we have another huge round of premier league matches this weekend, and we face another round of games so soon after. this latest batch of fixtures is followed by another set of midweek games, basically kicking off england’s crazy christmas fixture list a little earlier than usual. with nine rounds of games between now and the opening days of 2018, we have a fitting start to a mammoth six-week period in the top flight.
david moyes was left with little to take from his opening game as west ham manager. the scotsman saw his side lose 2-0 to the hornets on sunday, but they’re quickly back in action in the friday night football encounter. however, they head into this game having lost three of their last four at home, so can moyes end that run in his opening match at the london stadium?
moyes and his men take on leicester this week, with the foxes also under a new(ish) boss of their own, claude puel. the former saints manager is out to prove that he has no problem when it comes to playing attacking football, especially with the impressive names he has up front. that’s likely to cause havoc against the west ham defence – the worst in the premier league.
the foxes come here in decent form, while their five defeats this season have come against the league’s top six. we expect them to fare much better against a side in the relegation zone. the foxes are favourites according to our odds comparison, so we’re backing a win for the visitors at 7/4 with betfair.
liverpool and chelsea are both chasing a place in the champions league, and they come into this massive clash on the back of midweek european trips. having returned to the european stage this season, neither will want to surrender their top four place in this season’s tough battle to qualify for the champions league once again. the reds have seemingly improved their home form, but they’re still sitting in fifth place heading into this game. jurgen klopp’s side have managed to even string together some clean sheets, having conceded just once in their six home outings in the league.
however, having seen the shambles that was liverpool’s defence in seville on tuesday night you have to question their prospects here. the reds have haven’t had a big challenge defensively in the league at anfield, while they’ve conceded five times to sevilla in the champions league this term. both manchester city and tottenham ran riot against the reds this season, while the blues have averaged 2.33 goals per game on the road. we’re backing over 1.5 chelsea goals, which is best priced at 17/10 with betvictor on our odds comparison.
the blues have a solid record at anfield of late, they haven’t lost here since 2012. the last three meetings between these two on merseyside have finished level, so we like the look of a 2-2 draw between these two, as both have looked better going forwards than back for the majority of the season. that correct score can be backed at 12/1 with bet365.
burnley v arsenal: european six-pointer for arsenal at turf moor
the top four battle contains the usual suspects, with the big six leading the way. however, burnley are currently in seventh place, just four points shy of second. they are level on points with arsenal and liverpool, which is an incredible record for a side of burnley’s resources. with arsenal visiting turf moor this weekend, this can be seen as a crucial game in the fight for europe. there’s some worrying signs for the gunners coming into this game, given that they’ve lost 67% of their away trips this term. they’ve got the 14th best record on the road in the premier league, which is really hampering their hopes of making the top four.
meanwhile, burnley have lost just one of their six home games this season. they’ve lost just two games overall, thanks to some great results against the top sides in the league. a win at chelsea was followed by draws at tottenham and liverpool, and we can see sean dyche’s men making things difficult for the gunners this week. the two encounters last season were narrow wins for arsenal, and both were harsh on burnley. we are backing the home side to get something out of this game, and we’re backing burnley in the double chance market which is best priced at 16/11 with ladbrokes on our odds comparison.
after a victory over leicester last week, man city have maintained their 100% away record this term. the citizens have now won 16 of their last 17 matches in all competitions, winning on penalties in the other. that fantastic run has put them comfortably clear at the top of the table, and we expect that to continue after this trip. while manchester united slipped up in their trip to the john smiths stadium, we can’t see the same thing happening here. the leaders should deal with huddersfield’s pressing game, and overload them up front.
the citizens have scored 3.33 goals per game this season, and we see them getting a few goals in this clash. the terriers have scored 62% of their goals at home this season, and we are backing them to get a goal against a city side who are missing john stones and possibly vincent kompany. pep guardiola is prepared for a defensively slip, saying that he approaches matches saying that they need to score three times given the crazy nature of the league. we’re backing a city win and over 2.5 goals in this game, which is best priced at 8/13 with coral according to our odds comparison.