1. Liverpool to beat Arsenal and over 3.5 goals — 9/2
THE LAST TIME these two sides met in the Premier League, Liverpool earned a thrilling 4-3 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates.
Expect this match to be similarly chaotic. Both sides love to attack and throw bodies forward, while the two teams’ weak defences have been exposed at times this season, so a very open game with plenty of goalmouth action is expected.
The Gunners sit one point above their rivals in the table currently, but with home advantage and a far superior record against fellow top-six sides, expect Liverpool to emerge victorious in typically entertaining fashion this time around.
So we will likely see the version of Liverpool that beat Spurs 2-0 recently, rather than the team that were comprehensively defeated by Leicester earlier this week, on Saturday evening.
2. Tottenham and Everton to draw — 3/1
Both these sides have been in good form recently.
Seventh-place Everton have gone nine Premier League games without losing and will match their 10-game unbeaten run from 2013 should they avoid defeat this weekend.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have been particularly superb at White Hart Lane of late.
The London club are aiming for their ninth consecutive win at home and are the only side in the Premier League who have not been beaten at their own ground this season.
The Toffees, however, represent difficult opposition.
The last three consecutive league games between the sides have been draws, and five of the last eight matches in total have ended in a tie. Consequently, a similar outcome on Sunday would not be a huge surprise.
3. Sergio Aguero to score two or more goals against Sunderland — 2/1
There may be doubts surrounding Sergio Aguero’s long-term future at Man City, but that has not stopped him from impressing of late.
The Argentine international scored twice as Man City demolished Championship outfit Huddersfield in the FA Cup during the week.
The current Sunderland side are arguably not much better than the team City faced midweek. The Black Cats are currently rock bottom of the Premier League, and only Hull, Swansea and Bournemouth have a worse defensive record than David Moyes’ side.
Furthermore, Aguero has a habit of thriving against the Premier League strugglers — he has four goals and two assists in his last four matches against Sunderland.
4. Man United to beat Bournemouth with -2.0 handicap — 2/1
Man United will be confident given that they go into Saturday’s early kick-off on the back of last weekend’s League Cup triumph.
Moreover, they will be especially keen to prevail, given that a win will put them ahead of either Liverpool or Arsenal in the table, depending on the outcome of the latter two sides’ clash in the evening kick off.
And they should comfortably beat a Bournemouth team that are hurtling towards the relegation zone at an alarming rate.
In addition to an embarrassing 3-0 FA Cup defeat by Millwall, Eddie Howe’s side have earned just one point from their last six league matches and recently conceded six against Everton.
5. Jamie Vardy to be first goalscorer in Leicester-Hull — 9/2
A 3-1 win over Liverpool on Monday, following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri, led many to believe Leicester and Jamie Vardy are back to their best.
Yet with the Foxes still only two points off the relegation zone, they will need to produce many more performances of a similar vein to convince skeptics that the recovery is genuine.
On Saturday, they come up against another relegation-threatened side who have also benefitted in the short-term from sacking their manager.
But expect Craig Shakespeare’s men to have too much for Marco Silva’s Hull this weekend.
Despite their well-documented woes, Leicester’s home form this season has actually been relatively respectable.
At the King Power Stadium, they have won six, drawn three and lost four since the start of the campaign.
Jamie Vardy may be underperforming in comparison to last year, but he is still Leicester’s top scorer this season with nine goals in all competitions, and is therefore the most likely man to break the deadlock against the Tigers.
His clinical brace against Jurgen Klopp’s side on Monday night will certainly ensure he goes into this game full of confidence.
Premier League fixtures (all games kick-off at 3pm unless stated otherwise)
Saturday
Man United v Bournemouth (12.30)
Leicester v Hull
Stoke v Middlesbrough
Swansea v Burnley
Watford v Southampton
West Brom v Crystal Palace
Liverpool v Arsenal (17.30)
Sunday
Tottenham v Everton (13.30)
Sunderland v Man City (16.00)
Monday
West Ham v Chelsea (20.00)
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
