EPL Game Week 23– 2024/25 Season Premier League Tips – John Newsome

John Newsome Football Betting Tips - everytip

The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are WOLVES versus ARSENAL and MAN CITY versus CHELSEA. Our feature columnist, John Newsome, previews these and all game week 23 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-23

All of the following fixtures are the reverse of Game Week-1 which took place over the weekend of August 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th of August 2024.

Saturday 25th

BOURNEMOUTH v NOTTINGHAM FOREST

15.00 in England

If one were to say Bournemouth would get the away day victory over Newcastle at St James Park by a 4-1 scoreline, one would be taken away by the Men In White Coats!

Fortunately for the Cherry Faithful, that’s just what happened, with a hat-trick from Justin Kluivert added to a Milos Kerkez goal, giving Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth team the win over the ex-Cherry Boss Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side.

Newcastle scored to equalise Justin’s opener.

If one remembers, Justin Kluivert’s Dad Patrick, played for Newcastle back in 2004/2005, so this would have been a Bitter/Sweet moment for the Kluivert Family.

Patrick only scored 1 goal at St James Park, Justin has 3 and counting.

Hat-trick Kluivert!

The Manchester Ball Thrower (he’s stopped throwing sticks for Enzo) commented,

‘I bet none of the Bournemouth players are on £100,000 a week.

Andoni Iraola plays a system and picks the player that can play in that position.

They don’t have to be the best player in the league.’

One cannot argue with that!

Bournemouth sit in 7th place with 37 points from the initial 22 fixtures on offer.

Nottingham Forest scored 3, 1st-half goals against Southampton at the City Ground on Sunday, with Elliott Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood getting on the scoresheet.

One would have assumed that Forest would push on in the 2nd-half and add to the goals, however, it was the Saints that scored twice making it a nervy last few minutes on the Trent.

Fortunately for the Tricky Tree faithful, Forest held on for the home victory by a 3-2 scoreline.

That’s now 9 games unbeaten in all competitions for Nuno Espírito Santo’s team (7 Wins and a Draw in the Premier League and an FA Cup Win to progress to the 4th-Round) leaving Forest in 3rd place with the same 44 points as Arsenal from the opening 22 games completed.

Arsenal and Nottingham Forest are now 6 points adrift of Liverpool at the summit.

Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score when the Cherries made the trip up North to the City Ground for the opening day encounter against the Tricky Trees.

Chris Wood scored the opener to give Forest a lead at the break before Antoine Semenyo scored the equaliser for Bournemouth late on to give both an early point apiece.

Betfred offer Bournemouth at 21/20, the Draw at 12/5 and 12/5 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 13/2 that Justin Kluivert Scores First and 21/10 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.)

Draw 2-2- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

BRIGHTON v EVERTON

15.00 in England

Brighton gained a great away day victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls were just too good for Ruben Amorim’s Dire Reds who were outplayed in all departments.

Yankuba Minteh scored the opener, which was equalised by United following a penalty conceded by Carlos Baleba who hauled down Joshua Zirkzee making the score level at the break.

Kaoru Mitoma added a 2nd soon after the restart before the ex-Leeds United Striker Georginio Rutter added a 3rd with 15 minutes remaining.

Georginio’s goal did make a certain West Yorkshire Pudding (TT) who was an old workmate of John Newsome, a happy man for 10 minutes or so.

Ten minutes was TT’s nickname as when someone asked what time TT left work, the answer was always,

’10 minutes after Steve left!’

Brighton were far too energetic for a lame Manchester United team and deserved the victory by a 3-1 away day score.

Fab’s Seagulls sit in 9th place with 34 points from the 22 games completed.

Following a defeat against Aston Villa in David Moyes’s first game in charge after returning to Goodison Park, Everton hammered Tottenham on Sunday, gaining a home victory from a 3-2 scoreline.

Granted the scoreline does look like it was a tight affair but goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Iliman Ndiaye and an Archie Gray Own Goal, gave the Toffees a comfortable lead at the break.

Tottenham scored their first in the 77th minute then the second in the 92nd to make it a nervy last few minutes for the watching Toffees in attendance at Goodison Park.

The brilliant win leaves Everton in 16th place with 20 points from 21 games completed.

Brighton gained the away day victory over Everton at Goodison Park back in August.

Goals from Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck and Simon Adingra gave Fab’s Seagulls the opening day win over Sean’s Toffees by a 3-0 scoreline.

Ashley Young was shown a straight Red Card just after the hour mark when the score was 2-0 in favour of the Cherries.

Betfred offer Brighton at Odds On 8/13, the Draw at 11/4 and 4/1 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 5/1 that Joao Pedro Scores First and slight Odds On 5/6 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.)

Home Win 2-0- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

LIVERPOOL v IPSWICH

15.00 in England

For 90 minutes in the game against Brentford at the GTech Stadium on Saturday, it appeared that both teams would share the points from a goalless draw.

However, that wasn’t the case with Darwin Nunez evolving off the bench to score not one but two goals in the 91st and 93rd minute giving Liverpool the away day victory over Brentford by a 2-0 scoreline.

Darwin is much maligned for the lack of goals but is a great player and is always in the right place to grab a goal or two but sometimes his shots do go awry.

The 2 late goals leaves Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League with 50 points from 21 games completed.

Now 6 points ahead of Arsenal and Nottingham Forest who are the teams chasing Arne’s Slot Machines.

That said, Liverpool have played a game less so have the opportunity to increase that 6-point advantage to 9, once the rearranged game against Everton is finished on the 12th of February.

Liverpool take on Lille at Anfield in Match Day-7 of the Champions League-League Phase on Tuesday.

Arne’s Slot Machines sit proudly at the summit of that particular league too, with a maximum of 18 points from the 6 fixtures completed.

The way that the Champions League-League Phase works this year, is the Top 8 go automatically into the last-16 knockout stage which starts in March.

The teams sitting 9-24 are drawn against each other to play a 2-legged affair in February with the 8 winners making up the last-16.

It would take a bizarre set of results to leave Liverpool out of the Top 8, therefore it’s fair to say that Liverpool will automatically qualify for the last-16.

Ipswich were destroyed by Man City on Sunday with Pep’s High Flying Blues inflicting the defeat on Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys by a 6-0 scoreline.

Three goals were conceded in both halves.

Ed Sheeran was in attendance at Portman Rd, shaking hands with the City players before the game and then watching his Ipswich idols capitulate and lay down against an away team that are slowly getting back on track.

Ipswich sit in 18th place with the same 16 points as Wolves, who sit a place higher based on goal difference.

Both have completed 22 fixtures so far.

Liverpool gained the opening day victory over Newly Promoted Ipswich Town when these two met at Portman Rd.

After a goalless 1st-half, Arne Slot, who himself was taking charge of his first Premier League fixture, got into his Boys at the break, who then came out stronger.

Diogo Jota scored the opener on the hour mark, with Mo Salah adding a 2nd, 5 minutes later, to give Liverpool the win by a 2-0 away day score.

Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 1/14, the Draw at 9/1 and 20/1 for Ipswich to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 3/1 that Mo Salah Scores First and slight Odds On 8/11 that Liverpool 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 4-0- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

SOUTHAMPTON v NEWCASTLE

15.00 in England

Southampton suffered another defeat on Sunday, this time against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

After conceding 3 goals in the 1st-half, it was assumed that the floodgates would open after the break, however, to be fair to Ivan Juric’s Saints, that wasn’t the case with Southampton scoring twice to reduce the gap to just 1.

Jan Bednarek and Paul Onuachu with the Saints goals.

Unfortunately for the Travelling Saints, time ran out and another defeat was on the record from a 3-2 scoreline.

Southampton sit at the foot of the Premier League Table with 6 points from the 22 games played so far.

Sometimes folk wonder why a Manager changes a Winning Team.

In the olden days, if a team won, it was more than likely that the same eleven would start in the next game.

In the modern era that’s not as prevalent now with Managers chopping and changing players every week for one reason or another.

After 9 unbeaten games in all competitions, Eddie kept the same starting eleven as from the previous fixture against Wolves.

Unfortunately for the watching Toon Army in attendance at St James Park, the Magpies looked way off the pace against the Cherries, ultimately suffering a surprise home defeat by a 4-1 scoreline.

Bruno Guimaraes with the Newcastle goal to equalise Bournemouth’s opener.

The players just looked unenergised with Alexander Isak looking like his rubbish identical twin had turned out in the iconic Black and White Shirt.

Andrew Isak didn’t look bothered at all throughout the game, so has something happened off the pitch in this January Transfer Window to slow Mr Isak down?

It’s more than likely that Eddie Howe won’t pick the same starting lineup for this game against Southampton today as a few need resting but that said, a Newcastle 2nd-eleven should still be true strong for a Sorry Set of Saints.

Newcastle swapped places with Man City after Game Week-22, now sitting 6th with both teams having 38 points and City having a better goal difference.

Chelsea jumped above the two into 4th place with 40 points following the victory against Wolves on Monday.

Fabian Schar was shown a straight Red Card after half an hour of the opening game between these two teams at St James Park back in August.

At the time, the score was still goalless, however, Russell Martin’s Saints couldn’t take advantage of having the extra man.

Joelinton scored for Newcastle on the stroke of half-time and with no further goals in the 2nd-half, Eddie’s Magpies gained the victory by a 1-0 scoreline.

Betfred offer Southampton at 11/2, the Draw at 18/5 and Odds On 2/5 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 100/30 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 7/4 that Newcastle 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 0-3- Get 10/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

WOLVES v ARSENAL

15.00 in England

Wolves played well against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday Night Football.

However, despite Matt Doherty scoring an equaliser on the stroke of half-time to take both teams in level at the interval, it was Chelsea who came out stronger in the 2nd-half, scoring twice more to eventually inflict the defeat on Wolves by a 3-1 scoreline.

Wolves sit in 17th place with the same 16 points as Ipswich but have a slightly better goal difference.

Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz, one in each half, gave Arsenal a comfortable lead against Aston Villa at the Emirates on Saturday.

With half an hour remaining, Villa pulled a goal back but it was assumed the home team were still in control.

Unfortunately for the watching Gooners in attendance, Arsenal conceded a 2nd and with no further goals, Mikel’s Young Guns grabbed a draw from the jaws of victory.

The point gained, as it’s always a point gained regardless of how the game panned out, leaves Arsenal in 2nd place with the same 44 points as Nottingham Forest from the opening 22 games played.

Both 6 points adrift of Liverpool at the summit.

Arsenal face Dinamo Zagreb in Match Day-7 of the Champions League-League Phase at the Emirates on Wednesday.

The Gunners are currently sitting in 3rd place in that particular league in a group of 6 teams that all have 13 points with 2 games remaining.

To reiterate, the way that the Champions League-League Phase works this year is the Top 8 go automatically into the last-16 knockout stage that starts in March.

The teams sitting 9-24 are drawn against each other to play a 2-legged affair in February with the 8 winners making up the last-16.

It is pretty tight between the teams sitting 3rd-8th and those from position 9 onwards, so Mikel Arteta will want at least another victory from the 2 remaining to see Arsenal go straight into the last-16 without having to play in a knockout round.

Goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka, 1 in each half, gave Arsenal the opening day victory over Wolves by a 2-0 scoreline when these two met at the Emirates.

Betfred offer Wolves at 6/1, the Draw at 7/2 and Odds On 2/5 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 7/1 that Leandro Trossard Scores First and 12/5 that Matheus Cunha 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.)

Away Win 1-2- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

***Premier League Team of the Week***

GOALKEEPER- Ederson- Man City

RIGHT-BACK- Matheus Nunes- Man City

CENTRE-BACK- Dean Huijsen- Bournemouth

CENTRE-BACK- Virgil Van Dijk- Liverpool

LEFT-BACK- Milos Kerkez- Bournemouth

MIDFIELDER- Kevin De Bruyne- Man City

MIDFIELDER- Joao Pedro- Brighton

MIDFIELDER- Phil Foden- Man City

FORWARD- Jean-Philippe Mateta- Crystal Palace

FORWARD- Darwin Nunez- Liverpool

FORWARD- Justin Kluivert- Bournemouth

STAR MAN- Darwin Nunez- Liverpool

***Last Week’s Winning Tips-

Liverpool To Win- 1/2
Fulham To Win- 10/11
Nottingham Forest To Win- 2/5
Man City To Win- 1/3
Chelsea To Win- 1/3

Correct Scores-

Leicester v Fulham 0-2- 9/1

Correct Tips-

Fulham Win To Nil- 12/5
West Ham v Crystal Palace Under 2.5- Goals- Evens 1/1

MAN CITY v CHELSEA

17.30 in England

Sky Sports

Eminem sang a song that went something like,

‘May I have your attention, please?
May I have your attention, please?
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
I repeat, will the real Slim Shady please stand up?’

The Citizens have a similar request,

‘May I have your attention, please?
May I have your attention, please?
Will the real Man City please stand up?
I repeat, will the real Man City please stand up?’

The real Man City stood up on Sunday putting in a scintillating display against Ipswich at Portman Rd.

Ed Sheeran was there to greet the players, shaking hands with Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland as the City players entered the ground.

Three 2nd-half goals from Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and James McAtee, added to a couple of Phil Foden goals and a Mateo Kovacic strike before the break gave Pep’s High Flying Blues the brilliant away day victory by a 6-0 scoreline.

Whilst not having the best of times towards the end of 2024, Man City are unbeaten in the 6 games post-Christmas, with 4 Wins and 2 Draws from the 6 fixtures.

Man City end the weekend in 5th place, swapping places with Newcastle both having 38 points with City having the better goal difference.

Chelsea jumped above the two into 4th place with 40 points following the victory against Wolves on Monday, meaning the winner today will sit highest in the Premier League.

A quick note on Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian/Leeds Lad has just signed a whopping 9-and-a-half year contract with Man City on reported wages of close to £500,000 (Half a Million Pounds) per week (per week!!!!)

One suspects that Erling doesn’t go shopping at Aldi looking for the ‘30% off’ stickers like this EveryTip contributor does!

Man City face Paris Saint-Germain in the French Capital on Wednesday, in Match Day-7 of the Champions League-League Phase.

City currently have 8 points from the 6 games played in that particular competition and currently sit in 22nd place.

PSG have 7 points and sit in 25th place.

If one remembers the convoluted way that the Champions League-League Phase works, Man City are currently in the Play-Off places (9-24) and won’t automatically qualify for the Last-16 stage but will play in a 2-legged knockout affair if City stay 24th or above.

The team sitting in 8th place (currently Lille) have 13 points from the 6 games completed.

With just 2 games remaining, it would mean that Man City have to win both to accrue 14 points and hope that all the other teams in positions 9-24 suffer defeats, which let’s face it, won’t happen.

That means the best Champions League scenario for Pep’s High Flying Blues is to finish in positions 9-24 and then win the 2-legged knockout process against one of the others finishing in the 9-24 zone.

That would still mean that Man City get to the last-16 stage but via a different route.

Having said all that, Paris Saint-Germain are currently outside the 9-24 places so will want to gain a victory on Wednesday to try and get into the knockout stages.

As mentioned, Chelsea eventually gained a victory over Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Monday Night Football.

One says eventually as it was a tough game for the Blues faithful to endure.

After Tosin Adarabioyo scored the opener to give Chelsea a lead it was the away side that finished the half off the stronger, scoring an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.

Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke scored in the 2nd-half to seal the Chelsea victory over Wolves by a 3-1 scoreline.

That elevated Chelsea above Man City and Newcastle into 4th place with 40 points from the opening 22 games completed.

Despite Man City not having the best of seasons so far, it was Pep’s High Flying Blues that gained the opening-day victory over Enzo’s Blues back in August.

Erling Haaland scored in the 1st-half, with the ex-Chelsea Midfielder Mateo Kovacic adding a 2nd late on to give City the away day win from a 2-0 scoreline.

Betfred offer Man City at slight Odds On 5/6, the Draw at 3/1 and 13/5 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 3/1 that Erling Haaland Scores First and 11/10 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!

Sunday 25th

CRYSTAL PALACE v BRENTFORD

14.00 in England

Sky Sports

Crystal Palace gained a great away day victory against West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday.

A couple of Jean-Philippe Mateta goals both in the 2nd-half, which included a converted penalty gave the Eagles the win over the Hammers from a 2-0 scoreline.

Palace are now unbeaten in 6 games, 5 in the Premier League (3 Wins and 2 Draws)
and 1 in the FA Cup, leaving Oliver’s Army in 12th place with 27 points from 22 games played.

Brentford matched Liverpool stride for stride for 90 minutes of the game between the 2 at the GTech Stadium on Saturday.

Unfortunately for the watching Bees in attendance, the game didn’t finish after 90 minutes, which allowed the away team to score twice in the 91st and 93rd to see Brentford suffer a defeat against Liverpool by a 2-0 scoreline.

Thomas Frank’s Bees Boys sit in 11th place with 28 points from the opening 22 games completed.

Brentford gained the victory over Crystal Palace in the Game Week-1 affair at the GTech Stadium back in August 2024.

Bryan Mbeumo scored first to give the Bees a lead at the break.

Ethan Pinnock was then credited with an Own Goal just after the restart to make the scores level before Yoane Wissa scored the winner in the 76th minute giving Thomas Frank’s Brentford the first 3 points from a 2-1 scoreline.

Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 21/20, the Draw at 5/2 and 23/10 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 5/1 that Jean-Philippe Mateta Scores First and 12/5 that Yoane Wissa 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!

TOTTENHAM v LEICESTER

14.00 in England

Tottenham are struggling at the moment with all sorts of conspiracy theories as to why.

Is it Ange Postecoglou’s fault, are the players downing tools and not listening to Big Ange or are Tottenham just not good enough?

Although different theories, probably the most likely reason is that Tottenham have quite a few injuries and are just trying to remain competitive with the players available.

Everton scored 3 goals before the break including 1 that was credited to Archie Gray when the youngster deflected a shot into his own goal.

Despite trailing by 3 goals to nil, Tottenham, to their credit, didn’t give up and almost got back on level terms when Dejan Kuluseveski and Richarlison scored late on.

Dejan’s goal was a thing of beauty.

Unfortunately for the Travelling LilyWhites in attendance at Goodison Park, time ran out meaning Tottenham suffered a defeat by a 3-2 away day scoreline.

That was the 3rd Premier League defeat in a row leaving Tottenham in 15th (15th!) place with 24 points from the opening 22 games.

Whilst that is still 8 points above the relegation zone, Big Ange Postecoglou must feel under pressure and could be down the concrete sooner rather than later.

Tottenham face Hoffenheim in Germany on Thursday, in Match Day-7 of the Europa League-League Phase.

As with the Champions League format, the Europa League is the same,

The way that the Europa League-League Phase works this year, is the Top 8 go automatically into the last-16 knockout stage that starts in March.

The teams sitting 9-24 are drawn against each other to play a 2-legged affair in February with the 8 winners making up the last-16.

Tottenham are currently 9th in that particular league with 11 points from the opening 6 games.

It’s pretty tight for the teams placed 3rd to 8th and 9th to 24th so Ange will feel a victory over Hoffenheim will go a long way in cementing a Top 8 finish.

Leicester are struggling at the moment and the decision to sack Steve Cooper and appoint Ruud Van Nistelrooy just hasn’t worked.

Leicester suffered a home defeat against Fulham at the King Power on Saturday, succumbing to the loss by a 2-0 scoreline.

That’s 7 defeats in succession with the Foxes gaining just 4 points (a Win and a Draw) from the 9 fixtures that Ruud has overseen.

Four points from a possible 27.

Can one say that if Steve Cooper was still in charge, would Leicester have done any worse?

The Manchester Ball Thrower did comment on Ruud’s appointment,

‘Bad decision that!’

It appears that Enzo’s walking mate was correct.

Leicester sit in 19th place with 14 points from the 22 games on offer.

Granted that is only 2 points away from safety, so Ruud Van Nistelrooy and his set of Foxes still have time to move away from the drop zone and could see this fixture against a struggling Tottenham team as the start of their comeback.

Both teams gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score in the inaugural fixture of the 2024/25 Premier League Campaign at the King Power.

Pedro Porro scored the opening goal in the 1st-half to give Tottenham a lead at the break.

Jamie Vardy scored the equaliser for Newly Promoted Leicester, early in the 2nd-half and with no further goals both teams gained a point apiece.

Betfred offer Tottenham at Odds On 4/9, the Draw at 18/5 and 5/1 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 7/1 that Dejan Kuluseveski Scores First and 11/5 that Tottenham 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 9/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

ASTON VILLA v WEST HAM

16.30 in England

Sky Sports

Aston Villa looked down and out against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday, when trailing by 2 goals to nil.

Fortunately for the Travelling Villains who had made the trip to North London, goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins turned a defeat into a draw by a 2-2 score to make the journey back home a pleasurable one.

Aston Villa sit in 8th place with 36 points from the 22 games played so far.

Villa face Monaco in the South of France on Tuesday in Match Day-7 of the Champions League-League Phase.

Again, the way that the Champions League-League Phase works this year, is the Top 8 go automatically into the last-16 knockout stage that starts in March.

The teams sitting 9-24 are drawn against each other to play a 2-legged affair in February with the 8 winners making up the last-16.

Aston Villa have the same 13 points as a number of teams and have the same scenario as Arsenal in the fact that they need to try and grab at least 1 win from the remaining 2 games to try and qualify automatically for the last-16.

At least the Villains should enjoy the trip to Monaco, if one can afford it that is.

Probably be about £20 quid for a Pint.

West Ham’s New Manager Bounce didn’t bounce too high in the 2nd fixture that Graham Potter took charge of.

Following the opening game victory over Fulham that gave Harry a great start to life as the Hammers Manager, West Ham suffered a defeat against Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Saturday.

Two 2nd-half goals from Palace inflicted the loss on West Ham by a 2-0 scoreline.

The Bubbles, who do like a moan, have already started to moan.

West Ham sit in 14th place with the same 26 points as Manchester United both having completed 22 games.

It was the away Claret and Blues (Aston Villa) that gained a victory over the home Claret and Blues (West Ham) when these two met at the London Stadium back in August.

Amadou Onana scored the opener for Villa before Lucas Paqueta converted a penalty for West Ham to take both teams in level at the break.

The Wild Boy came calling in the 79th minute with Jhon Duran scoring the winner for Aston Villa to give Unai’s team the points from a 2-1 scoreline.

The two did meet again in the Carabao Cup with Villa gaining the victory over the Hammers by the same 2-1 score.

Don’t expect much difference today.

Betfred offer Aston Villa at Odds On 8/15, the Draw at 3/1 and 9/2 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 7/2 that Ollie Watkins Scores First and 13/10 that Aston Villa 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 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

FULHAM v MANCHESTER UNITED

19.00 in England

TNT Sport

Fulham gained an away day victory over Leicester at the King Power on Saturday.

After a goalless 1st-half goals from Emile Smith-Rowe and Adama Traore gave Marco Silva’s Cottagers the win from a 2-0 scoreline.

Fulham sit in 10th place with 33 points from the 22 fixtures completed.

Although sat 10th, 33 points are only 5 adrift of Man City in 5th place, so plenty of room to improve the position.

After a brilliant draw against Liverpool, then knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup and a relegation battle victory over Southampton last time out, Manchester United reverted back to being rubbish on Sunday.

Brighton came to Old Trafford and inflicted a defeat on United by a 3-1 scoreline.

Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty to equalise the first goal from the Seagulls but unfortunately for the watching faithful, Ruben’s Red Devils conceded another 2 to ultimately suffer the loss.

After the game, Ruben announced that his current team are the worst Manchester United team in history.

Ouch!

That will get his players onside.

Whilst the statement could be true, Ruben just has to be careful as the hierarchy won’t want to see Manchester United drop much further down the ladder and if they feel Ruben isn’t inspiring the Squad, then it might mean another change of Manager, which wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility.

Manchester United sit in 13th place with the same 26 points as West Ham from the 22 games completed.

United play in an ‘All-British’ affair against Rangers on Thursday in Match Day-7 of the Europa League-League Phase.

The following was put in the Tottenham v Leicester preview, the same applies.

As with the Champions League format, the Europa League is the same,

The way that the Europa League-League Phase works this year, is the Top 8 go automatically into the last-16 knockout stage which starts in March.

The teams sitting 9-24 are drawn against each other to play a 2-legged affair in February with the 8 winners making up the last-16.

United and Rangers are currently 7th and 8th respectively in that particular league with United having 12 points and Rangers having 11 from the opening 6 games.

It’s pretty tight for the teams placed 3rd to 8th and 9th to 24th so both United and Rangers will feel a victory on Thursday will go a long way in cementing a Top 8 finish.

One of Manchester United’s and for that matter Scotland’s greatest-ever players Denis Law passed away last week at the age of 84.

The Law Man was a sensational player for Manchester United but it’s often overlooked that the Scot played for Huddersfield Town in the late 1950s and before joining United, played for Man City.

After a spell at Maine Rd (City’s old ground), Denis headed to Turin in Italy to play for Torino, before returning to Manchester, this time joining the Red Side of the City.

With Ruben Amorim mentioning that his United team are the worst in history, one remembers Manchester United’s team from the 1973/74 campaign that saw the Old Trafford outfit relegated from Division One (the equivalent of the Premier League) down to Division Two (effectively the Championship).

Denis Law had left Old Trafford by this time and rejoined Man City.

There’s always been a story in folklore that stated Denis scored a goal for City against United in the penultimate game of the season which ultimately relegated United, supposedly diminishing Mr Law’s reputation as a United player.

Whilst Denis Law did get the goal that saw City gain a victory over United by a 1-0 score, Manchester United were already relegated at that point and despite Denis scoring the goal which was a superb backheel, the Law Man showed his class and respect for his former teammates by not celebrating.

Rest in Peace Denis Law!

Note the start time of this early Sunday Night Football which replaces TNT Sports usually Saturday 12.30 PM TV Slot.

It’s got to be better than watching the horrendous Masked Singer.

That said, the Manchester Ball Thrower will be in turmoil, deciding whether to watch the aforementioned Masked Rubbish or his beloved United team (lose) against Fulham.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

The reason for the early Sunday Night kickoff is Manchester United objected to the original time of 12 PM due to playing Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday which would have meant the Noon start time was just 62 hours after that game finished.

As mentioned, this is a TNT Sport nominated fixture, so the 2 PM and 4.30 PM slots weren’t available, which left this 7 PM (19.00) kickoff in England.

The only good news is that the majority of the fans from both Fulham and United that will attend Craven Cottage are from London so not much travelling for either set of the faithful.

Only a bit of fun Red Devils, one knows the annoyance that this start time will cause, with the game not finishing until around 9 PM then it’s back up the M6 to Manchester where most of the Manc Lads and Lasses won’t arrive home until after Midnight.

This will mean that some of the faithful will be late when ‘signing on’ at the Manchester Job Centre on Monday Morning.

A very late Joshua Zirkzee goal scored in the 87th minute, gave Manchester United the opening day victory over Fulham by a 1-0 scoreline.

Although an early win for Erik Ten Hag, United went backwards after that ultimately leading to ETH being sacked.

Betfred offer Fulham at 5/4, the Draw at 23/10 and 2/1 for Manchester United to come away with all 3-points.

Betfred offer 11/2 that Raul Jimenez Scores First and 11/5 that Fulham 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 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!

There weren’t any games in the Scottish Pub League over the weekend with all playing in the Pub Cup.

Both of the Glasgow clubs progressed to the last-16 following victories for Celtic against Kilmarnock (who?) and Rangers against Fraserburgh (WHO?)

Celtic face Young Boys at Celtic Park on Wednesday in Match Day-7 of the Champions League-League Phase.

As mentioned earlier, the way that the Champions League-League Phase works this year, is the Top 8 go automatically into the last-16 knockout stage that starts in March.

The teams sitting 9-24 are drawn against each other to play a 2-legged affair in February with the 8 winners making up the last-16.

Celtic currently sit in 21st place with the same 9 points as Real Madrid so will be hoping to hang on for a playoff spot in the hope of making the last-16.

Rangers face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday in Match Day-7 of the Europa League-League Phase.

The format of the Europa League is the same as the Champions League with both United and Rangers sitting 7th and 8th respectively in that particular division both hoping to gain a last-16 place or at worst a playoff spot.

The Europa Conference League has finished for the time being, with just Shamrock Rovers being the only team from themselves, Hearts, Larne and The New Saints having the opportunity to progress after finishing 10th.

Shamrock will play Molde in the 2-legged playoffs for a chance to make the last-16 of the Europa Conference League.

Those ties take place at the beginning of February.

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