England Round 26 (+ Aston Villa vs Liverpool)

[spkutano]

 

[spkutano]

Aston Villa vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Aston Villa:
Martinez; Garcia, Mings, Disasi, Digne; Tielemans, McGinn; Ramsey, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jones, Luis Diaz; Darwin Nunez

Aston Villa will welcome the leaders Liverpool to Villa Park on Wednesday night. The hosts are currently 9th on the table with 38 points. The fans are not satisfied, particularly with the fact they are six points behind the fourth-placed Manchester City. The actual form is mixed, one win, one draw and one defeat on the last three matches across all competitions. The Villans beat Tottenham in the FA Cup, lost to Wolverhampton and played a disappointing 1:1 home draw with Ipswich. If something could be rated as positive, that's the fact Aston Villa stretched their sequence without defeat at Villa Park to 12 matches in all competitions. But the reality is different, one point against 10-man Ipswich is not a good result for Unai Emery and his players. In addition, the Spaniard has lot of injury issues ahead of this match, particularly in defense. Boubacar Kamara is the latest victim after came off early on Saturday. He is likely to join Pau Torres, Ross Barkley, Ezri Konsa, Amadou Onana and Matty Cash in the treatment room. Leon Bailey, who missed out the weekend's game, is rated as doubtful. On the positive note, Tyrone Mings has recovered from a minor knee injury and could start here.

Arsenal managed to beat 2:0 Leicester City at King Power on Saturday and put some extra-pressure to Arne Slot and his players. Nevertheless, the Reds secured a 2:1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday and rebuilt their seven-point buffer at the top of the Premier League table. A win at Villa Park would put them 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal. But that guarantees nothing. Captain Virgil van Dijk and the majority of his teammates have experience of having a 10-point lead, albeit at an earlier stage of the season, and still not winning the league. The current display was far from the desired. The Reds were poor against Wolves and after a solid first half and a 2:0 lead, they were extremely lucky to secure the victory. But one thing become clear - Liverpool have a problem to handle the pressure. That is why they usually struggle in the second part of the season. The current form isn't at desired level, they have one win, one draw and one defeat on the last three matches across all competitions. You can't beat team like Aston Villa if Your engine are not running with "full speed". Slot has the majority of his players available, but Tyler Morton and Joe Gomez remain sidelined, while Cody Gakpo is rated as doubtful.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool Prediction:

This match is rearranged due to Liverpool's participation in the League Cup final at Wembley in March. According to the Telegraph, Villa “wanted to push the Liverpool game back to the third week of March” to avoid a “huge fixture pile-up” this month. Unai Emery’s side will play 4 matches in just 10 days starting with this one and followed by Chelsea and Crystal Palace in the Premier League and then Cardiff City in the FA Cup. But their request was logistically impossible, so the match will be played on Wednesday. Both teams had poor weekend, although their opponents were relegation candidates. Liverpool won 2:1 against the Wolves, but were heavily outplayed. Aston Villa, meanwhile, dominated the game, but were unable to win and dropped two points. Both teams are far from their best and the question is who will take the control of this match. I think Aston Villa will not lose, mostly thanks to the home advantage. As I already wrote, Aston Villa are unbeaten at Villa Park in 12 matches across all competitions. Liverpool are favorites according to the bookmakers, but I think Aston Villa will continue their series.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool Pick: Aston Villa +0.5 AH @ 2.05 with Pinnacle

 

[mitoma]

I bet Aston Villa, they always have good performance at home, at least a draw with Liverpool. I won handicap 5/6 matches when Aston Villa played at Villa Park.

 

[spkutano]

FT 2-2 Pick won

 

[spkutano]

Arsenal vs West Ham United Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Arsenal:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard

West Ham United:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Alvarez; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Ferguson

Arsenal will welcome city rivals West Ham United to Emirates on Saturday afternoon. The Gunners are clear favorites according to the Premier League table, but it won't be easy. The Gunners are in excellent form, three wins on the last three league matches. They managed to beat Wolverhampton, Manchester City and Leicester City. What is interesting, the biggest victory was obtained against the reigning champions. Arsenal showed their power by beating the Citizens 5:1. But Mikel Arteta has huge injury issues at the moment. The situation is almost critical in the attack. All four strikers are out injured, after Kai Havertz joined Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the sidelines. Their absence is a huge handicap for Arteta and he must improvise. Raheem Sterling failed to impress against Leicester, so Arteta introduced Merino in the final 10 minutes. Merino scored a brace and secured a 2:0 win at King Power. The atmosphere in the squad is good, though the injury situation remain unchanged. What is worse, Takehiro Tomiyasu is also sidelined.

West Ham are in very complicated situation. They are 16th on the table, just two places away from the drop zone. In term of points, the Hammers look safe with 10 points more than 18th-placed Ipswich Town. Nevertheless, West Ham are in poor form. They have lost three of the last four Premier League matches and new manager Graham Potter is already feeling a pressure. The club owners invest big money and they expected better results. Of course, the former manager Julien Lopetegui was unable to deliver and he was sacked. But little have changed under Potter. To be worse, title-pretenders Arsenal are the next opponents. The 2022-23 Conference League winners have suffered two high defeats from Arsenal. They lost 5:2 in November and lost 6:0 in February, meaning that Arsenal could now score 5+ goals in three straight league games against a single team for the first time in the Premier League era. At the end I will mention Potter's issues. Michail Antonio is recovering from car-accident, while Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Fullkrug, Vladimir Coufal and Lucas Paqueta, are sidelined.

Arsenal vs West Ham United Prediction:

Arsenal are clear favorites in this match. The Gunners are in excellent form, they have three wins on the last three matches in the Premier League. On contrary, West Ham suffered three defeats on the last four league matches. It is true Arteta will be missing four players in attack, but Potter also has issues. It is difficult to find adequate replacements for players like Summerville, Fullkrug, Coufal or Paqueta. I expect Arsenal to win. But since the odds for straight victory are too low, I will suggest a handicap victory for Arteta's men.

Arsenal vs West Ham United Pick: Arsenal -1.5 AH @ 1.81 with Pinnacle

 

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Manchester City vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester City:
Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Gonzalez; Savinho, Silva, Foden, Marmoush; Haaland

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

Manchester City will welcome Liverpool to Etihad on Sunday afternoon. Many pundits were initially expecting this match to be crucial in the battle for the top, but the reality isn't like that. While Liverpool are leaders, the Citizens are big 17 points behind and virtually without chance to defend the title. Pep Guardiola is under enormous pressure, although his job is safe. To be worse, City suffered an elimination from UEFA Champions League. Manchester lost both home and away to Real Madrid. If something is positive about that, it's the elimination meant they will be fully focused on domestic duties now. The league form is good, particularly at home. The Citizens are in series of three victories at Etihad. They managed to beat West Ham 4:1, then Chelsea 3:1 and finally Newcastle 4:0 in the last round. Omar Marmoush was the key name on that match as he scored a hat-trick. His confidence is surely higher, but generally the confidence is a huge problem. In addition, Guardiola has some injury issues. The best goalscorer Erling Haaland is rated as doubtful with a knee problem, while John Stones is definitely sidelined after sustained a quadriceps injury during the midweek loss to Real Madrid. Three more players are definitely out injured - Manuel Akanji, Oscar Bobb and Rodri.

Liverpool are leaders on the table with 61 points, eight more than second-placed Arsenal. Nobody was expecting Arsenal to drop points against West Ham this weekend, but that's exactly what happened. Mikel Arteta and his players left the Emirates deeply disappointed with the result against relegation-threatened West Ham. Now Liverpool have an excellent opportunity to go 11 points clear of Arsenal. But it's easier to say...
Manchester City have their own calculation and need the points to secure Champions League spot for the next season. To be worse, Liverpool are not in some form like in the first part of the season. The Reds have just one win on the last four matches across all competitions. Even that one victory against Wolverhamton at Anfield wasn't deserved as Slot's men were heavily outplayed. Look, the Reds played against big names this season, like Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Milan and Leipzig in the Champions League, but nobody have outplayed them as Wolves. Slot also has injury worries ahead of this match. Cody Gakpo is rated as doubtful due to a knock. The Dutch winger has missed Liverpool's last two Premier League matches. Two more players - Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton - will skip the match due to thigh and shoulder injury respectively. The chance for Conor Bradley to be ready for this match is less than 1% after he sustained a hamstring injury against Villa on Wednesday.

Manchester City vs Liverpool Prediction:

Both teams are in some sort of crisis. Manchester City suffered an elimination from the Champions League, losing twice to Real Madrid. But there is something positive in that elimination as they will be fully focused on domestic duty. The league form is good, particularly at home. The Citizens are in series of three victories at Etihad. They managed to beat West Ham 4:1, then Chelsea 3:1 and finally Newcastle 4:0 in the last round. Liverpool, meanwhile, are dropping points too easy. The Reds conceded a stoppage time goal at Goodison Park and weren't at desired level at Villa Park. Both matches ended 2:2 and Arsenal are coming dangerously close. Liverpool are traditionally poor in the second half of the season and this is not an exception. The reason is simple, they can't handle the pressure. I am not thinking on some individuals, but Liverpool as club. The contract situation with Salah, Van Dijk and Trent have a bad impact to the atmosphere in the squad. I can't see Liverpool winning this match.

Manchester City vs Liverpool Pick: Manchester City +0.5 AH @ 1.72 with Pinnacle