England Round 17

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Aston Villa vs Manchester City Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Aston Villa:
Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Cash, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins

Manchester City:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Gvardiol, Lewis; Kovacic; Silva, De Bruyne, Foden, Doku; Haaland

Aston Villa will welcome the reigning champions Manchester City to Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime. The Villains are sharing the sixth place with Bournemouth as both teams have collect 25 points. They are three points away from the fourth-placed Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa have started the season very good, but playing in two top competitions at the same time was a big problem. The current form is inconsistent, Villa lost to Nottingham in the last round. I believe the atmosphere in the squad isn't at desired level and manager Unai Emery must find a way to restore the players confidence. Most of the players are ready, but Leon Bailey is rated as doubtful due to a hamstring problem, while Jacob Ramsey is still sidelined. Tyrone Mings is available after withdrawing just before kickoff at the City Ground due to illness. Emery has a "sweet" problem in attack and must decide between Ollie Watkins and in-form Jhon Duran. Most probably he will start with Watkins, while Duran will come in the second half.

Manchester City are in big crisis and Pep Guardiola is unable to change something. The Citizens have suffered in all competitions. First they were eliminated from the League Cup after losing to Tottenham. The next results were even worse as City lost four matches in a row in the Premier League. Finally, they were poor in the Champions League, losing two of the last three matches. Last weekend they were beaten 2:1 by Manchester United. Guardiola's side are 9 points behind the first-placed Liverpool, who have a match in hand. The injury situation is still not good and the absence of long-term victim Rodri is a huge handicap. Many pundits declared his absence is the main reason for City poor results. Guardiola is well aware about that and he is ready to bring a new midfielder in January. Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake are also out injured, but Manuel Akanji is rated as doubtful. Versatile full-back Rico Lewis is back from suspension.

Aston Villa vs Manchester City Prediction:

Both teams have suffered defeats in the last round. Aston Villa lost to high-flying Nottingham Forest, while Manchester City lost the derby with Manchester United. It was a painful defeat and the players confidence is very low at the moment. The home advantage should not be underestimated, particularly because Man City have lost six of their last seven away matches across all competitions. The only "positive" result in the process was a 2:2 draw at Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa vs Manchester City Pick: Aston Villa +0.5 AH @ 1.79 with Pinnacle

 

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Crystal Palace vs Arsenal Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Crystal Palace
Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Clyne, Hughes, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta

Arsenal:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Crystal Palace will welcome Arsenal to Selhurst Park on Saturday evening. The Eagles are on the 15th place and the fans are not satisfied with the fact their club are just four points from the relegation zone. However, the current form is solid. Palace are unbeaten on the last five matches in the Premier League. They beat Ipswich Town and Brighton, while shared the points with three big sides like Aston Villa, Newcastle and Manchester City. I think the manager Oliver Glasner is no more under pressure, though there is no space for relaxation. The biggest problem for Glasner is the home form. It is poor as Palace still have just one Premier League win this season at Selhurst Parkj, which came against Tottenham. The manager has another worry as five, possibly six players are not available. Adam Wharton, Matheus Franca, Rob Holding and Chadi Riad are all out injured, while Daniel Munoz is suspended after picked up his fifth yellow card on the last match. Finally, Joel Ward is rated as doubtful due to a calf problem.

Arsenal have 30 points and they are six behind the leaders Liverpool, who also have a match in hand. The Gunners are in solid form, they are unbeaten on the last nine matches across all competitions. They were successful in the League Cup and Champions League, but dropped points in the Premier League. Arsenal drew against Everton and Fulham and those four points could be crucial at the end. Nevertheless, Liverpool are showing some weaknesses in the last period, so Arsenal must stay fully focused. Arteta has the key players ready for the short trip to Selhurst Park, including Declan Rice who was taken off against Everton last weekend. Rice was not involved in the League Cup fixture in midweek, but the midfielder was simply rested. However, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain sidelined. This match is coming too soon for Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori. Kieran Tierney made his first appearance in over a year on Wednesday, but playing another match in just three days is definitely too much for him.

Crystal Palace vs Arsenal Prediction:

Crystal Palace and Arsenal played against other just three days ago in the League Cup. It was a very interesting match that ended with a narrow 3:2 win for Arsenal. Wednesday's success marked the fifth straight victory for Arteta's team, who have done the double over Crystal Palace in each of the last two Premier League seasons. I think the series will continue. The quality is on Arsenal side and this fact should be crucial here.

Crystal Palace vs Arsenal Pick: Arsenal to win @ 1.60 with Pinnacle

 

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Tottenham vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Tottenham:
Forster; Porro, Gray, Dragusin, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Luis Diaz; Jota

Last season's fixture between these two sides is remembered as controversial. Tottenham won 2:1, but the referees' mistake was decisive. The match was goalless until the 34th minute, when Luis Diaz scored a goal that was ruled out on the field for offside. The decision was incorrectly upheld by VAR, with play cleared to continue despite still images showing Tottenham defender Romero playing Diaz onside. Video assistant referees Darren England and Dan Cook realized a mistake has been made, didn't react. They were both stood down for their next assigned Premier League fixtures, but that was all FA did. At the end, Tottenham earned three points from this match, while Ange Postecoglou missed a golden opportunity to be remembered as sportsman, like Arsene Wenger. The FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Sheffield United in 1999 was replayed only because Wenger insisted, after the public agreed Gunners' winning goal was scored in controversial circumstances.

Tottenham are currently in the middle of the table. They have 23 points, five less than fourth-placed Nottingham Forest. The fans are not satisfied and Postecoglou is feeling a big pressure. The Spurs are well-known for their attacking football, but the defense isn't at desired level. The League Cup match against Manchester United on Thursday was another example. Tottenham won 4:3 on the end and secured semi-finals. Interesting to be mentioned, their opponents will be exactly Liverpool. However, the Premier League must be in the focus now. Points from this match are extremely important, but the hosts' injury situation is very complicated, particularly in the defense. Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario are out injured, as well as Mikey Moore, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison. On top of that Rodrigo Bentancur will serve the last of his 7-match ban. Timo Werner is rated as doubtful due to a viral infection.

Liverpool are the leaders in the Premier League. They are fantastic in the new season and won 20 of the 24 matches played in all competitions. Nevertheless, their lead is no longer insurmountable. The Reds drew with Newcastle United and Fulham, while the Merseyside derby with Everton was postponed. As a result, Chelsea have closed the gap to just two points. Maresca's side could temporary climb on the top of the table as they play few hours earlier. That could put Liverpool players under some pressure. Slot also has selection concerns for this match, mainly in the defense. Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate remain sidelined due to hamstring and knee injury respectively. Andy Robertson served his suspension in the EFL Cup fixture against Southampton, but he is out of form at the moment. The red card against Fulham was definitely the key reason why Liverpool dropped two points. The Scotsman is far from his best and I expect Kostas Tsimikas to start as left-back. The problem is he was out for a longer period with an ankle injury.

Tottenham vs Liverpool Prediction:

Goals are good choice in the matches of Tottenham. Their last four games in all competitions have produced 21 goals which is an average of more than 5 goals per game. Spurs captain Son will be very motivated. South Korea international needs one more assist to set a new club record for Premier League assists, having matched Darren Anderton's tally of 68 last weekend. Liverpool are also known for their attacking approach. Salah likes records, but Diogo Jota will also be motivated as he is one short of 100 league goals. About Salah, he has already come up with 13 goals and 9 assists in the new season. He could become the first-ever player to hit double figures in both metrics before Christmas. All he need is another assist. As conclusion, I expect an open and efficient game with at least four goals.

Tottenham vs Liverpool Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 1.78 with Pinnacle