England Round 11

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Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Manchester City Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Brighton & Hove Albion:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan; Kadioglu, Hinshelwood, Baleba, Mitoma; Rutter, Welbeck

Manchester City:
Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Savinho, Foden, Doku; Haaland

Brighton & Hove Albion will welcome the reigning champions Manchester City to Amex Stadium on Saturday evening. The Seagulls are sharing the seventh place on the table with Tottenham. I think the fans are satisfied, particularly because Roberto De Zerbi left the club, while relatively unknown Fabian Hurzeler was appointed as new manager. However, he is doing a solid job and Brighton are only three points behind third spot. Last weekend they were unlucky to lose at Anfield. Liverpool came from behind to win 2:1, but Brighton deserved something from that match. The Seagulls have dropped a total of 10 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, only four points fewer than they did in the whole of last season. Hurzeler has lot of injury worries ahead of this match. Solly March, James Milner and Adam Webster remain sidelined, but Joao Pedro and Matt O'Riley have a chance to be ready in time for this clash. Lewis Dunk and Yankuba Minteh are both doubtful, as well as Yasin Ayari and Carlos Baleba.

Manchester City are second on the table, but just two points behind the leaders Liverpool. It seems they are in some sort of crisis at the moment. The Citizens have suffered three defeats in all competitions. First they lost 2:1 to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, then lost 2:1 to Bournemouth in the Premier League and finally lost 4:1 to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League. The injury situation is surely the key reason for the defeats. Many pundits said Guardiola has no adequate replacement for Rodri. The Spaniard will miss the rest of the season due to knee-ligament's injury. Oscar Bobb is also a long-term absentee due to a leg fracture. Ruben Dias, John Stones and Jack Grealish are also injured, but they should be back after the international break. Kevin De Bruyne, who missed the last eight matches, has been back in the squad for the last two games and was brought on as a substitute against Sporting. Most probably he will make another appearance off the bench.

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Manchester City Prediction:

Manchester City are in series of three defeats in all competitions. They lost to Bournemouth in the Premier League, lost to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League and lost to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup. It is enough, they are the best team in England and some reaction is expected. Guardiola surely "gave a lesson" to his players and I expect the best. Brighton, meanwhile, lost the last two matches, both from Liverpool. The Seagulls lost 3:2 at Amex and 2:1 at Anfield. I will also mention Brighton key striker Danny Welbeck has never scored in 19 previous top-flight meetings with Manchester City. The guests should win the match.

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Manchester City Pick: Manchester City to win @ 1.76 with Pinnacle

 

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Liverpool vs Aston Villa Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Nunez

Aston Villa:
Martinez; Konsa, Torres, Carlos, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins

Liverpool will welcome Aston Villa to Anfield in a derby match of the Premier League. Somebody may argue the derby is the match between Chelsea and Arsenal, but I think different. Both Liverpool and Aston Villa play in UEFA Champions League and this is the most interesting match in England. Liverpool started the season in excellent way, with eight victories from the opening 10 rounds. A 2:2 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates is also a good result, so the only failure is the home defeat to Nottingham. The Reds are brilliant in the Champions League, they are the only side with maximal effect after the first four rounds. Liverpool managed to beat AC Milan, Bologna, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen. New manager Arne Slot is enjoying the moment, while the fans are hoping the good results will continue. Slot has some injury issues ahead of this match. First-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker is still sidelined, but Kelleher proved he is the best "Number 2" in Europe. This match comes too soon for Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota as they should be back in action after the international break.

Aston Villa are sharing the fourth place with Chelsea and Arsenal. All three teams have collect 18 points and they are seven points away from the leaders Liverpool. The Villans started the new season very good, but they suffered three defeats in the last three matches. First they were eliminated from the Carabao Cup losing 2:1 to Crystal Palace, then suffered a high 4:1 loss to Tottenham, while three days ago lost 1:0 to Club Brugges in the Champions League after Tyrone Mings gives away an "extraordinary" penalty. A bizarre penalty incident cost Aston Villa as they suffered their first European defeat of the season. I believe the atmosphere in the squad isn't at desired level, but I am sure Emery will find a way to restore the players confidence. Most of the players are ready, only Matty Cash and Ross Barkley are sidelined through injury. The captain Mings is expected to drop down to the bench after big mistake in the last match.

Liverpool vs Aston Villa Prediction:

I expect both teams to score at Anfield. Liverpool have played 16 matches across all competitions this season and they scored on all but one game. Of course, everything is possible when World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez is on the other side, but I still believe the Reds will find the back of the net. Now about Aston Villa. They have two excellent strikers, Watkins on first place. He will start the match, but Emery has another option at bench - Duran. Thanks to his impact, Villa has scored the most Premier League goals from substitutes (10) and the most goals (10 goals, seven assists) from the bench in 2024. I think Aston Villa will score, particularly because Liverpool conceded on the last two home matches in the Premier League. The Reds won 2:1 against both Brighton and Chelsea.

Liverpool vs Aston Villa Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.68 with Pinnacle

 

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Chelsea vs Arsenal Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Chelsea:
Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, James; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson

Arsenal:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Odegaard, Jorginho, Partey; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Chelsea will welcome Arsenal to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon in yet another London derby. The Blues are sharing the fourth place on the table with Arsenal and Aston Villa. All three teams have 18 points at the time of writing. It is clear this match is very important for both sides. Managers Enzo Maresca and Mikel Arteta are well aware about that, so I expect an interesting clash. Chelsea will enter the match with the third-best attacking record in the league. Only the reigning Champions Manchester City and Tottenham have scored more goals. It is not surprise that Chelsea beat the Armenian outfit Noah 8:0 in UEFA Conference League on Thursday. Maresca has some fantastic strikers, like Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson, but has quality between the reserves too. Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix have both scored braces in the destruction of Noah. In the last round Chelsea played 1:1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford, which is not a bad result. The Italian coach has most of the players ready, but Palmer and Jadon Sancho are rated as doubtful. Youngster Omari Kellyman is definitely sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Arsenal had a fantastic last season, only one point separated them from the title. The begin of the current season was equally good, but something went the wrong way in October. The Gunners have won just two of their last six matches in all competitions. What is worse, the away form is poor, their only victory on road in the last six fixtures came at lower league opposition Preston in Carabao Cup. Arteta must react as quickly as possible because Liverpool and Manchester City continue collecting points. Arteta has some good news from the medical department as key creative Martin Odegaard made his long-awaited return from an ankle injury, while Kai Havertz had a nasty clash of heads with one of Inter's players on Wednesday. Declan Rice is rated as doubtful with a foot injury, while Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Mikel Merino and Kieran Tierney will not be back before the international break. In addition, Raheem Sterling cannot face his parent team, but he wasn't supposed to start anyway.

Chelsea vs Arsenal Prediction:

I expect both teams to score at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea play at home and they will try to win the match. Many things depend on Palmer's inspiration, but Maresca has lot of players able to score, including the reserves. The Blues have scored in all but one league game. At the same time, their last five matches in the Premier League have produced goals on both ends. Arsenal, meanwhile, are title pretenders and they will go for victory. With Odegaard ready, there will be lot of opportunities.

Chelsea vs Arsenal Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.59 with Pinnacle