The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are EVERTON versus CHELSEA and MANCHESTER UNITED versus BOURNEMOUTH. Our feature columnist, John Newsome, previews these and all game week 17 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-17
Saturday 21st
ASTON VILLA v MAN CITY
12.30 in England
TNT Sport
Aston Villa suffered a defeat against their Midland rivals Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.
Despite the Wild Boy Jhon Duran scoring the opening goal and a brilliant save from Emiliano Martinez, Villa then conceded twice to ultimately lose the game by a 2-1 away night score.
A scoreline that was predicted in this EveryTip column last week.
Aston Villa sit in 7th place with the same 25 points as Bournemouth from the opening 16 games.
A quick note regarding the phenomenon of predicting football results.
All of John Newsome’s friends are football fanatics and all offer an opinion about the ‘Beautiful Game’ with the said friends battling it out in various weekly Football Prediction Games.
Whilst not wanting to make excuses as to why some predictions go awry when predicting a game of football, a number of factors need to be taken into consideration.
For example, this season, Brentford are brilliant and unbeaten at their GTech home, however, cannot win away, as continued in the weekend’s fixture against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
So it can be assumed that when Brentford are at home, it’s more than likely that a victory is predicted, however, when the Bees are on their travels, bet on the opposition to win.
As mentioned, John Newsome’s friends (which are diminishing over the years due to certain circumstances) always offer up a prediction for the weekend’s football.
Predicting football results is difficult, for example, would many have predicted that both Liverpool and Arsenal, wouldn’t get a victory on Saturday, whilst both being at home (Anfield and the Emirates!)
If one was to predict that Everton, who sit in 16th place would prevent Arsenal, who sat 3rd before the weekend’s games, from scoring, then the Men in White Coats would be at the door.
That’s why it’s important to look at all the relevant angles when making predictions and having a cheeky bet on the weekend’s football.
Who the home team is.
Who the opponents are.
Where has the team played in the midweek before.
What the lineup is.
Man City are in crisis, no question about that but now it’s not about the fact that Rodri is missing, it’s more of a psychological issue.
On Sunday, the often-used statement of ‘snatching a defeat from the jaws of victory’ came to the fore in the Manchester Derby against the Numpty Neighbours.
After Josko Gvardiol had scored the opener for City to give the home team a lead at the break, all looked well for everyone connected with the Citizens.
However, several moments of madness from Pep’s Low Flying Blues saw United not only score an equaliser but a minute later, scored the eventual winner to inflict the defeat on City by a 2-1 away day scoreline.
When one says ‘moments of madness’ the Man City Captain (Captain!) Kyle Walker went head to head (literally) with Rasmus Hojlund and went down like a little girl (and if one thinks that’s sexist, tough!) because Kyle was like a girl, dropping to the floor trying to make herself feel like she had been head-butted by Rasmus.
The lad from Sheffield is supposed to be a tough guy but the whole of Yorkshire felt embarrassed by KW’s actions which rightly saw him receive a Yellow Card.
Rasmus Hojlund received a Yellow Card too, for initiating the contact.
Pep Guardiola doesn’t need Kyle Walker or any of his other players to behave like that and needs leaders to drag Man City out of this current situation.
Matheus Nunes was thrown in as the Left-Hand sided player, although Gary Neville in commentary for Sky Sports kept saying Matheus was playing as the Left-Back, he wasn’t GNev.
Mr Nunes had a decent 87 minutes, then somehow let all of the good work go out of the window when initially giving the ball away to Amad Diallo and then whilst trying to redeem the error, went diving into Amad and gave away a penalty.
There was no need for the dreaded VAR to get involved, which was a good thing as the Stockley Park Brigade were watching a soppy Christmas Movie on Channel 5.
After Bruno Fernandes had slotted home the penalty to make the score level in the 88th minute, it was assumed that City would hang on for a point.
However, a minute after the converted penalty, Amad was allowed to run clear and coolly scored a 2nd for United and ultimately the winner.
Probably the annoyance for everyone at the Etihad was that both Liverpool and Arsenal had dropped points on Saturday and if City had hung on for the victory, would have had the same points as Mikel’s Gunners and be just 6 points adrift of the Arne’s Reds.
Unfortunately for the Citizen faithful, the defeat leaves Man City in 5th place with 27 points from 16 games completed.
Maybe this fixture against Aston Villa is a game where Pep just has to say to his players,
‘Keep 11 Men behind the ball and play for a draw!’
That may not be in Mr Guardiola’s DNA to do that but without wanting to tell Pep what to do, John Newsome just wants to offer up some advice and say to Pep that the rot has to stop, which obviously, PG knows and doesn’t need any Tips.
Probably the good thing for Man City is there isn’t a midweek game so Pep and the players can have a bit of a break and some downtime before heading to Villa Park on Saturday.
This fixture last season was one of three Premier League games that Rodri was missing and one of the three that Man City lost.
A single Leon Bailey goal scored midway through the 2nd-half gave Unai’s Claret and Blues the victory over Pep’s Rodri Less City.
Roadie Rodri will be missing again today so there could be another home win on the cards, that said, it all depends on the team that Mr Guardiola sends out.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at 21/10, the Draw at 13/5 and 11/10 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Erling Haaland Scores First and 8/5 that Man City Score in Both Halves.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-2- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BRENTFORD v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
15.00 in England
Brentford continued the poor away form on Sunday, suffering a defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge by a 2-1 scoreline.
Bryan Mbeumo scored late on in the game but Chelsea had already scored twice to ultimately gain the win.
The Bees sit in 11th place with the same 23 points as Newcastle and Tottenham, all having completed 16 games.
Brentford head to St James Park on Wednesday to take on Newcastle in the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup.
Nottingham Forest sit in 4th place with 28 points from the opening 16 fixtures following the victory over Aston Villa on Saturday.
After conceding a Villa goal, Nikola Milenkovic scored his 2nd goal in successive games, with Anthony Elanga scoring the winner to give Nuno’s Tricky Trees the win from a 2-1 scoreline.
Remember, Brentford are the form team in fixtures at their GTech Stadium, gaining 7 out of 8 victories with a draw from the other.
Twenty-Two points from a possible 24 on offer.
Brentford gained the home victory over Nottingham Forest in this fixture between the two at the GTech Stadium last season.
Goals from Ivan Toney, Ben Mee and Neal Maupay gave the Bees the win by a 3-2 scoreline.
Danilo and Chris Wood with the Forest goals.
Betfred offer Brentford at 6/5, the Draw at 12/5 and 2/1 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/2 that Bryan Mbeumo Scores First and 15/8 that Chris Wood Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 2-1- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
IPSWICH v NEWCASTLE
15.00 in England
Ipswich gained a victory over Wolves at Molineux on Saturday, only their second win of the campaign so far.
After a Wolves own goal gave Ipswich the lead at the break, the home team scored an equaliser and with time running out and the game looking like ending in a draw, Jack Taylor headed home the winner in the 94th minute to give the Tractor Boys the points from a 2-1 scoreline.
For the youngsters out there, Ed Sheeran was at the game cheering on his boys, however, Ed wasn’t the only Singer in attendance, with the legendary Robert Plant in the stands watching his Wolves team.
Ipswich stay in 18th place with 12 points from the opening 16 games played.
Whilst still in the relegation zone, Kieran McKenna and his Tractor Boys are only a couple or 3 points away from safety.
Newcastle also won at the weekend, gaining a brilliant victory over Leicester at St James Park.
After 4 winless games (2 Draws and 2 Losses) Eddie’s Magpies inflicted the defeat on Ruud’s Foxes by a 4-0 score.
Jacob Murphy scored the 1st and 4th with Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak scoring the 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The Magpies sit in 12th place with the same 23 points as Brentford and Tottenham, all having completed 16 fixtures.
Newcastle face Brentford at St James Park on Wednesday in the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup.
It was April 2017 when Ipswich, under the guidance of Mick McCarthy last faced Newcastle, who were Managed by Rafa Benitez, at Portman Rd.
That was a Championship affair with the Tractor Boys gaining the home victory over the Magpies by a 3-1 scoreline.
Freddie Sears scored the opener to give Ipswich a lead at the break.
Daryl Murphy, who had just left Ipswich to join Newcastle scored the equaliser just after the hour mark.
David McGoldrick and Emyr Huws then scored for Ipswich to give the home team the win over the eventual Champions.
Betfred offer Ipswich at 7/2, the Draw at 11/4 and Odds On 7/10 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 13/10 that Newcastle Score in Both Halves.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 0-2- Get 17/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
WEST HAM v BRIGHTON
15.00 in England
West Ham do like a Monday Night game of Football.
The Hammers have won the previous 2 fixtures played on a Monday Night, against Newcastle and Wolves and then drew the latest game against Bournemouth.
After a goalless 87 minutes, the game at the Vitality sprang to life with West Ham being awarded a penalty.
Lucas Paqueta coolly converted to give the Hammers a lead, however, Bournemouth scored an equaliser a couple of minutes later and with no further goals, both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
West Ham sit in 14th place with 19 points from the opening 16 games.
The pressure has eased on Julen Lopetegui, however, the Bubbles faithful will continue the negativity towards the Spaniard if their team don’t start to win.
Brighton are now winless in 4 (2 Draws and 2 Losses) following the defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Despite a late own goal from a Palace Defender, the Eagles had already scored 3 to gain the ‘Battle of the Birds’ victory over the Seagulls by a 3-1 scoreline.
That leaves Brighton in 9th place with the same 24 points as Fulham both having completed 16 games.
Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 0-0 score in last season’s encounter between the two teams at the London Stadium.
Nothing much more to be said about that game, apart from it was played on the 2nd of January so maybe the players were a bit worse for wear after the New Year’s Celebrations.
Betfred offer West Ham at 15/8, the Draw at 5/2 and 5/4 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Jarrod Bowen Scores First and 7/5 that Joao Pedro Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Draw 1-1- Get 13/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
CRYSTAL PALACE v ARSENAL
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Crystal Palace gained a brilliant victory over Brighton in the M23 Derby on Sunday.
Goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Ismaila Sarr gave the Eagles a lead at the break.
Ismaila added his 2nd and Palace’s 3rd and despite Marc Guehi scoring a late Own Goal, it was Palace that came away with the points from a 3-1 away day score.
After a sticky start to this season, it’s now 5 unbeaten games for Oliver Glasner and his Crystal Palace team, 2 Wins and 3 Draws.
Palace sit in 15th place with 16 points from the opening 16 games.
Arsenal were held to a goalless draw against Everton at the Emirates on Saturday.
The Toffees came with a game plan of frustrating the Gunners which did work, preventing Arsenal from scoring but not wanting to score themselves.
The point gained leaves Mikel Arteta’s team in 3rd place with 30 points from the 16 fixtures completed.
These two will meet on Wednesday at the Emirates in the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup.
When Arsenal last visited Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace, the fixture was the 2nd game of the 2023/24 Premier League Campaign.
A single Martin Odegaard goal scored just after the half-time interval, gave Mikel Arteta’s Young Guns the victory over Roy Hodgson’s Eagles by a 1-0 away day scoreline.
Takehiro Tomiyasu was shown 2 Yellow Cards and the subsequent Red, just after Martin’s goal, however, Palace couldn’t take advantage of having the extra man.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 9/2, the Draw at 11/4 and slight Odds On 3/5 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 14/1 that Ismaila Sarr Scores First and Evens 1/1 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Draw 1-1- Get 13/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Jordan Pickford- Everton
RIGHT-BACK- Malo Gusto- Chelsea
CENTRE-BACK- Nikola Milenkovic- Nottingham Forest
CENTRE-BACK- Archie Gray- Tottenham
LEFT-BACK- Lisandro Martinez- Manchester United
MIDFIELDER- Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United
MIDFIELDER- James Maddison- Tottenham
MIDFIELDER- Anthony Elanga- Nottingham Forest
FORWARD- Jacob Murphy- Newcastle
FORWARD- Ismaila Sarr- Crystal Palace
FORWARD- Amad Diallo- Manchester United
STAR MAN- James Maddison- Tottenham
***Last Week’s Winning Tips-
Newcastle To Win- 1/3
Nottingham Forest To Win- 13/8
Chelsea To Win- 1/3
Tottenham To Win- 8/11
Correct Scores-
Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa-2-1- 17/2
Correct Tips-
Liverpool v Fulham Over 3.5 Goals- 11/10
Matheus Cunha To Score First- 6/1
Wolves v Ipswich Both Teams To Score- 4/6
(The First Goal in the Wolves v Ipswich game was an ‘Own Goal’ so the ‘To Score First’ is still in play, with Matheus Cunha then scoring the opener for Wolves)
Jhon Duran To Score Anytime- 11/4
Sunday 22nd
EVERTON v CHELSEA
14.00 in England
As mentioned in the Crystal Palace v Arsenal preview, Everton went to the Emirates with a game plan of frustrating the home team and hopefully coming away with at least a point.
That’s exactly what happened, with a defensive display that saw both teams fail to score and ultimately gain a point apiece from a 0-0 scoreline.
The stats show that Everton didn’t have a shot on target and had just 24% of the possession.
There were a couple of great saves by Jordan Pickford that prevented Arsenal from scoring but the Toffee Rappers will definitely have come away from London with a smile on their faces.
Everton sit in 16th place with 15 points but have only completed 15 games, not the 16 that the others around them have.
Chelsea are now unbeaten in the last 8 Premier League games and the last 10 in all competitions, following Sunday’s victory against Brentford at Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson gave Enzo Maresca’s Blues the win over Thomas Frank’s Bees by a 2-1 score.
Brentford did score a late consolation goal.
Although Enzo says his Blues are not in a Title Race, they are!
Chelsea sit in 2nd place with 34 points, now just 2 adrift of Liverpool at the summit, however, Liverpool have only completed 15 games, not the 16 everyone else has, due to the postponed fixture against Everton.
Chelsea are definitely Premier League Title Contenders.
Marc Cucurella was a bit naughty after the final whistle had been blown and picked up a 2nd Yellow Card and the subsequent Red, so will be unable to play today.
Surprisingly, it was Everton who gained the home victory over Chelsea, in last season’s encounter between the two at Goodison Park.
The game took place just over a year ago on the 10th of December 2023, with goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure and Lewis Dobbin, both scored in the 2nd-half, giving the Toffees the win over the Blues by a 2-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Everton at 4/1, the Draw at 3/1 and Odds On 4/7 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/2 that Cole Palmer Scores First and 15/8 that Chelsea Win To Nil.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 0-2- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
LEICESTER v WOLVES
14.00 in England
The David Attenborough Derby.
Foxes v Wolves.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy suffered his first Premier League defeat after the short honeymoon period in charge of Leicester.
The Foxes came away from St James Park on the wrong end of a 4-0 drubbing by the Magpies.
The defeat leaves Leicester in 17th place with 14 points from the opening 16 games.
Wolves themselves suffered a defeat on Saturday, with Gary O’Neils Gold and Blacks succumbing to a home loss against Ipswich at Molineux by a 2-1 scoreline.
The unfortunate Matt Doherty was credited with an Own Goal to leave Wolves trailing at the interval.
Matheus Cunha then scored to equalise for Wolves and with time virtually up it was assumed that a draw was in the cards.
Unfortunately for the home faithful in attendance, Ipswich scored a very late winner to gain all 3 points and leave Wolves with another defeat, the 4th in a row.
Rayan Air-Nouri was shown a 2nd Yellow Card after the final whistle which ultimately led to a Red and will be missing from today’s crunch game against Leicester.
Wolves stay in 19th place with 9 points from the initial 16 games.
The defeat also meant that Gary O’Neil’s time at Molineux had come to an end with the Wolves hierarchy sacking Gary early on Sunday morning.
Vitor Pereira, who is a Portuguese Manager, currently in charge of Al Shabab in the Saudi League, is expected to become the New Wolves Manager.
In last season’s fixture between these two at the King Power, Leicester gained the victory over Wolves by a 2-1 scoreline.
Matheus Cunha scored the opener for Wolves before Kelechi Iheanacho converted a penalty to equalise and take both teams in level at the break.
Timothy Castagne scored the winner for the home team in the 75th minute, giving the Foxes the Animal Bragging Rights over the Wolves.
Betfred offer Leicester at 6/4, the Draw at 12/5 and 13/8 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Jamie Vardy Scores First and 2/1 that Leicester Score in Both Halves.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 2-1- Get 17/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
MANCHESTER UNITED v BOURNEMOUTH
14.00 in England
Manchester United snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat against Man City at the Etihad on Sunday.
After conceding a 1st-half goal and trailing at the break, United were awarded a penalty in the 88th minute following a foul on Amad Diallo.
Bruno Fernandes coolly slotted home what appeared to be the late equaliser, however, United’s best player, Amad Diallo scored the eventual winner a minute after Bruno’s converted penalty.
Ruben Amorim decided to leave out Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from the Match-Day Squad which did raise eyebrows, however, ultimately the win sort of justified the decision.
That said, the victory was more to do with Man City making mistakes than United being the better team so one could say that Mr Amorim got away with one with the decision to leave out Marcus and Alejandro.
Manchester United sit in 13th place with 22 points from the opening 16 games played.
United take on Tottenham at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium on Thursday in the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup.
Bournemouth gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against West Ham on Monday Night Football.
After conceding a penalty in the 87th minute which was converted by the Hammers, Enes Unal scored an equaliser in the 90th minute to earn the Cherries a point.
Bournemouth sit in 6th place with the same 25 points as Aston Villa.
Andoni Iraola’s Cherries got the better of Erik Ten Hag’s Red Devils at Old Trafford just over 12 months ago.
It was the 9th of December 2023 when Manchester United last hosted Bournemouth.
Goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billings and Marcos Senesi gave the away team a stunning victory over the home team by a 3-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Manchester United at Odds On 8/11, the Draw at 3/1 and 3/1 for Bournemouth to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Marcus Rashford Scores First and 6/4 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 3-1- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
FULHAM v SOUTHAMPTON
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Fulham gained a point from a draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
Andreas Pereira scored in the 11th minute to give the Cottagers an early lead before Liverpool were reduced to 10 Men after Andy Robertson was shown a straight Red Card for supposedly denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
The slight anomaly with that strange decision was the referee played on allowing Fulham the opportunity to score but Raul Jimenez missed.
The referee went back and gave Fulham a free kick then sent Andy Robertson off.
Liverpool scored an equaliser just after the half-time interval before Rodrigo Muniz added a 2nd for the away team.
Liverpool then equalised for a 2nd time and with no further goals both teams shared the points from a draw by a 2-2 score.
Despite not gaining a victory, it was still a brilliant result for Fulham that leaves Marco Silva’s Cottagers in 8th place with the same 24 points as Brighton.
Southampton conceded 5 goals in the 1st-half against Tottenham at St Mary’s in the late Sunday Night Football.
The only plus point for the Saints from an abysmal display is they didn’t concede any more goals in the 2nd-half ultimately suffering a defeat by a 5-0 scoreline.
The Saints fans weren’t happy and showed their dismay by not only booing and shouting for Russell Martin to be sacked but also unfurling a banner saying,
‘RM GET OUT OF OUR CLUB!’
RM being Russell.
The Southampton hierarchy immediately sacked Russell after the game but unlike Wolves, the Saints have not got anyone lined up.
The Sheffield Wednesday Manager Danny Rohl is the favourite to take over.
Danny was at St Mary’s as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Assistant.
Would Danny want to leave a Championship Club to take over a team that will be a Championship Club next season?
That said, these guys do have big egos and no doubt Danny Rohl will think that he has a chance to save Southampton from relegation.
He hasn’t!
Southampton, who are currently sat at the bottom of the Premier League Table with 5 points from 16 games, will be relegated.
The only thing to add regarding the New Manager is,
‘All the best!’
It was New Year’s Eve in 2022 when Fulham last hosted Southampton at Craven Cottage.
An own goal by James Ward-Prowse, followed by James scoring in the right net, meant both teams were level at the break.
Joao Palhinha scored the winner for Fulham midway through the 2nd-half to give Marco Silva’s Cottagers the victory over Nathan Jones’ Saints by a 2-1 score.
Aleksandar Mitrovic did miss a penalty for Fulham in the 96th minute.
Nathan Jones!
He’s been gone too long.
Betfred offer Fulham at Odds On 2/5, the Draw at 18/5 and 6/1 for Southampton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Raul Jimenez Scores First and 7/5 that Fulham Win To Nil.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 2-0- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
TOTTENHAM v LIVERPOOL
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
Tottenham scored 5 goals in the 1st-half against Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday.
The only surprise then was there were no goals in the 2nd-half.
James Maddison scored twice which bookended goals from Son Heung-Min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr, to give Tottenham a comfortable lead at the break.
Ange Postecoglou must have felt sorry for Russell Martin knowing that the lad was going to be at the Southampton Job Centre on Monday Morning and told his team to go easy in the 2nd-half.
The brilliant destruction of the Saints leaves Tottenham in 10th place with the same 23 points as Brentford and Newcastle from the opening 16 games completed.
Liverpool gained a point from a draw by a 2-2 score against Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.
After Andrew Robertson was shown a straight Red Card in the 16th minute for supposedly ‘denying a goal-scoring opportunity’ it left Liverpool a man-lite for the remainder of the game.
Fulham had scored the opener before Andy’s indiscretion.
Coady Gakpo scored an equaliser just after the interval.
Fulham then scored again to take another lead before Diogo Jota, who had only just been introduced as a late substitute, scored the 2nd equaliser to give both teams a share of the points.
The Archbishop was happy.
Liverpool stay at the summit of the Premier League Table with 36 points, 2 points more than Chelsea, however, have only played 15 games, not the 16 that the rest have played.
Tottenham face Manchester United in the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup on Thursday.
Liverpool are also still in the Energy Drink Cup and take on Southampton the day before.
Tottenham gained the home victory over Liverpool in last season’s encounter between Ange’s Spurs and Klipperty’s Klopp’s at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium.
Goals from Son Heung-Min and a Joel Matip own goal gave Tottenham the home win by a 2-1 scoreline.
Coady Gakpo scored the Liverpool goal.
That doesn’t tell the full story of an extraordinary game in North London that saw a few bizarre decisions by the on-field referee Simon Hooper and the dreaded VAR.
With 26 minutes up on the clock, the first of the contentious VAR decisions came about when Curtis Jones tackled Yves Bissouma.
Initially, Simon, the on-field referee, gave Curtis a Yellow Card, however, the Stockley Park crew, which consisted of a Barnsley Boy called Darren England, informed Simon to have a look at the pitchside monitor and as everyone now knows, that means the on-field referee doesn’t have the cahona’s to stick to his decision and has to listen to someone miles away who has watched the incident a million times in ‘Super Slo-Mo!’ as Ace Ventura would say.
When the dreaded VAR get involved the scenario is already planted in the referee’s mind.
The on-field referee is advised to look at the pitch side monitor but when the referee approaches the telly, the image of the player’s indiscretion is on the screen, i.e. (that is) Curtis Jones’ foot is shown halfway up Yves’ leg, which granted does look bad.
Added to that, whilst the referee is walking to the monitor, the dreaded VAR are in his ear basically saying,
‘Send him off, send him off, send him off!’
So either subconsciously or subliminally, Simon Hooper or whoever is on the field is almost certain to change his original decision and send the player off!
That’s not what going to the monitor is meant to be, it should be entirely for the on-field referee to see if his original decision was correct or as close to correctness as the referee had initially intended.
Ten minutes after Curtis was putting the kettle on for his mate’s half-time cuppa, Luis Diaz scored what appeared to be the opening goal.
As normal the dreaded VAR got involved, however, this is where the fun started.
Normally, the VAR, who, as already mentioned, was Darren England on this occasion, puts lines up on the TV screen to show that the Attacking Player is a millimetre or whatever in front of the Defender.
However, on this occasion, that didn’t happen and to the naked eye, Luis was way onside.
What happened then defies belief!
The linesman put his flag up and ruled the goal offside.
Darren England assumed that the on-field officials had given the goal so instead of the two talking to each other (surely that’s what one would do!) immediately stated ‘Check Over!’ as Mr England thought the goal had been given and seeing that Luis Diaz was onside informed everyone that the VAR ‘check’ was ‘over!’
As Simon Hooper and his linesman had stated that the goal was ruled out, they were waiting for Darren England to check the offside and confirm.
Obviously, there was a bit of confusion, however, nobody spoke to each other, which in itself is just bizarre.
Surely, Simon should have said to Darren,
‘Linesman has said Luis was offside, was he?’
Mr England,
‘No mate, he’s onside, goal allowed!’
How hard is that?
The Sky Sports team couldn’t clear up the problem and showed where the lines should have been but even without the lines, it was clear and obvious that Luis Diaz was a yard onside.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL!) gave the following statement later on Saturday evening.
‘PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool.
The goal by Luis Diaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials.
This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene.
PGMOL will conduct a full review into the circumstances which led to the error.’
That in itself is horrendous but also offers up another question,
‘How many times has this happened before?’
To clear up the events of the game, Son Heung-Min scored just after the controversial incident, with Cody Gakpo equalising to take both teams in level at the break.
Liverpool’s problems then got worse when Diogo Jota was shown 2 quick Yellow Cards and the ultimate Red leaving Jurgen’s Reds with 9 Men for the remaining half-hour or so.
When it appeared that the game would finish in a draw, Joel Matip inadvertently scored an own goal in the 96th minute to gift Tottenham the victory by a 2-1 score.
The record books will show the fixture as a win for Tottenham.
Betfred offer Tottenham at 11/4, the Draw at 16/5 and slight Odds On 8/11 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 15/2 that Son Heung-Min Scores First and 7/5 that Diogo Jota Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Draw 2-2- Get 10/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
The status quo at the Top of the Scottish Premier League remains the same following the weekend’s football North of the Border.
The Top 3 didn’t play in the league so Celtic remain at the summit with 43 points, Aberdeen are in 2nd with 34 and Rangers are still in 3rd with 32 points.
Aberdeen have played a game more (16) than Celtic and Rangers (15).
As mentioned, Celtic, Aberdeen and Rangers didn’t play in the SPL, however, Celtic and Rangers faced each other in the Scottish League Cup Final at Hampden Park on Sunday.
After a very entertaining game that finished in a draw by a 3-3 score, it was Celtic that picked up the Trophy following a penalty shootout, with the Green and White Hoops converting all 5 of their kicks and the ‘Gers missing 1 to ultimately lose the Old Firm Final.
That leaves Celtic as the most successful Scottish Pub Team in history, with a massive 119th Trophy in the Cabinet, compared to Rangers’ 118.
Braveheart/Kylie was up early in Melbourne to watch the Showpiece Final which kicked off at 2.30 AM local time in OzLand.
That’s commitment to watch his beloved team lose (again!)
‘He’s Celtic, United but Brendan has decided that Park Head is the best place to be!’
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