The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are BOURNEMOUTH versus LIVERPOOL and ARSENAL versus MAN CITY. Our feature columnist, John Newsome, previews these and all game week 24 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-24
All of these set of fixtures are the reverse of Game Week-5 which took place over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of September 2024.
Saturday 01st
NOTTINGHAM FOREST v BRIGHTON
12.30 in England
TNT Sports
Oh dear, Nottingham Forest, who were unbeaten in the 9 previous games, suffered a horrendous defeat against Bournemouth at the Vitality by a staggering 5-0 scoreline.
There’s not much more to be said regarding that result, other than Nuno Espírito Santo needs to put it to bed, give the lads a couple of days off and move on to this home fixture against Brighton.
Forest remain in 3rd place with 44 points from the 23 games completed.
Brighton themselves suffered a defeat last weekend, with Everton getting the victory at the Amex by a narrow 1-0 scoreline.
The loss leaves Brighton in 9th place with 34 points from the 23 fixtures so far.
Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 2-2 score when these two met at the Amex back in September.
Chris Wood scored the opener to give Forest a lead before Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck replied for Brighton to give the home team a lead at the interval.
Ramon Sosa scored the equaliser for Forest in the 70th minute and whilst that was the end of the goals, it wasn’t the end of the action with Morgan Gibbs-White receiving a 2nd Yellow and the subsequent Red in the 83rd minute, which sparked a fight between the dugouts that also saw Fabian Hurzeler and Nuno Espírito Santo receive a Red Card too.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 7/5, the Draw at 23/10 and 9/5 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Chris Wood Scores First and 100/30 that Nottingham Forest 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 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BOURNEMOUTH v LIVERPOOL
15.00 in England
If one were to predict that Bournemouth would get the victory over Nottingham Forest by a 5-0 scoreline, one would have the Men in White Coats knocking at the door.
However, that’s the beauty of football and that is exactly what happened on Saturday with Andoni’s Cherries inflicting the defeat on Nuno’s Tricky Trees by a 5-0 score.
Justin Kluivert continued his scoring streak after the hat-trick last week against Newcastle getting the opener in the 9th minute.
Whilst this EveryTip column offered up a prediction of a Draw, it was also added ‘Justin Kluivert To Score First at 13/2,’ so it’s hoped a few readers took advantage of that Tip by John Newsome and made a few quid.
Dango Ouattara then scored 3 times with Antoine Semenyo adding the 5th in the 91st minute to gain the brilliant home win.
This will be a tough ask for the Cherries against the team at the Top.
Bournemouth sit in 7th place with the same 40 points as Chelsea from the opening 23 games played.
Liverpool remain at the summit of the Premier League with 53 points following the easy victory over Ipswich at Anfield on Saturday.
The only negative was the fact that despite goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Mo Salah and a couple from Coady Gakpo that gave Liverpool a 4-0 lead, Ipswich scored a late consolation goal which annoyed John Newsome who had predicted a Liverpool Win by a 4-0 score and that Liverpool would Win To Nil.
However, that’s just on a personal level with the brilliant victory over the Tractor Boys by a 4-1 scoreline still a great watch for the Anfield Rappers.
Regarding the scoreline, as mentioned previously, most Betting Companies offer ‘Cash Out’ so it’s always worth checking ones’ betting slip to see if it is worth ‘Cashing Out’ as with the score being 4-0 going into the last few minutes, one assumes the ‘Cash Out’ would have been favourable.
Liverpool hope to complete a clean sweep in the Champions League-League Phase on Wednesday, when Arne’s Slot Machines head over to the Gaffers’ homeland and take on PSV Eindhoven in the final fixture.
Arne’s Reds sit at the summit of that particular League too, with 21 points from the 7 games already completed.
There’s only Barcelona that can accrue 21 points, so it’s more than likely that Liverpool will finish top.
Liverpool have a plus+13 goal difference (scored 15 and conceded 2) while Barcelona have a plus+15 (scored 26 and conceded 11) meaning Liverpool would have to suffer a defeat plus Barcelona get the victory and overhaul the 2-goal differential to switch the position at the Top.
To recap the Champions League format, the Top 8 automatically go through to the last-16, with the teams finishing 9-24 playing against each other in a 2-legged playoff affair to make up the other 8 teams of the last-16.
The league was formed to ‘help’ the European Heavyweights rise to the top of the table to make the later stages of the competition, ie the Quarters, Semi and Final a fight between the best of the best.
The problem, if one thinks of it as a problem, is some of the European Heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Man City have struggled and in City’s case, are not certain of making the Top 24.
The others will progress but more than likely will have to play a 2-legged qualifier to try and make the last-16.
Because this is a new format of the Champions League, the 8th and final League-League Phase fixture all kick-off at the same time on Wednesday, which is 8 PM in England.
More on the finishing positions in next week’s column.
Liverpool gained the home victory over Bournemouth at Anfield back in September.
A couple of goals from Luis Diaz added to a Darwin Nunez strike all scored in the 1st-half gave Arne’s Slot Machines the win over Andoni’s Cherries by a 3-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 100/30, the Draw at 11/4 and Odds On 7/10 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/1 that Coady Gakpo Scores First and 6/5 that Liverpool 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 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
EVERTON v LEICESTER
15.00 in England
A single Iliman Ndiaye goal scored in the 1st-half against Brighton at the Amex on Saturday, gave David Moyes’ Everton the away day victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
That’s now back-to-back Premier League victories for the Toffees who sit in 16th place with 23 points from 22 games completed.
Remember it is only 22 due to the postponed game against Liverpool, which
is due to be played on the 12th of February.
Leicester stopped the losing streak on Sunday, gaining a great away day win over Tottenham at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium.
Tottenham scored first to lead at the interval, however, the Sheffield Superstar Jamie Vardy equalised for the Foxes just after the restart.
Bilal El Khannouss added a 2nd soon after Jamie’s notch and with no further goals, Leicester gained the victory by a 2-1 scoreline.
That stopped the rot after 7 straight Premier League defeats leaving Ruud’s Foxes in 17th place with 17 points from 23 games played, swapping places with Wolves who dropped into the relegation zone.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Tra-La-La-La-Lar) will be hoping it’s the start of something new for Leicester.
Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score when Steve Cooper’s Foxes hosted Sean Dyche’s Toffees in the Game Week-5 affair.
Illiman Ndiaye scored the Everton goal to give the away team a lead at the break, with Stephy Mavididi getting the equaliser for the home team midway through the 2nd-half.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how one looks at the situation, both Steve and Sean will be seeing how the game pans out, watching Gillette Soccer Saturday, or for those with just the Council Telly, BBC’s Final Score, following both being relieved of their duties by the respective hierarchy.
Betfred offer Everton at Odds On 7/10, the Draw at 13/5 and 18/5 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/1 that Iliman Ndiaye Scores First and 5/2 that Jamie Vardy 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 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
IPSWICH v SOUTHAMPTON
15.00 in England
This fixture could be billed as,
The Battle of the Useless Ones!
Or, the ‘El Rubbisho Derby’!
Due to the teams who sit 19th and 20th in the Premier League Table facing each other to see who is the best of the worst.
Ipswich suffered another defeat on Saturday, this time against Liverpool at Anfield.
After conceding 4 Reds goals, Jacob Greaves scored a consolation for the Tractor Boys, which although would have pleased the Travelling Faithful, did irk John Newsome as a defeat by a 4-0 score was predicted in last week’s EveryTip column.
The loss, which was the 3rd in a row for Kieran McKenna’s Men, leaves Ipswich in 19th place with the same 16 points as Wolves, who are both a point adrift of Leicester, the safe team.
Whilst Ipswich have 3 defeats in a row on the record, Southampton now have 6 defeats in succession following Saturday’s loss against Newcastle at St James Park.
The surprise in the game against the Magpies was Jan Bednarek scored the opener for the Saints to give the home faithful something to get excited about.
Unfortunately, that goal just sparked Newcastle into life, who scored 2 before the interval, then a 3rd in the 2nd-half to ultimately inflict the defeat on Southampton by a 3-1 scoreline.
Southampton remain rooted to the foot of the table with 6 points but will want to put in a better performance against the team sitting a place above.
This was another draw when Ipswich made the trip South to St Mary’s to face Southampton back in September.
Tyler Dibling scored the Saints goal early on in proceedings with Sam Morsy getting a very late equaliser for the Tractor Boys in the 95th minute to give both newcomers to the Premier League a point apiece.
As it turned out, there were 5 draws in the Game Week-5 set of fixtures.
Betfred offer Ipswich at slight Odds On 10/11, the Draw at 5/2 and 11/4 for Southampton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/2 that Liam Delap Scores First and 11/4 that there are Under 1.5 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 1-0- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
NEWCASTLE v FULHAM
15.00 in England
Newcastle got back to winning ways against Southampton on Saturday, following the surprise home defeat against Bournemouth the week before.
It was the Saints that scored first in the game at St Mary’s which sparked the Magpies into life.
Alexander Isak, who had an off day against the Cherries was back on the scoresheet, scoring twice to give Newcastle a lead at the break.
Sandro Tonali added a 3rd just after the restart and with no further goals, Newcastle gained the away day victory over Southampton by a 3-1 scoreline.
Newcastle sit in 5th place with the same 41 points as Man City from the opening 23 games played.
Fulham suffered a narrow home defeat against Manchester United late on Sunday in the unusual kickoff time of 7 PM at Craven Cottage.
In a drab affair between the two teams, that didn’t produce much excitement, a late United goal meant Fulham lost the game by a 1-0 score.
It wasn’t a very exciting game and whether that was to do with the strange start time is questionable.
Fulham sit in 10th place with 33 points from the 23 games on offer.
Fulham gained the home victory over Newcastle at Craven Cottage back in September.
Raul Jimenez scored first before Emile Smith-Rowe added a 2nd to give the Cottagers a comfortable lead at the break.
Harvey Barnes did score for the Magpies in the 46th minute to half the deficit, however, Reiss Nelson added a 3rd in the 92nd minute to give the home team the win from a 3-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Newcastle at Odds On 8/13, the Draw at 3/1 and 18/5 for Fulham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/2 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 21/10 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.)
Home Win 2-0- Get 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Jordan Pickford- Everton
RIGHT-BACK- Trent Alexander-Arnold- Liverpool
CENTRE-BACK- Abdukodir Khusanov- Man City
CENTRE-BACK- Harry Maguire- Manchester United
LEFT-BACK- Lisandro Martinez- Manchester
MIDFIELDER- Tyler Adams- Bournemouth
MIDFIELDER- Coady Gakpo- Liverpool
MIDFIELDER- Toby Collyer- Manchester United
FORWARD- Jamie Vardy- Leicester
FORWARD- Dango Ouattara- Bournemouth
FORWARD- Omar Marmoush- Man City
STAR MAN- Dango Ouattara- Bournemouth
***Last Week’s Winning Tips-
Liverpool To Win- 1/14
Newcastle To Win- 2/5
Arsenal To Win- 2/5
Man City To Win- 5/6
Correct Scores-
Man City v Chelsea 3-1- 12/1
Correct Tips-
Justin Kluivert To Score First- 13/2
Brighton v Everton Under 2.5 Goals- 5/6
Man City v Chelsea Over 3.5 Goals- 11/10
WOLVES v ASTON VILLA
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Wolves swapped places with Leicester, now sitting 18th in the Premier League Table with 16 points from the 23 games played following another defeat on Saturday.
After 3 unbeaten games when Vitor Pereira took over from Gary O’Neil which consisted of 2 Wins and a Draw, Wolves have lost the last 4 Premier League fixtures.
Joao Gomes was shown 2 Yellow Cards and the subsequent Red to leave both teams with 10 Men when the score was still 0-0.
Arsenal had already had a player sent off in the 1st-half.
Unfortunately, for the watching Gold and Blacks in attendance at Molineux, Arsenal scored midway through the 2nd-half to inflict the defeat on Wolves by a 1-0 score.
Aston Villa gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against West Ham at Villa Park on Sunday.
In the ‘Battle of the Claret and Blues’ Jacob Ramsey scored the first goal after just 8 minutes to give Villa a lead.
Villa couldn’t capitalise on the early goal and despite leading at the interval, West Ham scored an equaliser in the 2nd-half to give both a share of the points.
Unai’s Claret and Blues sit in 8th place with 37 points from the opening 23 fixtures completed.
Aston Villa face Celtic at Villa Park in the final Champions League-League Phase fixture on Wednesday.
Villa currently sit in 9th place in that particular League in a cluster of 6 teams who all have 13 points with 1 game remaining.
Whilst that guarantees Villa at least a playoff spot, there’s the chance of finishing in the Top 8 which will automatically see Unai’s Claret and Blues make the last-16.
The problem is, the other 5 who have 13 points will have the same mindset, so it will just mean that Aston Villa have to gain the victory in the ‘All British Affair’ on Wednesday and let everything else take care of itself.
Aston Villa gained the home win over Wolves at Villa Park in the Game Week-5 affair.
Matheus Cunha did actually score the opener to give Wolves a lead at the interval, however, it was the Villa show in the 2nd-half, with goals from Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Jhon Duran giving the Claret and Blues the victory over the Gold and Blacks from a 3-1 score.
Betfred offer Wolves at 23/10, the Draw at 12/5 and 21/20 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Matheus Cunha Scores First and 3/1 that Wolves 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 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 02nd
BRENTFORD v TOTTENHAM
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Despite having a poor away record this season, Brentford stunned Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday, gaining an away day victory by a 2-1 scoreline, which was only the 2nd win away from the GTech.
Goals from Bryan Mbeumo (penalty) and Kevin Schade gave Thomas’s Bees all 3 points.
Palace scored late on which ultimately turned out to be just a consolation.
Brentford sit in 11th place with 31 points from the initial 23 games played so far.
Tottenham, Tottenham, Tottenham!
What is going on at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium?
Ange Postecoglou is under pressure but the fans vented their anger against the Chairman Daniel Levy in the game against Leicester on Sunday.
Despite Richarlison scoring first to settle the nerves of the LilyWhites in attendance, Leicester scored twice to inflict a home defeat on Tottenham by a 2-1 scoreline.
The narrative from Big Ange is the Squad is beset with injuries and the players on the pitch are running on empty.
However, is that the real problem?
It’s clear that there are a few injuries to players such as Micky Van De Ven, Cristian Romero, Brennan Johnson, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, Djed Spence and the Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario who would all probably feature if fit.
That said James Maddison missed the game against Leicester after playing the majority of the fixture against Hoffenheim on Thursday, due to being ‘sore’ (Ange’s words!)
Added to those concerns, one thing that doesn’t add up is there’s a certain Left-Back at the club called Sergio Reguilon, who has played for Real and Atletico Madrid, Sevilla as well as 80 Premier League games for Tottenham, Manchester United, Brentford and Tottenham again, being overlooked by Mr Postecoglou.
Surely, if Tottenham are down to the bare bones, whatever problem Ange Postecoglou or for that matter, the hierarchy have with Sergio, the player can fill a position in the starting lineup to alleviate some of the pressure on the injury-hit team.
The defeat against Leicester, which was the 4th Premier League loss in a row, leaves Tottenham in 15th place with 24 points from 23 games played.
It was also the 6th defeat from the last 7 Premier League games with the other being a draw, meaning just 1 point from a possible 21 on offer.
The strange anomaly in all of Tottenham’s recent adversity is Ange’s Spurs gained a victory over Liverpool in the 1st-leg of the Carabao Cup Semi-Final, added to wins in the FA Cup and Europa League, which begs the question, is Ange Postecoglou putting all his Australian/Greek Eggs in The Cup Win Baskets and writing off the Premier League for this season?
Tottenham face the Swedish club Elfsborg on Thursday in the final fixture of the Europa League-League Phase.
Ange’s Spurs sit in 6th place in that particular League, in a cluster of 4 teams who have 14 points.
A victory would confirm a Top 8 finish, which, as with the New Champions League format, would see Tottenham in the last-16 knockout stage, without having to play a 2-legged playoff affair.
There are a few scenarios that would see the Top 8 finish change but all the LilyWhite faithful need to know is a victory on Thursday will see their idols progress to the knockout stages that start in March.
As with the Champions League fixtures on Wednesday, all of the final Europa League-League Phase games start at 8 PM (in England) on Thursday.
As mentioned earlier there were 5 draws from the 10 Game Week-5 encounters back in September, with scorelines of 2-2, 2-2, 1-1, 1-1 and 0-0.
Added to those stalemates were 3 fixtures that finished in a 3-1 scoreline and 2 that finished 3-0.
This reverse fixture back in September was another 3-1 scoreline, this time in favour of Tottenham.
Bryan Mbeumo did score the opener to give Brentford an early lead, however, goals from Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson meant Tottenham led at the break.
James Maddison added a 3rd late on to give Ange’s Spurs the victory over Thomas’s Bees by the 3-1 score.
Betfred offer Brentford at Evens 1/1, the Draw at 3/1 and 21/10 for Tottenham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Yoane Wissa Scores First and slight Odds On 5/6 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!
MANCHESTER UNITED v CRYSTAL PALACE
14.00 in England
Manchester United gained a narrow victory over Fulham in the early Sunday Night Football at Craven Cottage.
In a drab affair between the two clubs, that didn’t produce much excitement for the watching Millions, who were tempted to switch over to ITV and watch Dancing On Ice (one suspects the Manchester Ball Thrower did just that), a late Lisandro Martinez goal was the difference giving United the win from a 1-0 score.
Lisandro took a speculative shot late on in proceedings which hit a Fulham Defender and looped over the Goalkeeper into the net.
Despite the turgid affair, it was a victory that lifted United to 12th in the table with 29 points from 23 games completed.
Ruben Amorim will want at least another 3 victories from the remaining 15 games to see his Manchester United team safe from relegation.
There’s talk that Alejandro Garnacho is wanted by Napoli and Chelsea for a fee of around £50 Million.
Without going into too many details as John Newsome doesn’t fully understand the Premier League’s PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules) Manchester United want to sell Mr Garnacho for £50 Million, as apparently, because AG is homegrown, it means United would have £130 Million to spend that doesn’t affect PSR, which United are close to breaching the limit.
Ruben isn’t a fan of Marcus Rashford and has recently stated that he’d rather put the 63-year-old Goalkeeping Coach Jorge Vital on the bench instead of Marcus.
Ouch!
Looks like Marcus could be helping kids get free meals over in Spain or Italy in the near future.
Manchester United gained a victory over Rangers in the ‘All British Affair’ of Match Day-7 in the Europa League-League Phase.
That sees United sitting in 4th place with 15 points, meaning that Ruben’s Red Devils have virtually guaranteed a last-16 place which start in March.
One says ‘virtually’ as there is still the possibility that United can finish outside of the Top 8, however, that would mean Thursday’s opponents, FCSB who are a Romanian team and not a Bank, have to inflict a defeat on Manchester United and then see other results go against Ruben’s team.
Crystal Palace suffered a defeat against Brentford at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
After 5 unbeaten Premier League games and facing a team that are poor on the road it was assumed that the Eagles could have at least gained a draw, however, despite the New Boy Romain Esse scoring a late consolation goal, Oliver’s Army suffered the loss by a 2-1 scoreline.
Romain comes in from Millwall and scored within 5 minutes of his debut for Palace.
Crystal Palace sit in 13th place with the same 27 points as West Ham from the opening 23 fixtures.
That’s a place and 2 points adrift of today’s opponents so the winners will sit higher in the table come 4 PM on Sunday.
The scorer wasn’t needed when United ventured South to face Palace at Selhurst Park back in September.
That was 1 of the 5 drawn games, this time by a 0-0 scoreline.
There should be goals today.
Betfred offer Manchester United at Evens 1/1, the Draw at 12/5 and 5/2 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 15/2 that Bruno Fernandes Scores First and 15/8 that Manchester United 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 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
ARSENAL v MAN CITY
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
Arsenal gained a narrow victory over Wolves at Molineux on Saturday.
Despite Myles Lewis-Skelly being shown a straight Red Card in the 43rd minute, leaving Arsenal a man-lite, both teams went in level at the break.
Wolves then had a player sent off which meant both teams now had 10 Men.
Riccardo Calafiori scored the solitary winning goal just after the Wolves sending off and with no further goals, Arsenal got the away day win from a 1-0 scoreline.
Arsenal remain on the coattails of Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League, sitting 2nd with 47 points from 23 games played.
Liverpool have 53 points but have played a game less so could extend the difference to 9 points following a victory over Everton in the game in hand.
Man City gained a brilliant victory over Chelsea at the Etihad on Saturday.
City have purchased some players in the January Transfer Window, including Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush, who were thrown straight into the starting eleven for the game against Chelsea.
Abdukodir didn’t have the best of starts when gifting Chelsea the opening goal after just 3 minutes whilst attempting to head the ball back to Ederson but failing miserably.
The Uzbekistan International then picked up a Yellow Card.
It was reminiscent of a certain YankScot back in the day when playing Sunday League Football for Leo’s.
The lad did improve and will learn from the experience of his 54-minute debut for Man City.
Omar had a better game and was akin to a certain Julian Alvarez which will improve Man City over the coming weeks.
Following Chelsea’s opening goal, Josko Gvardiol scored the equaliser to take both teams in level at the break.
Erling Haaland then scored with Phil Foden adding a 3rd to give City the win from a 3-1 score.
There may just be a few more ins and outs at the Etihad before the Transfer Window closes on the 3rd of February.
Vitor Reis is in from Palmeiras along with Abdukodir and Omar.
Kyle Walker has left the Etihad and joined AC Milan on loan with a view to a permanent deal.
Whilst KW has been a Big Player for City, all good things do come to an end and it as been apparent that Mr Walker’s speed has diminished.
Nothing to be ashamed of Kyle, it happens to us all.
All the best for the future Kyle Walker.
Man City sit in 4th place with the same 41 points as Newcastle from the 23 games on offer.
Both play on Wednesday in the final Champions League-League Phase fixture.
Arsenal face Girona in Spain but have already qualified for the last-16 of that particular competition, currently sitting in 3rd place with 16 points, so despite the travelling, may rest a few players, especially considering that Girona can’t qualify or reach positions 9-24, so really have nothing to play for.
In contrast, Man City have it all to do following another disastrous performance against Paris Saint-Germain last week.
Despite taking a 2-goal lead, City then capitulated and conceded 4 in the French Capital, leaving Pep’s Low Flying Blues with 8 points in position 25 of the Champions League-League.
City face Brugge at the Etihad in the final game and although a victory is needed to progress, it does mean that the scenario is straightforward and it is still in City’s hands.
Brugge sit in 20th place with 11 points and a minus-2 goal difference.
City have 8 points, with a plus+2 goal difference, which basically means that if City get the victory, they will leapfrog Brugge and qualify for the 2-legged playoffs to get the chance of a last-16 spot.
A draw or a defeat will mean that Man City are out of the Champions League this season.
As mentioned earlier, all of the Match Day-8 fixtures of the Champions League-League Phase kickoff at the same time, which is 8 PM in England.
Another draw when Arsenal took on Man City at the Etihad in the Game Week-5 encounter.
Erling Haaland scored the opener before goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel gave Arsenal a lead at the break.
John Stones scored a very late equaliser in the 98th minute to give Pep 1 and Pep 2 a point apiece from a 2-2 score.
The Archbishop was happy.
Betfred offer Arsenal at 21/20, the Draw at 12/5 and 12/5 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Erling Haaland Scores First and 8/5 that Leandro Trossard 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 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Monday 03rd
CHELSEA v WEST HAM
20.00 in England
Sky Sports
Chelsea suffered a defeat against Man City at the Etihad on Saturday.
Despite Noni Madueke taking advantage of an error from City’s New Defender and scoring after just 3 minutes, Chelsea conceded 3 goals to ultimately suffer the loss by a 3-1 scoreline.
Chelsea sit in 6th place with the same 40 points as Bournemouth from the opening 23 games played.
West Ham gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday.
After conceding a Villa goal and trailing at the break, Emerson headed an equaliser midway through the 2nd-half and with no further goals, both teams gained a point apiece.
West Ham sit in 14th place with the same 27 points as Crystal Palace from the opening 23 games.
Chelsea gained the away day victory over West Ham at the London Stadium back in
September.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice in the 1st-half to give Enzo Maresca’s Blues a lead at the interval.
Cole Palmer added a 3rd just after the restart and with no further goals, Chelsea got the win from a 3-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Chelsea at Odds On 4/11, the Draw at 4/1 and 6/1 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Cole Palmer Scores First and 12/5 that Lucas Paqueta 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 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Celtic remain at the summit of the Scottish Premier League with 60 points, despite not playing over the weekend due to Storm Eowyn causing a bit of damage to Celtic Park.
Rangers reduced the gap slightly to 10 points, now sitting 2nd with 50 points following the victory over Dundee United (who?) which, because the fixture took place a day later (Sunday), Storm Eowyn had moved on.
The rest of the Pub League are just taking points from each other and once again the predictability of the Old Firm Clubs finishing in 1st and 2nd continues.
Celtic face Aston Villa at Villa Park on Wednesday in the final game of the Champions League-League Phase.
The Green and White Hoops currently sit in position 18 with 12 points and have guaranteed a place in the 2-legged playoffs.
A victory against Villa married with a bizarre set of results from the teams around Celtic could potentially see a Top 8 finish, however, that looks unlikely so Brendan Rodgers and his Men will have to rely on the playoffs.
The loveable OzScot, who is now a YankScot currently over in Seattle watched his Teddy Bears suffer a defeat against Manchester United in the Europa League-League Phase Match Day-7 ‘All British’ encounter at Old Trafford last week.
A horrendous error from Jack Butland which saw the ‘Gers ‘Keeper punch the ball into his own net saw United take the lead.
An inspired substitution from PC Loser (Philippe Clement) who introduced Cyriel Dessers midway through the 2nd-half, led to Nice One Cyriel scoring a superb equaliser in the 88th minute which gave the Rangers faithful hopes of a draw.
The Rangers faithful, who were scattered all around Old Trafford, after obviously purchasing tickets from the United fans who would rather watch their team in the boozer and make a few quid from selling to the Teddy Bear followers who had descended in droves down to Manchester.
Unfortunately for the disillusioned Jocks in Blue, Bruno Fernandes scored a brilliant winner in the 92nd minute to knock the stuffing out of Rangers.
Rangers sit in 13th place with 11 points in the 36-team Europa League, which will guarantee a 2-legged playoff spot.
That said, a victory in the final fixture against Union SG of Belgium plus results going in the Blues’ favour, could see the slightest chance of Rangers grabbing a Top 8 finish that would mean automatic entry into the last-16, without the need for a 2-legged playoff.
However, it is more than likely that it will be a 2-legged playoff which will still allow Rangers to make the last-16.
Sleepless in Seattle.
Related Reading
Best betting site for accumulators
Bet365 review
Best cash-out betting sites
Best low or no minimum deposit betting sites