to be relegated therefore a Home Win should be on the cards.
The Seagulls sit in 8th place with 25 points from the 15 fixtures completed so far.
In Monday’s EveryTip column it was stated that the fixture between Wolves and Burnley at Molineux on Tuesday Night would only produce 1 goal and added to that, only 1 team would score, that being the home team.
As it turned out, a Wolves goal in the 42nd minute proved to be the only one of the game leaving Vincent Kompany’s Clarets with a defeat by a 1-0 scoreline and another correct prediction from this EveryTip column.
Granted, there were a few other predictions that were slightly awry but only by the odd goal or so and that is basically the nature of the beast.
That loss leaves Burnley in 19th place with 7 points from 15 games played.
It was February 2022 when Burnley last ventured South to the Amex to face Brighton with the Clarets gaining an away day victory over the Seagulls by a 3-0 scoreline.
Wout Weghorst, Josh Brownhill and Aaron Lennon with the Burnley goals.
Yes, Wout Weghorst!
Betfred offer Brighton at Odds On 1/2, the draw at 18/5 and 5/1 for Burnley to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Kaoru Mitoma Scores Anytime and 13/8 that Brighton Win To Nil.
Home Win 2-0- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
MANCHESTER UNITED v BOURNEMOUTH
15.00 in England
A rare 3.00 PM kick-off for the Red Devils that gives the Cherries faithful a fair and reasonable chance to get to and from Old Trafford in good time.
Manchester United continued their up and down season by gaining a comfortable victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
After suffering a defeat against Newcastle, the flat-track bullies easily gained the win over a poor set of Blues by a 2-1 score, with Scott McTominay scoring both goals.
Bruno Fernandes did miss a penalty early on in proceedings that did irk a few who had Bruno to Score the First Goal.
Cheers Mr Fernandes!
There has been a lot of speculation that Erik Ten Hag has lost the dressing room (whatever that means!) even resulting in Erik banning a few journalists from entering the club.
Bit petty Erik!
The boys and girls are just reporting on your mess so one should look in the mirror first before casting aspersions.
It was evident that United had improved from Saturday’s visit to St James Park but it was also evident that Erik Ten Bob dropped Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford who are both not good enough at the moment.
It’s been mentioned a few times in this EveryTip column regarding Anthony Martial, God loves a trier and Tony shouldn’t be anywhere near the team.
That’s not the fault of the journalists, that’s a clear and obvious error from Mr Ten Hag.
As for Marcus, there’s something not right about the lad which does need looking into.
At the moment, Erik needs to leave Marcus out of the starting lineup and give him the odd 10 minutes here and there like on Wednesday to see if the form returns.
There’s no point starting a player who is simply not interested and again that’s not the fault of the journalists!
It’s the fault of Erik and Marcus, which Mr Ten Hag needs to find out quickly, the reason why a guy who scored 17 Premier League goals last season, has simply just stopped.
Despite all the negativity surrounding the club, United sit in 6th place with the same 27 points as Tottenham, now just 3 adrift of the Noisy Neighbours City and 5 behind Aston Villa.
Although Bournemouth have improved, the flat-track bullies, especially being at home, should gain the victory, however, if Erik changes the starting lineup and brings back Mr Rashford and Mr Martial, that might not be the case.
As mentioned, Bournemouth have improved of late and are now unbeaten in 4, with 3 wins from those meaning 10 points from a possible 12.
The latest victory came against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Wednesday with goals from Marcos Senesi and Kieffer Moore giving the Cherries the win by a 2-0 away night score.
It’s been stated that the reason for the improvement may just be that Andoni Iraola’s methods are starting to be understood by the Cherries players which is what a lot of people don’t understand when a new Manager comes in.
The boy can’t just wave a magic wand and think the players will get the message straight away.
It takes time but it’s evident from the unbeaten 4 previous fixtures that Bournemouth are on the up.
That said, this will be a tough ask at Old Trafford against a team that like playing those below them.
Bournemouth sit in 15th place with the same 16 points as Crystal Palace from the 15 fixtures so far.
In last season’s affair, goals from Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford gave United the home victory over Bournemouth by a 3-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Manchester United at Odds On 8/15, the draw at 18/5 and 9/2 for Bournemouth to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 13/8 that Alejandro Garnacho Scores Anytime and 11/10 that Manchester United Score in Both Halves.
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SHEFFIELD UNITED v BRENTFORD
15.00 in England
The Blades faithful are straight back at Bramall Lane following Wednesday’s Night Out in Sheffield and the Greasy Chip Butty.
The new/old Manager took charge of Sheffield United for the first time against Liverpool in midweek, however, despite a lot of effort by the players, Chris Wilder couldn’t change the fortunes of the Blades and another defeat occurred, this time by a 2-0 scoreline.
Chris made a surprise change to the starting lineup, bringing in Andre Brooks who started for the first time since August.
The effort was there for all to see but Sheffield United are a weak Premier League team who remain at the foot of the table with 5 points.
James from Swinton, nowhere near Bramall Lane was a bit gutted that Paul Heckinbottom has left, not because of any football attachment but because it’s coming up to Christmas and Little Jimbo had been learning the Seasonal Song for Paul that he was hoping to sing at the Lane on Boxing Day.
‘Last Christmas, I gave you my heart but the very next day, you gave it away, this year, to save me from tears,
I’ll give it to Heckingbottom!’
Seventeen more sleeps before Santa and the Spanner turn up!
Brentford themselves suffered a defeat on Wednesday, with Thomas Frank’s Bees on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline against Brighton at the Amex.
Bryan Mbeumo converted an early penalty to ease the nerves of the travelling faithful, however, Brighton did equalise soon after.
Bryan then picked up an injury just before the interval which seemed to change the whole momentum of the game.
The home team added a 2nd and with no further goals, Brentford suffered their 3rd defeat in the last 4 games.
The previous 4, saw 3 wins and a loss, so that’s 4 and 4 from the last 8 games, meaning 12 points from a possible 24.
It was then revealed that Bryan Mbeumo might be missing for a few weeks due to the injury which will have a big impact on the Brentford team.
Brentford sit in 11th place with the same 19 points as Chelsea having both West London clubs suffer midweek defeats.
When the Bees last made the long-distance North to Bramall Lane to take on the Blades, coincidentally Chris Wilder was in charge with his home team gaining the victory over Thomas Frank’s travellers by a 2-0 scoreline.
Oliver Norwood converted a 1st-half penalty with David McGoldrick adding a 2nd late on in proceedings.
Gary Madine was shown a straight Red Card in the 35th minute which did see Sheffield United play the remainder of the game with 10 Men, however, Brentford couldn’t take advantage and ultimately suffered a defeat.
If one is not familiar with Mr Madine, let’s just say, the lad could be considered ‘a sandwich short of a picnic’ and not to be played with!
That was a Championship fixture back in March 2019, which eventually saw Sheffield United gain promotion at the end of the campaign.
Due to various promotions and relegation, the two haven’t met in the Top Flight yet so this will be a first.
Betfred offer Sheffield United at 7/2, the draw at 11/4 and Odds On 8/11 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/4 that Cameron Archer Scores Anytime and Evens 1/1 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
Home Win 2-0- Get 22/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
WOLVES v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
15.00 in England
Wolves come into this 2nd home game in succession off the back of a victory against Burnley on Tuesday.
Hwang-Hee Chan scored just before the half-time cup of tea and with no further goals, Gary O’Neils Gold and Blacks gained the win by a 1-0 scoreline, as predicted in this EveryTip column on Monday.
Wolves sit in 13th place with the same 18 points as Fulham going into this Game Week-16 affair.
The pressure on Steve Cooper increased following Wednesday’s horrendous performance at Craven Cottage where Nottingham Forest suffered a defeat against Fulham by a 5-0 scoreline.
The record at the moment from the 15 games completed is 3 Wins, 4 Draws and 8 Losses, with 4 of those losses coming in the last 4 games.
Meaning, Nottingham Forest have 13 points and sit in 16th place with just Luton, Everton, Burnley and Sheffield United below.
At the moment, Steve is still in charge but following Paul Heckinbottom’s sacking, which was the first of the season, it might see a knock-on effect from other owners that see a few more Managers at the Job Centre.
There is a rumour that the Forest hierarchy have given Mr Cooper this game against Wolves as a last chance to save his job, however, from experience, that is never a good forward-thinking plan as it shouldn’t be based on just one game.
A Ruben Neves converted penalty just after the half-time Bovril (other beverages are available) was the difference between these two Midlanders when Forest turned up at Molineux in October 2022, giving Wolves the victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
Forest were awarded their own penalty, however, Brennan Johnson failed to do what Ruben did and missed the spot-kick.
Betfred offer Wolves at slight Odds On 5/6, the draw at 5/2 and 16/5 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/4 that Hwang-Hee Chan Scores Anytime and 5/2 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Home Win 3-1- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
**Premier League Team of the (Mid)Week**
GOALKEEPER- Emiliano Martinez- Aston Villa
RIGHT-BACK- Ezri Konsa- Aston Villa
CENTRE-BACK- Diego Carlos- Aston Villa
CENTRE-BACK- Virgil Van Dijk- Liverpool
LEFT-BACK- Jack Hinshelwood- Brighton
MIDFIELDER- Pascal Gross- Brighton
MIDFIELDER- John McGinn- Aston Villa
MIDFIELDER- Leon Bailey- Aston Villa
MIDFIELDER- Scott McTominay- Manchester United
FORWARD- Elijah Adebayo- Luton
FORWARD- Gabriel Jesus- Arsenal
STAR MAN- Leon Bailey- Aston Villa
ASTON VILLA v ARSENAL
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
This will turn out to be a late night for the Gooners who travel up to Villa Park and won’t be setting off back until around 8.00 PM on Saturday.
Let’s hope the Rattler companies are not on strike so the girls and boys from North London can get home safely.
Aston Villa gained the best result of the midweek Amazon Jungle fixtures, inflicting a defeat on Man City by a 1-0 scoreline.
Despite only 1 goal, Unai Emery’s Claret and Blues were head and shoulders above Pep’s Low Flying Blues who are simply not the same team without Roadie Rodri.
Leon Bailey had the game of his life against City, eventually scoring the winner late on and putting in a performance which basically said,
‘Come and get me, Mr Guardiola!’
The display was simply brilliant from Villa who out-Citied City with Unai’s tactical genius being above Pep’s which not many Managers can say.
Aston Villa swapped places with Man City and now sit in 3rd place with 32 points.
What Villa have to do now is continue and match the performance against City in this fixture against the Premier League leaders otherwise the victory on Wednesday won’t mean anything.
Arsenal proved why they are real title contenders on Tuesday, coming from a goal behind to not only score an equaliser but then get the winner with the last touch of the game against Luton at Kenilworth Rd.
Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus scored in the 1st-half to give the away team a lead at the break.
Another Angel had scored for Luton in between Arsenal’s two, him being Gabriel Osho.
The Gunners then conceded an equaliser just after the restart.
David Raya didn’t have the best of games and could be considered at fault for Luton’s second and definitely could have done better with the Hatters’ third before Kai Havertz scored to level up proceedings.
With 6 minutes added time up, Arsenal did what all potential Premier League Title Contenders do and scored a winner with the last kick or to be precise, head of the game when Declan Rice nodded home to snatch a victory from the jaws of a draw.
The goal was scored so late that there was only time for the kick-off before the referee blew the final whistle.
Whilst this was a great result for Mikel’s Young Guns and a brilliant victory, it wasn’t the best of performance and a more experienced team would have inflicted a defeat on Arsenal, which does bode well for the Liverpool and Man City faithful out there.
The win left Arsenal at the summit of the table with 36 points regardless of the outcome of the rest of the midweek fixtures.
It was rumoured that a couple of cats residing in Liverpool and Manchester scarpered as soon as Declan’s header went in, knowing that a kick might be aimed in their direction from Jurgen and Pep who were sat at home with a glass of Riesling and Rioja in hand respectively wearing old Luton jerseys with ‘Walsh’ on the back of Klipperty’s and ‘Dibble’ on the back of the Pepster’s.
Mikel Arteta wasn’t bothered and knew that he could settle down on Wednesday and watch the football in the Amazon Jungle knowing that his team were at the Top of the Table regardless of the results at Bramall Lane and Villa Park.
In last season’s fixture between these two, the game ended in a 6-goal thriller with a victory for Mikel’s Young Guns by a 4-2 away day score.
The goals going in as follows,
5′ Ollie Watkins (1-0 Aston Villa)
16′ Bukayo Saka (1-1 Arsenal)
31′ Philippe Coutinho (2-1 Aston Villa)
Half-time Chicken Balti Pie.
61′ Oleksandr Zinchenko (2-2 Arsenal)
90+3′ Emiliano Martinez-OG (2-3 Arsenal)
90+8′ Gabriel Martinelli (2-4 Arsenal)
Full-time Dubonnet and Coke.
Which will have irked the ex-Arsenal Gaffer, Unai Emery.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at 12/5, the draw at 13/5 and 21/20 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/4 that Ollie Watkins Scores Anytime and 13/8 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Draw 2-2- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 10th
EVERTON v CHELSEA
14.00 in England
Seamus Coleman made his first start of the campaign and put in a great hour against Newcastle on Thursday before the legs packed in.
It happens to everyone Seamus.
Everton put in a great performance that eventually paid off in the 79th minute when Dwight McNeil capitalised on an error by the usually dependable Kieran Trippier and slotted home the opener.
Abdoulaye Doucoure then did the same 7 minutes later following another error by Kieran and scored to give the home team a 2 goal lead.
With 10 minutes added time shown on the clock, Beto scored a 3rd for Everton to gain the victory over Newcastle by a 3-0 score.
That lifted Everton out of the drop zone, now sitting 17th with 10 points, which would obviously be 20 without the deduction.
Chelsea saw the flat-track bully effect at Old Trafford on Wednesday, succumbing to a defeat against Manchester United by a 2-1 scoreline.
Robert Sanchez did save an early penalty and Cole Palmer scored to level the game on the stroke of half-time.
However, United, who were the dominant team, scored the winner in the 69th minute to gain the home victory and inflict a loss on Mauricio’s Blues.
Chelsea stay in 10th place with the same 19 points as the West London rivals Brentford.
A quick quiz question for everyone.
Who were the two Managers when Chelsea last ventured North to Goodison Park to take on Everton in August 2022, which just happened to be the opening fixture of the campaign?
Answer-
Everton had the ex-Chelsea legend Frank Lampard at the helm and Chelsea had the ex-Stuttgarter Kickers legend Thomas Tuchel in charge.
A single Jorginho converted penalty on the stroke of half-time gave Chelsea the away day victory over Everton by a 1-0 scoreline.
Neither Manager lasted the season at the clubs, with Frank leaving Everton and taking over at Chelsea when Graham Potter was sacked following taking over at Chelsea when Thomas Tuchel was sacked who then took over at Bayern Munich.
No, one has not misread that paragraph, it actually occurred.
Betfred offer Everton at 11/5, the draw at 5/2 and 23/20 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/1 that Vitali Mykolenko Scores Anytime and 3/1 that Everton Score in Both Halves.
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FULHAM v WEST HAM
14.00 in England
Fulham hammered Nottingham Forest on Wednesday gaining a home victory by a 5-0 scoreline.
Two goals apiece from Alex Iwobi and Raul Jimenez and one from Tom Cairney gave Marco Silva’s Cottagers the brilliant midweek win over a struggling set of Tricky Trees.
Fulham sit in 12th place with the same 18 points as Wolves.
West Ham gained a great away night victory against Tottenham on Thursday by a 2-1 away night score.
After conceding an early Spurs goal to trail at the interval, Jarrod Bowen scored an equaliser just after the restart and then James Ward-Prowse capitalised on an error by the Tottenham defence and scored the winner after playing a 1-2 with the post.
West Ham remain in 9th place with 24 points from the opening 15 games.
A single goal credited as an OG to Fulham’s Harrison Reed after 23 minutes, gave West Ham the away day victory over Fulham by a 1-0 scoreline at Craven Cottage last season.
Betfred offer Fulham at 7/5, the draw at 12/5 and 15/8 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/4 that Willian Scores Anytime and 21/20 that Jarrod Bowen Scores Anytime.
Draw 1-1- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
LUTON v MAN CITY
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Luton played in a very entertaining game against Arsenal at Kenilworth Rd on Tuesday but the lack of Premier League experience ultimately cost the Hatters in the end when the Gunners scored a last-gasp winner to inflict a defeat on the home team by a 4-3 scoreline.
It was that last gasp that there wasn’t any time left once Luton restarted the game.
20′ Gabriel Martinelli (0-1 Arsenal)
25′ Gabriel Osho (1-1 Luton)
45′ Gabriel Jesus (1-2 Arsenal)
Half-time Bag of Monster Munch (Pickled Onion Flavour)
49′ Elijah Adebayo (2-2 Luton)
57′ Ross Barclay (3-2 Luton)
60′ Kai Havertz (3-3 Arsenal)
90+7′ Declan Rice (3-4 Arsenal)
Full-time Kay Bab and Chips
Ross Barclay had a great game throughout and scored an important goal, with all of the Luton players putting in a great shift, however, it was ultimately the lack of Top Flight experience that cost the Hatters at least a point, if not 3.
Added to that, Arsenal are top of the Premier League and will be there or thereabouts come next May so all connected with Luton should be proud of the nights’ work.
That said, it was still a defeat and after Everton’s subsequent victory on Thursday, it leaves Rob Edwards’ men in 18th place, back in the drop zone with 9 points from the 15 fixtures completed.
There is a phenomenon regarding Man City and that is,
Why can’t Pep’s Low Flying Blues gain a victory without Rodri?
City have suffered 4 Premier League defeats so far with Roadie Rodri missing all 4 games due to suspension.
That suggests that the Spaniard needs to stop getting Red and Yellow Cards.
The latest defeat came against Aston Villa on Wednesday where Unai’s Claret and Blues got the victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
There was nothing controversial about the win, Aston Villa were simply the better team throughout and deserved all 3 points.
There is talk that Kevin De Bruyne is close to a return which will enhance a below-par set of Citizens but Pep Guardiola has to be careful as the team’s above might be out of sight before KDB is back.
City drop to 4th place with 30 points from the opening 15 games, without a Premier League victory since the game against Bournemouth on the 4th of November.
Man City play this game against Luton, a Champions League Match-Day 6 tie on Wednesday against Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade), then take on Crystal Palace next Saturday (16th) before heading off to Saudi Arabia to compete in the World Club Cup, which will be the first time following City’s inaugural victory in the Champions League back in June.
The competition does have a strange format with only 7 teams competing, this will change in 2025 but for now, just 7 take part.
The New Format in 2025 will offer up a few surprises, however, that’s for the future.
This year Man City will only play a maximum of 2 games with a Semi-Final and a Final or the Third Place Playoff match if unsuccessful in the Semi.
The opponents are known and below is an explanation of how the format will work.
TEAMS AT THE 2023 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP IN SAUDI ARABIA-
Winners of the 2022/23 Saudi Professional League (Host Country)-
AL-ITTIHAD (SAUDI ARABIA)
Winners of the 2022/23 CAF Champions League-
AL AHLY (EGYPT)
Winners of the 2023 OFC Champions League-
AUCKLAND CITY (NEW ZEALAND)
Winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores-
FLUMINENSE (BRAZIL)
Winners of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League-
LEON (MEXICO)
Winners of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League-
MAN CITY ( ENGLAND)
Winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League-
URAWA RED DIAMONDS (JAPAN)
MATCHES AT THE 2023 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP
December 12th
First Round-
AL-ITTIHAD v AUCKLAND CITY
18.00 in England
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
December 15th
Second Round-
LEON v URAWA RED DIAMONDS
14.30 in England
Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
AL AHLY v AL-ITTIHAD OR AUCKLAND CITY
18.00 in England
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
December 18th
Semi-Finals-
FLUMINENSE v AL AHLY OR AL-ITTIHAD OR AUCKLAND CITY
18.00 in England
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
December 19th
MAN CITY v LEON OR URAWA RED DIAMONDS
18:00 in England
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
December 22nd
Third-Place Playoff
Defeated Semi-Final Teams
14.30 in England
Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
World Club Cup Final
Semi-Final Winners
18.00 in England
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
It’s worth adding that Al-Ittihad are managed by the Argentinian Marcelo Gallardo, who has only just taken over following the sacking of the ex-Wolves and Tottenham Manager Nuno Espírito Santo.
Once the tournament ends, Man City will fly home for the Christmas period, with fixtures against Everton on the 27th and Sheffield United on the 30th, missing out on the Game Week-18 affair against Brentford which was due to take place on the 23rd of December.
It was November 1998 when Luton and Kenilworth Rd, last hosted Man City, which was in the equivalent of today’s League 1 or Division 3.
The Luton line-up sent out by Lennie Lawrence,
Kevin Davis, Graham Alexander, Steve Davis, Gavin McGowan, Marvin Johnson, Matthew Spring, Ray McKinnon, Sean Evers, Stuart Douglas, Phil Gray and Simon Davies.
Substitutes-
Gary Doherty
Paul McLaren
Alan White
Man City’s starting eleven sent out by Joe Royle-
Nicky Weaver, Richard Edghill, Tony Vaughan, Andy Morrison, Gerard Wiekens, Gary Mason, Ian Bishop, Lee Crookes, Shaun Goater, Gareth Taylor and Craig Russell.
Substitutes-
Danny Tiatto for Andy Morrison
Michael Brown for Ian Bishop
Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Luton’s Gary Doherty equalising an earlier Andy Morrison goal for City.
Man City gained the victory at Main Rd later on in the season which saw them finish 3rd in the table with Luton finishing 7th.
City were then promoted to the Championship following a famous penalty shootout victory in the Play-off Final against Gillingham at Wembley in May 1999.
At the same time, Rob Edwards was just starting his career as a player for Aston Villa aged 16 years and Pep Guardiola, aged 28, was playing one of his 200-odd games for Barcelona.
The rest, as one says, is history.
Betfred offer Luton at 16/1, the draw at 7/1 and Odds On 1/7 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/2 that Erling Haaland Scores Two Plus Goals and Odds On 4/7 that Man City Score in Both Halves.
Away Win 2-4- Get 33/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
TOTTENHAM v NEWCASTLE
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
Both teams come into this game after playing on Thursday.
Tottenham played in an entertaining game against West Ham at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium and despite scoring first as Spurs often do, suffered a defeat by a 2-1 score.
The 4th defeat from 5 after scoring the opening goal.
Added to that, Tottenham scored the opener against Man City but could only draw that game.
Cristian Romero scored a brilliant header to give Tottenham the lead after 11 minutes, with the Argentinians’ 4th goal in a LilyWhite shirt.
The lads also got 4 Red Cards wearing the Tottenham jersey too.
Unfortunately for the watching faithful in attendance and the fans in front of the telly, West Ham scored an equaliser in the 52nd minute and then a winner in the 75th to inflict a defeat on Tottenham by a 2-1 score.
Tottenham remain in 5th place, now with the same 27 points as Manchester United from the 15 fixtures played.
That’s also 9 adrift of the North London rivals who sit at the summit.
Newcastle played in a very entertaining fixture at Goodison Park against Everton but unfortunately came away with nothing following a defeat by a 3-0 scoreline.
Kieran, Kieran, Kieran what have you done?
The usually reliable and excellent Mr Trippier made a couple of horrendous errors that gifted Everton’s first 2 goals to inflict the loss on the Magpies.
The Toffees then added a late 3rd without the help of KT to run out easy winners in the end.
With all the injuries in the Newcastle squad and players pushed to the limits, Eddie Howe has to accept that mistakes will happen and will have to just move on to another tough away game against Tottenham.
Newcastle sit in 7 place, with 26 points, a point adrift of today’s opponents.
Antonio Conte was in charge of Tottenham when Eddie Howe’s Newcastle team headed down to the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium last season.
Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron scored the Magpies goals in the 1st-half to give Newcastle a comfortable lead at the break.
Harry Kane scored his obligatory goal early in the 2nd-half, however, with no further goals, Eddie’s Magpies hung on for the away day victory over Antonio’s Spurs by a 2-1 scoreline.
Although happy with the result, the Toon Army were not happy with the price of the beer at the Stadium and in chorus, were heard all around the concourse saying,
‘Hoo Much?’
When told the price of a pint by the Australian Bartender.
‘Hoo Much?’
Toon Army!
Betfred offer Tottenham at 13/10, the draw at 11/4 and 7/4 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 6/5 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
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There was a midweek set of fixtures in the SPL but one can guess the outcome of those.
Celtic gained a victory over Hibernian (who?) and Rangers inflicted a defeat on Hearts (who?) meaning nothing has changed at the summit of the Pub League.
The loveable OzScot wasn’t happy with Mondays EveryTip account of the Scottish football and vehemently states that he hasn’t written to Santa asking for Rangers to win the Title.
As he says,
‘I’m not that daft John Boy!’
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