England Round 14
- Thread starter spkutano
- Start date
Newcastle vs Manchester United Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Newcastle:
Pope; Trippier, Schar, Lascelles, Livramento; Joelinton, Guimaraes, Miley; Almiron, Isak, Gordon
Manchester United:
Onana; Dalot, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw; McTominay, Mainoo; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
Newcastle welcome Manchester United to St James Park on Saturday night in a most interesting match of the 14th round in the Premier League. Both teams are coming in this derby after a disappointing results in the Champions League during the midweek. The Magpies were denied a win over Paris Saint-Germain after a controversial penalty in the finish of the match, while the Red Devils dropped two-goal advantage by playing a 3:3 draw versus Galatasaray in Istanbul. As a result, both teams complicated their situation. At the same time, the outcome of this derby became very important as another failure will increase the pressure.
Newcastle sit on the seventh place with 23 points. They are inconsistent in the Premier League too. The Magpies have one win and one defeat in the last two rounds. They suffered a painful 2:0 defeat to Bournemouth, while managed to beat Chelsea 4:1 last weekend. Manager Edie Howe is not under pressure anymore, even I think the injury situation is the key reason for the inconsistent result. At least 10 players remain sidelined - Jacob Murphy, Joe Willock, Matt Targett, Javier Manquillo, Sven Botman, Harvey Barnes, Elliot Anderson, Callum Wilson and Dan Burn are out injured, while Sandro Tonali continues to serve his 10-month ban due to illegal betting activities. Finally, Sean Longstaff is rated as doubtful due to an ankle issue. It is very much possible that Howe will start with the same eleven from the Parc des Princes again.
Manchester United have 24 points and they sit one place above Newcastle. They are in series of three victories in the Premier League. The Red Devils managed to beat Fulham and Luton Town, both 1:0 and Everton 3:0 at Goodison Park last weekend. The first goal was scored by Alejandro Garnacho. His goal can be termed as one of the best in the history of the Premier League. The Toffees were unable to come back and conceded two more. Manager Erik ten Hag is no longer under pressure, however he need a positive result from St James Park. But just like his counterpart, Ten Hag has big injury worries. Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Mason Mount, Jonny Evans, Christian Eriksen, Amad Diallo and Tyrell Malacia are all sidelined, while Jadon Sancho is still out of the squad due to manager's decision. Most probably he will leave the club in January.
Newcastle vs Manchester United Prediction:
Manchester United are in series of three victories in the Premier League. However, the opponents were teams from the second part of the table - Fulham, Luton Town and Everton. I don't think these three victories should be overrated. Newcastle are different level and they were already able to upset Manchester United twice this year. The Magpies won 2:0 in April and 3:0 a month ago in EFL Cup. I expect a hat-trick.
Newcastle vs Manchester United Pick: Newcastle to win @ 1.93 with Pinnacle
Liverpool vs Fulham Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Liverpool:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Fulham:
Leno; Castagne, Bassey, Ream, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; Iwobi, Pereira, Willian; Jimenez
Liverpool welcome Fulham to Anfield on Sunday afternoon, hoping to extend their perfect home record this season. Both teams were satisfied with the last week's results in the Premier League. The Reds remained unbeaten against Manchester City at Etihad, while the Cottagers controversially won 3:2 versus Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night. Liverpool were in action during the midweek too. Jurgen Klopp's men outplayed the Austrian outfit LASK Linz and won 4:0. They secured the first place in the group regardless of the results in the last round when visit Union Royale in Belgium. I believe the atmosphere in both squads are positive at the moment.
Liverpool are currently third on the table with 28 points. They are one point behind the reigning champions Manchester City and two behind the leaders Arsenal. According to most of the pundits, these three teams will fight for the title. But I do not agree. Liverpool drew at the Etihad and that result have to be respected, however City dominated the match. They completely outplayed the Reds and missed several good opportunities. To be worse, two important players suffered injuries on that match - goalkeeper Alisson Becker and winger Diogo Jota tweaked leg muscles in the second half. Alisson will remain in the treatment room for two or three weeks, while the Reds medical team cannot say when the Portuguese international might return. The absence of the mentioned duo is a big handicap, however Kelleher and Luis Diaz will try to replace them successfully. Long-term absentees Andrew Robertson, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic remain out.
Fulham have collect 15 points from 13 rounds and I believe the fans are satisfied. The Cottagers are 10 points clear of the relegation zone, while at the same time they are 9 points away from the European spots. The next period is very important and should determine their ambitions. Manager Marco Silva is surely feeling good after the last week's narrow 3:2 victory against the Wolves. Two of these three goals came from penalties successfully converted by Willian, while the remaining was scored by Alex Iwobi. The players confidence is now higher, while Silva has another good news - influential midfielder Joao Palhinha is back after he missed the last game through suspension. As a result, either Tom Cairney or Harrison Reed will drop from the starting eleven. In terms of injuries, Issa Diop, Adama Traore and Rodrigo Muniz remain sidelined. The former Reds winger Harry Wilson should start from the bench against his former employers.
Liverpool vs Fulham Preview:
Liverpool scored four goals versus LASK Linz in the Europe League on Thursday. All three attackers that started the match - Luis Diaz, Salah and Gakpo - found the back of the net. I believe their confidence is high at the moment. But Fulham are not a naive team like LASK. Their tactic is clear - strong defense and fast counterattacks. I will remind You they have already upset Arsenal by playing a 2:2 draw at the Emirats. As I wrote above, they won 3:2 against Wolverhampton last weekend. I expect another efficient match at Anfield.
Liverpool vs Fulham Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 2.06 with Pinnacle
Manchester City vs Tottenham Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Manchester City:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake; Akanji, Rodri; Foden, Alvarez, Bernardo, Doku; Haaland
Tottenham:
Vicario; Porro, Emerson, Davies, Udogie; Bissouma, Lo Celso; Johnson, Kulusevski, Gil; Son
Manchester City will welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Arsenal won 2:1 against Wolverhampton on Saturday and now have 33 points, four more than the Citizens. So, winning here is extremely important for Pep Guardiola and his players. But the current form isn't at desired level and they will try to avoid going three top-flight games without a win, something that last happened in 2017. Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, will try to escape another defeat. The last Spurs manager to lose four in a row was David Pleat between March and April 2004. So, a positive result here is something priceless for the Australian coach.
Manchester City's domination in the Premier League is very big. They won the title five times in the last six years and they are main favorites again. But the actual form isn't at desired level, they dropped four of the possible six points in the last two rounds. The Citizens first played a 4:4 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and then 1:1 with Liverpool at home. Guardiola has most of his players ready, but three of them are struggling with injury. Mateo Kovacic and Kevin de Bruyne are definitely ruled out, while Matheus Nunes is doubtful with a muscle injury. John Stones - who was an unused substitute in the last two matches since recovering from a muscle problem - will also be assessed on the day of the game.
Tottenham were leaders on the table for a significant period, but currently sit outside Top-4. The reason is simple, they suffered three defeats in a row. The Spurs lost 4:1 to Chelsea, 2:1 to Wolverhampton and 2:1 to Aston Villa. Interesting to be mentioned, they scored the opening goal in all three defeats in their current losing streak. No club in the Premier League history have ever scored first and lost four matches in a row. Postecoglou will surely like to avoid another failure, but he has lot of injury and suspension worries. Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison, Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Ashley Phillips, Alfie Whiteman and Pape Matar Sarr are out injured, while Cristian Romero is banned.
Manchester City vs Tottenham Prediction:
Tottenham are the most difficult opponents for Guardiola. The Spurs have won five of their last seven Premier League meetings with Manchester City. However, I think the Citizens will win this match. Even more, I expect to cover the handicap, meaning they should win with at least two-goal difference. There are three reasons for my pick. First is the home advantage, second is the current form of both teams, while the last one is connect with the team news. While Guardiola has two injured players, Postecoglou will be without eleven.
Manchester City vs Tottenham Pick: Manchester City -1.5 AH @ 1.72 with Pinnacle
1-0 Pick WON
4-3 Pick WON
3-3 Pick lost
