England Round 8

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Manchester United vs Brentford Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester United:
Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Maguire, Evans; Eriksen, Ugarte; Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee

Brentford:
Flekken; Van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Schade, Mbeumo, Lewis-Potter

Manchester United will welcome Brentford to Old Trafford in Saturday's Premier League clash. United sit on the 14th place with only eight points. The Red Devils have a record of two wins, two draws and three losses. Two of those three defeats were really painful for the fans. United lost 3:0 to Liverpool in the third round and then, once again lost 3:0 to Tottenham. Both defeats came at home and lot of their fans left Old Trafford after the first 45 minutes. It wasn't easy to see the misery. In the last round Manchester played a goalless draw with Aston Villa. Considering the previous defeats, I rate the draw at Villa Park as a good result. The European campaign is also poor. Manchester have just two points from the first two rounds of UEFA Europa League after playing draws with Twente and Porto. The poor form is a huge problem, but there is more. Ten Hag has big injury worries ahead of this match, as defenders Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof are struggling with injuries. The first two are definitely out, while the last two are rated as doubtful. Ten Hag will be without the services of central defender Harry Maguire for the next few weeks due to the muscular problem that forced him off the field in the match with Aston Villa last time out. Noussair Mazraoui is also sidelined, while five players are injury doubts - Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo.

Brentford are in the middle of the table with 10 points. What is interesting, all of them were earned at home. Brentford are awful guests and they lost all three away games so far. However, the opponents were not easy at all - Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham. And don't forget the current opponents are also part of "Big 6" teams of the Premier League. But there is a positive moment - Brentford scored five goals in the last round's 5:3 win against Wolverhampton. Nathan Collins nodded in with just two minutes on the board, while Bryan Mbeumo, Christian Norgaard and Ethan Pinnock also found the back of the net in the first half. Fabio Carvalho scored the fifth in the finish of the match. Thomas Frank could be satisfied with the efficiency of his players, but three conceded goals from the bottom-placed team is simply unacceptable. In addition, Frank has some injury issues. Mathias Jensen is doubtful with a calf problem, while Aaron Hickey (thigh), Gustavo Nunes (back) and Yoane Wissa (ankle) are still on the treatment table. Three players are sidelined with a knee injury - Rico Henry, Igor Thiago and Josh Dasilva. Finally, Mikkel Damsgaard should recover in time for this match.

Manchester United vs Brentford Prediction:

Many fans were hoping Erik ten Hag will be sacked during the international break, but the victim was Sir Alex Ferguson instead. The club officials decided to terminate Sir Alex contract to act as the club's global ambassador as part of a continued cost-cutting drive at the club. Furthermore, Ferguson have been told not to enter the team’s dressing room anymore. The iconic manager can still attend games at Old Trafford, but nothing more. The club’s co-owner INEOS, lead by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is behind the decision. Club legend Eric Cantona has slammed the club officials for treating the legendary manager in this way. The Frenchman has called it a “lack of respect” and “scandalous” over the treatment of his former manager who won 13 Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies. However, I expect Manchester United to win the match. Brentford are awful guests and they lost all three away games so far.

Manchester United vs Brentford Pick: Manchester United to win @ 1.71 with Pinnacle

 

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Bournemouth vs Arsenal Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Bournemouth:
Kepa; Smith, Senesi, Zabarnyi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Tavernier, Ouattara; Evanilson

Arsenal:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Havertz, Rice, Merino; Saka, Jesus, Sterling

Bournemouth will welcome Arsenal to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening. The guests are huge favorites in this match, but it won't be easy. The Cherries play in front of their own fans and this fact should not be underestimated. Even more as they won the last home fixture. Bournemouth won 3:1 against Southampton in September and this victory improved the atmosphere in the squad. Bournemouth are sharing the 12th place with Manchester United and West Ham. All three teams have eight points. The departure of best scorer Dominic Solanke is a huge problem for manager Iraola. Bournemouth have scored just eight goals this season and this record have to be improved, even the bottom-placed Southampton have scored nine. Antoine Semenyo has contributed three goals and one assist in six Premier League appearances so far this season. There are good news for Iraola connected with the availability of the players. He has almost all players ready, only Tyler Adams is rated as doubtful.

Arsenal are sharing the second place with Manchester City as both teams have 17 points. They are just one point behind the leaders Liverpool and it is clear these three teams will fight for the title again. The Gunners have five victories and two draws after the opening seven rounds. The draw with Manchester City at Etihad is definitely a good result, but the same could not be said for the home draw against Brighton. Winning three points here is very important, but Mikel Arteta has huge injury worries. Captain Martin Odegaard is ruled out due to ankle injury sustained on international duty. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney are also sidelined, while reserve goalkeeper Neto is ineligible to face his parent club. Six players are rated as doubtful, including Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. Saka withdrew from the England squad after taking a knock to his leg against Greece, while Martinelli missed Brazil’s win over Peru with a calf issue. The remaining four injury doubts are Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey.

Bournemouth vs Arsenal Prediction:

Arsenal are clear favorites in this match. The Cherries are struggling for goals since Solanke left the club. Bournemouth have failed to score in four of their last six matches across all competitions. The Gunners travel to Bournemouth looking to continue their impressive start to the season. Arsenal are genuine title pretenders and they are class above Bournemouth. In their last meeting at Vitality Stadium (30.09.2024) Arsenal rolled over Bournemouth 4:0. Maybe it is too much to expect another high victory, but I do believe they will win.

Bournemouth vs Arsenal Pick: Arsenal to win @ 1.67 with Pinnacle

 

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Tottenham vs West Ham Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Tottenham:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son

West Ham:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson; Rodriguez, Soucek; Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus; Antonio

Tottenham will face city rivals West Ham in the first match of the 8th round on Saturday lunchtime. The Spurs were in good form in the last period. They beat Brentford 3:1 at home and beat Manchester United 3:0 at Old Trafford. Nevertheless, Tottenham suffered a painful defeat before the international break. Everything looked fantastic after the first 45 minutes, Ange Postecoglou's men had a two-goal advantage thanks to goals scored by Brennan Johnson and James Maddison. Not even the most pessimistic Spurs' supporter could have envisaged the collapse that followed in the second half. Brighton managed to turn-out the result and won 3:2, while the Spurs left Amex empty-handed. The atmosphere in the squad is far from desired, while the players confidence is lower. Postegoglou has a difficult job to motivate his players. To be worse, some of them are injured. Richarlison remains unavailable, despite the fact he started with training recently, while Wilson Odobert is out with a hamstring injury. Captain Son Heung-min is expected to shake off a thigh injury in time for this match.

West Ham have eight points after the opening seven rounds, with a record of two wins, two draws and three defeats. I am sure the fans are not satisfied and new manager Julen Lopetegui, who replaced David Moyes, is feeling a big pressure. The home results were awful, but West Ham beat Ipswich after a series of three defeats. The truth is opponents were top teams like Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa, though the defeats impacted the atmosphere in the squad. But there is another problem - Lucas Paqueta. The Brazilian international has been charged by the English FA with alleged breaches of its betting rules. He is accused of deliberately getting himself booked in four Premier League matches. Paqueta had been under investigation since last summer after some persons in Brazil earned big money betting on him. He faces a long ban if he is found guilty, but in the meantime Paqueta is eligible to play. Lopetegui has almost a full squad, only Niclas Fullkrug is rated as doubtful. He is still nursing an Achilles problem and was unable to play for Germany in Nations League.

Tottenham vs West Ham Prediction:

I expect an efficient match here. Tottenham are easily scoring goals, but also conceded too many. The Spurs have scored 14 goals in the opening seven rounds. Just for comparison, the leaders Liverpool have scored 13. However, West Ham are also able to find the back of the net. They have a player that like to play against Tottenham - Michael Antonio. He has scored six times against the Spurs, his best record against a single opponent.

Tottenham vs West Ham Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 2.03 with Pinnacle

 

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Liverpool vs Chelsea Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Jota

Chelsea:
Sanchez; Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Veiga; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson

Liverpool are the leaders in the Premier League after seven rounds. The Reds have six victories and just one defeat. They are also successful in the Champions League, beating AC Milan at San Siro and Bologna at Anfield. But Liverpool have a busy next period when should face some of the top teams in England and Europe. The series will start with Chelsea, while the problem is almost all first-team players were on international duty. Gravenberch and Gakpo started in Netherland's 1:0 UEFA Nations League defeat in Germany on Monday night. Gakpo, though, was substituted immediately after Germany scored in the 64th minute, while Gravenberch was given the hook by coach Ronald Koeman with 10 minutes remaining. In the same UEFA Nations League group, Dominik Szoboszlai scored twice for Hungary in their 2:0 win against Bosnia, while elsewhere the French defender Ibrahima Konate continued his good form with a second successive start for France in their 2:1 triumph against Belgium. On the positive note, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah came earlier from international duties. Finally, Arne Slot has injury worries too. First-choice goalkeeper Alissson Becker is definitely sidelined through injury, while I have some concerns about Caoimhin Kelleher after he made a mistake for the Republic of Ireland in Greece on Sunday. The biggest problem is the late arrival of three South American players, so Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz should start from the bench.

Chelsea are also in good form, despite the fact they dropped two points against Nottingham before the international break. The Blues have collected 14 points and this match is very important for their ambitions. New manager Enzo Maresca is doing a fantastic job and victory here would mean Chelsea are genuine title pretenders. Chelsea arrive at Anfield with the second-best attacking record in the division. Only the reigning Champions Manchester City have scored more goals - 17 compared to Chelsea's 16. But Maresca has some issues ahead of this match and they are connect with the defense. Two important defenders are unavailable - first is Spain Euro 2024-winning left-back Marc Cucurella, while second is France centre-back Wesley Fofana. They both have received yellow card against Nottingham for the fifth time this season, meaning the duo will be missing the derby at Anfield due to suspension. Their absence is a handicap for the Blues, though Maresca has very long roster and he will find replacements. Renato Veiga should take care for keeping Salah quiet, while Axel Disasi and Tosin Adarabioyo could replace Fofana in the heart of the defense. Danish goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen sustained an injury while on international duty, but he was not supposed to start anyway. On the positive note, Reece James is back in training after hurting his hamstring in pre-season.

Liverpool vs Chelsea Prediction:

Liverpool are favorites in this match, but I think it won't be easy against Chelsea. The Reds play at Anfield and the home advantage should not be underestimated, however I think the Blues could upset Liverpool. Chelsea are playing a lot better as the time go. They started the season with a home defeat to Manchester City, but that is the only defeat so far this season. They are unbeaten on the remaining six league games and they have improved under their new manager Enzo Maresca. Chelsea sit fourth in the standings, just four points behind the leaders Liverpool. I think they won't lose the derby.

Liverpool vs Chelsea Pick: Chelsea +0.5 AH @ 2.41 with Pinnacle