Match Preview
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Weekend’s Exclusive Football Preview
This weekend, Arsenal makes the trip to visit an old gaffer as they try to revive their title bid, while the Nigerian trio of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho will all be hoping to get on the scoresheet and extend their brilliant form. Today, we take a look at these games and offer our winning tips in what should be an exciting weekend. Before we dive into that, you can head to our Cross Sport Specials page to check out some of the special offers we have.
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Sassuolo vs Napoli
Napoli will look to extend their 15-pt lead in the Serie A when they travel to Sassuolo. The league leaders have lost just once to the hosts in their last 14 games in the league, winning 7 and drawing 6. One of those 7 wins came in the reverse fixture when Victor Osimhen grabbed a hat-trick in a famous 4-0 victory. The Nigerian international was twice assisted by his partner-in-crime, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, as Sassuolo’s defense struggled to keep the pair quiet.
The hosts have since recovered from a run of 8 defeats in 10 to move 7pts above the relegation zone. Their 5-2 win against Milan at the San Siro last month was followed up with a 1-0 win over Atalanta, and this pair of results may have saved their season. However, they face a team that is excellent on the road with Luciano Spaletti’s side picking up 71 points (W22, D5, L3) from 30 matches since joining the club last season – the most of any team in Europe’s Top 5 leagues.
Sassuolo Form: L-D-W-W-D
Napoli Form: L-W-W-W-W
The one stain on Napoli’s season has been their penalty-shootout exit in the Coppa Italia to Cremonese who are ranked 20th in Serie A. As disappointing as the result is, the Napoli fans will be more than willing to forgive the team if they can end up bringing home the league title for the first time in 34 years. The aforementioned duo of Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will be ones to keep an eye on in this meeting, just as they were in the reverse fixture. Osimhen leads the league in goals (17) while Kvaratskhelia, who has 9 league goals, is the assists’ leader with 9. Though they have a Champions League fixture against Frankfurt looming, Spaletti is aware that the sooner he puts the Serie A to bed, the better his chances are of going further in the Champions League as it would mean being able to save his best players for the latter.
Predictions:
- Napoli to win @1.65
- Over 2.5 goals @1.71
Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Mikel Arteta has worn a calm look in recent press conferences and has been less confrontational than he was in the past. This relaxed demeanour could be just what his young Arsenal side needs after a poor run of 2 losses and a draw in their last 3 league games saw them give up an 8-pt lead to Manchester City. The Gunners are now winless in 4 games in all competitions and anything but a win at Villa Park could cause a proper meltdown.
While young players like Bukayo Saka and William Saliba have been impressive for the North Londoners this season, Thomas Partey has been the glue holding this side together and parallels could be drawn between his recent injury and their loss of form. Last season, The Gunners looked set for a Top 4 finish, but an injury to the former Atletico man saw him miss the last 9 games of the campaign. Following this absence, Arsenal lost 4 of those 9 games as they surrendered the 4th spot to neighbours, Spurs. This season, they’ve lost to both Manchester teams in his absence and against Everton & Man City (FA Cup), the Ghanian midfielder didn’t last an hour. Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he will be assessed ahead of the clash with Aston Villa this weekend and if absent, the Gunners could be looking at more dropped points.
Unai Emery will have payback on his mind when he welcomes his old employees to his new home. Unfortunately for the Emery, his side have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, with 3 losses and 2 wins in all competitions. They’ve kept just one clean sheet at home since October and have given up 7 league goals in their last 2 games – a worry against a hungry Arsenal side eager to get their title challenge back on track. Emery will likely set up his team like he did against Manchester United in their 3-1 win. They were happy to surrender possession and relied on counter-attacks and set-pieces, and were rewarded for that approach. The game also featured 6 yellow cards, and we could see a similar number of cautions tomorrow.
Aston Villa Form: L-W-W-L-L
Arsenal Form: W-L-L-D-L
Only against West Ham (14) have Arsenal won more Premier League away games than against Aston Villa (13), but with both teams struggling for form, it’s hard to see the Gunners leaving with an easy win. The approach of “stop Saka at all costs” has been rewarding for teams in recent times, and, while it comes at the cost of bookings for the opposition, we could see more of that in Saturday’s early kickoff.
Predictions:
- Double Chance: Arsenal to win or draw @1.21
- Over 3.5 booking @1.72
- Over 8.5 corners @1.47
Chelsea vs Southampton
A home game against the worst team in the league might just be what Chelsea needs to boost their confidence. The Blues followed up their 3 successive league draws with a narrow loss to Dortmund in the Champions League but, luckily for Graham Potter, he’s been reassured of his job security by the new owners. Having been given every tool he’s asked for, it’s now on the former Brighton man to start delivering the results.
Games involving Chelsea have been a low scoring affair in 2023. Their 7 league games in the new year have seen just 9 goals (4 for Chelsea and 5 against) while they’ve failed to score more than 1 goal in any of those 7 games – their worst run since 2010. Admittedly, they have struggled – as evident by their league standing (10th) – but, they’ve been very solid defensively, with their 22 goals conceded the 3rd best in the Premier League.
Southampton, meanwhile, pulled the plug on the Nathan Jones experiment after just 3 months in and they’re currently in search of their 3rd manager this season. Despite guiding the Saints to a semi-final appearance in the League Cup, Jones lost 7 of his 8 Premier League games before being shown the exit door. Talks with Jesse Marsch were surprising following his struggle and dismissal by fellow relegation battlers, Leeds United, but a breakdown was reported after both parties couldn’t agree on a contract length. The Saints are 4pts from safety and have given up 40 goals in the league – the 2nd worst.
Chelsea Form: W-D-D-D-L
Southampton Form: L-W-L-L-L
The Saints did win the first meeting earlier this season and will be looking to complete their first league double over the Blues since 1987/88 when a certain Alan Shearer made his league debut. However, they have kept just one clean sheet in their last 28 games, and this struggle could continue when they visit Stamford Bridge.
Predictions:
- Under 2.5 goals @1.90
- Chelsea to keep a clean sheet @1.79
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City
Forrest are currently on their best home run in the top flight since 1996. Since losing their first 3 games at the City Ground this season, they’ve gone 7 games unbeaten with 4 wins and 3 draws which may not seem like much, but is impressive for a newly promoted team, albeit one that that spent exorbitantly in the summer mirroring the luxury lifestyle of an African politician. Sadly, they face a Manchester City side who have finally gotten their hands on the 1st position in the Premier League and would do just about anything to hold on to it.
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Pep Guardiola has had to endure his first major injury crisis as Manchester City manager, but will be proud of how they’ve come out. In attack Phil Foden, who started the season in sublime form, picked up an injury while new signing Kalvin Phillips has also had his fair share of injuries, but it’s in defense that the Cityzens have been hit the hardest. Kyler Walker spent months out of action while Ruben Diaz, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones have struggled for fitness all season long and, at left back, they’ve lost Mendy, Zinchenko and Cancelo over the last 12-months due to different reasons. To put their defensive challenges into perspective, Man City have won 15 of the last 17 league games in which Ruben Diaz and Ayemeric Laporte both started (D1, L1) picking up 46 points from a possible 51. Sadly for Pep Guardiola, they’ve only started 2 league games this season. Having both players available for selection would be a huge boost for the reigning champions.
Nottingham Forest Form: D-L-L-W-L
Manchester City Form: W-W-L-W-W
Manchester City have won their last 9 games against newly promoted sides, while Forrest have lost their last 7 league games to reigning champions with a 29-3 aggregate scoreline. They lost the reverse fixture 6-0 and if you guessed Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick, you’d be right; he did! The Norwegian scored his 32nd goal of the season in the 3-1 win over Arsenal on Wednesday, equalling Sergio Aguero’s season-best for Man City. Against Forrest, he’s a lock to continue his scoring form.
Predictions:
- Over 2.5 goals @1.65
- Man City to score in both halves @2.03
Atalanta vs Lecce
With tough fixtures against Milan, Udinese and Napoli on the horizon, Atalanta welcome Leece in a must-win game this weekend. La Dea have been one of the decent teams in the league this season and have won 3 of their last 5 Serie A games, with a cup exit to Inter sandwiched in-between. Only Napoli (18) have picked up more points than Atalanta (14) in 2023 with the hosts scoring 19 goals in that period – the most by an Italian in 2023. A key to their good form has been Ademola Lookman. Just like fellow countryman, Victor Osimhen, Lookman is having the best season of his career in front of goal and has netted 12 times in the league – tied for second. He’s scored 7 goals and 3 assists since the World Cup and is a major key to Atalanta’s Champions League aspirations.
Leece, meanwhile, are looking to complete a league double over the hosts for the first time since the 1993/94 season. They won the first meeting 2-1, thanks to first half goals from Baschirotto and Di Francesco. With just 7pts separating them from the drop zone, they’ll be aiming to improve on, or at least maintain their drawing streak against the top sides after holding Napoli, Milan and just last weekend, AS Roma to draws.
Atalanta Form: D-W-L-L-W
Lecce Form: D-L-L-W-D
This fixture has been entertaining for the neutrals in recent times and has averaged 5 goals per game in the last 3 meetings, with both sides finding the back of the net in each of those 3 games. Given Atalanta’s incredible form in front of goal as well as Leece’s willingness to take the game to opponents in the Top 6, this could be a goal fest.
Predictions:
- Atalanta to win @1.52
- Over 2.5 Goals @1.84
- Both teams to score @1.91
Manchester United vs Leicester City
Man United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford for a tricky tie on Sunday. The Foxes had gone 4 games without losing to the host in the league (2W, 2D) before Jadon Sancho’s lone goal helped snap the worrying streak for the Red Devils in the reverse fixture in September. Erik ten Hag opted for a quick flight back to Manchester following their draw with Barcelona in the Europa League, as he wanted to have enough time to prepare for this tie. The Dutch manager has delivered an impressive 26 wins for the Red Devils this season, with his side still in contention for all 4 titles. Though an exit in 1 or more of these competitions is inevitable as history has shown, there’s no denying the exceptional work being done by the first year Head Coach, especially given the injuries and drama he’s had to deal with.
Leicester City, meanwhile, has won 3 games in a row for the first time all season. The Foxes, who flirted with relegation at the early stages of this camapiaign, have found a little bit of form, thanks to the return of star attacker James Maddison. Kelechi Iheanacho has also found his scoring boots in recent weeks, which could be bad news for the Red Devils. The Nigerian striker has scored 4 goals and provided 3 assists in his last 5 games and would fancy himself to get on the scoresheet on Sunday.
Manchester United Form: W-W-D-W-D
Leicester City Form: L-D-W-W-W
Man Utd may have had their home winning streak snapped by Leeds United in last mid-week’s draw, but Old Trafford remains a fortress under Erik ten Hag. Marcus Rashford continues to be a key part of this Man Utd attack, and we’re running out of superlatives for the Englishman. Against Barcelona, he equalled his season high 22-goals with a near-post finish to draw the game level for the visitors and minutes later, his quick feet help set up the Red Devil’s second goal of the game. We’ve backed him to score in the past, and there’s no reason to stop now. However, this fixture could be a tough one to get 3pts from. With the second leg against Barcelona on Thursday and the League Cup final against Newcastle afterward, some changes might have to be made for this game, which could disrupt the team chemistry.
Predictions:
- Both teams to score @1.60
- King’s Combo: Rashford to score and Man Utd to win @2.96
