The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are LIVERPOOL versus BRIGHTON and MAN CITY versus ARSENAL. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these and all game week 30 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-30
All of these fixtures are the reverse of Game Week-8, which took place at the beginning of October 2023.
Saturday 30th
NEWCASTLE v WEST HAM
12.30 in England
TNT Sport
Newcastle come into this home fixture off the back of two defeats, one against Chelsea in the Premier League and one against Man City in the FA Cup, so Eddie Howe will want to get his boys back on track.
The main man Bruno Guimaraes started for Brazil against England at Wembley on Saturday.
His Magpie mate Anthony Gordon got a surprise start for the Three Lions coming in for Marcus Rashford.
In the fixture against Chelsea, Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy scored to give the travelling Magpies hopes of a draw, however, Chelsea scored 3 to ultimately win the game at Stamford Bridge by a narrow 3-2 scoreline.
Newcastle sit in 10th place in the Premier League table with 40 points from 28 fixtures completed.
Chelsea are a point adrift and have a game in hand which Eddie just needs to keep an eye on.
West Ham head North to St James Park sitting in 7th place with 44 points from 29 games played.
The final Premier League fixture before the break against Aston Villa produced a draw from a 1-1 score, Nicolo Zaniolo getting the Hammers equaliser with 10 minutes remaining.
The Bubbles are still not happy with David Moyes, even after progressing to the Quarter-Final of the Europa League.
Europa League Draw.
Quarter-Final-
AC Milan v Roma
Liverpool v Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen v West Ham
Benfica v Marseille
The 2 games against Bayer Leverkusen occur on the 11th and 18th of April.
Semi-Final-
Benfica/Marseille v Liverpool/Atalanta
AC Milan/Roma v Bayer Leverkusen/West Ham
Remember that the winners of the Europa League will be in next season’s Champions League.
The Champions League will change to a new format next season, which will be explained over the coming weeks.
When these two teams met at the London Stadium back in October 2023, both shared the points from a draw by a 2-2 score.
The Archbishop was happy.
Tomas Soucek opened the scoring after 8 minutes giving the home team a lead at the break.
Alexander Isak scored twice for the away side early in the 2nd-half before Mohammed Kudus equalised for the Hammers in the 89th minute.
A quick note regarding Mohammed Kudus, the Ghanaian Forward played for Erik Ten Hag at Ajax.
Yet, somehow Erik Ten Bob decided that Antony was more appealing and paid £80 Million or so for the Brazilian, allowing David Moyes to purchase Mr Kudus for half that amount, around £40 Million.
Betfred offer Newcastle at slight Odds On 5/6, the draw at 3/1 and 11/4 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 11/5 that Jarrod Bowen Scores Anytime.
Home Win 3-1- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BOURNEMOUTH v EVERTON
15.00 in England
Bournemouth’s last 3 fixtures have been against the teams sat in the relegation zone, Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton, with 2 victories and a draw coming from the 3 games.
In the last outing before the International Break, the phrase ‘grabbing a victory from the jaws of defeat’ was never more appropriate when the Cherries were trailing by 3 goals to nil at half-time.
Andoni Iraola got into his boys at the break who subsequently came out in the 2nd-have and scored 4 times to get the victory by a 4-3 scoreline.
As Chris ‘Kammy’ Kamara would say,
Unbelievable Jeff!
Goals from Dominic Solanke, Ilya Zabarnyi and an Antoine Semenyo double gained the points from a bedraggled set of Hatters.
Bournemouth sit in 13th place with 35 points from 28 games played.
Although the rearranged game against Luton has now taken place, Bournemouth still have a game in hand over a few due to the FA Cup weekend.
Everton haven’t won a Premier League game in 11 now, following a defeat against Manchester United last time out.
Two rash challenges in the area by James Tarkowski and Ben Godfrey gave United 2 penalties in the 1st-half that were both converted and with no further goals, it was another defeat on the board for the Toffees.
Everton did actually play well but couldn’t score and gave away the spot-kicks ultimately leading to the loss.
Out of the previous 11 games, there have been 6 losses and 5 draws, meaning 5 points from a possible 33.
Despite the defeats, there was a bit of good news when fellow relegation rivals Nottingham Forest were themselves deducted points for Financial Irregularities.
Forest have had 4 points deducted which drops the Tricky Trees into the Bottom Three.
Everton sit in 16th place with 25 points from 28 games played.
Although both have had points deducted, that might not be the end of the saga as both could still be relegated after the season has finished, again due to irregularities coming under the Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) banner.
Everton gained the home victory over Bournemouth at Goodison Park back in October, with goals from James Garner, Jack Harrison and Abdoulaye Doucoure giving the Toffees all 3 points from a 3-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 11/10, the draw at 5/2 and 23/10 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/2 that Dominic Solanke Scores First and 15/8 that Bournemouth Score in Both Halves.
Home Win 3-1- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
CHELSEA v BURNLEY
15.00 in England
Chelsea return to Premier League action following a victory in the FA Cup Quarter-Final against Leicester, which lines up a clash in the Semi at Wembley against Man City.
In the previous Premier League game, Mauricio’s Blues got the win over Newcastle by a 3-2 scoreline.
Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk with the goals.
That fixture was off the back of a draw against Brentford by a 2-2 scoreline.
Added to the FA Cup game, the last 3 fixtures for Chelsea have produced scorelines of 2-2, 3-2 and 4-2, which suggests that the Blues will score goals, however, will concede.
Chelsea sit in 11th place with 39 points but have only played 27 games so there is still room for manoeuvre and chance to move up a few more places.
Do not adjust one’s reading implement, Burnley gained a victory against Brentford last time out.
After 10 winless games that have produced 7 losses and 3 draws, Vincent Kompany’s Clarets finally gained 3 points from a 2-1 scoreline against the Bees.
After Brentford were reduced to 10 men in the 8th minute, Jacob Bruun Larsen converted a penalty to give Burnley a lead at the interval.
The ex-Chelsea player David Datro Fofana scored a superb goal just after the hour mark before Brentford pulled a goal back late on.
Thankfully for the home faithful in attendance at Turf Moor, the Clarets held on for a much-needed victory.
Unfortunately, the win wasn’t enough to change the league position with Burnley staying in 19th place with 17 points from 29 fixtures completed.
Luton, who are now the safe team following Nottingham Forest’s points deduction, have 22, meaning Burnley have a small chance of climbing out of the relegation zone.
That said, this will be a tough ask against a resurgent Blues at Stamford Bridge.
Unfortunately, David Datro Fofana won’t be able to play today as the lad is on-loan from Chelsea.
Chelsea gained the away day victory over Burnley at Turf Moor earlier on in the campaign.
Wilson Odobert scored first for Burnley before the unfortunate Claret Ameen Al Dakhil was credited with the Blues equaliser to leave both teams level at the interval.
Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson then got the goals to give Chelsea the points from a 4-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Chelsea at Odds On 2/7, the draw at 9/2 and 17/2 for Burnley to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Cole Palmer Scores First and Evens 1/1 that Chelsea Score in Both Halves.
Home Win 4-1- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
NOTTINGHAM FOREST v CRYSTAL PALACE
15.00 in England
Nottingham Forest gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Luton last time out, with Chris Wood getting the goal.
Unfortunately, Forest were then deducted 4 points due to Financial Irregularities that are way too complicated to explain in this column.
Forest now sit in the Bottom Three with 21 points from 29 games played, however, that might not be the end of the points deduction which could still mean relegation after the season has finished.
Coincidentally, Crystal Palace gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Luton last time out, which took place on the 9th of March.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored in the 11th minute, which looked to be the winner until Luton equalised in the 96th, to give both teams a point apiece.
Palace sit in 14th place with 29 points from 28 games completed.
The scorer wasn’t needed at Selhurst Park with this Game Week-8 affair ending in a draw by a 0-0 score, or as some might say, a goalless draw.
Enough said.
Betfred offer Nottingham Forest at 5/4, the draw at 23/10 and 9/4 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 23/10 that Chris Wood Scores Anytime and 11/5 that Jean-Philippe Mateta Scores Anytime.
Draw 1-1- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
SHEFFIELD UNITED v FULHAM
15.00 in England
Sheffield United gained a point from a draw against Bournemouth last time out at the Vitality.
What will irk the Blades faithful is their idols scored twice to gain a comfortable lead over the Cherries, with Gustavo Hamer and Jack Robinson getting the goals.
Bournemouth then scored two with the equaliser in the 91st minute to give both teams a share of the points from a 2-2 score.
The Archbishop was happy.
The point gained leaves the Blades at the foot of the table with 14 from 28 fixtures completed.
James from Swinton, nowhere near Bramall Lane, couldn’t make the trip to Bournemouth as he was creosoting the fence and was left astounded that his team had managed not to lose for once.
The lad was last seen running around the streets of Swinton wearing his Blunt shirt, now covered in creosote singing,
‘Like a greasy chip butty!’
Fulham gained possibly the best result of the weekend by inflicting a defeat on Tottenham at Craven Cottage.
A goal from Sasa Lukic sandwiched in between 2 Rodrigo Muniz strikes, gave Marco Silva’s Cottagers the victory by a 3-0 scoreline.
Fulham sit in 12th place with 38 points from 29 fixtures played.
Fulham gained the victory over Sheffield United at Craven Cottage by a 3-1 score.
After a goalless 1st-half, Bobby Decordover-Reid, a Will Fotheringham credited Own Goal and Willian were the goal scorers for the Cottagers with Antonee Robinson putting in his own net to give the Blades an equaliser, just after Bobby’s opener.
Betfred offer Sheffield United at 10/3, the draw at 16/5 and Odds On 7/10 for Fulham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 13/10 that Rodrigo Muniz Scores Anytime and 7/5 that Fulham Score in Both Halves.
Away Win 1-3- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Bernd Leno- Fulham
RIGHT-BACK- Timothy Castagne- Fulham
CENTRE-BACK- Calvin Bassey- Fulham
CENTRE-BACK- Kurt Zouma- West Ham
LEFT-BACK- Dango Ouatarra- Bournemouth
MIDFIELDER- Sasa Lukic- Fulham
MIDFIELDER- Jacob Bruun-Larsen- Burnley
MIDFIELDER- Luke Berry- Luton
FORWARD- Antoine Semenyo- Bournemouth
FORWARD- David Datro Fofana- Burnley
FORWARD- Rodrigo Muniz- Fulham
STAR MAN- Rodrigo Muniz- Fulham
TOTTENHAM v LUTON
15.00 in England
Tottenham suffered a somewhat surprise defeat against Fulham at Craven Cottage last time out.
After destroying Aston Villa in the previous game, it was thought that Ange’s Spurs would at least come away from the West London rivals with some success but Fulham were simply too good and scored 3 times to gain the victory by a 3-0 scoreline.
Mickey Van De Ven was missing from the game against Fulham which is a big loss so Ange Postecoglou will be hoping that the International Break has helped Mickey’s fitness challenge.
The defeat leaves Tottenham in 5th place with 53 points from 28 games, 3 points adrift of Villa but with a game in hand.
With Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City probably getting the Top Three places, it’s more than likely that the 4th spot will go to either Aston Villa or Tottenham unless Manchester United put in a good run over the last 10 games.
United have 47 points.
Added to that the Top Five may all qualify for the Champions League.
Rob Edwards woke up last Wednesday in a hot sweat screaming and his wife said to him,
‘What’s up my dear?’
‘I’ve just had a nightmare, we were 3-nil up at half-time against Bournemouth and ended up losing 4-3!’
Rob replied.
‘It wasn’t a nightmare Bobby, it happened, do you want an egg with your bacon?’
The missus asked, loading a couple of rashers onto a cut loaf.
‘Oh, it’s Thursday by the way!’
That is exactly what happened in the rearranged fixture against Bournemouth at the Vitality.
Tahith Chong, Chiedozie Ogbene and Ross Barkley scored in the 1st-half to give Luton a comfortable lead at the break.
The players then switched off thinking a win was in the bag, however, Bournemouth scored 4 times in the 2nd-half to inflict the defeat on Luton by a 4-3 score.
There was then a game against Nottingham Forest that ended in a draw by a 1-1 score.
Luke Berry scored the Hatters’ equaliser in the 89th minute to gain a great point.
That left Luton in 18th place with 22 points, still in the relegation zone, however, a couple of days later, Luton jumped above Nottingham Forest into 17th following Forest’s 4-point deduction.
Both have completed the full complement of 29 fixtures.
Sheffield United are probably down but Burnley are still in touching distance of Luton and Forest so it’s probably a fight between the 3 as to who goes back to the Championship.
Everton do have a little gap between the clubs at the bottom but are not in any sort of form so could get dragged into the relegation battle.
Added to that, there is still the possibility of further points deduction for the Toffees and the Tricky Trees so Rob Edwards just needs to remain positive and keep his set of Hatters there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
A single Mickey Van De Ven goal, early in the 2nd-half was enough to give Tottenham the away day victory over Luton at Kenilworth Rd by a 1-0 scoreline.
Yves Bissouma had received 2 Yellow Cards and the subsequent Red just before the half-time interval to leave Spurs with 10 Men for the whole of the 2nd-half, however, the Hatters couldn’t take advantage.
Betfred offer Tottenham at Odds On 2/9, the draw at 6/1 and 9/1 for Luton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/5 that Son Heung-Min Scores Anytime and slight Odds On 4/6 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Home Win 3-1- Get 17/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
ASTON VILLA v WOLVES
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Aston Villa gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against West Ham at the London Stadium before the International Break.
After West Ham had scored first, Nicolo Zaniolo equalised late on to give both teams a point apiece.
As it turned out, it was a valuable point with Tottenham suffering a defeat meaning Aston Villa remain in 4th place with 56 points from 29 games completed.
Tottenham have 53 points but have only played 28 times so a win in the extra game would give both the same points.
The goal difference between the two teams is virtually the same,
Aston Villa- scored 60 and conceded 42.
Tottenham- scored 59 and conceded 42.
Villa have progressed in the Europa Conference League, with the draw being as follows.
Quarter-Final-
Club Brugge v PAOK Salonika
Olympiakos v Fenerbahce
Aston Villa v Lille
Viktoria Plzen v Fiorentina
Semi-Final-
Aston Villa/Lille v Olympiakos/Fenerbahce
Viktoria Plzen/Fiorentina v Club Brugge vs PAOK Salonika
The Quarter-Final will take place on the 11th and 18th of April.
Wolves’ last outing was in the Quarter-Final of the FA Cup and despite scoring in the 83rd and 88th minute to take a lead, conceded 2 Coventry goals in the 97th and 100th minute to suffer a defeat and ultimately get knocked out of the Cup.
That was following a victory against Fulham in the Premier League the previous week.
Rayan Ait-Nouri and a Fulham own goal gave Gary O’Neils Gold and Blacks the points from a 2-1 scoreline.
Fulham did score a very late consolation goal in the 98th minute.
Wolves sit in 9th place with 41 points from 28 games played.
Back in October 2023 at Molineux, both shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
After a goalless 1st-half, Hwang-Hee Chan scored for Wolves before Pau Torres equalised for Villa to give both a point apiece.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at slight Odds On 4/6, the draw at 16/5 and 18/5 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Ollie Watkins Scores First and 5/4 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Home Win 3-1- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BRENTFORD v MANCHESTER UNITED
20.00 in England
Sky Sports
A nice Saturday Night game of football for the single boys and girls out there who can order a Takeout, pour a glass of Wine and watch the Beautiful Game, whilst the married ones including the Manchester Stick and Ball Thrower plus the Iccle Fat Penistone Lad have to watch some horrendous programme involving Ant and his Mate, a Wheel making Pottery at a Sewing Bee on Ice.
Don’t forget to put your clocks forward by an hour if residing in the United Kingdom.
Brentford suffered a horrendous defeat last time out, horrendous due to the opposition being Burnley.
Sergio Reguilon was sent off in the 8th minute which not only left the Bees with 10 men for the remainder of the game but also resulted in a penalty for Burnley.
There is a thing in football called the ‘Double Jeopardy’ rule which means that a team shouldn’t suffer twice when giving away a penalty.
Twice being, the penalty is awarded and a player is sent off.
However, that rule only applies if it’s considered that the player makes a genuine attempt to play the ball in the area, if it’s considered that the player intentionally committed the foul, such as holding, pushing or pulling etc, the player has to be shown a Red Card for denying a goal scoring opportunity, which is what the on-field referee Darren Bond and VAR deemed that Sergio Reguilon did.
Brentford then conceded a 2nd after the penalty was converted before Kristoffer Ajer pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute.
Unfortunately for the travelling Bees in attendance at Turf Moor, time ran out and it was another defeat on the board.
Since the turn of the year and the return of Ivan Toney, Brentford have played 10
Premier League games which have resulted in 7 Losses, 2 Wins and 1 Draw.
Brentford were knocked out of the FA Cup in the 3rd-Round.
Added to those games, in the 5 Premier League fixtures leading up to the end of 2023, the Bees suffered 5 straight defeats.
It’s fair to say that Thomas Frank and his Brentford team are on a poor run of form at the moment that has left them in 15th place with 26 points from 29 games played.
Manchester United haven’t played in the Premier League since the 9th of March when a victory was achieved against Everton.
United were awarded 2 penalties in the 1st-half which Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford converted to gain the points from a 2-0 score.
After converting the first penalty, it was strange to see Bruno then give the ball to Marcus for the second one, however, fair play to the Captain.
In truth, the performance against the Toffees wasn’t that impressive but as the saying goes,
‘A wins a win!’
That was followed by a Quarter-Final tie against Liverpool at Old Trafford so surely it was the expected defeat against Jurgen’s Reds.
No so, somehow (somehow) Manchester United knocked out Liverpool to progress to the Semi-Final at Wembley and had the added bonus of avoiding Chelsea and Man City and will face Coventry who are managed by the ex-United Striker Mark Robins.
The irony in that is, the legendary story goes that Mark Robins scored the goal for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest, in the FA Cup back in 1990 and saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s job at Old Trafford as there were supposed rumours that Fergie was about to be sacked.
Sir Alex went on to lift the trophy at the end of the season, which qualified United for the European Cup Winners Cup the following season, which United won.
The rest as one says, is history.
Is the winning goal from Amad Diallo against Liverpool, the Mark Robins moment for Erik Ten Hag?
Only time will tell but for the moment, Manchester United are in the Semi-Final of the FA Cup and have the prospect of once again facing the Noisy Neighbours in a repeat of last year’s Final.
A quick note regarding Amad Diallo, the lad scored the winning goal in the 121st-minute with the referee about to blow up for full-time and then penalties would ensue.
Amad then took his shirt off to celebrate and because he had received a Yellow Card 5 minutes earlier, was then shown a 2nd Yellow and the subsequent Red.
Most would say that the lad was stupid to do that but really?
To score the winner, against Liverpool, in the last seconds, to get your team to the Semi-Final of the FA Cup, is celebrating wildly and taking a shirt off really stupidity?
Back to the Premier League for now, with United remaining in 6th place with 47 points from 28 games completed.
Six points adrift of Tottenham.
At Old Trafford in October it was Manchester United that gained the home win over Brentford.
Mathias Jensen scored first to give Brentford a lead at the break.
With 90-minutes up on the clock, it did appear that Thomas Frank’s Bees would go away victorious, however, 2 very late goals from Scott McTominay in the 93rd and 97th minute meant United snatched the victory from the jaws of defeat by a 2-1 score.
Betfred offer Brentford at 21/10, the draw at 13/5 and 6/5 for Manchester United to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Ivan Toney Scores Anytime and 11/8 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Away Win 1-3- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 31st
LIVERPOOL v BRIGHTON
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
This is the appetiser before the main course, or the undercard before the main event and the fixture between the Liver Birds and the Seagulls usually produces goals.
Liverpool are wounded at the moment after snatching a defeat from the jaws of victory against Manchester United in the Quarter-Final of the FA Cup and now being denied the chance to win 4 trophies following success in the Carabao Cup, the progression in the Europa League and the Premier League title race.
Liverpool sit in 2nd place with the same 64 points as Arsenal at the summit but with a slightly inferior goal difference.
Arsenal- scored 70 and conceded 24.
(Plus+46)
Liverpool- scored 65 and conceded 26.
(Plus+39)
Liverpool gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Man City before the International Break.
Following this fixture against Brighton, there’s a game against Sheffield United and a mouthwatering tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford, where revenge will definitely be on the menu for Jurgen’s Reds.
It’s the Europa League Quarter-Final on the 11th and 18th of April, the draw being as follows.
Europa League Draw
Quarter-Final-
AC Milan v Roma
Liverpool v Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen v West Ham
Benfica v Marseille
Semi-Final-
Benfica/Marseille v Liverpool/Atalanta
AC Milan/Roma v Bayer Leverkusen/West Ham
This could see Liverpool face AC Milan in the Final over in Dublin bringing back memories of the famous Champions League Final from 2005, which saw Liverpool come from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 then win the penalty shootout and lift the Trophy for a 5th time.
If results go different ways then Liverpool could potentially face their New Manager, him being Xavi Alonso who is currently the boss at Bayer Leverkusen.
It’s thought that the Liverpool hierarchy want Xavi to replace Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.
The Manchester Stick and Ball Thrower thinks Mr Alonso will choose Bayern Munich over Liverpool, however, John Newsome thinks Xavi Alonso wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to manage his former club.
Added to that, there is still time for Klipperty Klopp to change his mind and stay at Anfield, that scenario shouldn’t be ruled out just yet.
If Xavi Alonso decides to stay in Germany, Liverpool wouldn’t go far wrong in at least looking at today’s opponents boss, Roberto De Zerbi.
Brighton did win the home leg of the Europa League tie against Roma by a 1-0 scoreline, however, if one peruses the draw above, Brighton are not in it and instead, it’s Roma who progress following the victory for the home team over in Rome by a 4-0 score, meaning a 4-1 aggregate win for the Italian’s.
In the last Premier League outing, Brighton gained a narrow victory over Nottingham Forest by a 1-0 score.
The goal being credited to Forest’s Andrew Omobamidele.
That leaves Brighton in 8th place with 42 points from 28 fixtures completed.
The Seagulls have a good record against Liverpool at Anfield, however, will need to be on top form against a wounded set of Liver Birds.
In the Game Week-8 Affair at the Amex, both teams shared the points from a draw by a 2-2 score.
Simon Adingra opened the scoring for Brighton before Mo Salah notched twice to give Liverpool a lead at the interval.
Lewis Dunk scored the equaliser for Brighton in the 78th minute and with no further goals, both came away with a point apiece.
A win or a draw for Liverpool today would put Jurgen’s Reds back to the Top of the Premier League Table at least for a couple of hours or so until the main event is concluded.
Betfred offer Liverpool at Odds On 4/11, the draw at 9/2 and 6/1 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 7/5 that Darwin Nunez Scores Anytime and 9/2 that there are Over 5.5 Goals.
Home Win 4-2- Get 25/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
MAN CITY v ARSENAL
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
It’s all happening today, Easter Sunday and the first day of British Summer Time, meaning it’s half 3 in England but the clocks have gone forward, so now it’s half 4.
As Michael Buffer or the enigmatic David Diamante would say before a Heavyweight Boxing Match,
‘And now for the main event of the evening!’
Well, the afternoon!
Pep 1 v Pep 2.
Get the Easter Sunday Dinner out of the way, charge up the kids iPad’s and plonk them in the kitchen with a couple of Chocolate Eggs to keep them quiet for an hour or three and settle down to watch this Blockbuster of a game.
Both come into this fixture knowing that more than likely, Liverpool will have just gained a victory over Brighton (not guaranteed but more than likely!) and will be, in Man City’s case, 4 points adrift of the Reds and for Arsenal, 3 points behind at the summit, so both will be going all out for the win.
Man City gained a creditable point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Liverpool at Anfield last time out in the Premier League.
The Barnsley Beckenbauer John Stones scored the City goal from a brilliant corner routine that simply bamboozled the Liverpool Defence.
Liverpool did equalise just after the half-time interval and in truth should have been awarded a penalty late on for a foul by Jeremy Doku on the goal scorer Alexis Mac Allister.
Whilst it could be argued that the penalty should have been given, there are no guarantees that it would be converted so folk just have to be careful when they say Liverpool should have won the game.
Should, Would and Could are the last words of a fool!
The point gained leaves Man City in 3rd place with 63, a point adrift of Arsenal and Liverpool, all having completed 28 fixtures.
Kyle Walker picked up an injury whilst on duty for England in the friendly against Brazil and came off after 19 minutes.
Hopefully, for all connected with City, Kyle came off early as a precaution and is fit for this Easter Sunday Clash of the Titans.
Champions League Draw.
Quarter-Final-
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Man City
PSG v Barcelona
Semi-Final-
Atletico Madrid/Borussia Dortmund v PSG/Barcelona
Arsenal/Bayern Munich v Real Madrid/Man City
As one can see, there is the possibility of a Semi-Final between today’s opponents, however, there have to be a lot of scenarios come to fruition before that happens.
Arsenal sit at the summit of the Premier League purely on goal difference after a victory against Brentford at the Emirates by a narrow 2-1 scoreline.
Declan Rice and Kai Havertz with the goals, either side of a Brentford equaliser.
The last outing for the Gunners was on the 12th of March in the 2nd-leg of the Champions League tie against Porto where, following an aggregate score of 1-1 from the 2 legs, Arsenal progressed after a penalty shootout.
Declan Rice was given the honour of Captaining his Country, England in the friendly against Belgium on Tuesday.
At the Emirates, Arsenal gained the victory over Man City with Pep 2s Young Guns scoring late on to inflict the defeat on Pep 1s Low Flying Blues by a 1-0 scoreline.
Gabriel Martinelli with the solitary winning goal in the 86th minute.
Betfred offer Man City at slight Odds On 5/6, the draw at 11/4 and 3/1 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 3/1 that Erling Haaland Scores Two Plus Goals and 7/4 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Home Win 3-1- Get 14/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Celtic have replaced Rangers at the Top of the Scottish Premier League following the results from the last set of fixtures.
Celtic have 71 points after their victory against St Johnstone (who?), whilst Rangers drop to 2nd with 70 points.
However, Rangers didn’t suffer a defeat in their fixture against Dundee (who?) the game didn’t go ahead due to a waterlogged pitch and is scheduled to take place on the 10th of April, which happens to be 3 days after the Old Firm Derby between Celtic and Rangers happening on the 7th.
That would throw up the possibility that Rangers could be 2 points ahead of the arch-rivals before the game in hand against Dundee (who?) especially considering that the Glasgow Derby is at Ibrox.
The excitement is palpable.
Meanwhile over in Ozland, the loveable OzScot went missing for a few days after Rangers were knocked out of the Europa League.
Braveheart/Kylie turned up after spinning around the local park, drowning his sorrow on Tennents Extra and Haggis Burgers
and immediately cancelled the flight to Dublin.
The lad and Dad are currently in the process of booking an open-top bus for the end of the season where there’s the possibility that Rangers will finish 2nd to Celtic in both the Pub League and Pub Cup.
Related Reading
Best betting site for accumulators
Bet365 review
Best cash-out betting sites
Best low or no minimum deposit betting sites
You may also be interested in
John Newsome’s Premier League 2023/2024 Final Position Predictions