England Round 21

spkutano

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Arsenal vs Manchester City Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Arsenal:
Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Lacazette

Manchester City:
Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Ake; Bernardo Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling

Arsenal welcome Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium on the first day of 2022. The reigning champions are huge favorites in this match, though the hosts won't give up easily. The Gunners currently occupy the fourth position, four points clear of fifth-placed West Ham. But there is no space for relaxation, Manchester United and Tottenham have matches in hand. The actual form is very good, Arteta's men have four victories in a row in the Premier League. The series started against Southampton, continued against West Ham and Leeds, while Norwich City were the latest victims on Boxing Day. The Gunners have completely outplayed the Canaries and won 5:0. Bukayo Saka opened the scoring after six minutes, while Kieran Tierney made it 2:0 just before the halftime. Saka added a fine third before Alexandre Lacazette's penalty and substitute Emile Smith Rowe's stoppage-time strike completed the victory. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent at the moment, despite the incident with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese international was not in the Gunners' squad for the last games with manager Arteta revealing the striker had broken club protocol. Most probably he will leave the club in January transfer window. Sead Kolasinac remain sidelined through injury, while Calum Chambers, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Cedric Soares, Ainsley Maitland-Niles are out following positive coronavirus tests. There will be no Mikel Arteta on the touchline for this match, with the Spaniard testing positive too.

Manchester City are on the first place with 50 points, eight more than second-placed Chelsea. According to many pundits, they will surely be new champions. What looked like being a three-horse title race at the start of the December now look different - the Citizens are comfortably first after an incredible run of form. They have won each of the seven league games they have played in December, scoring 24 goals in the process and conceding just five. The history support them, all five previous sides with at least 8-point lead at the end of New Year's Eve went on to win the title (Manchester United in 1993-94 and 2000-01, Chelsea in 2005-06, Manchester City in 2017-18 and Liverpool in 2019-20). And I think they will become new champions, it's so simple - Guardiola's men are class above the other teams. Overall, the Citizens are in series of nine victories in the Premier League. In the last round they beat Brentford with 1:0. Phil Foden settled the game with his fifth league goal of the season, thanks to Kevin de Bruyne's assist. However, Guardiola said the title race is far from over despite the eight-point advantage. "There are 54 points to play for," he said. The Spaniard will probably make some changes from the team that started at Brentford, with Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling all in line to start. Kyle Walker, Rodri and John Stones didn't play on the previous match due to a lack of fitness and most probably will skip this game too. Mahrez is likely to start in his last match before joining the national team for Africa Cup of Nations.

Arsenal vs Manchester City Prediction:


Manchester City are favorites in this match. Arsenal were thrashed 5:0 at the Etihad Stadium in the reverse fixture played in August, but I don't think this could be repeated. The Gunners are in solid form at the moment and the players confidence is much higher after four wins in a row. Maybe City will win again, but I expect a much closer game. Arsenal could cover the handicap, meaning the won't lose high.

Arsenal vs Manchester City Pick
: Arsenal +1.5 AH @ 1.63 with Unibet
 
Crystal Palace - West Ham United
TIP: Both teams to score @ 1,70

Brentford - Aston Villa
TIP: Aston Villa draw no bet @ 1,70
 
The second and the third in EPL are going to play at Stamford Bridge stadium this Sunday afternoon.


Chelsea

They are one of the favourites to win the title this season. But they are in poor condition as they suffer from injuries and COVID-19. In last game, they tie with Brighton Hove Albion at 1-1. Now they are sitting in the second place in League table.


Liverpool

They are not in form, whichhave been winless for three matches. It is out of expectation that they lose to Leicester City at 0-1 in last game. Now they rank the third in the table of the League. Virgil van Dijk’s back from injury. It is believed that Liverpool will play well with the help of him.


Verdict:

Chelsea take the lower hand over Liverpool in past head to head clashes with a record of 3W-3D-4L. But Chelsea have home advantage. It is predicted that Chelsea will take one point from Liverpool at least in upcoming game.


Prediction: 1-1, 2-1
 
From our community:

Liverpool over 1,5 goals @ 2,25
Chelsea - Liverpool over 2,5 goals @ 1,77

Brentford - Aston Villa over 10,5 corners @ 2,00
 
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Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester United:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Greenwood, McTominay, Matic, Fernandes; Ronaldo, Cavani

Wolverhampton:
Sa; Kilman, Coady, Saiss; Hoever, Neves, Moutinho, Marcal; Traore, Jimenez, Podence

Manchester United are looking to continue their positive series when host Wolverhampton at Old Trafford. These two teams are neighbors on the table with United being seventh with 31 points, while the Wolves are 8th with 25. The Red Devils are in excellent form in the last period. Everything look much better since the arrival of new manager Ralf Rangnick. Due to work permit reasons, he took full control only in the last four matches against Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Newcastle and Burnley. His start was very good, three wins and one draw. Manchester are four points away from the fourth place, but their two fixtures against Brentford and Brighton were postponed. Six points from these two games could see Manchester between the Top-4. Rangnick has most of his players available, only Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial are sidelined. Raphael Varane should return to the starting eleven as Victor Lindelof isn't 100% ready. Bruno Fernandes is back after served a yellow card suspension in midweek,

As I already wrote, Wolverhampton are currently 8th on the table, having picked up 25 points from 18 matches. The fans could be satisfied, even their team were between Top-4 teams at some stage of the season. However, I am sure the fans are aware the Champions League spots are almost reserved. New manager Bruno Lage, who replaced long-term Nuno Espirito Santo, is doing a solid job and the club officials are satisfied. The current form could not be evaluated as the Wanderers didn't play the last two league fixtures against Watford and Arsenal. Nevertheless, scoring away from home is definitely a problem. The West Midlands side have scored just one goal in their last four away matches in the Premier League. Overall, Wolverhampton have scored 13 goals on 18 matches in the Premier League, less than one per game. For this match Bruno Lage has several players unavailable. Pedro Neto and Jonny are making progress in their recoveries from long-term injuries, but this match comes too soon for both. Rayan Ait-Nouri is rated as doubtful, while Willy Boly, Hwang Hee-chan and Yerson Mosquera. It is not clear if Romain Saiss will be available as he need to join his national team for Africa Cup of Nations.

Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Prediction:


Manchester United could win this match. They look much better under Ralf Rangnick. Three wins and one draw have increased the players confidence. They also have a good H2H record - three wins on the last three matches. Wolverhampton have scored just one goal in their last four away matches in the Premier League, so that's a big problem.

Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Pick
: Home win @ 1.61 with Unibet
 
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