English Premier League action continues on Saturday and our focus is on Crystal Palace v Luton, and Arsenal v Brentford
Palace 0.77/1 Draw 2.85/1 Luton 34/10
New coach Oliver Glasner has taken charge of Palace for their last 2 matches. The first went very well as they put Burnley away 3-0 at Selhurst Park but last weekend they took the lead at Spurs but eventually went down 3-1, conceding 3 times between the 77th and 88th minute.
Palace have won 4, drawn 3 and lost 6 of their home games and in addition to the win over Burnley another victory came against strugglers Sheffield United, who were beaten 3-2. Coming into the weekend Palace had 28 points, 8 more than their opponents here, third bottom Luton.
This is a crucial period for third bottom Luton who will visit Bournemouth in midweek before they host Forest. After that they face some big guns and in my book they need a healthy return from these next 3 matches with the current gap to fourth bottom Forest being 4 points. Since thumping Brighton 4-0 at the end of January Luton played out a 4-4 draw at Newcastle and then suffered 4 straight defeats, most recently 3-2 at home to Villa and they have conceded 16 goals in that 5 match sequence. Luton beat Palace 2-1 in the first meeting this season
The Verdict
It's still a bit early to assess whether the change in coach has done the trick for Palace given their win over Burnley came against 10 men and they let a lead slip at Spurs. Still, against a Luton defence which has been shipping goals they will fancy their chances here.
However, as mentioned I suspect Luton will be targeting these next 3 games as crucial in their battle against relegation. That puts me on the anytime goals trail and I will side with Matate for Palace and Carlton Morris for Luton
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Mateta at 21/10 with BoyleSports
Anytime goalscorer Carlton Morris at 3.15/1 with BoyleSports
Arsenal 0.23/1 Draw 58/10 Brentford 10/1
Arsenal made it 7 straight league wins when they hammered Sheffield United 6-0 away from home on Monday night. They have scored 31 goals in those 7 league matches which started with a 5-0 home win over Palace whilst other home games saw them beat Liverpool 3-1 and Newcastle 4-1.
As far as the title race is concerned the Gunners are third, 1 point behind Man City and 2 shy of leaders Liverpool and all 3 of the most likely title contenders have played 27 matches. Arsenal were beaten 1-0 away to Porto in the UCL Ro16 1st leg and they will get the chance to turn that tie around in midweek. A late goal from Havertz gave Arsenal a 1-0 win at Brentford in late November.
Brentford have 26 points and still have work to do to make sure they avoid a nervy end to the season. They drew 2-2 at home to Chelsea last weekend which halted a run of 3 successive defeats, 4-1 at home to Liverpool, 1-0 away to Manchester City and 4-2 away to West Ham.
The Verdict
Arsenal now have the best goals scored record in the EPL (68) and the best defensive record (23 conceded) and their recent league form is as strong as it gets.
Goals, and plenty of them have been shared around recently but Arsenal they do have a huge UCL clash with Porto coming up. Whilst I still believe they will get the job done it might not be a demolition and a multi goals home team play of 2-3 will suffice for me.
Although the Gunners have been really tight in defence they will be without keeper Raya, who is on loan from Brentford. Ramsdale is a more than capable deputy but my gut feel is there may be a goal in this for the visitors and Toney is the most likely to grab it.
Bets: Home team multi goals 2-3 at even money with BoyleSports
Anytime goalscorer Ivan Toney at 2.95/1 with BoyleSports
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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