We take a look at the remaining five English Premier League matches in Gameweek 13 taking place on Sunday including Crystal Palace v Manchester United and a top of the table clash between Chelsea and Arsenal
Prices quoted are correct at the time of publication but subject to change.
Crystal Palace v Man United
Palace moved up to fifth with a 2-0 win at Wolves last week. They have taken 7 points from their last 3 league games, 2 of which were at home, a 2-1 win over Brentford and 0-0 draw with Brighton. Palace are unbeaten in 6 games at Selhurst Park in the league this season although 4 of those matches finished all square.
United couldn’t find a way through 10 man Everton at Old Trafford on Monday night and lost the game 1-0 to slip down to tenth, 2 points behind Palace. Prior to that they were uneaten in 5 which included a win at Liverpool and 2-2 draws at Forest and Spurs.
Palace have developed a bit of a draw habit at home and given United have drawn their last 2 road trips I’m going with a point a piece here.
Bet: Match Result Draw at 2.55/1 with Betway
Aston Villa v Wolves
Villa were 2-1 winners at Leeds last week and they have now won 6 and lost 1 of their last 7 league games, a run which saw them finish the previous round in the top 4. They have reeled off 4 successive home wins in the EPL, seeing off Fulham, Burnley, Man City and Bournemouth.
Rob Edwards first game in charge of Wolves ended in a 2-0 home defeat to Palace, a fifth straight loss. They remain rock bottom with just 2 points which were earned in draws at home to Brighton and away at Spurs.
I'm struggling to find anything I really like here but Ollie Watkins is overdue a league goal and this is a good opportunity.
Bet: Anytime goalscorer Watkins at 12/10 with Sportingbet
Notts Forest v Brighton
Forest have taken 7 points from their last 3 league outings to climb out of the relegation zone. A 2-2 draw at home to Man United was followed by a 3-1 home win over Leeds and last week’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield.
Brighton have lost just 1 of their last 8 in the league alongside 4 wins and 3 draws. They have only taken 5 points from 6 road trips, a in at Chelsea and draws at Wolves and Palace.
Forest were able to rest players in their Europa League win in midweek and are easily in their best shape of the season. They thrashed Brighton 7-0 in this fixture last season, much has changed since then and I don't expect anything like that outcome but as Dyche gets more and more time to work on defence, a home win and clean sheet could be a value play here.
Bet: Forest to win "to nil" boosted to 4.25/1 with Sportingbet
West Ham v Liverpool
West Ham are another side to have taken 7 points from their last 3 league games. Home wins over Burnley and Newcastle were followed by a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, a game they led 2-0 at half time. They finished the previous round fourth from bottom, just ahead of Leeds on goal difference.
A 4-1 home defeat to PSV in the UCL in midweek was the latest jaw dropping result involving Liverpool. Last week’s 3-0 home defeat to Forest in the EPL was their sixth loss in the last 7 league games and saw them finish the round in the bottom half of the table. They won at Newcastle and Burnley early in the season but 4 subsequent road trips ended in defeat.
How on earth do you go about calling Liverpool games these days. It's not long since they beat Real Madrid and yet they have plummeted the depths all too often. For interest I'll go with both sides to pick up at least 2 cards in the hope this will be a competitive match up.
Bet: Both teams to have 2 or more cards at 1.65/1 with Sportingbet
Chelsea v Arsenal
Chelsea were 3-0 winners at home to Barcelona in the UCL in midweek and domestically a run of 5 wins and 1 defeat in their last 6 league games has seen them move into second spot, 6 points behind Arsenal. The only recent blip came in a home defeat to Sunderland but they have kept 4 clean sheets in their last 5 league games and are clearly in good shape.
Arsenal extended their 100% record in the UCL with a 3-1 home win over Bayern Munch in midweek. On the back of a 4-1 home win over Spurs last Sunday that completed a very satisfactory few days for the Gunners who come into Round 13 with a 6 point advantage at the top of the standings. They were held 2-2 at Sunderland recently and earlier in the season they lost 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield, their only loss of the season so far across all competitions.
I haven't always been convinced by Chelsea this season but they are gaining momentum and should offer a stiff test to the league leaders. I can't get away from the depth in this arsenal squad however and I'm with a narrow away win.
Bet: Winning margin Arsenal by 1 goal exactly at 3/1 with Betway
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change