With the international break over, the Premier League is now well on the way towards the festive programme. A huge six weeks are coming up for Premier League sides, starting with this weekend’s action. One of the key aspects of the Christmas period is to come in with a good bit of momentum, and after the interruption by the international break, many sides need to start to build that from now.
Coming up this weekend are several huge crunch games, with Arsenal’s clash with Manchester United being the pick of the bunch. Louis van Gaal’s side need to start picking up results fast, especially on the road. Elsewhere Liverpool and Spurs will be looking to get their seasons back on course on Sunday. Despite being down to just three live games this weekend, this should be a good one, and here are our tips and previews for the best of this weekend’s action, including an accumulator at very tasty odds of 41/1.
Saturday 22nd November 2014
Chelsea v West Brom (15:00) – Chelsea to win and BTTS (21/10 with Coral)
Chelsea return to league action on Saturday with a four point advantage at the top of the table, and their nearest challengers Southampton don’t play until Monday night, so they have a chance to extend that lead here. Given their unbeaten start, they’ll be confident of getting some kind of result, but West Brom aren’t Chelsea’s favourite opposition.
The Blues have won just one of their last five meetings with West Brom, taking only five points out of 15 in that time. West Brom almost toppled Jose Mourinho’s unbeaten home record last season, until Eden Hazard scored a last minute penalty to secure a 2-2 draw. WBA are a team Chelsea seem to struggle against, but the team this season is a different animal. They’ve looked so good so far that it’s hard to see West Brom being able to take anything away from the Bridge.
Arsenal v Man United (17:30) – Over 2.5 goals (31/40 with Bet Victor)
The big game of the weekend is the Saturday evening game (not Saturday night, Sky). Arsenal host Manchester United with both sides not doing as well as they would have hoped at the moment. Arsenal are currently sitting in sixth position in the table, and despite an unbeaten recent home record they aren’t doing as well as they’d hoped, with patchy form and below par performances attributing to that.
United are in even worse form, having not won a game away from Old Trafford for seven months. They need something to pick them up, and the return of Falcao might be that something. While he hasn’t really impressed so far, he has a chance to prove himself against this makeshift Arsenal defence. United have so much talent going forward that they can undoubtedly trouble the Gunners, but United’s own problems at the back are still hanging around. Neither of these sides are likely to put on a defensive master class, which is why over 2.5 goals is a must even at quite short odds.
Sunday 23rd November 2014
Crystal Palace v Liverpool (13:30) – Draw (27/10 with Bet Victor)
Things haven’t been brilliant for Liverpool recently, failing to win in their last three games in the league, and losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League. They’re in the bottom half of the table right now, and earning a win at Crystal Palace is crucial for them, and for manager Brendan Rodgers. The Reds’ ambitions of another top four finish are fading fast, and now they have to return to the place where they blew their title chances last season.
Palace may have changed managers since that 3-3 draw last season, but it is still fresh in the memory for many. If Liverpool were to throw away another two (or three!) points here, the pressure on them could double. Palace, on the other hand, are just a place above the drop zone, and they need the points to claw themselves to safety. They aren’t going to get into the form Tony Pulis had them in last term, so they need to pick up results wherever they can. With Liverpool losing four of their last five away games, Palace certainly have a chance here.
Hull v Tottenham (16:00) – Spurs to win (5/4 with Coral)
The final game of the weekend (not counting the Monday night fixture) sees Spurs travel to Hull, with the visitors sitting 12th and just three places above struggling Hull. Spurs haven’t been in great from under Pochettino, and their defeat at home to Stoke in their last game showed just how inconsistent they are. They’ve failed to win back to back games so far this season, losing five of their 11 games, and have rarely taken control in the games in which they have ultimately come out on top.
That latest defeat came after their last Europa League game, which seems to affect their results. With no European games this week to get in their way, Spurs should be able to get a win here. Hull have looked a little lacklustre recently, and they’ve begun to slip down the table in recent weeks. They became the first team to lose to Burnley this season, and after back to back defeats they look like possible relegation candidates. Spurs should be able to take advantage of that. While they’ll need more than one win to get their Champions League ambitions back on track, a victory here would be a great place to start.
Those are our tips for each of the four big Premier League games this weekend. As usual, you can put those together for a fourfold accumulator if you’re looking for a long odds bet, and this week’s acca is best priced with Coral at odds of 41/1, boosted by the draw in the Palace Liverpool game. It’s perfect for a small stake bet, which could keep you interested across the weekend, and might just lead to a very nice return.