The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are MANCHESTER UNITED versus FULHAM and ARSENAL versus NEWCASTLE. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these and all game week 26 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
There are 10 fixtures previewed this week, however, 9 are from Game Week-26 that are the reverse of the Game Week-11 set that took place over the Bonfire Weekend back in November 2023.
Added to those is the rearranged Game Week-18 affair between Man City and Brentford.
Game Week-18
Tuesday 20th
MAN CITY v BRENTFORD
Man City gained a point in the late Saturday Afternoon fixture against Chelsea at the Etihad.
As always, most assume it’s 2 points lost but that is never the case, it is always a point gained.
As mentioned in previous columns, Chelsea are a different proposition without Thiago Silva and put in a superb defensive display to give both teams a share of the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
The ex-City player, Raheem Sterling scored the Chelsea goal with Roadie Rodri equalising for the home team late on in proceedings.
Without wanting to dig the Sheffield lad out, as he is a legend, Kyle Walker was once again at fault for the Chelsea goal.
KW initially started to run from his Right-Back position over to the left side when he should have stayed right and blocked Raheem.
That said, Man City did have enough chances, with the main man Erling Haaland missing at least a couple of near-certain goals.
With Liverpool winning in the early kick-off and Arsenal getting the victory mid-Saturday Afternoon, Man City dropped to 3rd in the Premier League Table with 53 points from 24 games completed.
Liverpool have 57 and Arsenal have 55, so a victory tonight will see Man City jump above Arsenal into 2nd and sit just a point adrift of Jurgen’s Reds.
Liverpool then play the day after against Luton so City will once again have a game in hand, which will take place on Saturday.
No doubt, Pep Guardiola will be sitting in his 3 bedroom terraced house wearing an old Luton Jersey with Harford on the back, a glass of Rioja in hand, cheering on the Hatters on Wednesday night.
Brentford come into this rearranged fixture at the Etihad, off the back of a defeat against Liverpool on Saturday.
Ivan Toney scored his obligatory goal at the GTech Stadium but the away team scored 4 to get the victory by a 4-1 away day scoreline.
The loss leaves Thomas Frank’s Boys in 14th place with the same 25 points as Crystal Palace from 24 fixtures.
Palace have completed 25 games.
Good luck tonight Bees.
Brentford actually gained a victory over Man City at the Etihad last season, plus a win in the final Premier League fixture of the 2022/23 campaign, however, these two met just a couple of weeks ago at the GTech, where Pep’s High Flying Blues inflicted a defeat on Thomas’s Bees by a 3-1 away day scoreline.
Neal Maupay did score first for Brentford but a superb hat-trick by Phil Foden gave Man City all 3 points.
Betfred offer Man City at Odds On 2/11, the draw at 6/1 and 14/1 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/4 that Erling Haaland Scores First and 9/4 that there are Over 4.5 Goals.
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Game Week-26
Wednesday 21st
LIVERPOOL v LUTON
This fixture has been brought forward due to Liverpool’s participation in the Carabao Cup on Sunday.
However, Liverpool’s opponents in the final, Chelsea, have had their Game Week-26 fixture postponed, meaning Mauricio’s Blues will be the fresher of the two teams in that Wembley Showpiece on the 25th of February.
Liverpool gained a great victory over Brentford in the early Saturday Afternoon fixture at the GTech Stadium.
Goals from Darwin Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister, Mo Salah and Coady Gakpo gave Jurgen’s Reds the points from a 4-1 scoreline.
That temporarily put Liverpool 5 points ahead of Man City and Arsenal who played later on in the day.
Arsenal secured a victory in their game against Burnley which leaves Liverpool sitting at the summit of the Premier League with 57 points, still 2 points ahead of the Gunners from 25 games completed.
Man City could only manage a draw against Chelsea, meaning the Title Race is wide open.
Liverpool- 57 points.
Arsenal- 55 points.
Man City- 53 points.
Man City play on Tuesday against Brentford so if a victory is achieved by Pep’s Blues, then Jurgen’s Reds will be sitting at the summit by 1 point coming into this Wednesday Night Football.
A victory for Liverpool will increase the gap at the summit to 4 points, however, following the game, it would still mean that Man City have a game in hand over Liverpool but will have played the same 25 games as Arsenal.
Come Saturday night, regardless of the results over the week, all 3 teams will have completed the same 26 fixtures.
There are a few injury concerns coming from the game against the Bees on Saturday, with Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota
going off in the 1st-half and then Darwin Nunez not coming out after the interval.
Diogo’s injury did look bad, with the Portuguese Midfielder being taken off the pitch on a stretcher.
Jurgen Klopp does have some good replacements so it will be interesting to see who comes out tonight against Luton.
Luton once again put in a superb gritty performance against Manchester United on Sunday but ultimately suffered another defeat, this time by a 2-1 scoreline.
Carlton Morris scored the Hatters goal when United had notched twice.
Although it was a gritty performance against an established Premier League team, it wasn’t enough to gain at least a point and more than likely, another defeat will occur tonight.
Luton slipped back into the relegation places now sitting 18th with the same 20 points as Everton from 24 games completed, following the Toffees draw on Monday.
Everton have played 25 times.
At Kenilworth Rd on Bonfire Night, Luton gained a valuable point from a draw against Liverpool by a 1-1 scoreline.
Tahith Chong scored the Hatters’ goal in the 80th minute that looked like the winner until Luis Diaz equalised for the Reds in the 95th minute to give both teams a share of the points.
Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 2/11, the draw at 13/2 and 12/1 for Luton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/4 that Mo Salah Scores First and 23/20 that Liverpool Win To Nil.
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Friday 23rd
CHELSEA v TOTTENHAM
*****THIS FIXTURE HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO CHELSEA’S PARTICIPATION IN THE CARABAO CUP ON SUNDAY ****
Saturday 24th
ASTON VILLA v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
15.00 in England
Both these Midland teams gained victories at the weekend, with Aston Villa inflicting a defeat on Fulham at Craven Cottage and Forest getting a win over West Ham at the City Ground.
Ollie Watkins scored twice against the Cottagers before Fulham pulled a goal back with the game eventually finishing in a victory for Villa by a 2-1 away day scoreline.
The win, combined with Tottenham’s defeat, means both teams swap places once again, with Aston Villa now sitting 4th in the table with 49 points from 25 games played.
Tottenham are in 5th place with 47 points.
Added to that is Manchester United are in 6th position with 44 points.
Taiwo Awoniyi and Callum Hudson-Odoi both scored at the end of each half to give Nottingham Forest the victory over West Ham by a 2-0 score.
Forest sit 16th in the Premier League table with 24 points from 25 fixtures completed.
At the City Ground back in November, it was Nottingham Forest who got the victory over Aston Villa by a 2-0 score.
Ola Aina and Orel Mangala with the Forest goals, either side of the half-time interval.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at Odds On 1/2, the draw at 7/2 and 5/1 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Ollie Watkins Scores Anytime and 11/4 that Taiwo Awoniyi Scores Anytime.
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BRIGHTON v EVERTON
15.00 in England
Brighton last gained a Premier League victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane back in 2005 when ‘Cheer Up’ Mark McGhee was Manager.
On Sunday, Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls put in a Five Star performance at the Lane, inflicting a defeat on the Blades by a 5-0 scoreline.
Brighton were given a helping hand when Mason Holgate was shown a straight Red Card after 13 minutes, leaving the Seagulls with a man extra for the rest of the game.
The advantage kicked in straight away when Facundo Buonanotte and Danny Welbeck scored to give the away team a comfortable lead at the break.
Jack Robinson then scored an Own Goal before Simon Adingra added 2 to give Brighton a superb win with the Seagulls straight off for a night out in Sheffield, stealing chips from the greasy chip butties.
The brilliant victory over a sorry set of blunt Blades leaves Brighton in 7th place with 38 points from 25 games completed.
Everton gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Crystal Palace on Monday Night Football.
After a goalless 1st-half, Palace scored just after the hour mark to take a lead, before Amadou Onana equalised to give both a share of the points.
The draw lifted Everton out of the drop zone into 17th, swapping places with Luton, now both with 20 points but with the Toffees having a slightly better goal difference.
Everton have played a game more than Luton.
Remember though that the Toffees have had 10 points deducted.
Both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score back at Goodison Park in November.
Vitali Mykolenko scored for Everton after 7 minutes, before the unfortunate Ashley Young was credited with the equaliser late on.
Betfred offer Brighton at slight Odds On 5/6, the draw at 11/4 and 3/1 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Pascal Gross Scores Anytime and 12/5 that Brighton Win To Nil.
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CRYSTAL PALACE v BURNLEY
15.00 in England
Roy Hodgson has stepped down as Crystal Palace Manager after being taken to hospital last Thursday, with Oliver Glasner ready to succeed him.
The Old Boy should be afforded tremendous respect for his time at Selhurst Park and for that matter, his time in Football Management that spans close to 50 years.
All the best Roy.
Oliver is an Austrian who has been in charge of LASK and Eintracht Frankfurt.
The New Manager Bounce sort of kicked in at Goodison Park with Crystal Palace gaining a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Everton on Monday Night Football.
Jordan Ayew gave Palace a lead midway through the 2nd-half, however, the home team equalised late on to give both a share of the points.
The New Manager was at Goodison Park but sat in the stands, however, will no doubt be out on the training pitch over the next few days.
The Austrian has a reputation for winning stuff, being the Manager in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt when the Germans won the Europa League against Rangers in 2022, however, Palace and the Premier League are a different proposition.
Crystal Palace sit in 15th in the table with the same 25 points as Brentford from 25 games played.
Brentford have only completed 24 with their 25th outing coming on Tuesday Night.
Burnley suffered the expected defeat against Arsenal on Saturday, however, probably what was not expected was the devastating 5-0 scoreline which leaves the Clarets in 19th place with the same 13 points as Sheffield United from 25 games played.
Both are now 7 points from safety.
With 13 games remaining, it’s probably fair to say that Burnley are heading back to the Championship.
Granted there are still 39 points on offer but that means Vincent’s Clarets would have to win at least 8 of those 13 fixtures to get to 37 points which would be enough to stay up.
John Newsome will go on record and state that Burnley won’t win 8 of the 13 games left.
At Turf Moor back in November, it was Crystal Palace that gained the victory over Burnley with the Eagles inflicting a defeat on the Clarets by a 2-0 away day scoreline.
Jeffrey Schlupp and Tyrick Mitchell with the Palace goals, one in each half.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at slight Odds On 19/20, the draw at 12/5 and 3/1 for Burnley to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Joachim Andersen Scores Anytime and Evens 1/1 that there are Over 2.5 Goals.
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***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Matz Sels- Nottingham Forest
RIGHT-BACK- Diogo Dalot- Manchester United
CENTRE-BACK- Axel Disasi- Chelsea
CENTRE-BACK- Lewis Dunk- Brighton
LEFT-BACK- Alex Moreno- Aston Villa
MIDFIELDER- Simon Adingra- Brighton
MIDFIELDER- Rodri- Man City
MIDFIELDER- Joao Gomes- Wolves
FORWARD- Ollie Watkins- Aston Villa
FORWARD- Mo Salah- Liverpool
FORWARD- Rasmus Hojlund- Manchester United
STAR MAN- Rasmus Hojlund- Manchester United
MANCHESTER UNITED v FULHAM
15.00 in England
Manchester United are on fire at the moment with the latest performance producing a victory over Luton at Kenilworth Rd by a 2-1 score.
Rasmus Hojlund with both United goals.
In truth, the ‘on fire’ statement was more tongue in cheek as throughout a 90-minute game, United can go from playing like the Red Devils of Title Winning Eras to performing like Macclesfield.
Basically, no consistency.
Luton scored to half the deficit and could have pushed on for a draw but Erik’s Ten Bobs held on for the win which is the 4th in a row and the 6th from 7 in all competitions.
The other produced a draw against Tottenham.
Casemiro was lucky to stay on the pitch following a couple or three rash challenges, which Erik Ten Hag realised and made a substitution at half-time bringing on the ‘Super Sub’ Scott McTominay, who ran around looking good but resembled a chicken without its head.
With Tottenham and Aston Villa continuing to swap places and fight for the final Champions League spot, Manchester United are slowly closing the gap and now sit in 6th place with 44 points from 25 games.
Tottenham have 47 points and Aston Villa have 49.
United have this fixture against Fulham, an FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest and then the mouthwatering game against the Noisy Neighbours Man City at the Etihad.
All to play for.
Fulham suffered a home defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday by a 2-1 score.
Rodrigo Muniz got the Cottagers goal when the scoreline was 2-0 but Villa held on for the away day victory.
The loss leaves Fulham in 12th place with 29 points from 25 games completed.
A very late Bruno Fernandes strike in the 91st minute gave Manchester United the victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage by a 1-0 away day scoreline.
Betfred offer Manchester United at Odds On 8/15, the draw at 10/3 and 5/1 for Fulham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Rasmus Hojlund Scores First and 23/20 that Manchester United Score in Both Halves.
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BOURNEMOUTH v MAN CITY
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Bournemouth come into this fixture after picking up a great point away at St James Park against Newcastle from a draw by a 2-2 score.
After a goalless 1st-half up on Tyneside, Dominic Solanke and Antoine Semenyo scored the Cherries goals to earn the point.
Both goals were equalised by Newcastle.
Bournemouth sit in 13th place with 28 points from 24 games completed.
Man City will have played against Brentford on Tuesday and in theory, could be sat 2nd in the Premier League, 4 points adrift of Liverpool coming into this fixture at the Vitality, provided a victory occurs against the Bees, added to a Liverpool win against Luton.
However, City would still have this extra game against Bournemouth to close the gap at the top.
Once Arsenal finish their fixture later on in the evening, it would then mean that all 3 teams have completed 26 games and if Liverpool and Arsenal get victories in their Game Week-26 encounters as well as City gaining the expected win over Brentford and Bournemouth, the Premier League outlook will look like the following,
Liverpool- played 26, 60 points.
Man City- played 26, 59 points.
Arsenal- played 26, 58 points.
Although Man City gained the easy victory over Bournemouth at the Etihad, there still wasn’t a clean sheet for Pep’s Blues, with the ex-Leeds player Luis Sinisterra scoring for the Cherries.
That did turn out to be just a consolation with goals from Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva (2), Manuel Akanji, Phil Foden and Nathan Ake giving Man City the emphatic win by a 6-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 6/1, the draw at 4/1 and Odds On 2/5 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Phil Foden Scores Anytime and slight Odds On 10/11 that Man City Score in Both Halves.
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ARSENAL v NEWCASTLE
20.00 in England
TNT Sport
Note the start time of this fixture at the Emirates, 20.00 in England on a Saturday Night, which always brings up conjecture between the single girls and boys and those who are Married.
For example, the Manchester Stick and Ball Thrower is married and has absolutely no chance of being able to watch this exciting game of a Saturday Evening.
The Big Lad will be forced to watch The Masked Pottery Wheel Whilst Dancing On Ice Person or something similarly absurd with the ball and chain, whilst the singles out there can order a Take-Out, pour a nice glass of wine and watch Mikel’s Young Guns take on Eddie’s Magpies.
Arsenal’s last two fixtures have produced 11 goals, 6 against West Ham and 5 in the latest against Burnley.
Goals from Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka (2), Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz gave Arsenal the victory over Burnley by a 5-0 scoreline.
With Liverpool winning against Brentford and Man City drawing against Chelsea, Arsenal sit in 2nd place with 55 points from 25 fixtures, 2 points less than Jurgen’s Reds and 2 more than Pep’s Blues.
Whilst this is brilliant for everyone connected with the Gunners and not wanting to pour cold water on the achievements in the last 2 games, Arsenal shouldn’t become complacent, as the victory over a very poor West Ham team and an even worse Burnley side, needs to be put into context and has to be matched today against a much stronger team in Newcastle.
If the expected results pan out over the course of the week, then Arsenal will sit 3rd in the table with 58 points going into Game Week-27.
Arsenal are in Portugal on Wednesday to take on FC Porto in the 1st-leg of the last-16 Champions League tie.
Newcastle gained a point from a draw by a 2-2 score against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Following a goalless 1st-half, Anthony Gordon converted a penalty and then the ex-Cherry Matt Ritchie scored the 2nd in the 92nd minute to give both teams a share of the points from the Eddie Howe Derby.
Matt had only been on the pitch a minute before scoring the valuable equaliser.
Newcastle dropped to 8th in the Premier League with 37 points from 25 fixtures played.
An Anthony Gordon goal scored midway through the 2nd-half was the difference between these two teams at St James Park, giving Newcastle the victory over Arsenal by a 1-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Arsenal at Odds On 1/3, the draw at 9/2 and 7/1 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Bukayo Saka Scores Anytime and 7/5 that Arsenal Win To Nil.
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Sunday 25th
WOLVES v SHEFFIELD UNITED
13.30 in England
Sky Sports
Wolves gained one of the best results of the weekend by going down to the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium and coming away with all 3 points from a victory over Tottenham by a 2-1 scoreline.
Joao Gomes with both goals, one in each half, to give Gary O’Neil’s Gold and Blacks the superb away day win.
Tottenham had equalised the initial Wolves goal.
Wolves sit in 11th place with the same 35 points as Chelsea but stay in 11th on goal difference.
If someone asked the Blunts what their favourite number was, it certainly wouldn’t be 5!
Sheffield United suffered a devastating defeat against Brighton at Bramall Lane on Sunday with the Seagulls, once again, scoring 5 to run out victorious by a 5-0 away day score.
If one remembers, Brighton scored 5 at the Lane in the FA Cup at the end of January.
Aston Villa then scored 5 at the home of Sheffield United.
Arsenal and Burnley have also scored 5 against Sheffield United this term, with Newcastle improving on those by scoring 8.
Sheffield United remain at the foot of the table with the same 13 points as Burnley who also conceded 5 over the weekend, both having completed 25 games.
It’s fair to say that both will be back in the Championship next season, with the possibility of facing the ‘Dingles of Oakwell’!
It’s that time of year again when arguments ensue between Little Jim and the Beautiful Jade.
The conversation usually starts,
‘Where’s my Passport love?’
Jimbo asks his lovely Wife-To-Be.
‘Why love?’
Replies Jade,
‘Because the Blades are at Molineux on Sunday and we are going!’
James from Swinton, nowhere near Bramall Lane, is adamant that he needs his Passport to get into Molineux.
‘I keep telling you, you daft Little Blunt, you don’t need your Passport to travel down to Wolves!’
‘How many times?’
Little Jim just laughs and pops the said Passport inside his Wrangler Denim Jacket, just in case.
To those out there who may find it strange to hear the word ‘love’, Yorkshire folk call everyone ‘love’, boy or girl, man or woman, dog or cat, everyone is referred to as ‘love’!
A bloke will say to another bloke,
‘Do you want another pint love?’
A lady will ask her mum,
‘What’s for tea love?’
That’s just what Yorkshire folk do, there’s no Pronoun involved, no Political Correctness and certainly no offence intended, it’s Yorkshire speak.
Surprisingly, it was Sheffield United that gained the victory over Wolves at Bramall Lane with goals from Cameron Archer and a very late converted penalty by Oliver Norwood giving Paul Heckinbottom’s Blades a rare win over Gary O’Neils Wolves by a 2-1 score.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde had equalised for Wolves before the penalty was awarded in the 100th minute.
Betfred offer Wolves at Odds On 1/2, the draw at 10/3 and 11/2 for Sheffield United to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Hwang-Hee Chan Scores Anytime and 6/5 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
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Monday 26th
WEST HAM v BRENTFORD
20.00 in England
Sky Sports
West Ham suffered their 3rd defeat in a row on Saturday, this time against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
The loss against Forest by a 2-0 scoreline does heap pressure on David Moyes with the Bubble faithful becoming more and more disgruntled with the Hammers Boss.
There were also reports that the hierarchy at the London Stadium are considering a change so watch this space.
There is a certain Jose Mourinho out of work so could West Ham go in for the Special One?
2024 is definitely not the Year of the Bubbles, with the Hammers failing to win any of the 8 games that have taken place this New Year.
West Ham dropped a spot to 9th with 36 points from 25 games, following all of the Game Week-25 fixtures.
Brentford come into this Monday Night Football having played against Man City last Tuesday which is previewed above.
At the GTech on Mischievous Night (4th of November), it was Brentford that gained a narrow victory over West Ham by a 3-2 scoreline.
Neal Maupay, a Konstantinos Mavropanos own goal and Nathan Collins gave the Bees the win, with Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen replying for the Hammers.
The older audience will remember Mischievous Night when the little rascals would go out and put lipstick on cars, let down tyres or more unsavoury actions that won’t be mentioned today.
However, the japes that occurred the night before Bonfires were lit, seem to have been wiped out from the youths playing activities.
Maybe, the iPads and PlayStation are much more exciting than knocking on old folks’ doors and then running away.
The good old days!
Betfred offer West Ham at 7/5, the draw at 12/5 and 17/10 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Jarrod Bowen Scores Anytime and 11/4 that Ivan Toney Scores Anytime.
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There’s excitement at the summit of the Scottish Premier League with Rangers now sitting Top of the Table following their victory over St Johnstone (who?) on Sunday after Celtic could only manage a draw against Kilmarnock (who?) the day before.
Kilmarnock (who?) equalised the Celtic goal in the 92nd minute to give both teams a share of the points.
Rangers have 64 points with Celtic dropping to 2nd on 62 points, both having played 26 games.
The loveable OzScot was over the moon in Melbourne and went missing for 2 days, out in the streets drinking Tennents Extra and eating Haggis.
Braveheart/Kylie then started organising an Open Top Bus for himself and the Boy to celebrate the rise to the Top of the Pub League.
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