Manchester City have the chance to climb back to the top of the Premier League table if they can beat Burnley in Saturday’s early kick-off. Pep Guardiola’s side may only stay there for a few hours, but it will help put some extra pressure on the sides around them. One of these sides are the current league leaders Chelsea who will face a real test of their ability when they take on Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. The Blues didn’t fare too during their last London derby against Arsenal but having improved massively since and will be full of confidence coming into this match.
On Sunday, Arsenal are in action against Bournemouth hoping they can put in a much better performance than they did against Manchester United last weekend. Their late equaliser does at least extended their unbeaten league streak to 11 matches so Bournemouth will have to produce something special to leave London with three points. Following this match, Ronald Koeman returns to St Mary’s as Everton face his former club, Southampton. Both sides have won one, drawn two and lost two of their last five league games so the form guide suggests this should be a very competitive affair.
Saturday 26th November 2016
Burnley v Manchester City (12:30) – Burnley to win with a +2 handicap (21/20 with Betfair)
Burnley will need to bounce back quickly here after Monday evening’s 4-0 battering at the hands of West Brom. It’s not the first time the Clarets have been easily brushed aside away from home this season but the good news for Sean Dyche is that his men tend to play far better back at Turf Moor. On home soil, Burnley have beaten Liverpool, Everton and were very unfortunate not to get a point against Arsenal. They have what it takes to make life tricky for City especially as the Sky Blues have had to contend with an important mid-week fixture against Borussia Monchengladbach.
City were impressive when breezing past West Brom 4-0 late October but far less so when needing a late goal to beat Crystal Palace in their last league away match. The Citizens are struggling for an extended period of good performances at the moment and regular issues with Vincent Kompany are not helping. While the return of Yaya Toure to the first team should give City a boost, they just don’t look as imposing as they did at the start of the season. No side has beaten Burnley at home by more than a goal in almost a year and it doesn’t look like City are playing well enough to end this run.
Chelsea v Tottenham (17:30) – Chelsea to win (5/6 with Coral)
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea revolution continued last weekend as his side, under their new system, won their sixth successive league match. It’s also the sixth time in a row they’ve kept a clean sheet and they should stand a good chance of keeping another against a Tottenham attack that hasn’t been free scoring lately. Tottenham’s main joy this season has come from their resilient defence but they are facing a clinical attack spearheaded by the league’s top scorer, Diego Costa. They also have to deal with the absence of two of their first choice defenders in Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld so vulnerabilities could surface in the Spurs backline.
Tottenham do at least still have their unbeaten league record in tact though after rallying late to come from 2-1 down to beat West Ham last Saturday. It was a morale boosting result but for most of the game, it exposed Tottenham’s lack of ideas going forwards despite starting with both Vincent Janssen and Harry Kane. Pochettino still seems to be figuring out what the best system for his side is whereas Chelsea have found theirs. The Lilywhites haven’t won at Stamford Bridge since 1990 and with the Blues a dominant force at home in this fixture, they look set for the win here.
Sunday 27th November 2016
Arsenal v Bournemouth (14:15) – Arsenal to win by two goals (10/3 at Sky Bet)
The alarm bells are certainly not ringing just yet at Arsenal but three draws in their last four matches is not something which will help their title push this season. Their recent dip in form is in part due to the absence of Santi Cazorla who is set to miss this match through injury along with the more recently injured, Hector Bellerin. These are two important absentees for the Gunners and while they may have all their big names available in attack, they can be excused for not being at their best without the pair of Spaniards.
Even if the Gunners aren’t at 100% here though, they should still have the beating of a Bournemouth side who were rather fortunate to grab their first league away win of the season last weekend. The Cherries face this game without the increasingly influential Jack Wilshere who is ineligible against his parent club. Without the Englishman making things tick in midfield, the chances of an upset are looking slim. You won’t get great returns on a Gunners win but you can if backing them to beat Bournemouth by two goals for the third time in row.
Southampton v Everton (16:30) – Draw and under 2.5 goals (3/1 with Betfair)
Despite making a strong start to the season, Everton have been faltering of late and their only win in the last eight, in all competitions, came against a struggling West Ham side. The Blues have often played well in patches but their inability to perform strongly for the full 90 minutes looks like hampering their season unless sorted quickly. Koeman does have a few names he can bring in to try and make this happen but it looks as though some January signings will be needed before he gets his side playing the way he wants.
With Everton lacking belief and identity at the moment, they look to be there for the taking but Southampton may not be able to capitalize. While the Saints defence looks solid on the whole, even managing to stop a rampant Liverpool side from scoring last weekend, their attack is a little toothless. Southampton have only scored more than one goal on two occasions in the league this season which is cause for concern. Claude Puel has tried various different solutions to his attacking issues over the past few months but with none seeming to work, a rather low scoring draw looks likely here.