England Round 4

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Arsenal vs Nottingham Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Arsenal:
Raya; Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Eze

Nottingham Forest:
Sels; Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson, Yates; McAtee, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood

Arsenal will welcome Nottingham Forest to the Emirates on Saturday lunchtime in the first match of the fourth round. The Gunners started the season with two victories. They beat 1:0 Manchester United at Old Trafford thanks to Riccardo Calafiori's header. It was a difficult match, but I believe Arsenal deserved the victory. In the second round the Gunners destroyed Leeds United, winning 5:0 at Emirates. New signing Viktor Gyokeres, who came from Sporting Lisbon this summer, scored twice. Jurrien Timber also scored a brace, while Bukayo Saka netted the remaining goal. But the third round brought the first defeat. Arteta's men suffered a narrow 1:0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. The defeat spoiled the atmosphere in the squad and Arteta must find a way to restore the players confidence. To be worse, Arteta has lot of injury worries ahead of this match. Key centre-back William Saliba twisted his ankle in the warm-up before attempting to play through the pain. He lasted only five minutes and reports in France suggested Saliba may miss three to four weeks, raising the prospect of him sitting out clashes against Manchester City, Newcastle, Olympiacos and West Ham. Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz are struggling with hamstring and knee injury respectively. Captain Martin Odegaard and Ben White are rated as doubtful, but the last news from the medical department are positive. Christian Norgaard and Gabriel Jesus remain long-term absentees.

Nottingham Forest were the most pleasant surprise last season. Until the last round they were fighting for a Champions League spot, but failed to qualify. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo did a fantastic job and the fans were satisfied. The whole city of Nottingham love Nuno. Well, all but one - owner Evangelos Marinakis. The Greek billionaire sacked Nuno this week, something nobody was expecting after the last successful season. The Portuguese tactician was handed a new contract this summer after guiding Forest to the Europa League. However, he said in August that his relationship with co-owner Marinakis was "not the same" and "not so good as it was last season". Forest have taken four points from their opening three Premier League games. They beat Brentford in the first of the season, while shared the points away at Crystal Palace. His final game in charge was a 3:0 home loss to Graham Potter's West Ham on August 31. In the meantime Nuno had criticized the club's activity in the summer transfer window, saying they had wasted a good chance. To criticize Marinakis in public is brave, or perhaps foolish. It was just a matter of day when Nuno will be sacked. The former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was appointed as new manager. He has almost all players available for the trip to London, only the midfielder Nicolas Dominguez remains in the recovery room. Oleksandr Zinchenko is ineligible to face his parent club after joining on loan on transfer Deadline Day.

Arsenal vs Nottingham Prediction:

Arsenal have a busy schedule in the next period - Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle in the Premier league, with a Champions League opener away at Athletic Bilbao on the horizon. These are tough fixtures, coming in the worst possible moment, after the defeat at Anfield. Furthermore, Saliba, Saka and Havertz are out injured, while Captain Odegaard and Ben White are rated as doubtful. Nevertheless, Nottingham are in specific situation, they have new manager after Ange Postecoglou replaced Nuno during the international break. The Australian is well known for his attacking style of football regardless of the opponents and match situation. Knowing him and his football ideology, I expect an open and efficient game.

Arsenal vs Nottingham Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.74 with Pinnacle

 

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Burnley vs Liverpool Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Burnley:
Dubravka, Walker, Ekdal, Esteve, Hartman, Cullen, Ugochukwu, Larsen, Hannibal, Anthony, Foster

Liverpool:
Alisson, Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike

Burnley will host the reigning champions Liverpool at Turf Moor on Sunday' The Reds are clear favorites, though Burnley should not be underestimated. The Clarets had an excellent Championship campaign and, as a result, they will participate in the Premier League now. Nevertheless, the start wasn't impressive as the Clarets have recorded one win and two defeats in the first three rounds. The opening day brought lot of concerns as Burnley were comprehensively beaten 3:0 away at Tottenham. But the team looked much better in the second round. In their first home fixture of the season, Burnley bounced back with a solid 2:0 win over fellow promoted side Sunderland. A dramatic and closely fought contest saw Burnley very close to leave Old Trafford unbeaten on Day 3. Nevertheless, goals by Lyle Foster and Jaidon Anthony were not enough. Manchester United secured an important 3:2 win after Bruno Fernandes converted a 'suspicious' penalty in the stoppage time. What is important for my pick, that's the fact they scored 4 goals on the last two matches. Manager Scott Parker has no suspension worries for the trip to Anfield, but Connor Roberts and Jordan Beyer are sidelined with injuries.

Liverpool are leaders in the Premier League with three victories in the first three rounds. The Reds started the campaign with a 4:2 home win against Bournemouth. It was a very interesting match in which Ekitike, Gakpo, Chiesa and Salah scored the goals. Every goal is important, but we must mention Chiessa, who scored his first Premir League goal. In the second round Liverpool beat 3:2 Newcastle at St James Park. Gravenberch, Ekitike and the 16-years old Rio Ngumoha found the back of the net. Rio became Liverpool’s youngest-ever goalscorer with his stunning winner at St James Park. In the last round Liverpool won 1:0 against Arsenal thanks to fantastic free kick by Szoboszlai. I believe the atmosphere in the squad is good following three victories in the first three league matches, but Slot has to improve the performance of the team. The Dutchman has two fitness worries ahead of the trip to Burnley - Frimpong and new signing Alexander Isak are both rated as doubtful. According to me, their possible absence is not a handicap as Szoboszlai and Ekitike are fantastic.

Burnley vs Liverpool Prediction:

Burnley are strong hosts, but they will have a mountain to climb against the reinforced Liverpool. However, the history show it is not impossible - Burnley defeated Liverpool in the 1913/1914 FA Cup final and, no doubt, this is regarded as the greatest achievement in the club’s history. But Slot's men will try to continue their winning streak and put on a strong performance. Liverpool managed to score in each game, but also conceded on all but one. Let me remind You, Liverpool played 2:2 with Crystal Palace in the Community Shield, won 4:2 against Bournemouth and 3:2 against Newcastle. The only exception was a 1:0 win over Arsenal. But that was a big derby, a great tactical battle between first and second on the table last season. Burnley, meanwhile, lost 3:2 to Manchester United in last round. I believe there will be goals on both sides.

Burnley vs Liverpool Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.95 with Pinnacle

 

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Manchester City vs Manchester United Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester City:
Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Ake, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Rodri, Reijnders; Bobb, Haaland, Doku

Manchester United:
Bayindir; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw; Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Sesko, Amad

When Manchester City beat Wolverhampton 4:0 in the opening round of the season, it was normal to think Guardiola did his homework. But the defeats to Tottenham and Brighton were a repeat of the inconsistency City displayed throughout last season. City played an excellent first half against Brighton, scoring by Haaland and limiting the Seagulls to a just one shot through Kaoru Mitoma. But the second half was completely different story. Brighton dominated the game, equalizing from the penalty spot through veteran James Milner, before a last-minute winner from Gruda. The return of Rodri didn't impact the result. In fact, before defeat by Brighton, Man City hadn't lost a game in which Rodri had started in the Premier League since a 1:0 defeat by Tottenham in February 2023 - ending a 49-game unbeaten streak for the Spaniard. It is clear Rodri need more time to return to the levels he had shown previously after eight months out with knee injury. To be worse, summer signing Rayan Cherki will miss the next two months through injury, which only add the pressure to Guardiola. Omar Marmoush picked up an injury on Egypt duty that will rule him out of this derby. Mateo Kovacic is still injured, but the situation in defense is almost critical, with Josko Gvardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov, John Stones, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rico Lewis all struggling with injuries.

Ruben Amorim finally had something to celebrate at the end of a turbulent month. The Premier League campaign started with a home defeat to Arsenal, while then drew with Fulham at Craven Cottage. One point from the possible six made the fans very nervous, but something else frustrated them. Manchester United suffered a shameful elimination from Carabao Cup, losing to fourth-tier Grimsby on penalties. That is why the weekend's match against Burnley was extremely important. Amorim was well aware that another failure could cost him the job. The players were also under big pressure, resulting many mistakes. United let the lead slip twice, but Bruno Fernandes secured the victory after converting the injury-time penalty. The atmosphere in the squad is much better heading into the international break. But that won't last long if the next results are inconsistent. The problem is their next opponents are Manchester City and Chelsea, with Liverpool not that long after that. To be worse, Matheus Cunha suffered a hamstring injury and the £62.5m summer signing from Wolverhampton is facing an extended period on the sidelines. Diogo Dalot and Mason Mount will also miss Sunday’s derby.

Manchester City vs Manchester United Prediction:

Manchester City will welcome Manchester United to Etihad in derby match of the Premier League fourth round on Sunday afternoon. Both managers - Pep Guardiola and Ruben Amorim - are under huge pressure and three points from this match are priceless. It is not easy to predict the winners here, so I will suggest goals on both sides. Haaland is in fantastic form, he scored 5 goals against Moldova on Tuesday and his confidence is "High as Everest". But United also have players able to upset the opponents, like Mbeumo, Sesko or Bruno Fernandes. Both teams have new goalkeepers - Donnarumma and Lammens - so, that's another reason for my pick. Amorim has confirmed that Altay Bayindir will start this one, but knowing this will be his last start isn't positive at all. I expect both teams to score at Etihad.

Manchester City vs Manchester United Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.55 with Pinnacle