This weekend’s Premiership action gets off to a cracking start with Liverpool playing Everton in the Merseyside derby.
Both teams are struggling to find any consistency this season and arrive here in desperate need of a good result. Liverpool have survived Champions League and Capital One Cup games by the skin of their teeth and lost 3-1 to West Ham in between.
Everton were thrashed 6-3 by Chelsea but bounced back to beat West Brom and Wolfsburg. Progress came to a shuddering halt against Crystal Palace last weekend and they were then dumped out of the Capital One Cup by Swansea. Both sides are leaking goals at the moment and this has the makings of another thrilling encounter.
A repeat of the 3-3 draw at Goodison Park in November is not out of the question but I think Liverpool could just shade it, particularly if Sturridge is fit to play a part.
League leaders Chelsea lost their 100% record last weekend when Frank Lampard struck late on for Manchester City. That sentence still does not read true for Blues supporters and Lampard’s double-strike in midweek suggests that Chelsea were negligent in not offering the midfield player a one-year extension.
They play host to Aston Villa on Saturday, a side that have sometimes caused problems in the past. Villa made a flying start to the season before being brushed aside 3-0 by Arsenal. If you ignore that poor performance and judge them on their victory at Anfield, they look seriously overpriced at 16-1. Cynics may point to Chelsea’s 8-0 win in 2012/13 but Villa are a lot stronger now and Chelsea’s two draws and a scrappy 2-1 win over Bolton are a warning not to expect too much.
Crystal Palace and Leicester looks like a draw banker. The Foxes have not won in London in any of their last 15 Premier League visits but they look good enough to battle for a point. Hull play host to Champions Manchester City who look to have turned a corner this week. Lampard’s previously mentioned intervention rescued a priceless point against Chelsea and they then proceeded to blast seven goals past Sheffield Wednesday in midweek. With confidence on the up and Dzeko back in scoring mode, this should be another three points.
Perhaps the most intriguing fixture of the week is Manchester United versus West Ham. The Red Devils are brilliant going forward but leaking like a sieve in defence. They probably need to score at least three to be sure of a point! Angel Di Maria has been very impressive and he can be backed to score again with both sides finding the target. West Ham pulled off a great win over Liverpool last week and will approach this game with some optimism. Expect another feast of goals.
Southampton continue to confound their critics. Not only are they flying in the Premier League, they also knocked Arsenal out of the Capital One Cup in midweek and will be expected to see off QPR at St Mary’s. Ronald Koeman’s summer signings are all punching above their weight and they can continue their unlikely charge towards the top.
The late kick-off is the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham. Rather like Liverpool and Everton, these two sides are having a topsy-turvy start to the season in Cup and League. Arsenal’s defeat against Southampton underlines a lack of depth in their squad while Tottenham still have two ways of playing. In recent seasons, Tottenham have disappointed in these types of fixtures and Wenger can recall Wojciech Szczesny, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Mikel Arteta, Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck on Saturday.
Liverpool 3 Everton 2 (correct score) @22-1 Bet365
Liverpool v Everton over 3.5 goals @6-4 Coral
Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 1 (correct score) @11-1 BetVictor
Crystal Palace v Leicester DRAW @19-5 BetVictor
Edin Dzeko to score first @5-1 Paddy Power
Man City to win by 3 or more goals @4-1 Skybet
Man United to win by 2 goals @100-30 Bet365
Angel Di Maria to score first @7-1 Bet365
Southampton 3 QPR 0 (correct score) @10-1 BetVictor
Arsenal to win by 2 goals @4-1 Stan James
