GETTING US THROUGH THE WEEK After another weekend of Cup action, we are treated to the Premier League returning during the week this week. This time around the FA Cup predictions went far better as teams are becoming a bit more predictable as we progress through the competition. Now to continue this run into the midweek Premier League games…
Liverpool v Chelsea
8.00pm Tuesday Things have completely flipped around since the last time these two sides met earlier in the season. Chelsea had gotten off to a slow start under their new manager and Liverpool looked like a real force after going through their first pre-season with Jurgen Klopp. Fast forward to the end of January and things couldn’t be much more different for these sides. Chelsea have been through an historic run of consecutive wins and look almost unstoppable en route to another Premier League title. Liverpool on the other hand look vulnerable and have many questioning whether or not they are any better than they had been under Brendan Rodgers.
One of the main reasons for Liverpool’s semi collapse has been their defence. They look quite weak at the back recently after Lovren and Matip starting the season as a great partnership. They have always had issues with their goalkeeper, and now it seems like they have gone with Mignolet who is not exactly the most convincing keeper in the Premier League. Coming up against a Chelsea side averaging two goals per game and containing a red hot Diego Costa, I really don’t see Liverpool keeping a clean sheet here. Although they have averaged a decent amount of goals themselves this season things have dried up a bit since the calendar hit 2017. Not only this but they are coming up against a solid Chelsea defence since they changed to the back three.
I see Chelsea being able to keep a clean sheet against a Liverpool attack who has lost its vigour in front of goal, and on the other end I think the pace of Hazard, Pedro etc. can do some real damage against this Liverpool defence. James Milner has done an excellent job slipping into full back this season but with so much going forward in the wide areas for Chelsea they will be able to exploit this back four. A loss here basically leaves Liverpool outside of contending for any trophies, and unfortunately for them I see all hopes vanishing for a third trophy in one week for them.
TONY’S BEST BET:
Back Chelsea at 3.1.
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQLivChel
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace
7.45pm Tuesday Everybody thought all was OK with Crystal Palace when Big Sam came on board. It’s what he does. He is an expert at coming in and turning things around at a club and keeping them away from the drop. As a manager he has never been relegated from the top flight, and that is quite impressive when you consider how many close calls he has experienced. It is not looking a given this time around however. He has not quite gotten things to click just yet and this looks like it may be his first time being in the hot seat when his team goes down. Of course there is plenty of time to turn things around, and things are very close at the bottom so I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I don’t think there will be any resistances beginning this week against Bournemouth.
Bournemouth are a good side, particularly at their home grounds. As well as this, they have the added benefit of rest over the weekend. Eddie Howe was pretty clear that he had no eye on a cup run as he rested his whole team in the FA Cup third round. That meant they went out at their first hurdle, which also leaves them concentrate solely on the Premier League. I think it will play a big role tomorrow night. I am big on backing teams based on their goals. I did it at the weekend in the FA Cup with Southampton not having any real focus on the FA Cup, same with Hull. Well here we can see the opposite. We know Bournemouth’s focus is the Premier League. Crystal Palace just crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Man City in a very one sided game. Yes this frees them up to concentrate solely on staying in the Premier League, but only a couple of days after such a humbling defeat I think they need longer in order to turn things around.
TONY’S BEST BET:
Back Bournemouth at 2.1.
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQBourPal
Sunderland v Spurs
7.45pm Tuesday This is a funny one for me. Do I think Spurs will beat Sunderland? Probably yes. But when looking at the prices on this one I thought something was off. Spurs are playing away from home, against a side who are desperate for points, and they are better than twos on to get a win. They are way too short for me, especially after watching their last couple of games. Sure they have been in some excellent form leading up to their game against Man City, but they left a lot to be desired for most of the game. Then you look at their FA Cup performance, sure not all their best players took part, but they still should not have had any problem dispatching a League Two side.
Sunderland are having a very bad season. They look like they will really struggle to stay up, similar to Palace above. But also similar to above is the fact that they had no game at the weekend. They were out of the cup, this game them a full week to refocus on the task at hand. They have known now they they only have Premier League football to concentrate on, they will have rested up for a big game against one of the top sides in the league. They have actually played pretty OK in most of their games against the top sides, have they got the results? Mostly not, but they have been competitive. They did scrape a draw against Liverpool and I can see them possibly picking another scalp of a big team this season. Back to my opening point, I don’t think Sunderland are nailed on to get a result here, but I think at the price available it is certainly worth a small lay.
TONY’S BEST BET:
Lay Spurs at 1.39.
You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQSunSpu
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