The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are BRENTFORD versus LIVERPOOL and MAN CITY versus CHELSEA. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these and all game week 25 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-25
All of these Game Week-25 set of fixtures are the reverse of Game Week-12 which took place over the weekend of 11th and 12th of November 2023.
Saturday 17th
BRENTFORD v LIVERPOOL
12.30 in England
TNT Sport
Both come into this early Saturday Afternoon game off the back of victories in last weekend’s fixtures.
Brentford went up to Molineux and gained all 3 points from a win by a 2-0 scoreline.
Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney with the Bees goals.
Whilst this is stating the obvious, Thomas Frank’s boys are a lot better with Mr T back in the side and it would have been interesting to see where Brentford would be in the table if Ivan had played the whole campaign.
At the moment, the brilliant away day victory over Wolves leaves Brentford in 14th place with 25 points from 23 games played.
Remember, it is only 23, with the extra fixture coming up against Man City on the 20th of February.
Liverpool gained the expected victory over Burnley at Anfield on Saturday, with goals from Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez giving Jurgen’s Reds all 3 points from a 3-1 scoreline.
Burnley did score to equalise Diogo’s opener.
With Man City playing and winning in the early Saturday Afternoon fixture, Liverpool had temporarily dropped down to 2nd but the win over Burnley leaves Jurgen’s Reds at the Top of the Premier League with 54 points from 24 games played.
Man City have 52 points but do have the extra game against Liverpool’s opponents today.
Arsenal also have 52 points from 24 games played.
Make a note in the diary for the 10th of March when Liverpool host Man City at Anfield.
Liverpool will have played 3 times in the Premier League between now and the 10th, however, Man City will have played 4, therefore the simple equation is this, if both win all their games, Man City will be at the summit when the two face each other.
Back in November 2023, Mo Salah scored twice, either side of the break which Diogo Jota added to, giving Liverpool the victory over Brentford at Anfield by a 3-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Brentford at 9/2, the draw at 7/2 and Odds On 8/15 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Ivan Toney Scores Anytime and 7/5 that Darwin Nunez Scores Anytime.
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BURNLEY v ARSENAL
15.00 in England
Burnley remain in the relegation zone following another defeat on Saturday, this time against Liverpool at Anfield by a 3-1 scoreline.
Dara O’Shea did score on the stroke of half-time to equalise an earlier Liverpool goal, however, it was the home team that came out stronger in the 2nd-half and inflicted the defeat on Vincent Kompany’s Clarets.
Burnley sit in 19th place with the same 13 points as the bottom team Sheffield United, both having completed 24 games.
Both teams are 7 points from safety.
Whilst no one connected with the Turf Moor outfit will say the club are destined for a return to the Championship, John Newsome will say it for them, they are destined for the Championship and the possibility of coming to Oakwell next season to take on the Super Reds.
If one were to say that Arsenal scored 4 times against West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday most would not be too surprised, however, if one said that the 4 goals were in the 1st-half then most would be astonished.
The Gunners hammered the Hammers on Sunday with goals from William Saliba, a converted Bukayo Saka penalty, Gabriel and Leandro Trossard giving Arsenal a superb lead at the break.
Bukayo Saka and the ex-Bubble Declan Rice added a couple more in the 2nd-half with Declan not celebrating the goal out of respect for his previous employers.
The victory, eventually by a 6-0 away day score gives Arsenal the same 52 points as Man City from 24 games completed.
Added to that, both have the same plus+ 31 goal difference, with City in 2nd purely by scoring more goals than Arsenal.
Man City- scored 56 and conceded 25.
Arsenal- scored 53 and conceded 22.
Both stay 2 points adrift of Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League, however, remember that Pep’s Treble Winners have only played 23 times not the 24 that Jurgen’s Reds and Mikel’s Young Guns have finished.
It is going to be a great rest of the season with 14/15 games remaining that will determine who out of the three teams will be this year’s Premier League Winners.
At the Emirates, Arsenal got the home victory over Burnley by a 3-1 score.
Josh Brownhill equalised an earlier Leandro Trossard goal to take both teams in level at the break.
It was then a couple of Gunners Defenders, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko that scored to give Arsenal all 3-points.
Betfred offer Burnley at 17/2, the draw at 9/2 and Odds On 3/10 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/10 that Arsenal Win To Nil and 5/4 that Arsenal Score Over 2.5 Goals.
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FULHAM v ASTON VILLA
15.00 in England
Fulham gained a victory over Bournemouth at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
A Bobby Decordover-Reid goal and a couple from Rodrigo Muniz either side of the half-time break were enough to seal all 3 points from a 3-1 scoreline.
The Cherries did score when the Cottagers had 2 on the board.
The win leaves Fulham in 12th place with 29 points from 24 games played.
Aston Villa suffered a Double Defeat against Manchester United on Sunday.
Following the loss at Old Trafford, Villa somehow managed a defeat against United at Villa Park.
After United had scored first to get a lead at the break, Douglas Luiz equalised for the home team and when it appeared that Villa would push on for the victory, it was the away team that scored the winner in the 86th minute.
That’s now 2 home defeats in succession, plus a loss in the FA Cup at Villa Park which had become something of a fortress.
In the last 8 Premier League games, Villa have accrued 11 points from a possible 24 on offer, with 4 of those 11 taken from the bottom club Sheffield United.
The defeat leaves Unai Emery’s Claret and Blues in 5th place with 46 points from 24 played.
Manchester United have 41 points and sit 5 adrift of Aston Villa and 6 away from Tottenham who occupy the final Champions League spot.
Unai will want to get his boys back on track if there’s any hope of playing in next season’s Elite European Competition.
There is a Play-off scenario in the Europa Conference League that takes place over the next two Thursdays that will allow 8 teams to progress in that particular competition.
Aston Villa are already in the knockout stages so are waiting to see which one of those 8 teams they will face in the last-16.
When Fulham ventured North to Villa Park back in November it was the home team that gained the victory with Unai’s Claret and Blues inflicting the defeat on Marco’s White and Blacks by a 3-1 scoreline.
Fulham’s Antonee Robinson scored the opener, however, not for his employers but an Own Goal, that John McGinn added to, to leave Fulham trailing Aston Villa at the interval.
Ollie Watkins then added a 3rd before Raul Jimenez scored for the away team which ultimately turned out to be just a consolation.
Betfred offer Fulham at 15/8, the draw at 11/4 and 13/10 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 2/1 that Willian Scores Anytime and 8/5 that Douglas Luiz Scores Anytime.
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NEWCASTLE v BOURNEMOUTH
15.00 in England
Newcastle played in a very entertaining game at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Magpies were out for revenge after suffering a defeat against the Tricky Trees on Boxing Day.
Two superb goals from Bruno Guimaraes and a Fabian Schar strike gave Newcastle the victory over Forest by a 3-2 scoreline.
Forest had equalised both the opening Newcastle goals to take both teams in level at the break, with Bruno scoring the winner just after the hour mark.
As well as the two goals, Mr Guimaraes had a brilliant game and was the difference between the two teams.
Newcastle’s European Adventure is over so there’s no midweek outing in the Champions League.
Eddie’s Magpies jump above West Ham into 7th place both with the same 36 points from 24 fixtures completed but with Newcastle having a lot better goal difference.
After 6 victories and a draw from 7 Premier League games going back to November 2023, Bournemouth have not won a game since Boxing Day suffering 3 defeats from 5 fixtures with the other 2 being draws.
The latest fixture resulted in another defeat, this time against Fulham at Craven Cottage by a 3-1 score.
Marcos Senesi scored the Cherries goal when trailing by 2 goals.
Andoni Iraola needs to regroup his team and get them playing with the similar form that saw the brilliant run-up to Christmas.
Bournemouth sit in 13th place with 27 points from 23 games completed.
It is only 23 due to the fixture against Luton being abandoned.
That particular game will be replayed on the 13th of March at the Vitality.
It was Bournemouth who got the victory over Newcastle at the Vitality in the Game Week-12 affair.
Two 2nd-half goals from Dominic Solanke gave the Cherries the win over the Magpies by a 2-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Newcastle at slight Odds On 8/11, the draw at 3/1 and 16/5 for Bournemouth to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Callum Wilson Scores First and 8/5 that Dominic Solanke Scores Anytime.
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NOTTINGHAM FOREST v WEST HAM
15.00 in England
Nottingham Forest were on the wrong end of a 3-2 score against Newcastle at the City Ground on Saturday, which is fast becoming Forest’s fateful scoreline, occurring 6 times in the 24 Premier League fixtures played so far.
It’s worth noting that the Tricky Trees have suffered defeats in all 6 games.
Against the Magpies in the late Saturday Afternoon kick-off, Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the Forest goals, both equalising earlier Newcastle strikes to go in at the interval level.
Unfortunately, as in the other fixtures that finished with the 3-2 scoreline, Nuno Espírito Santo saw his boys concede a 3rd to ultimately suffer the defeat.
Nottingham Forest sit in 16th place with 21 points from 24 games completed.
Everton, who are in the final relegation place, have 19 points, so Nuno just needs to be aware of that and get his Tricky Trees back blowing in the right direction.
West Ham suffered a devastating defeat against Arsenal at the London Stadium on Sunday that saw thousands of the Bubble faithful leaving the game before half-time.
The Gunners scored 4 in the 1st-half then added another 2 after the break to gain the away day victory over a sorry set of Hammers by a 6-0 away day scoreline.
Some of the fans were not happy with David Moyes before the game with the loss adding more weight to the disgruntlement.
Although Arsenal were the dominant team and scored 6, it was the sorry manner in which the West Ham players went about their Sunday Afternoon stroll which is exactly what it looked like.
Kalvin Phillips was sent on at half-time after Mr Moyes had stated that the Leeds Lad was not up to speed.
Well, going into a 2nd-half trailing by 4 goals is not probably what someone wants to ‘get up to speed!’
KP must have checked the Train Times after the game to see if there were any that were destined for Manchester.
The defeat leaves West Ham in 8th place with the same 36 points as Newcastle, which sees the Magpies swapping places with the Hammers following the weekend results.
Both have completed 24 games.
Added to that, Newcastle have a far more superior goal difference than West Ham who are now in the negative.
Newcastle- scored 51 and conceded 39.
West Ham- scored 36 and conceded 42.
As with the Europa Conference League, the Europa League have a Play-off scenario over the next couple of Thursday’s which will eventually determine the opposition for West Ham’s last-16 encounter.
There are some notable teams in the Play-offs, who come in from the Champions League, such as Galatasaray who were in Manchester United’s Group, Lens who finished 3rd in Arsenal’s Group, Young Boys from Man City’s Group and AC Milan who were in Newcastle’s Group.
There is also the possibility of West Ham facing, Liverpool, Brighton or Rangers if all progress further.
There was a 5-goal thriller at the London Stadium back in November, with West Ham gaining the victory over Nottingham Forest by another narrow 3-2 score.
Lucas Paqueta scored first which was equalised by Taiwo Awoniyi to take both teams in level at the break.
Anthony Elanga then scored to give Forest a lead before goals from Jarred Bowen and Tomas Soucek gave the Hammers the points.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 6/4, the draw at 12/5 and 15/8 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Taiwo Awoniyi Scores First and 9/2 that there are Over 4.5 Goals.
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***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Mark Flekken- Brentford
RIGHT-BACK- John Stones- Man City
CENTRE-BACK- Mason Holgate- Sheffield United
CENTRE-BACK- Ethan Pinnock- Brentford
LEFT-BACK- Jakub Kiwior- Arsenal
MIDFIELDER- Scott McTominay- Manchester United
MIDFIELDER- Conor Gallagher- Chelsea
MIDFIELDER- Bukayo Saka- Arsenal
FORWARD- Darwin Nunez- Liverpool
FORWARD- Cameron Archer- Sheffield United
FORWARD- Erling Haaland- Man City
STAR MAN- Erling Haaland- Man City
TOTTENHAM v WOLVES
15.00 in England
There was a big upset in the Asian Cup that saw Jordan inflict a defeat on South Korea in the Semi-Final which meant that Son Heung-Min and Hwang-Hee Chan were back in England for their respective Game Week-24 matches against Brighton (Tottenham) and Brentford (Wolves).
Nice-One Son started on the bench against the Seagulls but Hwang-Hee Chan had the day off from the game against the Bees.
Now the International Teammates face up against each other at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium, both no doubt reflecting on that Semi-Final, scratching their heads thinking,
‘Jordan!’ (who?)
Tottenham left it late to gain the victory over Brighton at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The Seagulls scored the opener after 17 minutes to leave Spurs trailing at the break.
Pape Matar Sarr equalised for the home team on the hour mark just before Ange Postecoglou introduced Son Heung-Min and Brennan Johnson.
Sonny then provided a superb cross for Brennan to tap home the winner in the 96th minute, to give Tottenham all 3 points from a 2-1 scoreline.
Tottenham once again swapped places with Aston Villa following the weekend’s fixtures and sit in 4th place with 47 points from the 24 games played.
Wolves suffered back-to-back defeats at Molineux on Saturday, this time against Brentford by a 2-0 score.
With a goal conceded in both halves.
The loss leaves Wolves in 11th place with 32 points from 24 games played.
At Molineux back in November, Brennan Johnson scored after 3 minutes to give Tottenham an early lead.
With 90 minutes up on the clock going into added time, it looked like the away team had secured the win, however, goals from Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina in the 91st and 97th minute respectively, gave Wolves the victory over Tottenham by a 2-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Tottenham at Odds On 4/7, the draw at 7/2 and 4/1 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Son Heung-Min Scores First and 11/10 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
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MAN CITY v CHELSEA
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Man City temporarily jumped to the summit of the Premier League after their professional victory over Everton in the early Saturday Afternoon kick-off.
‘Professional’ due to the Toffees putting in a resilient defensive display that was hard to penetrate, however, with Erling Haaland on the pitch, there is always a chance of a goal or two.
That’s exactly what happened after a goalless 1st-half with the Norwegian/Leeds lad scoring twice to give Man City the win over Everton by a 2-0 score.
Pep Guardiola started Matheus Nunez against the Toffees, John Newsome does not want to specifically dig the boy out but one is not sure what Mr Guardiola sees in Matheus.
If one thinks about the way Pep simply dismissed Kalvin Phillips, it’s strange to see what the Gaffer is thinking about Matheus Nunez.
Pep took Matheus off after 57 minutes, replacing the Portuguese Midfielder with Kevin De Bruyne who was given a rest and started on the bench.
The whole situation of the game suddenly changed and it was only a matter of time before City would score.
Obviously, Pep Guardiola knows a lot more about football than this EveryTip contributor but it’s just something of a personal opinion that one feels it’s strange that KP is let go and Matheus Nunez is kept.
It will be interesting to see over the next few months, how many times Matheus Nunez starts in a City shirt.
John would like to guess, not many and certainly not in any high-profile games.
The temporary stint at the Top of the Premier League lasted a couple of hours before Liverpool gained their victory over Burnley which dropped City back to 2nd in the table, with 52 points from 23 games.
Liverpool have 54 points.
Arsenal also have 52 points and following the devastating destruction of West Ham by scoring 6, both now have the same plus+31 goal difference, with Man City staying in 2nd purely due to scoring more than Arsenal.
Man City- scored 56 and conceded 25.
Arsenal- scored 53 and conceded 22.
Remember it’s only 23 games, not the 24 that Liverpool and Arsenal have completed, meaning a win from the game in hand will see Man City at the Top and one would like to state, probably for the remainder of the season.
The Manchester Stick and Ball Thrower put out a statement saying,
‘Some big games coming up in March, probably the month that decides the title!’
One cannot argue with that, considering Man City, not only face both Liverpool and Arsenal but also take on the Numpty Neighbours in Red.
Pep’s High Flying Blues travel to Denmark to face FC Copenhagen on Tuesday in the 1st-leg of the last-16 of the Champions League.
To add to that, Arsenal, who are also in the last-16, play their 1st-leg fixture against Porto on the 21st of February.
It was mentioned in last week’s EverTip column that Chelsea are not the same dynamic team when Thiago Silva is in the starting lineup.
The exact words were,
‘It banes one to think this but is Thiago Silva now too old for the team and is beginning to hinder the Blues instead of enhance them?
The Brazilian is a class act but at 39 years old, maybe the dynamic of the team isn’t right.
Is Mauricio Pochettino big enough to say to Thiago,
‘It’s time for a break kid!’
John Newsome may be miles off with this assumption and has always been a fan of Thiago Silva but all good things come to an end and TS could just be spoiling the progression of the team, who may see the Defender as a Shadow over the club.
Fortunately for John, it’s not his decision to leave out Thiago, that is left to Mauricio Pochettino who does need to change the fortunes of the club, especially with the Final of the Carabao Cup coming up at the end of February.’
It was noticeable in the FA Cup destruction of Aston Villa last Wednesday where Chelsea knocked out Villa at Villa Park by a 3-1 scoreline, that both Raheem Sterling and Thiago Silva didn’t start.
Chelsea were simply a different team without those two, showing more energy and directness.
The Blues actually conceded the Villa consolation goal when Thiago came on.
Against Crystal Palace on Monday, Mauricio Pochettino brought back Thiago Silva into the starting eleven.
Chelsea were not the same dynamic team that comfortably beat Aston Villa, conceding a 1st-half goal to trail at the break.
What’s meant by that is not necessarily to have a go at Thiago but rather the subconscious respect that the rest of the players have for him.
With TS on the pitch, the younger players may feel obliged to pass back to the Legend feeling secure that Mr Silva is confident on the ball, which does limit the forward movement.
Mauricio must have got into his players in the dressing room as the Blues came out stronger and immediately scored an equaliser from Conor Gallagher, who did have a spell on loan at Selhurst Park a couple of years back but still celebrated the goal in front of the away end.
Thiago Silva picked up an injury on the hour mark and was taken off which did change the dynamic of the game.
It was then left to Conor Gallagher to score a 2nd in the 90th minute, however, that wasn’t the end of the goals with Enzo Fernandez scoring a 3rd for Chelsea in the 94th minute to get the victory by a 3-1 away night scoreline.
That lifted Chelsea up to 10th in the table with 34 points from 24 games.
At Stamford Bridge both teams shared the points from a draw by a, not 1-1, not 2-2, not 3-3 but an incredible 4-4 scoreline.
The goals going in as follows,
25′ Erling Haaland- (1-0 Man City)
29′ Thiago Silva- (1-1 Chelsea)
37′ Raheem Sterling- (2-1 Chelsea)
45+1′ Manuel Akanji- (2-2 Man City)
Half-time Couscous Pie
47′ Erling Haaland- (2-3 Man City)
67′ Nicolas Jackson- (3-3 Chelsea)
86′ Rodri- (3-4 Man City)
90+5′ Cole Palmer- (4-4)
Full-time Perrier Water and Wine.
Unbelievable Jeff!
Betfred offer Man City at Odds On 1/3, the draw at 9/2 and 15/2 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Phil Foden Scores First and slight Odds On 5/6 that Man City Score in Both Halves.
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Sunday 18th
SHEFFIELD UNITED v BRIGHTON
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Probably one of the best and most unexpected results of the weekend was Sheffield United going down to Kenilworth Rd and coming away with a victory over Luton by a 3-1 score.
Cameron Archer scored the opener with James McAtee adding a 2nd to give the Blades a lead at the break.
Luton pulled a goal back early in the 2nd-half after Sheffield United had conceded a penalty and when it looked like the home team would get an equaliser, Vini Souza scored a 3rd for the Blades which sent the travelling Blunts berserk in the away end.
The surprise victory gives Sheffield United the same 13 points as Burnley, however, the Blades stay at the foot of the table, having conceded a lot more goals than the Clarets and everyone else for that matter.
As mentioned both teams are heading for the Championship and a possible meeting with Barnsley who are in promotion contention from League One.
The loveable Blunts affectionately call the Super Reds faithful, ‘Dingles!’
James from Swinton, nowhere near Bramall Lane, never made it down to Luton, as he says, if he can’t say a word, he won’t
go there.
The little Blunt tried his best to say ‘Kenilworth’ but after repeated attempts, decided it was best to stay in Swinton which is nowhere near Bramall Lane.
The lad can say Barbie but did struggle with Ken-il-worth.
Brighton have suffered 4 defeats in the last 11 Premier League fixtures, with 4 draws and 3 wins coming from the other 7.
That’s 13 points gained from a possible 33 on offer.
The latest loss came on Saturday away against Tottenham at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium.
After Pascal Gross had scored to give Brighton a lead at the break, Tottenham scored twice in the 2nd-half to inflict the defeat on Roberto De Zerbi’s Men by a 2-1 scoreline.
The Tottenham winner coming in the 96th minute, which must have been a big blow to the travelling Seagulls who afterwards, all flew into Trafalgar Square to have a fight with the Pigeons.
The defeat leaves Brighton in 9th place with 35 points from 24 games played.
Surprisingly, Sheffield United gained 1 of their 13 points against Brighton at the Amex back in November.
Simon Adingra opened the scoring for the Seagulls after 6 minutes which could have meant the floodgates would open, however, the Big Brighton Defender Adam Webster must have felt sorry for the Blades and scored an Own Goal in the 74th to give Paul Heckinbottom’s team a point from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Brighton’s Mahmoud Dahoud was shown a straight Red Card 5 minutes before Adam’s OG.
Betfred offer Sheffield United at 4/1, the draw at 16/5 and Odds On 8/13 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Evan Ferguson Scores Anytime and 11/8 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
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LUTON v MANCHESTER UNITED
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
Luton suffered an unexpected defeat against Sheffield United at Kenilworth Rd on Saturday.
Carlton Morris did convert a penalty but the away team scored 3 to gain the relegation battle victory by a 3-1 scoreline.
Rob Edwards needs to regroup his set of Hatters who were on a 6 game unbeaten run having not lost in any competition this year.
Three in the Premier League and three in the FA Cup.
The defeat against Sheffield United leaves Luton in 17th place with 20 points from 23 games played.
That’s just a point more than Everton who are in the final relegation place but have played a game more than Luton.
If one were to say that the famous painting of Mona Lisa was going to be slightly changed and have an added Blue Card to the picture, there would be outrage, outrage!
Yet, that is what is being proposed for our beautiful game of football.
A ‘Blue Card’ is supposedly being introduced, with trials being in next season’s FA Cup (including the Women’s FA Cup!) to give a Player 10 minutes in a ‘Sin Bin’ for an indiscretion that doesn’t warrant a Red Card.
What a ridiculous suggestion that is!
It is really like spoiling the Mona Lisa.
The enigmatic game does not need an added extra, in truth, the despicable dreaded VAR should be aborted but the Governing Body won’t do that because too much money is invested in the absurd nonsense.
If one can imagine that the Premier League and other competitions get rid of VAR, then there would be 100s of ‘add on’ people out of a cushy job.
That’s not what these folk want!
VAR or Video Assistant Referee is a made-up nonsensical phenomenon that is now here to stay to give folk authority and power over someone else.
A man (or woman) walks up to you in the stadium and says,
‘That’s handball!’
One argues,
‘Is it?’
Gets a pie and walks off.
No harm done.
A VAR official, who is not even in the stadium and may not be watching the football, says
‘That’s handball!’
All hell breaks loose but it is keeping that said person at Stockley Park in a job!
Whether he (or she’s) right or wrong!
The said official still gets his dollar!
What would happen if the said official is only paid on correct decisions, that are verified by an individual panel called the VARDV, which does look like Vardy but means, Video Assistant Referee Decision Verifiers?
The recent FA Cup games on BBC and ITV had games in stadiums without the dreaded VAR and were a lot better viewing.
No one is bothered if a toenail is marginally offside.
VAR has and is ruining the Beautiful Game, now there’s a chance that the Blue Card will be introduced.
What’s next?
Manchester United are now unbeaten in the last 4 Premier League outings following the victory against Aston Villa on Sunday which saw United do the Double over Villa.
The Double being home and away victories in one season.
Rasmus Hojlund scored the opener to continue the fine goalscoring streak that has produced 5 in the last 5 Premier League fixtures that the lad has played and 6 from the last 7 games including a goal in the FA Cup tie against Newport.
Aston Villa did equalise the United goal and were in the ascendancy for a long period, however, Erik Ten Hag sent on the Super Sub Scott McTominay who powered home a header late on to give Manchester United the victory over Aston Villa by a 2-1 scoreline.
Scott does get a bit of constructive criticism from this EveryTip column, however, is the Manchester United leading goal scorer with 7 goals so far.
A good friend of John Newsome’s, known as the Little Fat Fella, suggested that Erik Ten Hag should use Scott McTominay as the United Centre-Forward.
Whilst that was probably a little tongue in cheek and was wanting a reaction from John, Scott is best left on the sidelines and like on Sunday, sent on when a goal or two are needed.
It’s well-known what this EveryTip contributor thinks about Scott McTominay, so there’s no point going down that particular Cul-De-Sac.
Kobbie Mainoo is fast becoming the go-to United Midfielder for Erik Ten Hag and whilst aged only 18, 19 in April, could quite easily be in Gareth Southgate’s England Squad for the International Friendlies against Brazil and Belgium coming up at Wembley in March.
Gareth was at Villa Park on Sunday to check over the youngster.
With Kalvin Phillips struggling at the moment, there is a space in the England Midfield available.
That’s for the future, for now, Kobbie and his Red Devil teammates are sitting in 6th place with 41 points from 24 fixtures, now only 5 points adrift of Sunday’s opponents and 6 away from Tottenham who occupy the final Champions League place.
Could United gatecrash the Top Four?
Manchester United gained the victory over Luton at Old Trafford with Erik’s Red Devils inflicting a defeat on Rob’s Hatters by a narrow 1-0 score.
Victor Lindelof with the solitary winning goal in the 59th minute.
Betfred offer Luton at 3/1, the draw at 3/1 and slight Odds On 5/6 for Manchester United to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Carlton Morris Scores Anytime and 6/5 that Marcus Rashford Scores Anytime.
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Monday 19th
EVERTON v CRYSTAL PALACE
20.00 in England
Sky Sports
Everton have now gone 7 Premier League games without a victory following Saturday’s defeat against Man City at the Etihad.
In the 7 fixtures, there have been 3 draws and 4 losses, meaning a return of 3 points from a possible 21 on offer.
In anyone’s language that is relegation form.
Added to that, Everton have failed to score in 4 of those 7 winless fixtures.
The loss against Man City by a 2-0 score, leaves the Toffees in 18th place with 19 points from 24 games completed.
Against Chelsea on Monday, Jefferson Lerma scored a wonderful goal in the 1st-half that no Goalkeeper was saving, giving Palace a slim lead at the interval.
Unfortunately for the Eagle Ultras who were still eating their half-time pie, it was Chelsea who came out stronger at the start of the 2nd-half and immediately scored an equaliser, with the ex-Palace loanee, Conor Gallagher getting the goal.
When a draw looked like the outcome, Chelsea scored in the 90th and 94th minute to inflict another defeat on Crystal Palace by a 3-1 scoreline.
The pressure will no doubt be increased on Roy Hodgson who could potentially be gone before this fixture.
Crystal Palace dropped to 15th place in the table with 24 points from 24 games completed.
Cheers to Sky Sports for allowing the Nation to watch what will no doubt be a scintillating game for Monday Night Football.
When Crystal Palace do play on television, in the left-hand corner the display is usually, for example on Monday Night,
‘EVE v CRY’
Which is ironic really because the Palace Ultras will probably be ‘crying’ for most of the evening.
In the two recent FA Cup games between Everton and Crystal Palace, the 180-plus minutes produced 1 goal.
That said, back at Selhurst Park in November, Everton gained the victory over Crystal Palace by a very entertaining 3-2 scoreline.
Vitali Mykolenko scored the opener after just a minute, before a penalty awarded to Palace saw Eberechi Eze equalise after 5 minutes and with no further goals both teams went in level at the break.
In the 2nd-half Abdoulaye Doucoure added a 2nd for the Toffees which again was equalised by the Eagles, this time the goal scored by Odsonne Edouard.
Idrissa Gueye, who doesn’t score many, scored the winner in the 86th minute to give Everton all 3 away day points.
Betfred offer Everton at slight Odds On 5/6, the draw at 5/2 and 18/5 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 15/2 that Neither Team Score and 2/1 that there are Under 1.5 Goals.
Draw 0-0- Get 8/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
The top of the Scottish Premier League had the weekend off with both Celtic and Rangers playing in the Scottish Cup.
Celtic gained the victory over St Mirren (who?) to progress to the Quarter-Final of the Pub Cup, with Rangers doing the same following the Teddy Bears win against Ayr (who?).
The Quarter-Final draw produced the following ties,
Greenock Morton v Hearts
Celtic v Livingston
Aberdeen v Kilmarnock
Hibernian v Rangers
The loveable OzScot was up early in Melbourne dressed in the full Rangers kit for the nervy game against Ayr (who?) and following the emphatic victory over a team that is made up of Bin Men, SuperMarket Workers and Dog Walkers by a 2-0 scoreline, Kylie was last seen running around the local park with a can of Tennents Extra shouting,
‘You’ll never take our freedom!’
Followed by a chorus of,
‘Simply the Best and I’m spinning around!’
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