The highlight games for the next EPL action are WEST HAM versus CHELSEA and Liverpool versus EVERTON. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these and all game week 23 matches (which are a reverse of Game Week 6 & 8) 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-23
These fixtures are the reverse of Game Week-6 and 8 from September 2022.
Saturday 11th
WEST HAM v CHELSEA
12.30 in England
BT Sport
West Ham started slowly against Newcastle on Saturday conceding 2 early goals, however, luckily the 1st one after just 54 seconds was ruled out by the dreaded VAR.
A minute later, the Magpies scored a legitimate one and it looked as if it was going to be a long night for the travelling Bubbles.
As it turned out, Lucas Paqueta equalised half an hour later and with no further goals, both shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
The Bubbles faithful couldn’t believe the price of the beer up in Newcastle and were astounded when they received change from a tenner when purchasing a couple of pints.
West Ham sit in 16th place with 19 points from 21 games played.
There’s a DIY (Do It Yourself) store in England called B and Q, coincidentally both the loveable OzScot and this EveryTip contributor had a brief stint working there but that’s irrelevant, they stay open until 10.00 PM on a Friday, for the good old (and young) folk of the country to purchase their weekend work gear.
This turned out to be a blessing last Friday when Fulham visited Stamford Bridge to take on Big Spending Chelsea, as all that were watching the game on Sky Sports, nipped out at half-time and purchased some paint, put it on the wall and watched it dry as it was much more entertaining than watching the 2nd-half.
Chelsea had the £90 Million Mykhailo Mudryk and the £105 Million Enzo Fernandez on show but failed to produce anything.
There was a stat thrown up that Enzo, who is a Midfielder had the most touches and the most tackles, yet the energy provided by the Argentinian failed to produce any chances for the Strikers, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech.
Mykhailo had a great cameo against Liverpool on his debut but didn’t follow that up against the Cottagers.
The best player in Blue by a country mile was Thiago Silva.
Chelsea can’t keep relying on the brilliant Brazilian.
The goalless draw against Fulham followed the goalless draw against Liverpool.
In the last 12 Premier League fixtures, Chelsea have scored 7 goals, with just 22 in the 21 games played.
The lowest amount of goals scored out of the top 12 teams.
Leicester and Leeds United, who sit in 14th and 16th have scored more goals.
It’s the fact that the Foxes and the Whites have conceded more that the Blues are not lower in the Premier League table.
Therein lies the problem!
The old John Lennon classic will be ringing around the away end of the London Stadium early Saturday afternoon from the Chelsea faithful,
‘All we are saying is give us a goal, all we are saying, is give us a goal!’
Graham’s New Blue Wizards sit in 9th place with 30 points from 21 games played.
In the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, the game was significant not just because of the victory for Chelsea by a 2-1 score but for the fact that it was Thomas Tuchel’s final Premier League fixture before the decision was taken to sack the German.
The Blues played a Champions League fixture 3 days later, which ended in a defeat against Dinamo Zagreb and Thomas was down the concrete.
Against West Ham, goals from Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz after Michail Antonio had given the Hammers a lead were enough to gain the points.
There was controversy in the game, coming from a couple of VAR calls but ultimately, it was a victory for Chelsea.
Betfred offer West Ham at 23/10, the draw at 9/4 and 5/4 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/1 that Jarrod Bowen Scores First and slight Odds On 4/6 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
Draw 1-1- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
ARSENAL v BRENTFORD
15.00 in England
In last week’s column, John Newsome offered up a tip that Jorginho would score anytime in the Chelsea v Fulham fixture.
There’s a saying that ‘a week is a long time in politics!’
That can also be the same for football, as last week, there wasn’t any thought of Jorginho leaving the Blues and joining the Gunners.
That is exactly what happened at the end of the January Transfer Window with the Italian Penalty King moving across the Capital from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates.
In the early Saturday afternoon fixture against Everton at Goodison Park, the Midfielder came on after an hour but as soon as Jorginho entered the field of play, Arsenal conceded straight away and with no further goals, suffered a debut defeat against Everton by a 1-0 score.
Is Jorginho a bad luck charm?
The Gooners will be hoping not but it wasn’t a good start to life in Red for the ex-Blue.
Arsenal remain at the summit of the Premier League table with 50 points from 20 games played, still 5 points ahead of Man City, following City’s defeat against Tottenham on Sunday.
Tottenham helping Arsenal out!
Added to that, the Red Side of Manchester have 43 points.
Back in September at the GTech Stadium, goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira gave Arsenal the away day victory by a 3-0 scoreline.
There wasn’t any inkling then that Mikel’s Young Guns would push on and be top of the pile come this fixture at the Emirates.
Betfred offer Arsenal at Odds On 4/11, the draw at 4/1 and 15/2 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/2 that Jorginho Scores Anytime and 15/8 that Ivan Toney Scores Anytime.
Home Win 2-1- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
CRYSTAL PALACE v BRIGHTON
15.00 in England
The Eagles v The Seagulls also referred to as the M23 Derby.
Crystal Palace put up a fight against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday but ultimately suffered a defeat by a 2-1 away day scoreline.
Will Hughes, reminiscent of the legendary LeBron James almost caught the ball in the penalty area that after a discussion from the dreaded VAR saw a penalty awarded and converted after just 7 minutes on the clock.
It was a surprise that the on-field referee Andre Marriner missed the incident in live play.
Respect to the Los Angeles Lakers Basketball star LeBron for getting the All-Time NBA point-scoring record that has stood for 38 years after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Wednesday.
United scored a 2nd just after the interval but then a bit of handbags following a challenge by Jeffrey Schlupp saw Casemiro grab hold of Will that resulted in a straight Red Card for the Brazilian.
The United Midfielder stated that he was just advising Mr Hughes on how not to handle the ball in the penalty area.
Jeffrey Schlupp who had started the melee that saw the sending-off scored soon after but it proved just a consolation.
Patrick’s Palace haven’t gained a victory since New Year’s Eve, meaning 2023 is definitely not the Year of the Eagle.
Crystal Palace sit in 12th place in the table with 24 points from 21 fixtures completed.
These two haven’t faced each other this season with the fixture at the Amex still to be arranged.
At Selhurst Park last term, both shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Wilfried Zaha converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time to give Palace a lead at the break.
Neal Maupay equalised for the Seagulls in the 95th minute to knock the stuffing out of the Eagle Ultras.
It’s worth mentioning that in the last 6 Premier League meetings, 4 have finished with a 1-1 scoreline, with the other 2 being 2-1 and 1-0 in favour of Crystal Palace.
Brighton gained a narrow victory on Saturday against Bournemouth, with a Kaoru Mitoma goal late on being the difference.
That’s the Japanese Strikers’ 3rd goal in the last 3 outings for the Seagulls and the 5th in the Premier League so far this campaign.
The victory against the Cherries leave the Seagulls in 6th place with 34 points from 20 games played.
Graham Potter is a distant memory for the faithful at the Amex, it’s Roberto De Zerbi that’s the hero now.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 13/5, the draw at 23/10 and 11/10 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 13/8 that Kaoru Mitoma Scores Anytime and slight Odds On 8/11 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
Draw 1-1- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
FULHAM v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
15.00 in England
As mentioned in the West Ham v Chelsea preview earlier, Fulham played in a very entertaining (not!) goalless draw against the Blues on Friday Night Football.
There’s not really much else to say about that other than the Cottagers were away from home and to gain a point at Stamford Bridge is no mean feat.
Fulham sit in 8th place with 32 points from 22 played.
A place and 2 points above Chelsea, however, Fulham have played a game more than the West London rivals.
Nottingham Forest gained a victory on Sunday inflicting a defeat on Leeds United by a 1-0 scoreline.
Brennan Johnson with the solitary winning goal.
Forest signed a few players in the Summer but that didn’t prevent a few more from coming into the City Ground in the January Transfer Window, with Chris Wood and Andre Ayew arriving.
Andre is known to Steve Cooper from their time together at Swansea.
Chris Wood had a couple of years at Leeds United and got a great ovation from the Matching On Together crew when being substituted on Sunday.
The away fans were singing to Chris about something to do with money?
There was a loan signing of the legendary ex-Real Madrid and Paris Saint-German Goalkeeper Keylor Navaz, who brought his 3 Champions League Winner Medals with him to Nottingham.
Keylor had a great start to life at the City Ground, keeping a clean sheet against Leeds United.
Nottingham Forest are slowly moving away from the drop zone and currently sit in 13th place with the same 24 points as Crystal Palace who sit just above on goal difference, both having played 21 times.
At the City Ground back in September, this reverse fixture was a goal fest, with Fulham gaining the away day victory by a 3-2 scoreline.
The goals went in as follows,
11’ Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest)
Half-time Bovril.
54’ Tosin Adarabioyo (Fulham)
57’ Joao Palhinha (Fulham)
60’ Harrison Reed (Fulham)
77’ Lewis O’Brien (Nottingham Forest)
Full-time Big Mac and Fries.
Betfred offer Fulham at slight Odds On 19/20, the draw at 5/2 and 3/1 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/4 that Aleksandar Mitrovic Scores First and 11/5 that Fulham Win To Nil.
Home Win 1-0- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
LEICESTER v TOTTENHAM
15.00 in England
Leicester played in one of the games of the season on Saturday, getting a great victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park by a 4-2 scoreline.
The goals going in as follows,
9’ Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
12’ James Maddison (Leicester)
32’ Harry Souter-Own Goal (Aston Villa)
41’ Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester)
45’+2’ Tete (Leicester)
Half-time Hot Dog
79’ Dennis Praet (Leicester)
Full-time Vegan Plant-Based Curry
Brendan Rodgers signed Harry Souter from Stoke and Tete from Lyon in the January Transfer Window and had no hesitation in throwing the two straight into the starting lineup.
It paid off in a way with both scoring a goal on their Foxes debut, however, the unfortunate Harry turned past his own ‘keeper.
Victor Kristiansen was also a January signing but had played a couple of games for the Foxes before today.
Apart from the Man City and the Tottenham games, the Leicester fixtures against whoever have provided the 3rd most goals with a total of 69 in the 21 played.
However, there is a minus-5 on the goal difference, with the Foxes scoring 32 and conceding 37, so the 14th place with 31 points is borne out by letting goals in, not the ability to score.
Tottenham inflicted a defeat on Man City by a single 1-0 scoreline.
The significance in that was the goal was a historic one, with that man Harry Kane scoring his 267th goal in a Spurs shirt and his 200th goal in the Premier League.
Harry is now Tottenham’s all-time leading goal scorer, surpassing the brilliant Jimmy Greaves who held the record with 266 goals.
It is simply brilliant by the 29-year-old HK, who is surely now on his way to becoming the all-time Premier League leading scorer, needing 60 to equal Alan Shearer’s record and 61 to become the main man.
Harry has scored an average of 20 goals per season since starting at White Hart Lane in the 2013/14 season.
That would mean if the average continues, then it will be around February 2026 when HK scores the 260th.
Obviously, that’s not an exact science, however, the figures dictate that it will be around the end of 2025 and the start of 2026 when the record is achieved.
Harry isn’t 30 until July 2023, therefore if (when!) Alan Shearer’s record is surpassed, Mr Kane will only be 32 years old.
In the interest of fairness to Alan Shearer and for those who think that football only started in 1992, Alan scored a further 23 Top Flight goals in the old Division 1, before the introduction of the Premier League.
Granted the Premier League record is 260 goals, however, just to confirm that Mr Shearer has a further 23 that were scored for Southampton in the equivalent of the Premier League, giving the Match of the Day pundit a total of 283 Top Flight goals.
It’s quite conceivable that Harry Kane can achieve that record too.
Tottenham remain in 5th place with 39 points, however, have played 22 times, which is a game or two more than those around them.
In the Game Week-8 affair at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium, the fans were treated to an 8-goal thriller, with the home team gaining the victory by a 6-2 scoreline.
6’ Youri Tielemans (Leicester)
8’ Harry Kane (Tottenham)
21’ Eric Dier (Tottenham)
41’ James Maddison (Leicester)
Half-time Diet Pepsi.
47’ Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham)
73’ Son Heung-Min (Tottenham)
84’ Son Heung-Min (Tottenham)
86’ Son Heung-Min (Tottenham)
Full-time South Korean Fried Chicken.
Betfred offer Leicester at 5/2, the draw at 13/5 and 21/20 for Tottenham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Harry Kane Scores First and 2/1 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Away Win 1-3- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Jose Sa- Wolves
RIGHT-BACK- Emerson Royal- Tottenham
CENTRE-BACK- Craig Dawson- Wolves
CENTRE-BACK- James Tarkowski- Everton
LEFT-BACK- Ben Davies- Tottenham
MIDFIELDER- Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United
MIDFIELDER- Lucas Paqueta- West Ham
MIDFIELDER- Ruben Neves- Wolvesg
FORWARD- Bryan Mbeumo- Brentford
FORWARD- Harry Kane- Tottenham
FORWARD- Marcus Rashford- Manchester United
STAR MAN- Harry Kane- Tottenham
SOUTHAMPTON v WOLVES
15.00 in England
Southampton remain at the foot of the Premier League table following Saturday’s defeat against Brentford by a 3-0 score.
After a few games that showed promising signs of improvement, including knocking Man City out of the Carabao Cup (Pep is still scratching his head at that one!) the Saints are struggling to put a run together to get out of the relegation zone.
In truth, Brentford are just a better team at the moment so Nathan Jones needs to put that to bed and concentrate on this tough fixture against a revitalised set of Wolves.
Whilst it was assumed that Nathan had credit in the bank following the victory against Man City, there are a few rumours floating around that the Banarama Man’s position at St Mary’s is under review.
At the moment, Nathan Jones is still the Manager of Southampton, however, watch this space as the lad may be gone too long if another defeat occurs today.
Southampton are at the bottom with 15 points from 21 games played.
Wolves gained the result of the weekend, inflicting a defeat on Liverpool by a 3-0 scoreline.
Hwang-Hee Chan saw his tame effort find the back of the net off the Liverpool Defender Joel Matip after 5 minutes with the old-timer Craig Dawson doubling the lead 7 minutes later.
Ruben Neves, who was excellent throughout the game, added a 3rd, midway through the 2nd-half, with Julen Lopetegui’s Gold and Blacks comfortably holding on for the deserved victory over a struggling set of Reds.
Wolves jump clear of the relegation zone up to 15th in the table with 20 points from 21 played.
This is a step in the right direction for No-I Julen.
At Molineux, a single Daniel Podence goal on the stroke of half-time was the difference between the two teams with Bruno Lage’s Gold and Blacks gaining the victory over Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints by a 1-0 score.
Both teams are now under the guidance of different Managers.
Betfred offer Southampton at 15/8, the draw at 21/10 and 13/8 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/5 that Wolves Have A Clean Sheet and 7/4 that there are Under 1.5 Goals.
Away Win 0-1- Get 13/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BOURNEMOUTH v NEWCASTLE
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Bournemouth suffered a defeat against Brighton on Saturday with the Seagulls scoring a late winner to get the victory by a 1-0 score.
That’s 7 losses in the last 8 fixtures in all competitions, 4 out of 5 in the Premier League, the other being a draw, as well as being knocked out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup,
That leaves the Cherries in 19th place with 17 points from 21 games played.
A lot of the other teams may not be too bothered if both Bournemouth and Southampton are relegated as it would cut out the long journey down to the South Coast.
Burnley and Sheffield United look favourites to be promoted from the Championship so the likes of Newcastle, Liverpool, Everton, the Manchester clubs and the Midlanders would prefer a steady trip to Yorkshire and Lancashire instead of a jaunt down South.
Despite only suffering a defeat in one of the 21 Premier League fixtures and that was against Liverpool back in August 2022, Newcastle have drawn 4 out of the last 5 games, winning the other, meaning 7 points from a possible 15.
The latest outing on Saturday against West Ham at St James Park saw the Magpies get off to a flyer, scoring after 54 seconds, however, the ball had gone out of play so the dreaded VAR correctly ruled out the goal.
That didn’t perturb the host, who scored a legitimate goal a minute later, with Callum Wilson coolly slotting home after a great pass from Sean Longstaff.
After the blistering start, it appeared that Newcastle would demolish West Ham, however, that wasn’t the case with the visitors scoring an equaliser on the half-hour mark.
With no further goals, both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
With Manchester United gaining a victory a couple of hours earlier, Newcastle slip down to 4th in the table with 40 points from 21 games played.
Eddie Howe needs to try and convert the draws into wins to get the Black and Whites back on track.
The September fixture between the two at St James Park produced a stalemate with both sharing the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
After a goalless 1st-half, Phillip Billing scored to give the Cherries the lead, with Alexander Isak converting a penalty soon after.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 11/2, the draw at 3/1 and Odds On 1/2 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Miguel Almiron Scores Anytime and 13/10 that Newcastle Win To Nil.
Away Win 0-2- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 12th
LEEDS UNITED v MANCHESTER UNITED
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
The strange anomaly about this reverse fixture is Manchester United v Leeds United are now back-to-back games after the one in September 2022 was postponed due to the sad passing of our beloved Queen and has literally just taken place at Old Trafford on Wednesday the 8th.
That must be a Premier League first.
Added to that, the fixture on Wednesday wasn’t shown live on any TV station in England.
Neither, Sky Sports, BT Sport nor Amazon Prime showed the prestigious game, which does offer up the question, why are customers paying exorbitant amounts of money per month yet a classic fixture between Manchester United and Leeds United isn’t shown live on TV?
‘Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again, Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again.’
Still funny that.
***********BREAKING NEWS************
Jesse Marsch has been sacked by Leeds United.
Following the defeat against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, Jesse Marsch’s Whites slip down to 17th in the table, sitting just above the relegation zone, with the same 18 points as Everton who fill the final slot.
Whilst one could assume that the sacking of the Drama Queen was a shock, in truth Jesse Marsch hasn’t really improved a team that were sitting in 17th place last season when the American arrived and are still in 17th now Ted Lasso is down the concrete.
Some of the West Yorkshire puddings were still in the East Midlands following the fixture against Aston Villa a few weeks ago when they went to the local Airport thinking it was a train station.
The Marching On Together crew are not going to make the same mistake and should be back home later on Sunday evening, telling their mate (singular) of their experiences since the defeat against Villa.
‘Been stuck in t’airport because Steve thought it was a train station!’
It was then a New Manager Bounce performance against today’s opponents at Old Trafford that resulted in a draw from a 2-2 score.
The Archbishop was happy.
Leeds did put up a great fight under the Caretaker Manager Michael Skubala and scored 2 goals, 1 at the beginning of each half to shock the hosts.
Wilfried Gnonto and a deflected Crysencio Summerville shot off Raphael Varane gave Michael’s Whites the lead.
United then staged a comeback with Marcus Rashford scoring his 11th goal of the campaign and the forgotten man Jadon Sancho equalising after just coming on as a 2nd-half substitute.
Both goals were scored following Jadon’s introduction.
Leeds United jumped above West Ham into 16th following the point gained against Manchester United, both with 19 from 21 played but the Whites with a slightly superior goal difference than the Hammers.
Marsching On Together (To The Job Centre)
The current Rayo Vallecano gaffer Androni Iraola is the favourite to replace Jess and that could be confirmed before this reverse fixture at Elland Rd on Sunday.
Manchester United come into this quick turnaround fixture off the back of a victory against Crystal Palace on Saturday, then a surprising draw against today’s opponents at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
As mentioned above, the draw by a 2-2 scoreline leaves United in 3rd place.
A quick note to Erik Ten Hag,
‘Next time United face Crystal Palace, DON’T PLAY CASEMIRO!’
In the fixture at Selhurst Park a couple of weeks back, Casemiro gave away a late free-kick that not only resulted in an equaliser for Palace but saw a Yellow Card for the Brazilian which meant the Midfielder was missing from the next game against Arsenal, which ultimately United suffered a defeat.
Last Saturday in the reverse fixture against Patrick’s Palace, Casemiro went one better and received a straight Red Card for attempting to throttle Will Hughes.
The only positive that can be made from the sending-off is, if the rearranged Premier League fixture against Leeds United the other day wasn’t scheduled for then, Cassie would not be eligible for the Carabao Cup Final at the end of February.
Without the rearranged fixture on Wednesday, United would have only had 2 Premier League games before the Final meaning the Midfield Enforcer would have missed the showpiece at Wembley.
Manchester United jump up into 3rd place, with 43 points but have played 22 games, not the 20 and 21 that Arsenal and Man City have.
Arsenal remain at the summit with 50 points with City in 2nd on 45 points.
Could Manchester United win the Premier League?
The answer is possibly but as this is a prediction site, John Newsome predicts that United won’t win the title this season but are definitely in the mix for the 2023/24 campaign.
Erik Ten Hag has brought in Marcel Sabitzer on loan from Bayern Munich until the end of the season, primarily as cover for Christian Eriksen who sustained an injury against Reading in the FA Cup (Andy Carroll doing the damage!)
Cheers, Andy.
Marcel had a 10-minute run out against Palace on Saturday, then was thrust straight into the starting lineup against Leeds United on Wednesday.
It’s fair to say that the partnership with Fred wasn’t a success and could be (it was!) the reason that United could only muster up a draw.
Everyone who reads this column regularly knows this EveryTip’s opinion of Fred and it won’t change until proven wrong.
United won’t win anything with Fred!
A quick note regarding a few other players, it does appear that Harry Maguire, Alex Telles and Anthony Martial are now surplus to requirements at Old Trafford and will more than likely be moved on in the Summer.
However, although likely, it’s unlikely that Manchester United will reap much of the £150 Million paid out for the 3 and will probably receive around 4 Bob and a Blackbirds egg.
Added to those are Scott McTominay, Donny Van De Beek and Eric Bailley who all appear to be heading out of Old Trafford at the end of the campaign.
February 6th, 1958.
Rest In Peace to all that suffered in the Munich Air Disaster.
Sixty-Five Years ago, however, never forgotten.
In last season’s affair at Elland Rd, almost 12 months ago to the day (20th February 2022), it was the away team that got the victory by a 4-2 scoreline.
Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes with the 1st-half goals to give Manchester United a lead at the break.
Then Leeds United scored 2 quick-fire goals from Rodrigo and Raphinha to level the score.
The enigmatic Fred scored a 3rd for United to re-establish the lead before Anthony Elanga rounded off the scoring late on to give Ralph Rangnick’s Red Devils the victory over Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites by a 4-2 scoreline.
Leeds United followed that game up by suffering defeats against Liverpool (6-0) and Tottenham (4-0) and Marcelo was at the Leeds City Job Centre after that.
Jesse has just text Marcelo for advice on how to fill out the Job Seekers Allowance form.
Betfred offer Leeds United at 3/1, the draw at 3/1 and slight Odds On 4/5 for Manchester United to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Marcus Rashford Scores First and 6/4 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Away Win 1-3- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
MAN CITY v ASTON VILLA
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
Relegation-threatened Man City suffered a defeat at the weekend, with Tottenham getting the victory at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium by a 1-0 Harry Kane scoreline.
More on Harry in the Tottenham preview.
For some unknown reason, Pep’s Low Flying Blues are not firing on all cylinders, sort of like a Ferrari that has been filled with Diesel instead of Unleaded.
City look good but there’s something wrong under the hood.
Against Tottenham on Sunday, Erling Haaland didn’t register a shot at goal and didn’t touch the ball in the Spurs penalty area.
Pep also decided to leave Kevin De Bruyne on the bench, not bringing the Belgian on until the hour mark.
Spurs scored after 15 minutes.
The defeat doesn’t affect the league position, with City having 45 points, still 2nd behind Arsenal who have 50, however, after seeing the Gunners suffer a defeat on Saturday, it was an ideal opportunity to close the gap at the Top.
Probably what will irk the Citizens more is the fact that the Numpty Neighbours, Manchester United have closed the gap to just 2 points following a victory and a draw, in the last 2 fixtures, however, have played a game more than City.
Man City have come under scrutiny from the English Premier League officials regarding breaches of the Financial Fair Play Regulations.
That’s for another day as quite honestly, John Newsome isn’t intelligent enough to delve into that particular minefield.
Aston Villa played in a very entertaining 6-goal thriller against Leicester on Saturday, however, were on the losing end suffering a defeat by a 4-2 scoreline.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring after 9 minutes, which was quickly equalised by Leicester.
The Foxes Defender Harry Souter was credited with Villa’s 2nd, which again was equalised by Leicester who added a 3rd before half-time.
Villa conceded a 4th with 10 minutes remaining and ultimately suffered the loss.
Unai Emery’s Claret and Blues sit in 11th place with 28 points from 21 fixtures played.
Aston Villa gained a great point against Man City in the Game Week-6 affair at Villa Park, following a draw by a 1-1 score.
Leon Bailey cancelled out an earlier Erling Haaland notch with both goals being scored in the 2nd-half.
Betfred offer Man City at Odds On 2/9, the draw at 11/2 and 12/1 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Riyad Mahrez Scores Anytime and Evens 1/1 that Man City Win To Nil.
Home Win 3-0- Get 13/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Monday 13th
LIVERPOOL v EVERTON
20.00 in England
Sky Sports
The Merseyside Derby.
The Premier League Fixture Compilers along with the Sky Sports TV schedulers have kindly decided to allow all of the City of Liverpool to spend a day on the drink and turn up at Anfield to watch the game at 8 o clock in the evening.
What could possibly go wrong?
A bunch of Scousers all tanked up.
Relegation-threatened Liverpool suffered (another) defeat on Saturday, this time against Wolves at Molineux by a 3-0 scoreline.
Jurgen’s Reds conceded 2 goals before the half-time pie and a 3rd midway through the 2nd-half.
Obviously, the relegation-threatened comment is just a bit of fun, however, Klipperty Klopp needs to turn things around pretty quickly or the ‘fun’ comment may become a reality.
Coady Gakpo hasn’t scored yet since arriving on Merseyside which also needs addressing.
A lot have questioned why Liverpool are suddenly struggling but John Newsome has mentioned before some of the reasons, those being the squad is ageing and Sadio Mane has left the building.
Mr Mane is a big miss, not only in his energy and goals but also in the fact that he pushed Mo Salah on.
Mo isn’t the same player without the competition from Sadio.
Liverpool sit in 10th place, with 29 points from 20 fixtures completed.
Sean Dyche made eleven changes to the Everton starting lineup that gained a victory against Arsenal on Saturday as the last eleven sent out by Frank Lampard before the lad was sacked weren’t good enough.
Most will read that and think,
‘Yes, good on Sean, obviously the Everton players that Frank chose were not good enough!’
However, the original statement isn’t exactly accurate, as Sean Dyche chose 9 of the 11 that started in Mr Lampard’s last game against West Ham that ultimately cost Mrs Christine his job.
The only changes made to the starting eleven that suffered a defeat against the Hammers were Dwight McNeil coming in for Demarai Gray and Abdoulaye Doucoure in for Yerry Mina.
Jordan Pickford, Seamus Coleman, Conor Coady, James Tarkowski, Vitaly Mykolenko, Idrissa Gueya, Amadou Onana, Alex Iwobi and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all started in the defeat against West Ham and the victory against Arsenal.
Frank Lampard must have been sitting at home on Saturday night thinking,
‘What’s happened there then?’
A good friend of John’s said something different, along the lines of,
‘Scouse wannabes!’
Or words to that effect.
Started with a W.
Predicting football results is extremely difficult, that’s why one should be afforded tremendous respect for putting oneself out there every week in this superb EveryTip column.
Just for example, if John Newsome, or for that matter anyone, knew the result of next week’s football then everyone would be Millionaires.
Job done, no need for this column, however, football isn’t like that, everyone has an opinion, whether right or wrong but that’s why this sport is the greatest game ever.
Down the boozer after the game, Sunday Morning on the touchline, throwing a stick in the park for Enzo (Ricky’s Dog, not the new Chelsea signing).
Everyone loves this remarkable game.
To be someone must be a wonderful thing, a famous Footballer or a Rock Singer, or a Big Film Star, yes one thinks they would like that.
At Goodison Park in September, in the early afternoon kick-off (worth thinking about!) the scorer wasn’t needed as both teams failed to find the back of the net giving a point each from a draw by a 0-0 score.
Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 1/2, the draw at 16/5 and 11/2 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Darwin Nunez Scores First and Evens 1/1 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
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Saturday 17th January 1998
Game Week 23
BARNSLEY v CRYSTAL PALACE
Oakwell
15.00 in England
Barnsley came into this home fixture in mid-January 1998, following a woeful performance at Upton Park the week before where the Hammers scored 6 without reply.
Danny Wilson wasn’t happy and sent out the following legends against Crystal Palace at Oakwell a week later, making 3 changes to the starting lineup.
Barnsley-
David Watson, Nicky Eaden, Peter Markstedt, Darren Barnard, Chris Morgan, Eric Tinkler, Neil Redfearn, Darren Sheridan, Clint Marcelle, Jan Age Fjortoft and Ashley Ward.
Substitutes-
Andy Liddell for Ashley Ward 88th Minute
The Palace starting eleven sent out by Steve Coppell.
Crystal Palace-
Kevin Miller, Hermann Hreidarsson, Marc Edworthy, Dean Gordon, Jamie Smith, Andy Linighan, Andy Roberts, Jamie Fullerton, Marcus Bent, Thomas Brolin and Bruce Dyer.
Substitutes-
Rory Ginty for Andy Linighan 84th Minute
The girls and boys were out early in the Barnsley Town Centre Pubs for a few pre-match pints and a gentle stroll up to the ground in trepidation at how the afternoon’s event would play out.
The Super Reds had only achieved 5 victories from the opening 22 fixtures but one of those 5 was against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park back in August 1997.
Neil Redfearn had scored the solitary winning goal down in South London and the Red and White Army were hoping for a repeat on this cold mid-January afternoon.
Ashley Ward scored the opener in this reverse fixture at Oakwell after 26 minutes to send the alcohol-fuelled faithful berserk in the Ponte End.
Whilst there was over an hour to go and the fans wanting more, there were no further goals, meaning Barnsley had recorded a double over Crystal Palace by the same 1-0 scoreline.
Over the course of the 38-game 1997/98 Premier League season, Barnsley only achieved a double (which means a victory both Home and Away) over one team and that was the Eagles.
So although there were a further 15 games remaining of the campaign, there were only a possible 2 more teams that a double could be achieved and remarkably one of those was Liverpool, the other being Coventry.
Unfortunately, that never occurred but more on those fixtures in the weeks to come.
At the end of the 1996/97 Championship campaign, it was Bolton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace that were promoted to the Promised Land, however, it’s fair to say that all 3 teams struggled.
Move forward a couple of years and if one peruses the Crystal Palace starting eleven, the goalkeeper Kevin Miller and the Striker Bruce Dyer both ended up at Oakwell.
There was another Palace player that didn’t play in the Premier League fixture, him being Neil Shipperley but Neil also jumped into the same Vauxhall Chevette with Kevin and Bruce and headed North to Barnsley.
All three players were brilliant for the Super Reds and went close to achieving immortality in May 2000 when Barnsley reached the Championship Play-Off Final.
The three started the game against Ipswich at Wembley, with another ex-Crystal Palace legend Geoff Thomas on the Reds bench.
Craig Hignett hit a speculative shot at the Ipswich goal which rebounded off the crossbar and ended in the back of the net after hitting the Ipswich goalkeeper Richard Wright with just 6 minutes on the clock.
Barnsley conceded an equaliser on the half-hour mark with the current Sunderland Manager and ex-quite a few clubs Tony Mowbray heading home for Ipswich.
Then the sliding door moment that changed the whole dynamic of the Play-Off Final and John Newsome was witness in person to the incident.
With 1st-half time almost up on the clock, Richard Wright brought down Craig Hignett and Barnsley were awarded a penalty with a golden opportunity to go in at the interval with a lead.
Darren Barnard took the penalty but unfortunately for the Red and White Army in attendance and the Millions watching World Wide, Richard saved Darren’s tame spot-kick.
Barnsley headed for the half-time cup of tea dejected, with Ipswich euphoric and in the ascendancy coming out for the 2nd-half where goals from Richard Naylor, Marcus Stewart and Martijn Reuser took the game away from the Reds and gained the victory by a 4-2 scoreline
Starting for Ipswich that day was a certain David Johnson, whose son, Brennan, is currently pulling up Tricky Trees for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Barnsley had been awarded a 2nd penalty which this time, Craig Hignett converted.
If only Craig had taken the first one.
What could have been?
Twenty-three years later, John is still convinced that the missed penalty on the stroke of half-time, changed the whole context of the Final.
After the final whistle, the Barnsley Boys (and girls!) did the only realistic option and that was to head to the nearest pub for a few pick-me-ups, then a long ride on the rattler home, miserable and dejected not being able to reach the Promised Land again.
In those 23 years since that fateful day in May 2000, Barnsley haven’t come close to gaining promotion to the Premier League but have had a few relegations from the Championship to Division 3.
Richard Naylor also had a spell wearing the beloved Barnsley shirt back in 2002.
The strange thing about Richards’s stint at Oakwell is the lad played as a Centre Back when initially being a Centre Forward.
Going back to the Premier League era with Ashley Ward, plus the players who joined Barnsley in the years that followed, Craig Hignett and Bruce Dyer.
There was a famous game against Huddersfield Town played at Oakwell one Friday Night in November 1998.
Ashley and Bruce were already in residence at Oakwell, however, Barnsley had just signed the ex-Middlesbrough Striker Craig Hignett from Aberdeen, with Craig making his debut for the Reds against the Terriers.
The fixture was shown live on Sky Sports with the talkSPORT legend that is Alan Brazil commentating on the game.
Barnsley scored 6 goals.
That sentence in itself doesn’t seem meaningful but the 6 goals were scored before the half-time whistle and that wasn’t the end.
10’ Bruce Dyer (Barnsley)
19’ Craig Hignett (Barnsley)
26’ Craig Hignett (Barnsley)
28’ Eric Tinkler (Barnsley)
37’ Ashley Ward (Barnsley)
41’ Darren Barnard (Barnsley)
Half-time Pie.
70’ Bruce Dyer (Barnsley)
74’ Delroy Facey (Huddersfield)
Full-time Gallon of Lager.
Barnsley added a 7th after the break before the consolation goal from the visitors.
Most of the faithful from Huddersfield had left Oakwell by that point with the majority back in the local boozers before the full-time whistle.
Whilst the scoreline of 7-1 was remarkable, Barnsley had a young Midfielder called Sean McClare who missed 3 clear-cut chances to score.
Added to that Craig Hignett missed a penalty in the 2nd-half that would have meant a debut hat-trick.
John Newsome and the Serg (who is now an ex-Serg after retiring this week) then headed straight into Town to celebrate the outstanding performance against the local West Yorkshire rivals.
Partaking in a pint or 6.
All the best Big Lad in your retirement!
Crime can crack itself now.
Ashley Ward, Bruce Dyer and Craig Hignett only played that one time together as Ashley was sold to Blackburn the day after.
It was one of the greatest games ever seen by this EveryTip contributor and the 16,000 or so in attendance.
If only Ashley Ward hadn’t left Oakwell, there could have been another famous season in the Promised Land.
Craig Hignett and Bruce Dyer did leave Oakwell a couple of years later, however, Bruce, Bruce, Bruce Dyer still lives in the Town and is often seen coaching youngsters at the schools in the area.
Geoff Thomas didn’t feature much in a Barnsley shirt but is remembered fondly by the Red and White Army.
All the best to Ashley Ward, Bruce Dyer, Craig Hignett and Geoff Thomas, plus the rest of the legends that have graced the hallowed Oakwell Turf.
15-Wimbledon 25 pts (minus-5 goals)
16-Coventry 24 pts (minus-10 goals)
17-Crystal Palace 23 pts (minus-11 goals)
18-Tottenham 23 pts (minus-19 goals)
19-Bolton 22 pts (minus-15 goals)
20-Barnsley 21 pts (minus-37 goals)
Home Win 1-0
The top end of the Scottish Premier League remains the same (of course it does) after the weekend’s fixtures.
In fact, since the last EveryTip column, Celtic and Rangers have played twice with both gaining victories.
Celtic inflicted defeats on Livingston (who?) Doctor one presumes and St Johnstone (who?)
Rangers got the wins over Hearts (who?) and Ross County (who?) to stay 9 points adrift of the Green and White Hoops.
Ross County sounds like a detective in the Glasgow Police Department.
The loveable OzScot who is currently on vacation in New Zealand was out dancing in the streets of Wellington following the superb victories.
More holidays than Judith Chalmers old Kylie.
The lads practising his celebration dance for the Open Top Bus Parade when the Teddy Bears finish as Runners-Up to the Hoops in May.
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