This weekend has a bumper offering of live Premier League football in store, with no less than five live games spread out across Saturday and Sunday. That includes a triple header of live action on Sky on Sunday, giving you six hours of wall to wall Premier League football.
Saturday isn’t too shabby either, with two huge derbies lined up. First off, Spurs host Arsenal with both sides battling it out for Champions League football. In the evening game it’s the Merseyside derby, with Liverpool going to an out of sorts Everton with the Reds looking to strengthen their Champions League credentials. Here we have previews of the four biggest live games from this weekend’s top flight action, with a betting tip lined up for each one.
Saturday 7th February 2015
Tottenham v Arsenal (12:45) – Arsenal to win (6/5 with Betfred)
The weekend of football gets underway at White Hart Lane, with these two in-form sides coming head to head. Arsenal are just a place above sixth placed Spurs, with only two points separating the teams. Either side could move into the top four for a short while with a win here, so there’s a lot more than just local pride on the line. Spurs have north London-raised boyhood fan Harry Kane in top form going into the game, and he’ll ask some big questions of that Arsenal back four.
The problem for Spurs is, Arsenal’s back four is a lot more organised than theirs, and the Gunners have more than one in-form danger man at the minute. Mesut Ozil and Oliver Giroud played starring roles as they hammered Villa 5-0 at the Emirates last week, and that was without the main man Alexis Sanchez. Add Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott into the mix, they both scored against Villa, and the problems will be piling up for Spurs here. With all that firepower, it’s hard to see anything but an Arsenal victory here.
Everton v Liverpool (17:30) – Liverpool to win (13/10 with Coral)
Saturday’s second big derby sees Liverpool making the short trip to Goodison Park, with the two sides currently in very different veins of form. Everton have been struggling of late, prompting their manager Roberto Martinez to rally his side to produce the turnaround in fortunes they require in order to avoid relegation, with their preseason hopes of European football having all but evaporated. They won at Crystal Palace last weekend to put them seven points clear of the bottom three, but the Toffees are likely to face a far more difficult task when their neighbours visit on Saturday evening.
That’s because Liverpool are currently top of the Premier League form guide, and their turnaround since January has put them right back into contention for a top four finish. They’re only four points off fourth placed Southampton, and now that they have their first choice striker back to fitness and amongst the goals, they should go from strength to strength. Daniel Sturridge returned from a five month layoff last weekend to score against West Ham, and his return was much needed given the form of Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli this season. With Sturridge back, expect the Reds to keep up their good form and record a win against their rivals on Saturday, especially since they’re priced so well.
Sunday 8th February 2015
Newcastle v Stoke (14:00) – Newcastle to win (13/10 with Coral)
The second of Sunday’s three live games comes from St James’ Park, with Stoke traveling to face Newcastle. John Carver’s reign as Newcastle manager (at least until the end of the season) finally got going last weekend, as his side won 3-0 against Hull at the KC Stadium. Carver will surely now be looking for his first home win as Newcastle boss, and we know that the Magpies tend to flux between winning and losing runs. They’ll be hoping to put together another of those runs, starting here against Stoke.
The Potters aren’t in bad form themselves, they’re sitting in the top half of the table and they’re in the fifth round of the FA Cup to boot. They have just lost their star man Bojan, however, and that will surely hit them hard in the coming months. They got by last weekend against QPR, but the R’s away form makes them easy picking for anyone in the league. Given the confidence boost that Newcastle would have picked up last weekend, they are our tip to win here, and they’ve won their last three home games against Stoke. Given that they’re 13/10 to win another, they’re very well priced here.
West Ham v Man United (16:15) – Man United to win (Evens with Coral)
The final game of the weekend comes at Upton Park, with third placed Manchester United facing the Hammers. United’s win over Leicester last week moved them into the top three, and they seem to be well on their way to securing a place in next season’s Champions League. While fans aren’t too pleased with their deadline day business, or lack of it, they will be happy to see their side already closing in on a return to Europe’s top table.
They face a West Ham side who are eighth in the table, a position no one expected them to be in, but they’ve fallen out of touch with the top four in recent weeks. A poor run over Christmas and in January saw them fall a few spots, but they’re still doing a lot better than expected and could trouble any side they face. They are without Diafra Sakho, due to a tug of war between West Ham and Senegal which has led to him being banned by FIFA for the time being. He will be a big miss for West Ham, and their week is likely to get even worse here. United have been pretty consistent in recent months and they’ve won without playing too well. They should be more than equipped to get another three points at Upton Park.