While this weekend is dominated by the FA Cup fourth round, we don’t have to wait long before the Premier League returns again. We have top flight action back on Tuesday, with a bonus round of midweek matches. While that’s a little too close to the weekend’s cup action, it does give us a lot to look forward to.
The undoubted highlight of the midweek games sees Liverpool hosting Premier League leaders Chelsea. That’s a must win clash for the Reds right now after a rather indifferent period for them. Elsewhere champions Leicester face a daunting trip to Burnley, while Manchester United have a quick rematch with Hull City. We’ve picked out betting tips for all of those games, which you can check out below.
Tuesday 31st January 2017
Burnley v Leicester (19:45) – Burnley to win (19/10 with Betfred)
The Premier League champions should be expected to win at any promoted side, but this is a very different season in the league. Burnley are actually above defending champions Leicester in the table ahead of this game, with the Foxes in serious relegation trouble. Can they pick up a result at Turf Moor to ease their fears of dropping down to the Championship a season after being crowned champions of the top flight? That’s not going to be an easy task, as this has been an awful trip for away sides all season long.
The Clarets have an incredible record at their own ground. They have the fourth best home record in the country, while Leicester have won none of their away league games this season, losing 73% of their outings. Burnley have won four straight Premier League games here, while they recently beat Sunderland 2-0 in the FA Cup on home soil. With the Foxes looking awful away from home, it’s hard to see how they can end Burnley’s excellent run at Turf Moor. We think the hosts are fantastically priced at 19/10 with Betfred, given that they’ve won 67% of their home matches this term. Another three points looks likely here.
Liverpool v Chelsea (20:00) – Chelsea to win (2/1 with Betfair)
Tuesday night’s live game sees Chelsea heading to Anfield, to take on a Liverpool side who have been awful in 2017. The Reds lost 3-2 against Swansea in their last league game, which saw them slip 10 points off top spot. That’s a huge margin to overhaul, especially as they’re now down in fourth. If Jurgen Klopp and his team are going to challenge for the title, they need to hit form when they host the Blues. However, they look far from their best right now, which gives Antonio Conte’s side a decent chance of getting the win.
Liverpool scored four times in their first seven matches in 2017, including losing home and away legs of their EFL Cup semi-final to Southampton. Without Sadio Mane they’ve had to switch things around, which has led to their side looking disorganised. With Chelsea coming here looking like champions, this is going to be tough for Liverpool. They did win at Stamford Bridge against the Blues, but we think Conte will have learned from that defeat, he’s likely to stick with his 3-4-3 system, which gives them a lot of cover defensively and will cut down space for the Reds to move in to. That’s why we’re backing a win for the leaders, who are priced at 2/1 with Betfair here.
Wednesday 1st February 2017
West Ham v Manchester City (19:45) – City -1 handicap (29/20 with Coral)
West Ham will be expecting to put up more of a fight here than they did in their FA Cup third round defeat to Manchester City. They met at the start of the year, with City running out 5-0 winners at the Olympic Stadium. That result showed just how fantastic Pep Guardiola’s side are on their day, they were untouchable against the Hammers. The same thing happened in their first meeting of the season, City produced a top class performance to claim all three points. They’ll be expecting a third win over West Ham this season when they visit on Wednesday night.
Given the margin between the two last time, City should be comfortable winners here. They were pegged back to a 2-2 draw in their last league match, and they’ll be out to bounce back from that here. Having won 5-0 in their last visit, the City players are likely to be high on confidence ahead of this trip. We’re backing them to put their troubles behind them at the London Stadium, with an away win on the -1 handicap our bet. It’s priced at 29/20 with Coral.
Manchester United v Hull (20:00) – United to win to nil (4/5 with BetVictor)
Manchester United just lost 2-1 against Hull in the EFL Cup, unless you’re Jose Mourinho. He claims that his side drew 1-1 at the KCOM, after refusing to acknowledge the Tigers’ opening goal, which was a controversial penalty. The United boss said after that defeat that his side were still unbeaten. Can they continue that make-believe unbeaten run against Hull on Wednesday night? They will in Mourinho’s mind regardless of the score, but just how will his side actually fare against the Premier League strugglers?
United did manage to win the first leg of that EFL Cup tie 2-0 at Old Trafford, despite a strong display from the Tigers. They should record a similar result here, as Hull have lost 82% of their away league matches. They’ve also failed to score in 55% of those outings, while United let in just 0.82 goals per game at Old Trafford in the league. The Red Devils have kept a clean sheet in two of their three clashes with Hull this term, and we are backing them to make it three from four here. A win to nil for the hosts is our tip, it’s priced at 4/5 with BetVictor.