The race for the top four is shaping up to be a hugely exciting one and we’ll see if the situation changes following the games this weekend. Chelsea are the first to play and the fourth placed Blues have an away trip against Brighton to prepare for. If Antonio Conte’s fall to a defeat, this will allow Tottenham to leapfrog their London rivals the following day providing they have the beating of Southampton.
Liverpool are another side battling hard for a place in next season’s Champions League and they will be hoping to avoid a slip-up against bottom placed Swansea. The Reds secured a high profile victory over Man City last weekend, the first time the Citizens have lost in the league this term. Pep Guardiola will be looking for a big response at home to Newcastle to ensure his side’s handsome gap at the top of the table isn’t cut any further.
Saturday 20th January 2018
Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea (12:30) – Under 2.5 goals (3/4 with BetVictor)
Chelsea are reportedly very interested in signing a striker this transfer window and a lack of goals lately certainly adds weight to these rumours. The Blues have fired blank in their last three matches and big money signing Alvaro Morata hasn’t converted in his last five appearances. The Spaniard did score last time he faced Brighton on Boxing Day but it was hardly a vintage performance from the Blues who struggled to break Brighton down in the first half. With the Chelsea strikeforce having not improved since, you have to wonder if they’ll offer much of a threat here.
Brighton have been slipping closer to the dreaded drop zone in recent weeks but if anything can help pull them away then it’s games at home. The Seagulls have lost six of their last seven away games but they’ve suffered just two defeats at the Amex Stadium all season. Chris Hughton saw how his side successfully frustrated Chelsea for 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge and he’ll be hoping to do the same but for even longer this time. It should be very much a case of defence first for the hosts and it’s well worth backing under 2.5 goals as a result.
Manchester City v Newcastle United (17:30) – Man City to win to nil (21/20 with BetVictor)
Newcastle will be looking to make it three away victories on the bounce when they travel to Manchester this Saturday but what a big ask that is. The Toon Army are trading at 22/1 among some bookies to collect the three points but even at this price there is little appeal. Rafa Benitez’s men haven’t beaten any side currently in the top half of the table and their most recent encounter with City in December was an incredibly one-sided affair. The Magpies had just 22% possession and it’s hard to see them taking the game to City here following that showing.
Jurgen Klopp showed how effective a high pressing game can be against City but Newcastle simply aren’t set-up to play this way. Benitez will instead ask his men to sit deep and try and limit the room behind the back line for the City attackers. With the visitors unlikely to carry much of an attacking threat, backing Guardiola’s side to win with a clean sheet makes for a great value bet. City are on a run of 16 consecutive home wins and their star-studded side simply has to be backed make it 17.
Sunday 21st January 2018
Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur (16:00) – Tottenham to win (4/6 with Coral)
Southampton were on the brink of their first league win since November last weekend but were denied thanks to Watford’s controversial injury-time equaliser. Mauricio Pellegrino will have been happy with what he saw for much of the game though and they justly deserved their two goal lead after playing some decent football. A return to St Mary’s is unlikely to inspire a similar showing though as it’s a place where they’ve only won three games all season. A lack of an attacking threat at home has been a big factor in their woes and Charlie Austin being out injured only makes goals harder to come by.
To make matters worse, Tottenham appear to be rather a bogey side for Southampton. Since their return to the Premier League in 2012, the Saints have lost nine of the 11 meetings against the Londoners, who have been back to their best in recent weeks. Mauricio Pochettino’s men put on a vintage display to beat Everton 4-0 last weekend and it wasn’t long ago when they hammered Southampton 5-2 in an incredibly one-sided affair. Confidence has returned to Spurs and with two solid away performances under their belts against Swansea and Burnley, a third consecutive away win is well worth backing.
Monday 22nd January 2018
Swansea City v Liverpool (20:00) – Liverpool to win by two goals (11/4 with Betfair)
Liverpool showed absolutely no sign of missing Philippe Coutinho last weekend when claiming the huge scalp of Man City at Anfield. That win made it five in a row for the Reds and spirits will be sky high ahead of their upcoming trip to Wales. Liverpool’s defence still remains far from solid although Virgil van Dijk is in contention to feature this weekend and his regular involvement will surely help change this. At the other end of the pitch there are absolutely no concerns. Only Man City have scored more goals in the league this season and there hasn’t been a single league away match this season in which the Reds have failed to score.
Carlos Carvalhal faces a big job on his hands to keep Swansea in the Premier League but there have been signs the Portuguese boss can do just that. He guided the Swans to a rare win against Watford last month and secured a useful point away at Newcastle last time out. Even when facing Tottenham the Welsh outfit were not outclassed during a 2-0 defeat. With a change of manager seeming to have brought a positive change at the club, Swansea shouldn’t go down without a fight here. Defeat still looks likely against an impressive Reds side but it should not be an emphatic one.