England Round 27 & Postponed matches (23-27. February)

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Liverpool vs Leeds United Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Elliott, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Mane, Luis Diaz

Leeds United:
Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Dallas; Klich, Forshaw; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison; James

Liverpool are second on the table and they will remain on that position regardless of the outcome of this match. However, the difference between them and Manchester City could be cut to only three points after leaders' surprise home defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. I am sure the hosts will enter the match fully motivated. The Reds are in excellent form, they have eight victories in a row across all competitions. Five of them were obtain in the Premier League. Liverpool managed to beat Brentford, Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Burnley and Norwich. The last victory was all but easy. The Canaries threatened to shock Anfield when Milot Rashica's strike took a significant deflection off Joel Matip into the back of the net, but Liverpool managed to turn out the result. Sadio Mane equalized with his acrobatic effort, while Mohamed Salah made it 2:1 with his 150th goal in the Reds shirt. Finally, the new signing Luis Diaz struck his first goal for the club to round off a 3:1 win. Klopp will be without both strikers as Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota are sidelined with a muscular issue and ankle injury respectively. In that situation, Divock Origi is hoping to come into contention for a rare start. Both full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, were rested against Norwich on Saturday and should start here.

Leeds United sit on the 15th place, five points clear of the relegation zone. The actual form is poor, three defeats and just one draw on the last four matches in the Premier League. Leeds played an 1:1 draw with Aston Villa, while suffered losses from Newcastle, Everton and Manchester United. The last defeat showed big weaknesses in the defense. Marcelo Bielsa's side have conceded four goals and it was impossible to avoid the defeat. Leeds were two goals down after the first half, but managed to equalize with two strikes inside a minute after Rodrigo and Raphinha found the back of the net. Nevertheless, the Whites conceded two more in the last 20 minutes and left the game empty-handed. The atmosphere in the squad is poor, while the players confidence is questionable. Bielsa has some additional issues as defender Robin Koch, who was taken off after suffering a head wound in a collision with Scott McTominay, will probably miss the trip to Anfield. Midfielder Kalvin Phillips, main marksman Patrick Bamford and defender Liam Cooper remain sidelined and their absence is a big handicap. Raphinha was surprisingly named on the bench against Manchester United but will expect an immediate recall at Anfield.

Liverpool vs Leeds United Prediction:

Klopp has claimed that the match with Leeds is Liverpool's top priority at the moment. However, the German coach may already have an eye on the EFL Cup final with Chelsea on Sunday. The Reds have eight victories in a row across all competitions and they are favorites in this match. Leeds have lost two of the last three matches, but something else is important for my pick - their matches are efficient. The Whites lost 4:2 to Man United and played 3:3 with Aston Villa. I expect a high scoring game at Anfield.

Liverpool vs Leeds United Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 1.73 with Betfair

 

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Leeds United vs Tottenham Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Leeds United:
Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Struijk, Firpo; Shackleton, Forshaw; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison; Roberts

Tottenham:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Kulusevski, Winks, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Lucas, Kane, Son

Leeds United welcome Tottenham to Elland Road in a very important clash for both teams. The Whites are just three points clear of the relegation zone. To be worse, the 18th-placed Burnley have two matches in hand. The actual form is poor, Leeds have three defeats in a row. It is true they had difficult opponenets, but that shouldn't be an excusse. They suffered losses from Everton, Manchester United and Liverpool. The last defeat was very painful, they lost 6:0 at Anfield. It is not a shame to lose from the second-placed side, but six conceded goals are too many. It is clear the defense makes lot of mistakes as their tally of 56 received goals represents the worst defensive record in the Premier League this season. What is worse, the Whites have conceded 13 goals on the last three games. Manager Marcelo Bielsa is under big pressure, as well as the players. The atmosphere in the squad is poor, while the players confidence isn't high. Bielsa has some additional issues as defender Robin Koch is doubtful after suffering a head injury against Manchester United. Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford and Liam Cooper remain sidelined, as well as Sam Greenwood and Diego Llorente.

Tottenham were unbeaten from October to late January and the fans were satisfy with the results under Antonio Conte. Everything looked positive until the match against Chelsea when they lost 2:0 at Stamford Bridge. Not only they lost, but were heavily outplayed. After that Tottenham suffered two painful home defeats - they lost 3:2 to Southampton and lost 2:0 to Wolverhampton. It became clear something isn't working, but a heroic 3:2 win at the Etihad against the reigning champions Manchester City gave some hope. But the last match against relegation candidates Burnley showed the size of the crisis. Simply, it is too big. Conte had an emotional interview after the match and admitted that the club officials should make "an assessment" on his future. The eighth-placed Tottenham are huge seven points off the Champions League places and it is extremely difficult to see them finishing inside the Top-4. The Italian is between the most successful coaches in Europe, a Premier League and Serie A title-winner, but his future will come under question should his team fail to respond on this match. Conte has four injury worries ahead of this fixture. Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga will probably miss the game through groin and knee injury respectively, while Pierluigi Gollini is a doubt due to illness. Finally, January signing Rodrigo Bentancur is sidelined after suffering an awkward fall in the torrid conditions at Burnley.

Leeds United vs Tottenham Prediction:

Tottenham have lost on their last two visits to Elland Road, once in the 2012/13 FA Cup fixture and once in the Premier League last season. Nevertheless, I think the Spurs are favorites on this match and I think they will win. Leeds play at home, but that doesn't mean a lot. Bielsa's men lost three of the last four Premier League games at Elland Road. Tottenham also lost on Wednesday, but I think they will recover faster.

Leeds United vs Tottenham Pick: Tottenham to win @ 1.93 with Pinnacle

 

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The Premier League fixture at Selhurst Park on Saturday will see home side Crystal Palace go up against opponents Burnley.

Crystal Palace
With 29 points from 26 games, Crystal Palace are currently 11th in the EPL standings, three points off Southampton in the top half of the table. Crystal Palace returned to winning ways last Wednesday as they comfortably saw off Watford 4-1 away from home. Prior to that, the Eagles were on a six-game winless streak in the league, losing three and claiming three draws.

Burnley
Burnley have been one of the absolute worst teams in the whole English top flight right from the start of the season. Two points off Newcastle United just outside the relegation zone, Burnley are placed 19th in a table of 20. The Clarets have now made it two wins from two league outings for the first time this season after stunning Tottenham Hotspur when the sides met on Wednesday as they claimed a 1-0 victory. Prior of that, they saw off Brighton and Hove Albion 3-0 in their previous games.

Prediction
Coming off impressive wins in midweek, both sides will head into the game in rejuvenated spirits and we expect a thrilling contest on Saturday. Burnley head into the game on a two-game winning streak, so predict them to be unbeaten.

1X2 Pick: X2
BTTS (Both Teams to Score)