England Round 21

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Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Nottingham Forest
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson, Dominguez; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jones, Gakpo; Diaz

Not many experts could predict this fixture would became the genuine derby clash between two title pretenders. But they were wrong. Liverpool are leaders on the table with 46 points, while Nottingham Forest are the most pleasant surprises of the new season. They are sharing the second place with Arsenal as both teams have 40 points. Nobody was expecting the Tricky Trees to be such high after 20 rounds. The fans are dreaming about the Champions League football for the next season. Some of them even about the title, The current form is very good, they are in series of six victories in the Premier League. They managed to beat Tottenham and Aston Villa as hosts, as well as four other teams as visitors (Manchester United, Brentford, Everton and Wolverhampton). Furthermore, Nottingham have kept clean sheet on each of the last four matches. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo is doing a great job. He has almost all players available, only Ibrahim Sangare is struggling with a hamstring injury.

Liverpool are leaders in the Premier League. They are also first in the Champions League and they are successful in both domestic cups. The Reds have secured a semifinal in Carabao Cup and fourth round of the FA Cup after a 4:0 win against Accrington on Saturday. It look like Liverpool are destroying, but I have a different opinion. According to me, the Reds are in some sort of crisis. They dropped six points in the last six Premier League matches, meaning they drew with Newcastle at St James Park, and Fulham and Manchester United at Anfield. Liverpool also lost 1:0 to Tottenham in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal. Slot's men remain favorites for the final as the second leg will be played at Anfield. But something else is the biggest problem for the club officials. Three key players - Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk - are still negotiate with the club and their future remains unresolved. Trent want to go to Real Madrid, Salah is asking for more money to sign new contract, while the situation with club captain Van Dijk isn't clear. Slot has most of his players ready, only Joe Gomez remains sidelined with a hamstring problem. Darwin Nunez is out suspended.

Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool Prediction:

I expect an eventful match between Nottingham and Liverpool. The Reds have just one defeat in the Premier League, from Nottingham Forest at Anfield in September. And I expect another positive result for Nuno and his players. The atmosphere in Liverpool squad isn't at desired level. On contrary, Nottingham players enjoy the momentum. The whole pressure is on Liverpool players and I think they won't win at City Ground.

Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool Pick: Nottingham Forest +0.5 AH @ 2.40 with Pinnacle

 

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Manchester United vs Southampton Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester United:
Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mainoo, Malacia; Diallo, Fernandes; Hojlund

Southampton:
Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Wood; Bree, Ugochukwu, Fernandes, Walker-Peters; Dibling, Archer, Sulemana

Manchester United will welcome Southampton to Old Trafford on Thursday night. The Red Devils go into this match knowing the victory is their only option. Everything else will be a catastrophe. Man United have 23 points and they are just seven points away from the relegation zone. The poor results led to coaching change and Erik ten Hag was replaced by Ruben Amorim. The first month was like a nightmare for Amorim. The Portuguese coach had one win and five defeats in six Premier League fixtures during December. It was a bad period and many fans questioned Amorim's quality. However, 2025 brought some hope. United surprised everybody by playing a 2:2 draw at Anfield, while on Sunday they eliminated Arsenal on penalties in the FA Cup. Amorim will try to continue the positive run, but he has some injury worries. Mason Mount, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Jonny Evans remain sidelined, while Diogo Dalot is suspended after he was sent off against Arsenal. The situation with Marcus Rashford is not clear.

Southampton are the worst side in the Premier League. They are at the bottom of the table with only six points, big 10 away from the safety. The current form is poor, three defeats on the last three matches in the Premier League. It seems the new manager Ivan Juric is unable to improve something. He is maybe a good coach, but he worked mainly in Serie A. Lacking Premier League experience is definitely a problem. Some of the fans had interesting comments, asking for ex-Everton manager Sean Dyche instead. However, Juric registered his first victory in England during the weekend. The Saints beat 3:0 Championship side Swansea City in the third round of the FA Cup. Young Tyler Dibling was double scorer, while Kamaldeen Sulemana netted the remaining one. Every victory is good for the players confidence, though this one should not be overrated. Juric has some injury worries too. Jack Stephens, Juan Larios and Ross Stewart remain sidelined, while Flynn Downes is rated as doubtful with a thigh issue. Will Smallbone has return from injury and played against Swansea. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu is also in contention after recovering from a long-term Achilles injury, but Aaron Ramsdale remain first-choice keeper. Midfielder Matheus Fernandes is back from a suspension.

Manchester United vs Southampton Prediction:

Southampton travel to Old Trafford without a win in their last 17 Premier League away games. United are big favorites in this match, however, the Saints knew to create problems to Man United at Old Trafford. They have lost only three of their last 10 league trips to the red side of Manchester. Southampton will try to remain unbeaten, but they are poor this season. I believe Manchester United will celebrate against the worst team in the Premier League. I also think they will cover the handicap.

Manchester United vs Southampton Pick: Manchester United -1.5 AH @ 1.85 with Pinnacle