The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are IPSWICH versus ARSENAL and LEICESTER versus LIVERPOOL. Our feature columnist, John Newsome, previews these and all game week 33 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-33
Saturday 19th
These set of fixtures are the reverse of Game Week-18 which were the immediate post-Christmas clashes taking place from Boxing Day onwards.
BRENTFORD v BRIGHTON
15.00 in England
Brentford gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday, as predicted in this EveryTip column last week.
After conceding a Gunners goal, Yoane Wissa scored an equaliser in the 74th minute to earn the Bees a valuable point.
That was Yoane’s 15th goal of the campaign.
Brentford sit in 11th place with the same 43 points as Crystal Palace both having completed 32 games.
Brighton did something that not a lot have done over the weekend and that was, to allow Leicester not only to score a goal but to score 2.
Joao Pedro did convert 2 penalties, however, the Seagulls conceded twice after both spot kicks to give both teams a share of the points from a draw by a 2-2 score.
That leaves Brighton in 10th place with the same 48 points as Fulham and Bournemouth all having played 32 times.
There must have been a bit too much Turkey and Pigs In Blankets consumed at Christmas for both teams, with neither side able to produce a goal in the reverse fixture at the Amex the day after Boxing Day.
Both teams gained a post-Christmas point from a draw by a 0-0 score.
There should be goals today.
Betfred offer Brentford at 7/5, the Draw at 11/4 and 7/4 for Brighton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/2 that Yoane Wissa Scores First and 13/8 that Joao Pedro Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Draw 1-1- Get 13/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
CRYSTAL PALACE v BOURNEMOUTH
15.00 in England
Crystal Palace started brilliantly against Man City at the Etihad on Saturday with Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards scoring within 21 minutes to give the Eagles a comfortable lead.
Some rascals could say that Eberechi Eze scored against his New Club.
Rascals!
Double E then scored what he thought was his 2nd and a 3rd for Palace but was just offside meaning the goal was ruled out.
Finally after 31 games of the season, the ‘Semi-Automated Offside Technology’ was used to confirm Eberechi was offside and took no more than 10 seconds.
At least that’s a positive for the dreaded VAR at Stockley Park.
A quick side note to that, despite the dreaded VAR getting a lot of bad press and often derided, there was a game in the Championship recently between Leeds United and Middlesbrough that saw 2 perfectly good goals given as offside by the Linesman (it’s Linesman not Assistant Referee-why use 2 words when one is sufficient).
Leeds did go on to win that game by a 1-0 scoreline but in reality, it should have been 3-0.
Imagine if Middlesbrough had scored.
So it’s easy to slate the Stockley Park Brigade but it’s also important to get the ‘offside decision’ right!
The SAOT (Semi-Automated Offside Technology) should help the Boys (and Girls) in Black.
The daft thing was, Eberechi didn’t need to be offside as he had a clear view across the pitch and just needed to hold his run.
That sort of changed the dynamic of the game, with Man City deciding to start playing, scoring twice before half-time and then 3 more in the 2nd-half to leave Crystal Palace with the defeat from a 5-2 scoreline.
Palace dropped to 12th in the table with the same 43 points as Brentford, however, at the time, had only completed 31 games.
It was then the rearranged fixture against Newcastle on Wednesday.
Unfortunately for the Travelling Eagles who had flown up to St James Park, their Idols conceded 4 goals in the 1st-half and were completely outplayed.
Palace were awarded a penalty when the score was 1-0 but Eberechi Eze fluffed his lines and took a shocking penalty that Nick Pope easily saved.
Newcastle went straight up the other end and scored a 2nd via an Own Goal from Marc Guehi.
Three and four came before the half-time whistle.
Newcastle added a 5th just before the hour mark and with no further goals, the Magpies were the King Birds over the Eagles just for one day.
The defeat against Newcastle by a 5-0 scoreline, left Palace in 12th place with the same 43 points as Brentford both now having completed the full 32 games on offer.
Bournemouth scored after 54 seconds against Fulham on Monday Night Football at the Vitality.
Antoine Semenyo with the early goal.
The surprise then was that neither team added to the score sheet, leaving Andoni’s Cherries with the victory over Marco’s Cottagers by a 1-0 scoreline.
That was Bournemouth’s first win in 6 Premier League games, with 4 Losses and 2 Draws coming in the previous 6.
Bournemouth jumped above Fulham and Brighton, up to 8th in the table with the same 48 points as the other two, however, with a slightly better goal difference.
Due to the change in the European Coefficient, it’s more than likely that 8th place will see a Europa Conference League spot next season.
That’s not yet confirmed but one of the provisos is that Chelsea win this year’s competition.
At the moment, Chelsea are in the Europa League place but if they win the Conference League, they’d get bumped up to the EL competition anyway, leaving the team finishing 7th, the Conference League place.
Newcastle have already qualified for the Conference League by winning the Carabao Cup but can gain entry to the Champions League via their league finish, meaning the Conference League place from the Carabao Cup will be given to those in 8th.
Is everyone following so far?
Both Tottenham and Manchester United can gain entry into the Champions League by winning this year’s Europa League.
Crystal Palace, who are currently sitting in 12th will be in the Europa League if they win the FA Cup.
All ifs, but’s and maybe but that is why one loves the Beautiful Game.
As with the previous game, too much Sherry consumed on Christmas Day prevented both these teams from scoring in the Boxing Day fixture at the Vitality, with both gaining a point apiece from a draw by a 0-0 score.
Betfred offer Crystal Palace at 6/4, the Draw at 5/2 and 15/8 for Bournemouth to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Jean-Philippe Mateta Scores First and 2/1 that Evanilson Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Draw 1-1- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
EVERTON v MAN CITY
15.00 in England
With 93 minutes up on the clock at the City Ground on Saturday, it appeared that Nottingham Forest and Everton were going to share the points from a goalless draw.
However, Abdoulaye Doucoure was having none of that and scored in the 94th minute to give the Toffees the ‘snatch and grab’ victory over the Tricky Trees by a 1-0 away day score.
Everton sit in 13th place with the same 38 points as Manchester United, who now sit a place below the Blues on goal difference after the 4-1 thrashing by Newcastle which will please the ex-United Gaffer and current Toffee, David Moyes.
The thing with that result was that it actually helped today’s opponents who gained 3 points on Forest.
Man City were 2 goals down after 21 minutes against Crystal Palace in the early Saturday Afternoon game at the Etihad.
Added to that, Palace had a 3rd disallowed soon after which could have made it 3-0.
That seemed to spark City into life who were superb for the next 20 minutes up to half-time, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Omar Marmoush making the score level at half-time.
Mateo Kovacic, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly scored the 2nd-half goals to give Man City the victory by a 5-2 scoreline.
Despite a slow opening half an hour or so, City eventually got into the groove of old and played some superb football that simply destroyed Palace.
Kevin De Bruyne was sensational throughout, putting on a great display for the Citizens in attendance.
Man City only have 3 home games left this season, so it could have meant that a few of the Citizens were witnessing KDB in the flesh for the last time.
What’s meant by that is not all Season Ticket holders go to every game and sell their tickets back to the club who in turn, re-sell them to punters who maybe only get to a few games a season.
A couple of things to mention are James McAtee started his first Premier League game of the season and didn’t disappoint, scoring a goal, however, what does that mean for Jack Grealish?
If James is getting into the starting eleven before Jack, then the writing might be on the wall for JG and the lad might be away in the Summer.
Ederson set up James’ goal with a superb long kick forward but then went off injured.
There aren’t many outfield players that could have hit a ball like that, never mind from a Goalkeeper.
Man City moved up to 5th place following all of the weekend’s results, now with 55 points from 32 games played.
There are 11 points separating Newcastle in 3rd place and Bournemouth in 8th who are all competing for a Top Five finish and a Champions League spot next season, which was confirmed last week, following the performances of the English Teams in the various European Competitions, especially Arsenal’s thrashing of Real Madrid.
Those finishing in 8th can still make Europe next season, depending on different outcomes as mentioned previously.
The reverse Game Week-18 fixture at the Etihad saw both teams share the points from a draw by a 1-1 score.
Bernardo Silva scored the opener after 14 minutes for the home team, with Illiman Ndiaye replying for Sean Dyche’s away team in the 36th minute to take both teams in level at the break.
The surprise then was that no further goals were offered up leaving both with a nice Christmas present of a point apiece.
That could have been different when City were awarded a penalty in the 2nd-half, however, the usually impeccable spot-kick taker Erling Haaland saw his tame effort saved by Jordan Pickford.
Merry Christmas JP!
Betfred offer Everton at 3/1, the Draw at 13/5 and slight Odds On 19/20 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Omar Marmoush Scores First and 9/5 that Man City Score in Both Halves.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-2- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
WEST HAM v SOUTHAMPTON
15.00 in England
The decision to get rid of ‘No I Julien’ and bring in Harry Potter hasn’t worked yet, however, that’s not to say Graham Potter won’t turn the fortunes around for West Ham after the departure of Julen Lopetegui.
The Hammers haven’t won a game in 5 now, with 3 defeats and 2 draws in those, the latest being a loss against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Granted, most teams (apart from Nottingham Forest) don’t get much against Liverpool at Anfield so no need to worry too much but the defeat by a 2-1 score has left West Ham in 17th place with the same 35 points as Wolves, who jump above the Hammers on goal difference.
The West Ham goal at Anfield was credited to a Liverpool player.
There’s no real danger of relegation even though West Ham are just above the drop zone, as there are 14 points between themselves and Ipswich, which would mean the Tractor Boys have to win 5 of the remaining 6 and the Hammers lose all 6.
The two do meet in the final game of the season at Portman Rd, however, the placings should be sorted by that point.
A win today against the worst team in the Premier League will confirm safety, it’s then up to Graham to sort out his squad for next season and hopefully, for the Bubbles’ sake in particular, get his wizardry back working.
Despite a change in Management, the ‘copy and paste’ was back on track following the Game Week-32 affair against Aston Villa.
Southampton suffered a defeat last time out, this time against (replace the previous team with new opponents) Aston Villa by a (replace previous score with new score)
3-0 scoreline.
That’s 7 defeats from the last 8 games, the other being a draw.
The Saints have been relegated and are just making up the numbers now with the only objective to gain another 2 points so as not to be the ‘Worst Team in the History of the Premier League’ currently held by Derby County who achieved 11 points in the 2007/08 campaign.
Southampton have 10 at the moment.
Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham gained an away day victory over Ivan Juric’s Southampton when these two met on Boxing Day.
A single Jarrod Bowen goal on the hour mark gave the Hammers the post-Christmas present of 3 points from a 1-0 scoreline.
Both Managers are currently helping each other out at the Job Centre!
‘How do you spell ‘concrete’ Julen?’
Betfred offer West Ham at Odds On 1/2, the Draw at 7/2 and 6/1 for Southampton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Jarrod Bowen Scores First and 6/4 that West Ham Win To Nil.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 2-0- Get 13/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
ASTON VILLA v NEWCASTLE
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
Aston Villa gained a comfortable victory over Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday.
Despite Marco Asensio having 2, count them, 2 spot kicks saved by Aaron Ramsdale in the Saints nets, goals from Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen and John McGinn gave Unai’s Claret and Blues the win from a 3-0 away day score.
Aston Villa sit in 7th place with the same 54 points as Chelsea both having completed 32 games.
Villa were outplayed against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc Des Princes in the 1st-leg of the Champions League Quarter-Final, suffering a defeat against PSG by a 3-1 scoreline.
Morgan Rogers with the Villa goal.
That meant it would be a hard task to get anything from the reverse game at Villa Park, however, Villa gave it a good go.
Unfortunately, despite a 2nd-leg victory by a 3-2 score, Aston Villa suffered an aggregate defeat over the 2-legs by a 5-4 scoreline and were knocked out of the Champions League.
It now means that Villa’s only access into next season’s European Competitions is from the league placings so it’s up to Unai Emery to get his Claret and Blues as high as possible in the Premier League Table.
Villa have this fixture against Newcastle then a game against Man City to try and overhaul both teams.
A quick note regarding Unai Emery’s team selection.
From the outside looking in, it does appear that Unai is favouring Marcus Rashford over Ollie Watkins for no apparent reason as Ollie has never let Villa down and is a better goal scorer than Marcus.
Despite still losing, Villa looked a better team against PSG when Ollie replaced Marcus in the 76th minute.
Playing ‘Devils Advocate’, is Unai being told to pick Marcus Rashford ahead of Ollie Watkins because of the £300,000 a week wage Mr Rashford is currently getting, with Villa paying the majority of that (United are contributing some).
It will be interesting to see the developments at Villa Park over the remainder of the season now that the Champions League campaign is over.
Newcastle come into this fixture at Villa Park off the back of 2 victories since the Game Week-31 affair against Leicester.
The first one was an easy win over a very poor Manchester United side at St James Park last Sunday.
Goals from Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes (2) and Bruno Guimaraes gave the Magpies the win from a 4-1 scoreline.
United did equalise Newcastle’s opener to take both teams in level at the break.
That made it 4 Wins in succession and lifted Newcastle to 4th in the Premier League Table with 56 points from 31 games completed.
It was then a rearranged game against Crystal Palace on Wednesday where goals from Jacob Murphy, a Palace OG, Harvey Barnes and Fabian Schar gave the Magpies a very comfortable lead at half-time.
Alexander Isak then got in on the act, scoring on the hour mark with his 21st goal of the season.
Now joint with Erling Haaland on 21 but both 6 adrift of the leading goal scorer Mo Salah who has 27 for the season so far.
With no further goals, Newcastle gained their 5th Premier League victory in a row and the 6th in all competitions adding the Carabao Cup Final win over Liverpool.
That saw Newcastle jump ahead of Nottingham Forest into 3rd place with 59 points from 32 games completed.
News surfaced that the Gaffer Eddie Howe had been taken into hospital, suffering from Pneumonia, so is out of action for the time being watching the games from his hospital bed.
John Newsome and EveryTip just want to say,
‘Get well soon Eddie!’
Eddie’s Assistant Jason Tindall is currently overseeing proceedings at St James Park and is quite a worthy stand-in for the time being so the Toon Army don’t need to worry too much about their idols on the pitch.
Newcastle gained the home victory over Aston Villa at St James Park on Boxing Day.
Goals from Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak and Joelinton gave Eddie’s Magpies the post-Christmas points from a 3-0 scoreline.
The Wild Boy Jhon Duran was shown a straight Red Card in the 32nd minute when the score was 1-0.
Whether that affected the next hour’s proceedings is anyone’s guess.
Betfred offer Aston Villa at 11/8 the Draw at 11/4 and 15/8 for Newcastle to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 9/2 that Alexander Isak Scores First and 13/10 that Ollie Watkins Scores Anytime.
(The Odds are the same for Ollie Watkins To Score First (9/2) and Alexander Isak To Score Anytime (13/10)
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-3- Get 18/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Ederson- Man City
RIGHT-BACK- Adam Smith- Bournemouth
CENTRE-BACK- Virgil Van Dijk- Liverpool
CENTRE-BACK- Dean Huijsen- Bournemouth
LEFT-BACK- Rayan Ait-Nouri- Wolves
MIDFIELDER- Sandro Tonali- Newcastle
MIDFIELDER- Abdoulaye Doucoure- Everton
MIDFIELDER- Kevin De Bruyne- Man City
FORWARD- Joao Pedro- Brighton
FORWARD- Jorgen-Strand Larsen- Wolves
FORWARD- Harvey Barnes- Newcastle
STAR MAN- Eddie Howe- Newcastle
***Last Week’s Winning Tips-
Man City To Win- 8/15
Aston Villa To Win- 4/7
Arsenal v Brentford To Draw- 18/5
Liverpool To Win- 1/3
Wolves To Win- 13/10
Newcastle To Win (Manchester United)- 8/11
Newcastle To Win (Crystal Palace)- 10/11
Correct Scores-
Arsenal v Brentford 1-1- 7/1
Correct Tips-
(Southampton v Aston Villa)
Ollie Watkins To Score Anytime- 23/20
(Arsenal v Brentford)
Under 2.5 Goals- 11/10
(Wolves v Tottenham)
Wolves To Score In Both Halves- 15/8
Sunday 20th
FULHAM v CHELSEA
14.00 in England
Fulham conceded a goal after 54 seconds in the Monday Night Football against Bournemouth at the Vitality.
Unfortunately for the Travelling Cottagers, that was the only goal of the game, leaving Fulham with the away night defeat by a 1-0 scoreline.
Fulham dropped to 9th place with the same 48 points as Brighton and Bournemouth, all having completed 32 games so far.
Chelsea found themselves 2 goals behind at half-time against Ipswich at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The faithful weren’t happy (they never are) but an inspired chat by Enzo Maresca to his players over the cup of tea, saw the Blues come out and score twice to gain a point from a draw by a 2-2 score.
Ipswich’s Axel Tuanzebe was credited with the first Chelsea goal.
Jadon Sancho then scored a brilliant equaliser to earn Chelsea a point.
That dropped Chelsea down to 6th in the table with the same 54 points as Aston Villa from 32 games completed.
Fulham gained the away night victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge back in the Game Week-18 encounter.
Cole Palmer scored the opener to give the Blues a lead at the break.
That made Marco Silva’s half-time talk easier which basically went,
‘We need 2 goals now lads!’
Harry Wilson, who was introduced by Marco in the 67th minute, scored the equaliser 15 minutes later.
Rodrigo Muniz, who was introduced in the 74th minute, scored the winner in the 95th to give Fulham the West London post-Christmas Bragging Rights of 3 points from a 2-1 score.
Two brilliant inspired substitutions from Marco Silva as well (anorl!)
‘Anorl’ is a British regional slang term, specifically from parts of Yorkshire, that means ‘as well’ or ‘also’, used to add something additional.
Betfred offer Fulham at 7/4, the Draw at 13/5 and 6/4 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Cole Palmer Scores First and 7/4 that Rodrigo Muniz Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Home Win 2-1- Get 17/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
IPSWICH v ARSENAL
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Goals from Julio Enciso and Ben Johnson gave Ipswich a surprise half-time lead over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The unfortunate Axel Tuanzebe was credited with a Chelsea goal that halved the deficit just after the restart before the home team eventually scored an equaliser to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat from a 2-2 scoreline.
The Archbishop was happy.
It was still a great result for Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys who remain in 17th place now with 21 points.
Remember, regardless of what happens over the 90 minutes, a point from a draw is always a point gained.
Arsenal gained a point from a draw by a 1-1 score against Brentford at the Emirates on Saturday.
As predicted in this EveryTip column last week.
Thomas Partey got the Party Started on a Saturday Night, scoring the Gunners goal on the hour mark.
Unfortunately, for the watching Gooners in attendance, the Bees stung the hosts late on scoring an equaliser to give both teams a point apiece.
Arsenal remain in 2nd place with 63 points from 32 games played.
With 6 games remaining, Arsenal can only accrue a further 18 points taking them to 81.
Liverpool currently have 76 points, meaning the Title will be confirmed in 2 games time if both teams continue to win.
Arsenal did get two of their best results of recent years, by gaining a victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League Quarter Final.
At the Emirates last Tuesday, goals from
Declan Rice, with 2 superb individual free kicks and Mikel Merino with the 3rd gave the Gunners the win from a 3-0 score.
It was then the 2nd-leg over in the Bernabeu on Wednesday which saw Arsenal gain a well-deserved victory from a 2-1 score, which added to the 1st-leg of 3-0, it meant Arsenal progressed to the Semi-Final of the Champions League with a 5-1 aggregate score.
‘5-1’ against the holders and 15-time winners of the Champions League.
The Gunners will now face Paris Saint-Germain in a 2-legged affair at the end of April and the beginning of May.
The winners of that Semi-Final will then face either Barcelona or Inter Milan who make up the other 2 teams in the last-4.
Declan Rice, by the way, was superb in both legs against Real, easily getting the better of his England Teammate Jude Bellingham.
A single Kai Havertz goal in the 1st-half gave Arsenal the home victory over Ipswich
by a 1-0 scoreline, in the post-Christmas clash at the Emirates.
Betfred offer Ipswich at 7/1, the Draw at 18/5 and Odds On 4/9 for Arsenal to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/2 that Mikel Merino Scores First and 4/1 that George Hirst Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-3- Get 11/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
MANCHESTER UNITED v WOLVES
14.00 in England
Manchester United are just rubbish at the moment, suffering another disastrous defeat on Sunday, this time against Newcastle at St James Park.
Alejandro Garnacho did score to equalise an earlier Newcastle goal and take both teams in level at the break.
Unfortunately for the Red Devils in attendance, the home team scored a further 3 to inflict the defeat on United by a 4-1 scoreline.
United dropped to 14th place with the same 38 points as Everton both with 6 games remaining.
Andre Onana has come in for some criticism over the past few weeks, none more so than from the ex-United player Nemanja Matic who is currently playing for Lyon in France.
Manchester United are in the middle of a 2-legged Europa League Quarter Final affair with Lyon, where the score is tied at 2-2 going into the 2nd-leg at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Nemanja’s criticism of Andre was borne out with the United Goalkeeper being complicit in both of Lyon’s goals.
That resulted in Ruben Amorim dropping Mr Onana from the squad for the game against Newcastle on Sunday.
The replacement Altay Bayindir wasn’t that much better either so it will be interesting to see if Andre Onana is back for the 2nd-leg at Old Trafford on Thursday.
As this column will be published before that game, John Newsome suspects that dropping Andre on Sunday was just a token gesture from Ruben and Andre Onana will be back between the sticks against Lyon on Thursday.
It’s then just a matter of whether Manchester United replace the Goalkeeper in the Summer.
That said, United need a whole new set of players to try and get back anywhere near the Top Table, so it will be an exciting Summer for the Red Devil faithful to see who comes in and who departs.
Whilst it’s rare for any team to make wholesale changes, in truth, Ruben needs to get rid of around 10-15 players and bring in the same.
It’s unlikely that will happen but it’s needed as the current set of players are either not good enough, too old or just going through the motions.
In a couple of weeks, John Newsome will list all the players that need to exit Old Trafford and a few that could come in and improve the squad.
That’s for another week.
United could quite easily come into this fixture at Old Trafford, out of the Europa League and with nothing to play for which could offer up the opportunity for Ruben Amorim to start those changes early and bring in a few youngsters.
As Dr Pepper says,
‘What’s the worst that can happen?’
Wolves gained their 4th win in a row on Sunday, with Vitor Pereira’s Gold and Blacks inflicting a defeat on Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs by a 4-2 scoreline.
Rayan Ait Nouri, a Tottenham OG, Jorgen Strand Larsen and Matheus Cunha with the Wolves goals.
Tottenham scored when it was 2-0 and 3-1.
Wolves were probably safe anyway but the result added a bit more cement to the Wall of Premier League football for next season, leaving Vitor’s Gold and Blacks in 16th place with the same 35 points as West Ham, both having 6 games remaining.
Unlike Southampton and Leicester’s decision to change their Manager, Wolves’ decision to get rid of Gary O’Neil and bring in Vitor Pereira has worked.
That said, Wolves do have a lot of Portuguese and Brazilian players so bringing in a Portuguese Manager was key to getting the tactics across to the said players.
Wolves brought in the Portuguese Vitor Pereira, (Wolves’ Portuguese and Brazilian Players = Ten).
One includes the Brazilians has their Official Language is Portuguese.
Southampton brought in the Croatian Ivan Juric, (Southampton’s Croatian Players = Zero).
Leicester brought in the Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy, (Leicester’s Dutch Players = Zero).
Not Rocket Science is it?
Normally, if one said that Wolves gained a victory over Manchester United at Molineux in the Game Week-18 affair, most would be surprised, however, this season, it’s just the norm for Manchester United.
Goals from Matheus Cunha and Hwang-Hee Chan, both scored in the 2nd-half, gave Wolves the home win by a 2-0 scoreline.
Bruno Fernandes was shown 2 Yellow Cards and the subsequent Red early in the 2nd-half that gave Wolves the man advantage for the rest of the game, which ultimately bore fruit.
Betfred offer Manchester United at 21/20, the Draw at 5/2 and 11/4 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/1 that Bruno Fernandes Scores First and 9/4 that Jorgen Strand Larsen Scores Anytime.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Draw 1-1- Get 11/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
LEICESTER v LIVERPOOL
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
‘BREAKING NEWS’
Leicester have scored a goal, in fact, Leicester have scored 2 goals.
The slight downside to that statement for the Foxes Faithful is their idols conceded 2 goals also to ultimately come away from the Amex with a point from a draw by a 2-2 score against Brighton on Saturday.
At least it wasn’t a defeat, which had occurred in 8 of the previous games.
Both Brighton goals came from the Leicester Defence conceding penalties.
Note to Ruud,
‘Stop conceding penalties!’
Leicester remain in 19th place with 18 points from 32 games completed.
RVN’s Boys can only accrue a total of 36 points if they win all of their remaining 6 games.
(They won’t!)
West Ham and Wolves (the safe teams) have 35 points, therefore a loss today against Liverpool (the Champions Elect) will confirm the Foxes’ inevitable relegation to the Championship.
The question then is, will Ruud Van Nistelrooy stay at the King Power or will it be ‘Tot ziens’ for the ex-Manchester United Striker?
‘Tot ziens’ is Dutch for Goodbye.
Probably what a team doesn’t need when on the brink of relegation, is a visit from Liverpool.
Arne’s Slot Machines are now just 2 Wins from confirming their 20th Top Flight League Title and their 2nd Premier League Trophy following the victory over West Ham on Sunday.
Luis Diaz and Virgil Van Dijk with the goals to give Liverpool the points from a 2-1 scoreline.
The unfortunate Andy Robertson was credited with the Hammers goal which was an equaliser at the time before Big Virgil popped up with the headed winner.
That gave Liverpool 76 points with 8 games remaining.
Arsenal have 63 so can only achieve a total of 81 points if victories are gained in the last 6 fixtures.
Liverpool will have 82 from wins in the next 2.
If the Gunners suffer a defeat against Ipswich today (it’s unlikely) then a Liverpool victory would give the Premier League Trophy to Arne’s Slot Machines with a win against Leicester.
It’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of when not if.
Manchester United have 20 Top Flight Titles and often sing a song,
’20 Times, 20 Times, Man United!’
Liverpool will need to come up with something to commemorate their 20 Titles.
It’s unlikely to be,
’20 Times, 20 Times, Liverpool!’
The Boxing Day clash between these two at Anfield produced the most goals in the Game Week-18 set of fixtures.
Jordan Ayew stunned the Anfield Rappers in attendance by scoring for the Foxes after 6 minutes.
Most of the Red Scousers were only just finding their seats.
Coady Gakpo scored an equaliser on the stroke of half-time to take both teams in level at the break.
Curtis Jones added a 2nd, just after the restart with Mo Salah adding a 3rd late on to give Liverpool the home victory over Leicester by a 3-1 scoreline.
Betfred offer Leicester at 11/1, the Draw at 11/2 and Odds On 1/4 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 12/5 that Mo Salah Scores First and Evens 1/1 that Liverpool Win To Nil.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 0-3- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Monday 21st
TOTTENHAM v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
20.00 in England
Sky Sports
Tottenham are akin to Manchester United at the moment, rubbish in the Premier League but holding on to the slim hopes of winning the Europa League, like a Climber clinging onto the Mountains.
Ange’s Spurs suffered a disappointing defeat at Molineux on Sunday, with Wolves getting a victory by a 4-2 scoreline.
Mathys Tel and Richarlison with the Tottenham goals when the score was 2-0 and 3-1.
The unfortunate Djed Spence was credited with the Wolves’ 2nd goal, turning the ball past the helpless Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham sit in 15th place with 37 points from 32 games completed.
Like Manchester United, Tottenham compete in the 2nd-leg of the Europa League Quarter Final on Thursday and like United, head overseas following a draw in the 1st-leg, with the game against Eintracht Frankfurt delicately balanced at 1-1 going into the game in Germany.
It’s quite possible that both United and Tottenham are eliminated in this round.
It’s also possible that if Tottenham are knocked out, then Ange Postecoglou will be relieved of his duties at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium.
As this column will be published before Thursday’s game, there will be more details about the Europa League and Big Ange given next week.
The Tricky Trees Faithful say thank you to the Premier League Fixture Compilers (PLFC) and Sky Sports for asking them to travel down to London for Monday Night Football which won’t finish until at least 10 PM.
Cheers!
Nuno Espírito Santo will want to gain some sort of revenge over the team that sacked him after just 5 months.
Nuno was the Tottenham Manager from June 2021 to November 2021.
That said, Nottingham Forest have suffered defeats in the last 2 games, the latest being against Everton at the City Ground on Saturday.
After 93 minutes were up on the clock and the score goalless, it was assumed that a draw was on the cards.
Unfortunately for the watching Tricky Trees in attendance, the Toffees scored in the 94th minute to inflict the loss on Forest by a 1-0 scoreline.
That left Forest in 3rd place with 57 points from 32 games played.
With Newcastle playing again on Wednesday and getting a win, the two teams swapped places, with Forest now sitting in 4th place, 2 points adrift of Newcastle.
In the reverse fixture at the City Ground on Boxing Day, a single Anthony Elanga goal just before the half-hour mark gave Forest the victory over Tottenham by a 1-0 scoreline.
Added to the earlier comments regarding kick-off times and the PLFC, the game on Boxing Day kicked off at 3 PM in Nottingham.
It’s not Rocket Science is it, there are 2 fixtures per season between each team.
If the Premier League Fixture Compilers (PLFC) want to arrange Nottingham Forest v Tottenham at 3 PM on any day (even Boxing Day) then the reverse fixture, whenever that takes place, should have the same kick-off time so both sets of fans have the same times to travel.
Bournemouth, Brighton or Southampton v Newcastle (or vice versa), for example, should have the same start time so that each set of fans have the same opportunity to get to and from the game at an acceptable hour.
Just saying!
Betfred offer Tottenham at 6/4, the Draw at 11/4 and 13/8 for Nottingham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer that Chris Wood Scores First and 2/1 that Nottingham Forest Score in Both Halves.
(If your pre-match First Goalscorer bet scores First and then scores a Second, Betfred DOUBLE the odds.
If they score a Third, Betfred TREBLE the odds.)
Away Win 1-2- Get 17/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
The Scottish Premier League goes into its final 5 fixtures with the ‘Split’ occurring following 33 games completed.
The ‘Split’ means the Top 6 clubs face each other over 5 games, with the same happening to the Bottom 6.
As mentioned previously, this is to prevent fixtures such as Celtic (81 points) facing St Johnstone (29 points).
It’s not for everyone, as Liverpool (76 points) will still face Southampton (10 points) in the English Premier League.
That’s the Pub League for one!
Celtic will have to wait another day to be confirmed as SPL Champions after the weekend’s games.
The Green and Whites gained a victory over Kilmarnock (who?) on Saturday by a 5-1 score, to move onto 81 points.
If Rangers had failed to at least get a point on Sunday against Aberdeen (who?) then Celtic would have been crowned Kings of Scotland.
Rangers left it late, very late, to get that point, scoring the equaliser in the 96th minute (rumours the referee was just going to play on until the goal occurred have been strictly denied)!
What that basically means now is Rangers can only accrue a total of 81 points if victories occur in the remaining 5 games.
However, 1 of those games is against Celtic and added to that, even if the Green Side of Glasgow lost all 5 remaining games, they would still have 81 points and a far superior goal difference.
It’s currently,
Celtic- 81 points, scored 97 and conceded 22 (plus+75).
Rangers- 66 points, scored 68 and conceded 35 (plus+33).
It means that Celtic are the 2024/25 Scottish Pub League Champions.
The late goal that Rangers scored on Sunday, evoked memories of a game that occurred back in 1998.
John Newsome bumped into Old Steve Bracknall in Meadowhall the other day, with the topic of conversation quickly turning to the ‘Battle of Birdwell’ in the late 90s.
Steve is the Assistant Manager of the Royal Oak, a Sheffield Sunday League Team who were drawn against Leo’s in a 5th Round Cup Game back in the day.
After refusing to go anywhere further into Barnsley than Birdwell, which is just off Junction 36 of the M1, the game was moved from Leo’s ground which was at the side of Oakwell to a 1 G Pitch just off the Motorway roundabout.
Nowadays, 4 G Pitches are close to actual grass, however, back in 1998, the Artificial Turf hadn’t evolved much and basically, it was like playing on concrete, where if one did a slide tackle, one’s skin was left on the ground.
Mr Bracknall refused to enter Barnsley due to failing in previous attempts to get a victory for the Royal Oak, based on (his words) ‘home bias referees!’
When a Barnsley Sunday League Team faced a Sheffield Sunday League Team it was akin to England v Scotland or Argentina v Brazil, no love lost.
Trailing by 2 goals to 1 going into the 130th minute, Leo’s Goalkeeper Widdy, came up for a corner and somehow managed to deflect the ball into the back of the net.
The score was 1-1 after 90 minutes, so there was an added 30, with the Royal Oak scoring what appeared to be a winner but the referee’s Timex had stopped so the game continued well into the 130th minute.
Bracknall was screaming from the sidelines,
‘Corruption!’
However, it was simply a matter that the refs’ watch had broken,
Peanuts hands had fallen off!
The game was decided by a penalty shootout.
Royal Oak missed their opener, giving the Barnsley Boys an early advantage but John Newsome and his Leo’s mate’s heart sank when the Loveable YankScot strolled to the penalty spot with the ball.
Braveheart/Taylor (Swifty) was a notoriously bad penalty taker but always insisted on taking one, (mainly because the Mitre Multiplex was his that he’d got for Christmas!)
As usual, the ball flew over the crossbar, over the fence and down onto the M1 where it was last seen on the back of a 40-foot Curtain-Sider heading towards London.
Luckily for Leo’s, the Iccle Penistone Lad, Widdy, the Manchester Ball Thrower and John Newsome all converted their penalties to get the victory and knock the Royal Oak out of the cup.
Steve Bracknall wasn’t happy but did wish the lads well in the Cup.
All the best Steve and the Royal Oak.
The last-minute goal from Rangers delayed the inevitability of Celtic getting their hands on the SPL Trophy.
Celtic’s next outing is on the 26th of April against Dundee United (who?) Away, with Rangers facing St Mirren (who?) on the same day also Away.
The following week (May the 4th) sees the final Old Firm Derby of the season with the Star Wars fixture seeing Rangers host Celtic at Ibrox.
May The Force Be With Both.
Celtic’s final 5 games in full,
April 26th- Dundee United (who?)- Away
May 04th- Rangers- Away
May 10th- Hibernian (who?)- Home
May 14th- Aberdeen (who?)- Away
May 17th- St Mirren (who?)- Home
Rangers next 5 fixtures,
April 26th- St Mirren (who?)- Away
May 04th- Celtic- Home
May 11th- Aberdeen (who?)- Home
May 14th- Dundee United (who?)- Home
May 17th- Hibernian (who?)- Away
Please note, Sky Sports may select a Game Week-37 fixture to show Live (midweek of May 14th) in due course.
If one notices, there aren’t any fixtures this weekend on the 19th or 20th with the Scottish Cup coming into play.
Celtic face St Johnstone (who?) at Hampden Park on the 20th of April, in the Semi-Final.
If one is waiting to see who Rangers face, then the Teddy Bear faithful will be disappointed (including the Loveable YankScot over in Seattle) as the Blue Side of Glasgow were knocked out of that particular competition back in February, so have the weekend off.
That said, it could be a weekend celebration following this Thursday’s Europa League 2nd-leg clash that sees Rangers head to Spain to face Athletic Bilbao.
The tie at Ibrox last week, saw a draw by a 0-0 score, so all Rangers need to do is score 1 more than the Bilbanians and the Semi-Final awaits.
Don’t rule out another goalless draw that will see a possible penalty shootout.
The YankScot will definitely be Sleepless In Seattle.
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