The highlight games for this weekend’s action are LEICESTER versus CHELSEA and CRYSTAL PALACE versus MAN CITY. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these and all game week 27 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-27
All these fixtures are the reverse of Game Week-4 which took place at the end of August 2022.
Saturday 11th
BOURNEMOUTH v LIVERPOOL
12.30 in England
BT Sport
Bournemouth put in a great shift against Arsenal on Saturday and surprised the current Premier League leaders when Philip Billing scored the opener after 10 seconds of the start.
Marcos Senesi then scored a 2nd just after the interval and it appeared for all in attendance that a Cherries victory was on the cards.
Unfortunately for Gary O’Neil’s boys, Arsenal scored twice to level, then when the on-field referee Chris Kavanagh seemed to be playing on until the Gunners scored the winner, the inevitable happened with the home team scoring in the 97th minute.
(97th!)
That was extremely difficult for the away fans to take but ultimately it was a defeat by a 3-2 scoreline that now leaves Bournemouth at the foot of the table with 21 points from 25 games completed.
The bottom 2 have 21 points, with the Toffees having 22, however, Everton have played a game more than Southampton and Bournemouth.
There is a long way to go yet but snatching a defeat from the jaws of victory could be the first nail in the Cherries’ relegation coffin.
In the 10 Game Week-26 fixtures plus the 2 rearranged Game Week-7 affairs that were previewed in last week’s EveryTip column, there were 11 Home Wins’ with 9 of the 11 ‘Homers’ ‘Winning To Nil’.
Liverpool gained a great professional victory over Wolves in the rearranged Game Week-7 affair last Wednesday.
After a cautious 75 minutes, Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah scored the Reds’ goals to give Liverpool the win from a 2-0 scoreline.
It was then a mouthwatering encounter against the bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.
There wasn’t much action to report on until the game kicked off and in truth, it was pretty even for most of the 1st-half until Coady Gakpo scored for Liverpool just before the half-time whistle.
The 2nd-half was just beautiful if one is an Anfield Rapper, with Coady adding a 2nd, Mo Salah scoring twice to become Liverpool’s all-time leading Premier League scorer, surpassing Robbie ‘God’ Fowler, Darwin Nunez with a couple then finally Roberto Firmino rounding off a Magnificent 7-0 scoreline.
Predicting football results is extremely difficult but if one woke up on Sunday morning and stated,
‘Liverpool will get the victory against Manchester United today by a 7-0 score!’
One would have a visit from the Men in White Coats.
With Newcastle and Tottenham suffering defeats, Liverpool now sit in 5th place, with 42 points from 25 games completed.
Tottenham sit in the final Champions League place, with 45 points but Antonio’s Spurs have played a game more than Jurgen’s Reds.
It was stated in last week’s column that possibly Tottenham were the only team that Liverpool could catch to gain entry into next season’s Champions League, which still is the case even after closing the gap on Manchester United in 3rd place.
United have 7 points more than Liverpool and surely cannot play as badly as the game at Anfield on Sunday, so it’s unlikely the gap to 3rd is achieved.
Whilst a brilliant performance from Liverpool, it was significant that the starting eleven put out by Mr Klopp was younger on average than against Crystal Palace last week.
That has been stated by John Newsome a few times over the season and no doubt Jurgen Klopp knows this.
Once again, a brilliant performance and result for Liverpool against Manchester United.
At Anfield, back in August 2022, if one remembers, the devastating victory by Liverpool over Bournemouth by a 9-0 scoreline (yes nine!) spelt the end for Scott Parker who was sacked soon after and replaced by Gary O’Neil.
The goals going in as follows,
3’ Luis Diaz
6’ Harvey Elliott
28’ Trent Alexander- Arnold
31’ Roberto Firmino
45’ Virgil Van Dijk
Half-time Pie
46’ Chris Mepham (OG)
62’ Roberto Firmino
80’ Fabio Carvalho
85’ Luis Diaz
Full-time Grand Big Mac and Fries.
Probably the only strange thing regarding the Liverpool goal scorers is that Mo Salah isn’t amongst them, despite playing the 90 minutes.
It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if Liverpool score a few today.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 11/2, the draw at 18/5 and Odds On 4/9 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 3/1 that Mo Salah Scores First and 6/4 that Liverpool Win To Nil.
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EVERTON v BRENTFORD
15.00 in England
Everton have played twice since the loss against Aston Villa on the 25th of February.
There was an expected defeat against Arsenal last Wednesday in a rearranged fixture with the Gunners gaining the victory by an emphatic 4-0 scoreline.
It was then a game against Nottingham Forest last Sunday that finished in a draw by a 2-2 score.
The Archbishop was happy!
Demarai Gray converted a penalty after 10 minutes, which was quickly cancelled out by Forest.
Abdoulaye Doucoure then reinstated Everton’s lead on the half-hour mark to give the Toffees an advantage at half-time.
Unfortunately for the travelling Blues, Forest equalised once again midway through the 2nd-half and with no further goals, both teams shared the points.
The point gained wasn’t enough to lift Everton out of the Bottom Three, leaving Sean Dyche’s Toffees in 18th place with the same 22 points as Leeds United but with a slightly inferior goal difference.
There’s an 8-goal swing that Everton have to overturn to go above Leeds if both stay on the same points.
It’s tight at the bottom with a number of clubs vying for relegation so anyone from 12th place to 20th can go down with just 6 points separating the 9 teams.
Brentford gained a professional home victory over the West London rivals Fulham at the Community Centre on Monday Night Football.
Goals from the ex-Barnsley Boys, Ethan Pinnock and Ivan Toney, plus a Mathias Jensen strike, gave the Bees all 3-points.
Brentford were awarded a penalty just after the restart and that all most certainly means a goal, especially when Mr T is on the pitch.
That’s Brentford’s 32nd successfully converted penalty in succession and Ivan Toney’s 22nd for Brentford, 9 in the Premier League.
In fact, the only time Ivan has missed a penalty was playing for Peterborough, coincidentally against Barnsley back in October 2018, when the Reds goalkeeper and current Sheffield United stopper Adam Davies saved the spot-kick.
Ollie Watkins was the last Brentford player to miss a penalty back in October 2019, before moving on to Aston Villa.
Ethan Pinnock had given the home team a lead after 6 minutes when a deflected shot found the back of the net.
Fulham did equalise to take both teams in level at the break but once the penalty was awarded just after the half-time cup of tea, it was inevitable that Mr Toney would score.
Mathias Jensen added a 3rd late on but that wasn’t the end of the scoring with Fulham scoring a 2nd in the 99th minute, however, the Bees hung on for the victory by a 3-2 scoreline.
That’s now 12 games unbeaten in the Premier League, the last defeat being against Aston Villa back in October 2022.
Brentford sit in 9th place with the same 38 points as Brighton having completed 24 games, so don’t rule out a European adventure next season.
It was Frank against Frank when these two met at the GTech Stadium in August, with Thomas Frank’s Bees gaining a point against Frank Lampard’s Toffees from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Anthony Gordon scored the opener for Everton in the 1st-half, with Vitaly Janelt equalising for Brentford late on in proceedings.
Today it’s Sean against Thomas.
Betfred offer Everton at 13/8, the draw at 21/10 and 7/4 for Brentford to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Bryan Mbeumo Scores Anytime and 7/4 that there are Under 1.5 Goals.
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LEEDS UNITED v BRIGHTON
15.00 in England
‘Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again, Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again.’
The Joy Division song was in full flow at Stamford Bridge on Saturday with Javi’s Whites suffering an away day defeat by a 1-0 scoreline.
In truth, like the Big Bad Wolf, Leeds did huff and puff but just couldn’t blow down the Chelsea defence and once the home team had scored just after the interval, the writing was on the wall, as the Whites are struggling to notch at the moment.
Leeds have scored just 6 goals in the last 9 outings in all competitions and surprisingly 2 of those were against Manchester United at Old Trafford (1 being credited as an Own Goal)
The Whites leading scorer is Rodrigo who has 10 goals but hasn’t scored in the Premier League since January and has missed the last 6 games with an injury.
After Rodrigo, Crysencio Summerville is the next on the list with 4 goals but hasn’t scored in the Premier League since before the World Cup in November 2022.
Therein lies the Leeds United problem, with the main man Patrick Bamford suffering a crisis of confidence at the moment and wasn’t even in the Match-day Squad for the trip to London on Saturday.
Mr Gracia must have told the lad to get out on the park in Beeston and practice putting the ball in t’onion, as the Yorkshire folk say.
Some of the West Yorkshire puddings are still in London trying to get through the barrier at Kings Cross with their Trade Centre discount card.
Leeds United sit just outside of the relegation places in 17th with 22 points having completed 25 fixtures.
Marching On Together (back to the Championship!)
Brighton hammered the Hammers on Saturday, gaining a brilliant victory over West Ham at the Amex by a 4-0 scoreline.
World Cup Winner, Alexis Mac Allister converted a penalty midway through the 1st-half to give the Seagulls a lead at the interval.
Joel Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma and Danny Welbeck added the others after the break to give Brighton the comfortable win.
The Seagulls sit in 8th place with 38 points, however, have only completed 23 games, not the 24, 25 and 26 that the other teams around them have played.
Tottenham who sit in the final Champions League place have 45 points, 7 more than Brighton but have played 3 times more and both have to face each other next month.
Could Brighton get into the Champions League?
Added to that brilliant league form is Roberto De Zerbi’s men have progressed to the Quarter Finals in the FA Cup and will face Grimsby Town for a chance to play at Wembley.
Now most reading that will think that John Newsome has had a bump on the head, Grimsby Town?
Yes, Grimsby are a League 2 team or Division 4 in old money and inflicted a defeat on Southampton, battering the Saints in the 5th Round of the FA Cup to set up the Quarter Final tie against Brighton.
The fun in the tie is that Grimsby are nicknamed the Haddocks due to being a fishing town and Brighton are nicknamed the Seagulls who are constantly trying to catch the fish from the South Coast sea.
As mentioned Grimsby is a fishing town on the East Coast of England and have played as high as the Championship level but in recent years have been as low as the National Conference League, gaining promotion back to the Fourth Tier of the English Football Pyramid last season.
The actual football ground is in the seaside town of Cleethorpes which John Newsome has frequented a few times.
As a Yorkshireman living in Barnsley, which is in the middle of England, Cleethorpes is probably the closest place to dip one’s toes into the sea.
A few years ago (35 to be exact!) John and the loveable OzScot spent a couple of nights in a caravan at Cleethorpes, with their girlfriends at the time.
All 4 of us were young and daft but had a great time.
The loveable OzScot is still with that girl all these years later, as Kammy would say, Unbelievable Jeff.
Sadly the young lady this EveryTip contributor was with as an 18-year-old went off with someone else.
As the saying goes, ‘those were definitely the best days’.
No Smartphones with cameras recording everything, no texts or Social Abuse sites, despite the Modern World one lives in now, those days in the 1980s and 90s were definitely the best of our generation.
Back in the 1996/97 Championship campaign, where Barnsley were promoted to the Promised Land, at the same time, Grimsby were relegated to Division 3 and despite gaining immediate promotion back to the Championship in 1998, have steadily fallen away over the years, until last season when the Haddock’s gained promotion back into League 2.
The Red and White Army visited Blundell Park, the home of Grimsby Town in late January 1997 and gained a vital victory with John Hendrie completing his hat-trick, scoring a late winner that gained all 3 points to continue Barnsley’s push for promotion.
John Newsome was at the game and on returning to Barnsley had to work all night at Woolley Edge Services on the M1.
John was a little late for his 11.00 PM shift start time but just winked at the young lady waiting to go home and said,
You Reds!
Once again, those were the days.
Good luck to Grimsby Town against Brighton in the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup.
Watch out for those pesky Seagulls nicking the Chips and battered Haddock.
A single Pascal Gross goal, midway through the 2nd-half, gave Graham Potter’s Brighton the victory over Jesse Marsch’s Leeds by a 1-0 scoreline back in the Game Week-4 affair at the Amex.
Some of the West Yorkshire puddings are still on the South Coast thinking that they require their Passports to get back up to Leeds.
Now they know that Passports are not required, the Marching On Together are hoping to hitch a ride home on the flying Seagulls.
Betfred offer Leeds United at 13/5, the draw at 5/2 and Evens 1/1 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Alexis Mac Allister Scores First and 15/8 that Brighton Score in Both Halves.
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LEICESTER v CHELSEA
15.00 in England
The ‘Leeds are falling apart’ tune could well be sung for the Foxes with ‘Leicester falling apart again.’
(Plus a number of other clubs, Tottenham, Newcastle etc)
Brendan’s (not so)Wonderfuls suffered a devastating defeat against Southampton on Saturday.
Southampton!
The worse team in the Premier League and Leicester can’t even beat them.
A single Saints goal with 10 minutes of the 1st-half remaining was enough to inflict the damage on the Foxes.
Leicester sit in 15th place with 24 points from 25 played, which is just 3 points above the relegation zone.
There is talk that Leicester are a better team when James Maddison starts and no doubt that is true, however, James did start against Southampton on Saturday evening and played the full 90 minutes in the defeat, which could have been worse if Danny Ward had not saved a penalty before Southampton scored.
Little Brendan Rodgers needs to turn around the Foxes Fortunes or a relegation battle is a serious possibility.
Chelsea finally gained a victory on Saturday, the first one from six in the Premier League.
Graham Potter’s Blues are struggling and despite the win, the performance wasn’t convincing, considering that it was only against Leeds United who are shocking at the moment.
It was Wesley Fofana that scored the only goal of the game to give Chelsea the victory over Leeds United by a 1-0 scoreline.
In those 6 Premier League games, the Blues have managed just 2 goals, yet Graham continues to pick Kai Havertz who hasn’t scored since the middle of January and is showing no signs of doing so anytime soon.
Maybe it’s because Kai is the leading scorer in the Premier League for Chelsea with 5 goals but surely someone of his ability and the time spent on the pitch, 5 should be a lot more.
Raheem Sterling is 2nd with 4 goals, however, Kai has played 5 more than Raheem.
Graham Potter, who is performing more like Brian Potter, needs to get his Strikers to put the ball in the back of the net much more frequently.
Erling Haaland has scored more Premier League goals this season than Chelsea.
‘He’s scored more than you, he’s scored more than you, Erling Haaland, has scored more than you!’
That will be the next terrace ditty sung by the opposition faithful over the coming weeks.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (remember him?) is still at Stamford Bridge but rarely sees any game time, despite not being injured.
It’s clear that Brian doesn’t fancy Pierre-Emerick, however, Chelsea need goals so maybe Mr Potter needs to put personal opinions to one side and give Mr Aubameyang a few runouts.
The Blues remain in 10th place (10th!) with the same 34 points as Aston Villa, both having completed 25 fixtures.
At the beginning of the season, this EveryTip column put up a predicted Premier League table showing who would finish where.
Along with the ones chosen by the Australian branch and Ilkleys newest resident.
All 3 of the above had Chelsea to finish above Manchester United, however, John Newsome had United to finish in the Top Four, above the Blues and was ridiculed immensely by certain people (they know who they are!)
This was printed in this EveryTip column on August the 2nd, 2022.
‘OzScot-Kylie-Dundee
1- Liverpool
2- Man City
3- Chelsea
4- Arsenal
5- Tottenham
6- Manchester United
CSI-Jonny-Dundee
1- Man City
2- Liverpool
3- Tottenham
4- Chelsea
5- Manchester United
6- Arsenal
Widster-Ilkley-Bart Hat
1- Man City
2- Chelsea
3- Liverpool
4- Manchester United
5- Arsenal
6- Newcastle
JB’s
1- Man City
2- Liverpool
3- Tottenham
4- Manchester United
5- Arsenal
6- Chelsea’
Obviously, those predictions were based on a Chelsea team that was under the guidance of Thomas Tuchel and had finished in 3rd place last season.
The question John Newsome wants to ask is,
‘Why get rid of Thomas Tuchel and bring in Graham Potter?’
Have Chelsea improved?
The clear answer is No!
Chelsea will know their Champions League fate before the trip to the King Power Stadium, with the Blues facing Borussia Dortmund at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, in the 2nd-leg of the Champions League last-16 knockout stage.
Graham’s Wizards are trailing by a goal to nil from the trip to Germany a couple of weeks back.
Thomas Tuchel was still at the Chelsea helm when Brendan Rodgers took his Leicester team to Stamford Bridge.
Despite Conor Gallagher receiving 2 quick-fire Yellow Cards and the ultimate Red, midway through the 1st-half, it was Thomas’s Blue Engines that gained the victory over Brendan’s (not so) Wonderfuls by a 2-1 scoreline.
After a goalless 1st-half, Raheem Sterling scored twice before Harvey Barnes pulled a goal back.
Fortunately for the home fans in attendance, the 10 Men Blues held on for all 3 points.
Mr Tuchel only had 3 more games in charge than was down the concrete, with Graham Potter taking over.
It’s quite possible that GP could be joining TT at the Job Centre in the not-too-distant future.
Betfred offer Leicester at 11/4, the draw at 5/2 and slight Odds On 19/20 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that James Maddison Scores Anytime and slight Odds On 5/6 that there are Over 2.5 Goals.
Home Win 2-1- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
TOTTENHAM v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
15.00 in England
Following back-to-back victories in the Premier League, Tottenham suffered a surprise defeat against Wolves at Molineux on Saturday.
John Newsome says ‘surprise’, however, was the defeat by a 1-0 scoreline, a surprise?
The goal was conceded in the 82nd minute.
Spurs have suffered 4 defeats from the last 6 games in all competitions, since getting a victory against Man City in early February, including being dumped out of the FA Cup last week by Sheffield United.
James from Swinton nowhere near Bramall Lane was ecstatic and spent the night dancing in the front garden singing the John Denver ditty about Greasy Chip Butties.
James could be back in this weekly EveryTip column next season as Sheffield United (The Blunts) are on the verge of automatic promotion from the Championship.
Antonio Conte will be back in the dugout for this fixture after recovering from Gallbladder surgery.
Spurs remain in 4th place with 45 points, however, have played 26 times.
Liverpool, Newcastle and Fulham, who are the teams immediately below have played a game or two less and Brighton, who are 7 points adrift of Spurs have 3 extra games to play plus have to visit the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium in early April.
Tottenham host AC Milan on Wednesday, in the 2nd-leg of their Champions League knockout stage, trailing by a goal to nil following the fixture at the San Siro.
Nottingham Forest equalised twice on Sunday against Everton, to earn a point from a draw by a 2-2 score.
After conceding a penalty early on in proceedings at the City Ground, Brennan Johnson scored to level, however, the parity didn’t last long when Everton scored a 2nd to lead at the break.
Brennan once again equalised for the Tricky Trees and with no further goals, both shared the points.
Nottingham Forest sit in 14th place, with 26 points from 25 fixtures played.
Harry Kane scored a goal in each half to give Tottenham the away day victory over Nottingham Forest, by a 2-0 scoreline, at the City Ground back in August 2022.
Despite the 2 goals, what would have irked Big Harry is the lad missed a 2nd-half penalty, having his spot-kicked saved by Dean Henderson.
Betfred offer Tottenham at Odds On 2/5, the draw at 7/2 and 13/2 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 3/1 that Harry Kane Scores First and 5/4 that Tottenham Win To Nil.
Home Win 2-0- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Jose Sa- Wolves
RIGHT-BACK- Trent Alexander-Arnold- Liverpool
CENTRE-BACK- Wesley Fofana- Chelsea
CENTRE-BACK- Ethan Pinnock- Brentford
LEFT-BACK- Andy Robertson- Liverpool
MIDFIELDER- Jordan Henderson- Liverpool
MIDFIELDER- Roberto Firmino- Liverpool
MIDFIELDER- Phil Foden- Man City
FORWARD- Mo Salah- Liverpool
FORWARD- Coady Gakpo- Liverpool
FORWARD- Adama Traore- Wolves
STAR MAN- Mo Salah- Liverpool
CRYSTAL PALACE v MAN CITY
17.30 in England
Crystal Palace suffered another defeat on Saturday, this time against Aston Villa at Villa Park by a 1-0 scoreline.
The unfortunate Eagle Defender Joachim Andersen was credited with the own goal.
In the 9 Premier League fixtures that Crystal Palace have played this year, since the victory against Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve, Patrick Vieira’s side have drawn 5 and lost 4.
Five points from a possible 27.
That is relegation form and Palace just need to be wary of the possible battle ahead.
Crystal Palace sit in 12th place with the same 27 points as Wolves, having completed 25 games.
That is only 5 points more than Everton who reside in the final relegation place.
Man City temporarily closed the gap on Arsenal at the summit, following the victory against Newcastle in the early Saturday afternoon kick-off.
Phil Foden, who was superb throughout and Bernardo Silva with the goals to give Pep’s High Flying Blues the win over Eddies Magpies by a 2-0 scoreline.
Temporarily, as Arsenal subsequently and somehow gained a victory against Bournemouth a couple of hours later, (cheers referee!) leaving City in 2nd place with 58 points, still 5 adrift of the Gunners, both having completed 26 games, with 12 remaining.
When Man City face Arsenal at the end of April, there will be 5 games remaining, so hypothetically, if the status quo remains the same, Arsenal can afford to lose against Man City and still win the title by gaining victories in the final 5 fixtures.
That really will be when the pressure starts, however, there’s a long way to go yet so all to play for and Manchester United won’t give up the fight just yet.
(They should!)
A John Stones own goal and a Joachim Andersen header gave Crystal Palace a surprise lead at the break when these two met at the Emirates.
Then it was Erling Haaland to the rescue, scoring a 2nd-half hat-trick that gave Man City the victory by a 4-2 scoreline.
Bernardo Silva with the first City goal before Erling’s 3.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 8/1, the draw at 4/1 and Odds On 1/3 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 23/20 that Riyad Mahrez Scores Anytime and 21/20 that Man City Win To Nil.
Away Win 0-2- Get 5/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 12th
MANCHESTER UNITED v SOUTHAMPTON
14.00 in England
A rant will now commence.
John Newsome has always stated that Manchester United will not win anything with Fred and Scott McTominay.
Obviously, following last week’s victory in the Carabao Cup Final, that specific narrative ended.
If one reads the column from last week, John offered credit to Fred and stated that Casemiro had improved the Brazilian, however, whilst the praise was acceptable last week and the narrative ended, as Manchester United have now won something with Fred and Scott, that actually could be the worse thing to happen to United this season.
John Newsome received a lot of harmless banter regarding Fred after Manchester United’s Carabao Cup victory and that’s fair enough, if one is big enough to put out a statement that has lasted 5 years, then one should be big enough to accept the criticism when that statement finally ends.
However, let’s look at this from a different angle, Manchester United beat Aston Villa, Burnley, Charlton, Nottingham Forest and a poor Newcastle team in the Final who didn’t have their influential goalkeeper.
Man City had to get past Chelsea and Liverpool and somehow had a bad day against Southampton that ultimately cost them a place in the Semi-Final.
It was stated that Fred may not have played against Newcastle if Christian Eriksen had been available.
What happened next, is what has happened throughout the past 5 years, comments such as ‘Fred has improved, Fred is better with Casemiro at the side, Fred is this, Fred is that!’
Fred is a very average player that has cost 3 previous Managers their job at Old Trafford, cost United more games than has profited and is still been given praise by individuals who haven’t a clue about football.
There is a horrific song sung by the Red Devils that goes,
‘Fred, Fred will tear you apart again, Fred, Fred will tear you apart again.’
The narrative is over, accepted, Fred has finally won a medal but that might be it after Sunday’s horrendous display against Liverpool at Anfield, where Manchester United were humiliated, suffering a defeat by a 7-0 scoreline (SEVEN!)
Fred was on the pitch for the first 3 goals, then swapped places with Scott McTominay who was on the pitch for the other 4 goals.
Hopefully, for the sake of Erik Ten Hag and the Red Devil faithful, the game against Liverpool was just a blip but Erik has to look at the Fred situation and maybe revert to Marcel Sabitzer for a couple of weeks until Christian Eriksen is fit enough to start.
In the defeat against Liverpool, some corroborating factors could explain the disastrous display.
Casemiro didn’t turn up and sent his fat little brother instead, who resembled John Newsome’s good friend Mr Crossley and Luke Shaw wasn’t available, instead sending his thinner-looking twin.
Leandro Martinez has been watching Harry Maguire too much in training and picked up a few of the Sheffield lads’ traits.
Marcus Rashford was thinking about feeding the kids again.
David De Gea had put his hands on the wrong arms on Sunday morning.
Bruno Fernandes (the Manchester United Captain by the way!) was abhorrent, feigning injury, flailing his arms around and at one point pushing the linesman.
The linesman to his credit remained calm and composed and Bruno wants to think himself lucky that John Newsome wasn’t holding the flag at that point as Mr Fernandes wouldn’t have had to feign injury!
Added to all of the above, what is Antony all about?
The boy is more like a ballerina than a winger.
The tricks he has, went out of date when Paul Daniels passed away.
Probably one telling indictment of the afternoon was Erik didn’t send on Harry Maguire to stiffen up the defence.
‘Sit down Harry, we’ll leave it at 7!’
United remain in 3rd place with 49 points from 26 fixtures completed.
The talk of a Quadruple needs to stop now as Manchester United won’t win the Premier League this season and need to refocus on possibly winning the FA Cup and the Europa League.
Then in the Summer, say goodbye to Fred and Scott plus a few others and get some better Midfielders in.
Try and get Jude Bellingham and definitely go all out for Harry Kane.
The right amount of money offered could prize Harry away from Tottenham.
The lad has the Spurs’ all-time goal-scoring record and wants to stay in the Premier League to surpass Alan Shearer’s record.
HK could stay at Tottenham but won’t win anything with them so needs to decide what the best option is, stay in London or head North to Old Trafford and the chance to win the Premier League or Champions League, or at worse the Carabao Cup.
Man City and Liverpool don’t need Harry Kane but Manchester United do.
Chelsea do too but that could possibly be a backwards step and Harry wouldn’t go to Arsenal (surely?)
Rant over, congratulations to Liverpool, a great result.
Manchester United host Real Betis at Old Trafford on Thursday in the 1st-leg of the last-16 knockout stage of the Europa League.
Southampton jumped off the bottom of the table following the victory against Leicester on Saturday night.
Well jumped might not be the exact word to use as the Saints swapped places with Bournemouth both having the same 21 points from 25 games played.
James Ward-Prowse surprisingly missed a penalty when Southampton were awarded the spot-kick midway through the 1st-half.
JWP is usually a certainty to convert from 12 yards but saw his kick superbly saved by the Foxes stopper, Danny Ward.
Luckily for all concerned at St Mary’s Carlos Jonas Alcaraz scored soon after the missed penalty and with no further goals, Southampton held on for the victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
This will be a real test of character taking on an in-form set of Red Devils at Old Trafford, especially one who have just had 7 put past them.
Seven!
A single Bruno Fernandes goal, early in the 2nd-half at St Mary’s was enough to give Manchester United the victory over Southampton by a 1-0 away day score.
Southampton have had 2 different Managers since.
Betfred offer Manchester United at Odds On 4/11, the draw at 4/1 and 7/1 for Southampton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Casemiro Scores Anytime and 5/4 that Manchester United Win To Nil.
Home Win 2-0- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
WEST HAM v ASTON VILLA
14.00 in England
The Battle of the Claret and Blues.
West Ham suffered a devastating defeat against Brighton at the Amex on Saturday with the Seagulls bursting the Bubbles by a 4-0 scoreline.
One goal in the 1st-half and 3 after the break.
David Moyes is under pressure, however, who would West Ham want to appoint in this situation?
It would be David Moyes, so the Hammers faithful just need to sit tight and hope there are 3 worse teams in the Premier League that will be relegated.
Could Michael Carrick be the new West Ham Manager?
There has been a lot of talk about Declan Rice’s next destination.
Where is he going to go?
It will cost more than £100 Million to prize the lad away from the London Stadium but John Newsome wants to ask this,
How many teams, over the 30 years that the Premier League has been in existence, have had a £100 Million (or equivalent) player in their ranks, yet are in and around the relegation zone?
Roy Keane has questioned whether Mr Rice is the player everyone assumes he is and whether Doctor Declan is worth £100 Million.
Obviously, the Bubbles out there say DR is and don’t agree with the enigmatic Mr Keane, however, this EveryTip contributor seems to agree with Roy.
England’s 2 influential Midfielders from the Euros of 2021, Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice, don’t appear to have trained on.
Pep Guardiola doesn’t fancy KP, even calling the Leeds lad ‘fat’ (bit harsh Pepster!) and DR playing in a team that is struggling at the foot of the table.
There’s no doubt that Declan Rice will move on in the Summer but would the price tag of £100 Million, tempt the likes of Man City, Manchester United, Liverpool or European clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich?
The Italian’s too!
There is probably only Chelsea that would fork out £100 Million but would Declan want to play at Stamford Bridge where he started, considering that the Blues won’t be in the Champions League next season?
The Hammers sit in 16th place with 23 points from 25 games played.
West Ham resume their Europa Conference League campaign with a trip to Cyprus to face AEK Larnaca on Thursday before the visit of Aston Villa.
Aston Villa gained a narrow victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday, with a single goal giving Villa the points by a 1-0 score.
The goal scored midway through the 1st-half was credited as a Palace own goal but Villa won’t worry about that too much.
Aston Villa sit in 11th place with 34 points from 25 fixtures played.
Pablo Fornals scored the only goal of the game back in August at the London Stadium, to give David Moyes’ Claret and Blues the victory over Steven Gerrard’s Claret and Blues by a 1-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer West Ham at 23/20, the draw at 23/10 and 12/5 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Jarrod Bowen Scores Anytime and 23/20 that Ollie Watkins Scores Anytime.
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FULHAM v ARSENAL
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Fulham suffered a West London defeat away at Brentford’s GTech Stadium on Monday Night Football.
After conceding an early goal, Manor Solomon scored his 5th goal in successive games (4th in the Premier League) to take both teams in level at the break.
Repaying Marco Silva’s faith in starting the Israeli for the first time in the league this season.
Unfortunately, the Cottagers conceded 2 goals after the break to ultimately suffer the defeat by a 3-2 scoreline.
Carlos Vinicius did score a very, very late 2nd for the away team, however, the kick was literally the last one of the 9 added minutes with the referee blowing the whistle as soon as Brentford kicked off.
The first defeat for Fulham in the last 8 games in all competitions and the first loss since the defeat against Tottenham back in late January.
Fulham sit in 7th place with 39 points from 26 games completed.
Arsenal gained a victory in the rearranged Game Week-7 affair against Everton by a comfortable 4-0 scoreline.
Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and a Gabriel Martinelli double were the goal scorers against the Toffees.
That put Mikel Arteta’s Young Guns 5 points ahead of Pep’s High Flying Blues at the summit of the Premier League.
That gap was reduced to just 2 points, before the kick-off against Bournemouth following Man City’s victory over Newcastle in the early Saturday afternoon kick-off.
In that fixture against Bournemouth, Arsenal scored a very late goal to earn a victory by a 3-2 scoreline.
The Cherries had scored after only 10 seconds on the clock, then took a 2-nil lead just after the restart, before the comeback from Mikel’s Young Guns.
Thomas Partay got the party started on a Saturday afternoon pulling a goal back midway through the 2nd-half before Ben White equalised with 20 minutes remaining.
The on-field referee Chris Kavanagh instructed 6 minutes of added time to be played but decided to play on until Arsenal scored the winner in the 98th minute.
Reiss Nelson with the strike to earn the Gunners all 3 points reinstating the 5-point gap at the summit.
Pep 1 was apoplectic when Reiss scored and looked around for his cat, which had scarpered as soon as the ball hit the back of the net.
Arsenal sit at the Top of the Premier League table with 63 points, from 26 games played.
The Gunners and the Gooners head to Portugal to face Sporting Lisbon in the last-16 of the Europa League on Thursday.
At the Emirates for the Game Week-4 affair, Aleksandar Mitrovic scored first for Fulham just after the half-time interval.
Martin Odegaard and Gabriel then scored for the Gunners to give Arsenal the victory over Fulham by a 2-1 scoreline.
It’s worth mentioning that in the last 9 Premier League fixtures between these two teams, Arsenal have won 7 of them with the other 2 being drawn.
It was January 2012, when the Cottagers last registered a victory against the Gunners.
Betfred offer Fulham at 9/2, the draw at 3/1 and slight Odds On 3/5 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Willian Scores Anytime and slight Odds On 4/5 that there are Over 2.5 Goals.
Away Win 1-2- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
NEWCASTLE v WOLVES
16.30 in England
Newcastle suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats on Saturday, this time against Man City at the Etihad.
In truth, even though Eddie Howe’s Magpies put in a decent shift, Pep’s High Flying Blues were the better team and deserved the victory.
Newcastle just can’t score at the moment.
Since the Boxing Day victory against Leicester by a 3-0 scoreline, Newcastle have scored 9 goals from 13 games in all competitions.
Three goals in the last 8 Premier League fixtures.
Only Chelsea (24) have scored less than Newcastle (35) out of the Top Ten teams.
The Magpies have only conceded 17, the least by all of the 20 Premier League clubs.
With Liverpool’s subsequent victory on Sunday, Eddie’s men slip to 6th place, with 41 points from 24 played.
Wolves have played twice since the Game Week-25 affair against Fulham, with a rearranged fixture against Liverpool last Wednesday that resulted in a defeat for Julen Lopetegui’s Gold and Blacks by a 2-0 score, both goals conceded after 76 minutes were up on the clock.
It was then a game against Tottenham at Molineux that appeared to be heading for a stalemate until Adama Traore scored the solitary winning goal in the 82nd minute giving Wolves the victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
That lifts Julen’s Gold and Blacks up to 13th in the table with the same 27 points as Crystal Palace from 26 fixtures completed.
A Ruben Neves goal in the 38th minute looked to have given Wolves the victory against Newcastle at Molineux, however, Allan Saint-Maximin scored an equaliser in the 90th to give both teams a share of the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Betfred offer Newcastle at Odds On 4/6, the draw at 11/4 and 4/1 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 9/4 that there are Under 1.5 Goals.
Home Win 1-0- Get 5/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Saturday 21st February 1998
Game Week-27
COVENTRY v BARNSLEY
15.00 in England
Highfield Rd
The Red and White Army were up early on Saturday the 21st of February 1997, for a steady jaunt down the road to Coventry.
To be fair, there were one or two in the Renault Clio that were looking forward more to seeing Lady Godiva than the football.
It was a cold morning when the Designated Driver, Barnsley Ben collected John Newsome and the boys, armed with a few cans of Fosters and a couple of Egg and Cress sandwiches.
It’s around a 2-hour car ride from Barnsley to Coventry but the boys and girls set off early to find a local hostelry to have a couple of pre-match beverages for the anticipated victory that in truth was more hope than belief.
Gordon Strachan picked the following Sky Blues,
Coventry-
Magnus Hedman, Gary Breen, David Burrows, Roland Nilsson, George Boateng, Trond Egil Soltvedt, Paul Telfer, Dion Dublin, Darren Huckerby, Viorel Moldovan and Noel Whelan.
Substitutes-
Marcus Hall for Viorel Moldovan 67th Minute
Gavin Strachan for Trond Egil Soltvedt 76th Minute
Danny Wilson’s starting eleven legends,
Barnsley-
David Watson, Nicky Eaden, Adie Moses, Peter Markstedt, Scott Jones, Jovo Bosancic, Martin Bullock, Neil Redfearn, Darren Sheridan, Jan Age Fjortoft and Ashley Ward.
Substitutes-
John Hendrie for Jan Age Fjortoft 70th Minute
Clint Marcelle for Martin Bullock 79th Minute
Georgi Hristov for Darren Sheridan 90th Minute
If one looks at the Coventry team, there’s a young lad called Gavin Strachan, who came on for the final 15 minutes as a substitute for Trond Egil Soltvedt.
Does one wonder who Gavin’s dad is?
Over the past few years, Coventry have been the Nomads of Football, being kicked out of the Ricoh Arena in 2013, which was the new home of the Sky Blues since 2005 and playing games at Northampton’s Sixfields Stadium and St Andrews in Birmingham.
At the minute, in 2023, Coventry, who are a Championship team, are back at the Ricoh but still have leasing problems, so the future is still uncertain.
Which is a real shame for the Sky Blue faithful.
Coventry currently have the ex-Manchester United Striker Mark Robins as the Manager.
Mark is famous for prolonging the myth that his goal for United against Nottingham Forest, in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, back in 1990, kept Alex Ferguson in the job at Old Trafford, when it was rumoured that the pre-Sir Fergie was on the verge of being sacked by the United hierarchy.
Manchester United went on to lift the FA Cup, getting a victory against Crystal Palace by a 1-0 scoreline, with Lee Martin getting the goal.
That was in a replay following the first game finishing in a draw by a 3-3 score.
(Ian Wright, Wright, Wright!)
The rest, as one says, is history!
Mark became the Barnsley Manager just after the start of the 2009/10 Championship campaign, when the Super Reds were rock bottom of the table, taking over from Simon Davey.
It’s fair to say that Simon was struggling at the start of the 2009 season but will always be remembered fondly by the Red and White Army for a brilliant FA Cup adventure the year before.
Liverpool and Chelsea, then Wemberley!
All the Best for the future Simon.
Mark Robins spent a couple of years in Barnsley then left due to a difference of opinion with the owners.
One little added snippet about Mark is, Mark’s uncle, Eddie Robins, lives near John Newsome and was part of the Tin Hat pub team in the 1990s that this EveryTip contributor played for.
All the best Mark Robins.
Back in 1998, Coventry were still at the old Highfield Rd Stadium, which became famous itself for being the first all-seater Stadium back in 1981.
With just over 20,000 in attendance at Highfield Rd and although the Barnsley girls and boys had a seat in February 1998, there wasn’t much sitting down done.
As Russ Abbott would say, ‘oh what an atmosphere’ with the Red and White Army, excited about a day out, married with a few alcoholic beverages and the prospect of seeing a naked lady riding a horse, were in full swing, singing and dancing to the tune of the famous Barnsley ditty,
‘Brazil, it’s just like watching Brazil!’
With time running out, it looked like a well-deserved point was going to be gained, however, the current Homes Under The Hammer presenter, Dion Dublin, went over in the box easier than one of the houses he’s found being demolished and somehow earned the Sky Blues a penalty in the 89th minute.
It was adjudged that Peter Markstedt had bungled Double D over but the lad never touched Dion.
The Big Striker got up, dusted himself down and converted the spot-kick to earn Coventry the victory by a 1-0 scoreline.
The Red and White Army, including this EveryTip contributor, were apoplectic and shouted a few choice words towards Mr Dublin and for that matter, the referee Alan Wilkie.
‘I hope your house gets repossessed, Alan!’
Or along those lines.
It was another defeat, the 16th of the campaign, meaning Barnsley remained at the foot of the Premier League table.
After a couple of pints in the boozer where the car was left and a last look for the Naked Lady on the Horse, it was a ride back home and the usual Saturday night in Barnsley Town Centre, then a smooch in Japanese Whispers with the opposition, telling stories of the day out in Coventry.
‘Honestly love, she was riding a horse, without any clothes on! another half of Cider then?’
Then it was Sunday, waking up with a hangover, a day with the new Youth and dinner at Joan and Malcs.
Those were the days!
15-Aston Villa 30 pts (minus-10 goals)
16-Everton 29 pts (minus-8 goals)
17-Tottenham 27 pts (minus-18 goals)
18-Bolton 24 pts (minus-19 goals)
19-Crystal Palace 23 pts (minus-17 goals)
20-Barnsley 22 pts (minus-40 goals)
Home Win 1-0
The Scottish Pub League remains the same following the weekend’s fixtures (of cause it does!)
Celtic sit at the summit with 76 points following the victory over St Mirren (who?) on Sunday, with Rangers in 2nd on 67 points following their victory against Kilmarnock (who?) on Saturday.
The loveable OzScot was up early on Sunday trying (trying!) to wind John Newsome up regarding the Liverpool 7 Manchester United 0 result.
The lad should just concentrate on the parade in Melbourne when his beloved Teddy Bears finish as Runners-Up to the Green and White Hoops in May.
It’s the Scottish FA Pub Cup this weekend, with Celtic taking on Hearts (who?) and Rangers facing Raith Rovers (who?) in the Quarter-Finals.
It’s more than likely that the two will meet in either the Semi-Final or probably the Final at Hampden Park if the balls are hot and cold when the draw is made.
Kylie/Braveheart will once again be distraught if (when) Celtic lift the Pub Cup aloft at Hampden in May.
The Flower of Scotland!
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