Premier League
Premier League preview: Big Sunday for the title race
The Premier League returns for more weekend action as the season races towards its conclusion. We preview three games below.
Leeds v Newcastle – Saturday 12:30
Sam Allardyce began his reign as Leeds manager with a valiant 2-1 to champions-elect Manchester City, which saw the new boss make some big decisions as he dropped out of form goalkeeper Illan Meslier. Getting a result away at the Etihad was always going to be the trickiest of all of Leeds’ remaining fixtures, so they will eye up their home games in particular as the ones where three points can potentially be attained. Their price of 7/2 to win may seem decent value given the desperation these fans and players will be filled with.
Newcastle’s hopes of securing Champions League football for the first time since 2003 took a blow when title-chasing Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners to end their three-game winning run. Eddie Howe’s men will certainly regret some missed chances, but will remain confident in his side’s ability to see out the remaining fixtures, and they start as 4/6 favourites to take all three points on Saturday.
A draw would likely be no good for Leeds, priced at 16/5, although it would be an improvement on their recent run of results that has seen them lose five of their last six, conceding an alarming 20 goals in the process. In terms of goalscorers, we like the look of Callum Wilson’s price to net the last goal of the game, which can be backed at 3/1.
Check out all the latest football odds at William Hill
Everton v Manchester City – Sunday 14:00
Everton took a huge step towards Premier League survival on Monday night when they thrashed high-flying Brighton 5-1 in a scarcely believable scoreline. Sean Dyche will be hoping it can install some attacking spark into a side that has scored more than once at home in just one game back in October. They start as 8/1 outsiders to secure a second league victory on the bounce, with a draw priced at 4/1.
This will be far from a straightforward task for Manchester City, with this clash coming in between their Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid. Their 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu means it’s all to play for in the second leg, so we may see a host of changes from Pep Guardiola in order to freshen his squad for that all-important fixture at the Etihad. Regardless of this, his side remain heavy 1/3 favourites.
Choosing a goalscorer in this game is tricky due to Everton’s aforementioned troubles in front of goal and City’s tendency to rotate their attacking players, but Phil Foden has looked sharp since his return from injury and didn’t feature in City’s trip to Madrid, so backing him at 13/5 to find the net anytime could be worth a punt.
Arsenal v Brighton – Sunday 16:30
Arsenal’s brilliant 2-0 win over Newcastle last week saw them pass what may be their most difficult game of the run-in with flying colours, in a game few may have expected them to win given their recent form. Their remaining three games look relatively simple compared to Manchester City’s, but will undoubtedly be wary of a Brighton side who have proven on several occasions that they can play with the big dogs after recently downing Manchester United win a last-gasp penalty.
Brighton will be somewhat shall-shocked by their chastening 5-1 defeat to Everton on Monday, a result that puts a dent in their European ambitions, but will take encouragement from the fact that they’ve won their last two visits to the Emirates Stadium in all competitions. They start as 16/5 underdogs for an unlikely third win in succession at the home of the north London side, who are 8/11 favourites to increase the pressure on Manchester City.
Gabriel Jesus has perhaps not had the goalscoring impact he would have liked since his long-awaited return from injury, so the likes of Gabriel Martinelli (2/1) and Bukayo Saka (9/4) are perhaps better shouts for anytime goalscorers. We however like the look of Martin Odegaard opening the scoring at 15/2, especially as five of his last six goals have come before half time.
