English Premier League action continues on Wednesday and we have a play for selected games including Manchester City v Brighton, Fulham v Chelsea and Burnley v Manchester United
Prices quoted are correct at the time of publication but subject to change.
Brentford v Sunderland
Brentford are unbeaten in their last 5 and with 3 wins and 2 draws they have moved up to seventh position. Thiago scored a hat trick in a 4-2 win at Everton last time out and home games over the festive season delivered a 0-0 draw with Spurs and 4-1 hiding of Bournemouth.
Sunderland are behind Brentford on goal difference and they have played out 4 successive draws at Brighton and most recently Spurs and at home to Leeds and Man city. They only scored (and conceded) twice in that period but given their squad is missing 4 regular starters who have been at AFCON, they will be more than satisfied.
Sunderland were 2-1 winners at home to Brentford early in the season and I see goals for both sides again here. On the price boost front the odds for an assist from Xhaka also took the eye.
Bet: Both teams to score yes, widely available at 9/10
To provide an assist Xhaka yes boosted to 15/2 with Sportingbet
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Palace have taken just 1 point from the last 15 available and that came in a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham and they are now just below half way in the standings. They went down 2-0 at Newcastle last time out and another recent home game saw them fail to score in a 1-0 defeat to Spurs.
Villa bounced back from a 4-1 defeat at Arsenal with a 3-1 home win over Forest at the weekend. Prior to the defeat at The Emirates they had reeled off 8 straight league wins and they are in third spot, 6 points behind league leaders Arsenal and just behind Man City on goal difference.
I’m open minded about this one but will give a speculative vote to Brennan Johnson to get off to a flyer in his first Palace home game.
Bet: Anyime goalscorer Brennan Johnson at 3.75/1 with Pokerbet
Fulham v Chelsea
Fulham are in great shape after 3 wins in mid to late December followed by a draw at Palace and most recently they drew 2-2 at home to Liverpool. They are now in mid table but only 3 points behind their opponents here, 5th placed Chelsea.
Chelsea parted company with coach Maresca prior to their 1-1 draw away to Man City on Sunday. They have drawn 3 of their last 4 league games and going further back it’s just 1 win in the last 8 EPL outings.
Liam Rosenior is on his way in as the new Chelsea boss and could be in the dug out on Wednesday. How much influence he will have over tactics and team selection for the West London derby is questionable given the timescales and this will be no easy task against an in form Fulham side. I’m with 2-3 goals in total.
Bet: Goal Range 2-3 at 11/10 with Betway
Man City v Brighton
The gap between City and league leaders Arsenal now stands at 6 points after they were held to draws in their 2 most recent matches, at Sunderland (0-0) and at home to Chelsea (1-1). They might also be short of numbers in defence after picking up injuries over the new year and we haven’t seen Haaland on the scoresheet in any of their last 3.
Brighton were on a run of 6 without a win prior to their 2-0 home win over struggling Burnley last time out. They remain in the mid table scrum and they have a good recent record against City, taking 4 points off them last season and having beaten them 2-1 earlier in the current campaign.
I see scope for goals here and quite possibly for both sides. Doku gets the vote for Man City and Rutter for Brighton.
Bet: Anytime goalscorer Doku at 7/2 with Sportingbet
Anytime goalscorer Rutter at 4/1 with Betway
Burnley v Man United
Either side of Xmas Burnley drew at Bournemouth and at home to Everton but since then they have lost at home to Newcastle and away at Brighton. They remain second bottom with just 12 points which is 6 shy of fourth bottom Forest who visit third bottom West Ham 24 hours before this game takes place).
United sacked Amorim on Monday and Darren Fletcher is taking charge whilst they make a call on who takes over. Results over Xmas and New Year were mixed, a 2-1 defeat at Villa, a 1-0 home win over Newcastle and 1-1 draws at home to Wolves and away at Leeds.
Cunha was Man United biggest threat against Leeds and was rewarded with a goal and I can see him popping up again here.
Bet: Anytime goalscorer Cunha widely available at 1.35/1
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change