Champion wants to prevent another slip-up at Everton
Next time out in the Premier League, the Manchester leaders will be looking to get back to winning ways at Everton after the Citizens conceded a home defeat to Tottenham last week
The clash between Arsenal and second-placed Liverpool has again been postponed due to a clash of dates with the upcoming EFL Cup final. In the latter, the Reds and Chelsea face each other next Sunday, which also means that the Blues’ scheduled clash with Leicester in league action cannot take place.
Southampton v Norwich – 25 February, 21:00
The “Saints” still have a score to settle with Norwich due to a 1:2 defeat from the first leg. Here they can rely on the home advantage: Only one of the twelve home games was lost (4-7-1). They also recorded a home win against Everton last weekend.
The Canaries, on the other hand, were beaten twice last time out. Admittedly, the opponents for the bottom of the league were the two top teams at the top of the table, Manchester and Liverpool.
A persistent shortcoming is again the harmless offensive: no team in the division gives up fewer direct shots on goal! For the match at St. Mary’s Stadium in the Premier League on matchday 27, tips on a home win seem promising.
Leeds v Tottenham – 26 February, 16:00
The “Peacocks” have won each of their last two home league and FA Cup games against the Londoners, with the cup win coming more than nine years ago. In addition, the home side is very weak at the moment: they have been waiting for their next win for five rounds of matches and four of those games ended in defeat.
The defence in particular is shaky: last Wednesday they lost 6-0 at Liverpool and have conceded at least four goals in four rounds of matches. One reason for this is the tight personnel situation, as the Scottish veteran Liam Cooper, among others, is missing from the defence.
The visitors also suffered a defeat this week: Tottenham were surprisingly beaten by third-bottom Burnley and, like their opponents, now have four defeats from their last five league games.
After an away win at the champions and league leaders from Manchester last weekend, the Lilywhites are already back in the doldrums.
Predictions of a draw are worth a recommendation for the match between two knocked-out teams at Elland Road in the Premier League on Matchday 27.
Brighton v Aston Villa – 26 Feb, 16:00
The Seagulls have failed to score a goal in their two most recent meetings with Villa. The offense is not performing well at the moment either: No goal has been marked for two rounds of matches and the average of one goal per league match is not a glorious record for the offense overall.
But Aston Villa are also acting shakily at the moment. Most recently, they lost their home match against Watford. It was already the second defeat in a row against a bottom team in the table after a previous defeat against Newcastle.
For the match on the south coast in the Premier League on Matchday 27, betting tips on a draw are a good idea given the points listed.
The prediction is underpinned by the hosts’ preference for this match outcome: just under half of the 25 league matches have already ended in a draw (12). Furthermore, such a result has come in Hove’s past four home games against Villa!
Crystal Palace vs Burnley – 26 February, 16:00
The “Eagles” have been waiting for their next victory in four duels with Burnley (0-1-3). The “Clarets” are also in an improved form. Last weekend, they celebrated a 3-0 away win at Brighton and thus got their first three points of the season away from home.
The match was also pleasing from the point of view of new signing Wout Weghorst. The former VfL Wolfsburg player scored his first goal for his new employer.
This week, both teams also played catch-up games. The home side won 4-1 at Watford and Burnley 1-0 at home to Tottenham.
The hosts will rely on Wilfried Zaha in particular: The Ivory Coast striker scored a brace in the win over the Hornets and has scored three of the home side’s last five goals in their last four league games.
For the Premier League clash in London on matchday 27, there is therefore value to be discovered in the odds on the attacker’s next goal celebrations, which are very much on target at the moment.
Brentford vs. Newcastle – 26 February, 16:00
The “Bees” delivered a real spectacle with United in the first leg. In the end, the teams parted with a 3-3 draw, although the home side were the slightly better team from an objective point of view, but weakened themselves with an own goal.
Now there are signs that the visitors will be stronger again. The home side are without a win in eight league and FA Cup matches and have lost no fewer than seven of those encounters. Furthermore, they cannot rely on a home bonus: The Londoners have already lost seven of their 13 home matches (4-2-7).
On the other hand, the visitors’ form is on the rise: They have not lost for five rounds of matches and the recent shopping spree in the winter transfer phase has led to a noticeable improvement in performances.
For the upcoming clash at the Brentford Community Stadium in the Premier League within Matchday 27, predictions of an away win therefore seem promising.
Manchester United v Watford – 26 February, 16:00
The “Red Devils” conceded a heavy 1:4 defeat at the “Hornets” in the first leg. The defeat also marked the end of Ole-Gunnar Solksjaer’s coaching tenure at Manchester.
Now the record champions can rely on home advantage in this pairing: Looking back on the past 22 years, all eight home games in the Premier League and the FA Cup against the “Golden Boys” have been victorious! Furthermore, the hosts have never been defeated on home soil in this pairing.
The visitors, however, won at Aston Villa last weekend and have new hope in the relegation battle. The return of Ismaila Sarr to the squad after the end of the Africa Cup, where he triumphed with Senegal, is particularly good for Watford’s forward play.
The 23-year-old set up the decisive goal in Birmingham’s 1-0 win in the penultimate game. However, the visitors suffered another defeat during the week when they were beaten 4-1 at home by Crystal Palace.
For the match at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Watford, tips on a home win with at least two goals difference are worth considering.
Although the home side had to play Atletico Madrid (1-1) in the Champions League this week, even this physical disadvantage does not change the clear favourites position of MUFC.
Everton v Manchester City – 26 February, 6:30pm
The “Toffees” will be looking with horror at their next opponent: Not only have they lost their last three encounters against the champions in the league and FA Cup, but they have also failed to score a goal of their own. Moreover, the recent home record against the Citizens is disastrous, with five consecutive defeats at Goodison Park.
Furthermore, the recent change of coach has not yet led to the desired upswing. Under new coach Frank Lampard, they have already lost two out of three league games (1-0-2) – most recently a 0-2 defeat at Southampton.
The visitors also travel with a defeat from last weekend. Coach Pep Guardiola’s team suffered their second home defeat of the season against Tottenham.
As a result, the gap to the Reds in second place, who won their catch-up game against Norwich 6-0 this week, has been reduced to just three points. For this reason, the visitors will not want to make another mistake.
Riyad Mahrez has been in fine form on the offensive front. The Algerian has scored in four of his last five appearances in the competition and added two more goals!
For the match on the Mersey in the Premier League in the 27th round of matches, predictions are for an away win, including an interval lead.
A course of play that has already been observed in seven of the 13 completed guest games of the Citizens this season.
At least one goal by the home side in the second half, however, suggests the same. No team in the Premier League likes to score goals after the break as much as the Toffees.
71 per cent of their season-long goals have come in the second half and, in parallel, Manchester City concede 76 per cent of their admittedly very few goals in the second half – also the highest figure league-wide!
West Ham v Wolverhampton – 26 Feb, 16:00
The Wanderers picked up one of their nine clean sheets in the first leg thanks to a 1-0 home win and only the Manchester champions concede fewer goals than Wolves.
Furthermore, the visitors are currently very strong away from home: Wolverhampton have won four of their last four matches – the longest such streak in the British top flight.
However, they will now be a little tired, as they had to play a catch-up game at Arsenal last Thursday evening. The home side, on the other hand, will rely on their high finishing efficiency: With a shot conversion rate of 19.6 per cent, they lead the league in this ranking!
In what is sure to be a very evenly-matched clash between two teams on a par in the Premier League on Matchday 24, bets on a draw are worth considering.
