Four more English Premier League matches take place on Sunday and we have a play in each game including the headline match, Arsenal v Manchester United
Prices quoted are correct at the time of publication but subject to change.
Brentford v Notts Forest
Brentford went down 2-0 at Chelsea last weekend and slipped from fifth to seventh but they come into the round only 3 points off fourth placed Liverpool. They return home with an impressive record of 7 wins, 3 draws and just 1 defeat (to Man City) in front of their own supporters.
Forest dug in to hold Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at the City Ground last week to finish the round fourth from bottom, 5 points clear of third bottom West Ham whom they beat 2-1 in their most recent road trip. That win ended a run of 4 straight defeats in the PL and an FA Cup exit.
Forest were great last week against Arsenal but poor in a Europa League defeat on Thursday and Brentford are a real handful in home games and have had the whole week to focus on this game. I’ll go with a home win but with Forest contributing to the scoring.
Bet: Brentford to win and both teams to score? Yes at 28/10 with Sportingbet
Crystal Palace v Chelsea
Palace had a turbulent week with their skipper Guehi leaving for Man City and coach Glasner confirming he will not renew hist contract which expires at the end of the season. A 2-1 defeat at Sunderland means they have taken just 2 points from their last 7 league games.
Chelsea’s 2-0 home win over Brentford was a first EPL victory for new coach Liam Rosenior and they also won in the UCL in midweek, 1-0 at home to Pafos. Prior to the win over Brentford they had won just 1 of 9 league games to become detached from the title race and they finished the previous round 1 point and 1 place better off than their opponents here.
Chelsea look to be still finding their feet under a new coach and the situation at Palace makes this one very hard to read in my opinion. I can see the middle of the park being competitive and I’ll side with Will Hughes as my candidate for a yellow.
Bet: Player to be carded Will Hughes at 1.65/1 with Sportingbet
Newcastle v Aston Villa
Newcastle sealed a UCL play off spot with a 3-0 home win over PSV in midweek. Rior to last week’s dour 0-0 draw at Wolves they had reeled off 3 straight wins in the EPL and they finished the previous round in 8th place among a number of clubs 1a win or so away from a top 4 spot.
Villa have failed to score in their last 2 league games, a 0-0 draw at Palace followed by a 1-0home defeat to Everton. They come into this round in third spot, level on points with Man city and 7 points shy of Arsenal.
Villa also won (at Fenebahce) in the Europa League on Thursday but Newcastle have had a day extra to recover. It looks another tricky one to call and again in the market for a booking with the hard earned money going on Matty Cash.
Bet: Player to be carded Matty Cash at 21/10 with Sportingbet
Arsenal v Man United
After a 3-1 win over Inter in Milan in the UCL in midweek arsenal are look likely to go through the League Phase of that competition with a 100/% record. They are well placed in the EFL Cup semi finals and have progressed in the FA Cup and in terms of the EPL, despite back to back 0-0 draws at home to Liverpool and away at Forest they are 7 points clear of their nearest rivals in the title race.
Interim coach Michael Carrick got off to the perfect start as United beat City 2-0 in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford last week. That win saw them finish the round in fifth place, 1 point behind fourth laced Liverpool. They lost the first league meeting with Arsenal 1-0 on the opening weekend in Manchester, much has happened since then but their derby win was arguably their best display of the season.
That was a dream start for Carrick and they deserved their win over City but they are now tasked with having to pull out another top showing away from home and against the league leaders. Both teams to pick up 2 or more cards came through for me in the Manchester derby and I’m sticking with the same bet here.
Bet: Both teams to pick up 2 or more cards at 1.85/1 with Sportingbet
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change