Leicester City v Manchester City

Leicester host the Premier League champions in the early kick off on Saturday in what will be the Foxes toughest fixture to date. With a torturous start to the campaign that saw Leicester fail to pick up 3 points in the first 8 games of the season, October seems to have been kind to Brendan Rodgers and his side after winning 3 of their last 5 games (1D, 1L) has helped to drag themselves out of the relagation zone, for now!

Manchester City will have fond memories of previous encounters against Leicester having scored 9 goals in their previous three encounters. Scoring goals has never been an issue for Pep’s men with this season being no different but with star man Erling Haaland a doubt for this fixture a potential change in personnel may benefit Leicester should the Norwegian striker not feature. 

Leicester have looked creative in the final third, with James Maddison being at the forefront of anything positive coming from the King Power but in recent fixtures, the Leicester defence has looked more sustainable to any pressure. 3 clean sheets on the bounce have helped Leicester’s resurrection begin.

Having only failed to score once in their last 5 games with 4 clean sheets and scoring 11 times in those games, shows the improvements made in comparison to the opening 5 games. Leicester will feel confident going into this one but Manchester City should have way too much for any kind of upset in this one. Boasting the highest goal tally to date after finding the net 36 times already and conceding only 11 times see’s them sit joint second for the best defence in the league too. Those stats, you’d expect to see them sat pretty at the top of the table but with City currently sat second behind Arsenal, there will be slight pressure on them to deliver the 3 points and keep the pressure on Arteta’s men.

Leicester will certainly make this fixture competitive, but I expect to see nothing other than Manchester City in this one.

Newcastle United v Aston Villa

Aston Villa make the trip up to the North East on Saturday afternoon to face a strong looking Newcastle side. Unai Emery will not be in the hot seat for the first time, as Villa appointed the Spaniard only just a few days ago. He takes over from Steven Gerrard but has a job on his hands in rejuvenating the midlands outfit. They did make an impressive start under the temporary stewardship of Aaron Danks, running out 4-0 winners against Brentford. However, they will no doubt have a much tougher task here, away from Villa Park. The home side could be the real breakthrough team in the Premier League this season, with whispers of a European spot being touted about in recent weeks. This is purely down to the excellent run of games they’re having at the moment. A superb win at Spurs last weekend tees them up perfectly as they attempt to gain another three points.

Eddie Howe has brought a belief back to the Toon Army, whether that may be the players or the fans. He’s got his side playing some excellent football and this has been reflected in their results this season. They remain unbeaten in their previous eight matches and have won four of their last five. This strong form is part of the reason for backing Newcastle in this one. The eye opening performances from the Paraguayan, Miguel Almiron have been nothing short of superb. He’s now bagged five goals in his previous five games and is looking the real deal in this strong Newcastle team. It’s hard to see him being demoted to the bench here and he could well be the answer again in front of goal. There is however a plethora of talent within the camp, Bruno Guimares has been a stand out performer, Joelinton looks to have been reborn and Calum Wilson has been sharp in attack. These key individuals add a solid depth to the team and with the settled backline conceding just three goals in five games, there’s every chance of a clean sheet. Sven Botman and Fabian Schar seem to be preferred centre back pairing, both of whom can be dangerous in their opponents half too. The Swiss defender has amassed 15 shots in the opening games, notching on one of these occasions. All in all, goals can come from anywhere which is no doubt a serious weapon to have in the Premier League.

The Villains will be hoping their new boss can assist them in achieving a change of fortunes, although I don’t see it in this particular fixture. As previously mentioned, they hit Brentford for four last weekend, but before this, we hadn’t seen them firing at all. In the four games previous, Villa had scored just one goal. The patchy form of Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins in attack has contributed to this. Now, up against one of the better defences in the league, I believe they could well struggle once again. Its five losses on the road out of the seven they’ve played and to see a sudden turnaround here would be rather surprising. We’ve barely mentioned Phillipe Coutinho this season as well, he’s provided no attacking returns at all, zero goals or assists. Considering he’s one of the marquee players, this has no doubt contributed to their recent woes.

I’m expecting another strong performance from Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, consequently a home win is the selection.

Fulham v Everton

Fulham welcome Everton to Craven Cottage for the Saturday tea time kick off in London. The hosts have been a surprise package in what we’ve seen of them this season and currently sit in an impressive 7^th place. They’ve hit back to back wins, a 3-0 thrashing against Villa and an excellent away win at Leeds, outmuscling them to a 3-2 win. The Cottagers have a settled XI under Marco Silva and the partnership at the heart of the midfield is key. Harrison Reed and Joao Palhinha are the deep lying midfielders, whom I believe to have been so vital in their success thus far. The pair have also chipped in with a couple of goals each and this always goes a long way when trying to win a Football match. Their opponents Everton have been fairly inconsistent in the main but are now up to 13^th in the table, after winning 3-0 at home to Palace last weekend. Although, their miserable form in the capital could well continue. The Toffees remain winless in their last eight trips to London and historically have the most away losses in London, 85 in total. 

The magnificent Alexsandar Mitrovic is set to cause the Everton backline all sorts of problems in this one. He’s been the main man in attack for the Cottagers and has netted in the last three Premier League games. In total, after 12 games played, the Serbian is averaging a goal every 0.75 games and there’s every reason to believe he may well be on the scoresheet yet again. The provider has been Andreas Periera, the Brazilian has racked up four assists so far and seems to be reaching the heights he once promised at Manchester United. With further ammunition within the side and the fact they’ve scored an impressive 22 goals in 12 games, I feel Fulham can out score their opponents. It’s now three wins out of the last five at Craven Cottage, which bodes well and gives us further belief they’ll be able to pick up all three points.

Everton themselves have lost their last two away games in the league without managing a single goal. It’s just one win on the road all season too which adds further doubt to how they’ll manage in this encounter. Goals have been hard to come by and we’ve only seen them net 2+ on one occasion away from home too. The misfiring Neal Maupay can be dealt with by the Fulham defence and I feel if they can stop Anthony Gordon and Alex Iwobi breaking the lines, then this may lead to a home victory. Both sides seem to be of a similar standard in summary but the formbook doesn’t lie and I’m more than happy to back a Fulham win on Saturday evening.

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Liverpool v Leeds United

After a shock defeat to bottom of the league Nottingham Forest last Saturday, Liverpool will look to use the Anfield crowd to help them back to winning ways. The Reds confirmed their place in the Champions League knockout stages midweek with a 3-0 victory over Ajax, a performance that will need to be replicated in order to beat Leeds on Saturday evening.

Leeds come into this game in the relegation zone and without a win since their 3-0 victory over Chelsea back in August. Cries from the Leeds fans rang out during their home defeat to Fulham last week for manager Jesse March to be sacked, mounting pressure on the American to deliver a perfect performance and get a win against Liverpool – something they’ve failed to in their last 12 attempts with their last victory over The Reds dating back to 2001.

Unbeaten in 29 games at Anfield, with 22 of them being wins for Jurgen Klopp’s men it’s difficult to see anything other than a victory on Saturday for Liverpool. 

Away form is the issue for Liverpool and the ability to break teams down as shown in their 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, a resilient and organised performance proved too much for Mo Salah and co. This isn’t Leeds United’s style, which will most likely play into Liverpool’s hands, March’s men always looking to attack and more than often this season leaving themselves exposed at the back having conceded 18 goals so far this season.

With the 4^th best home record in the league, Liverpool have collected 14 from a possible 18 points at Anfield scoring 17 times and conceding only 5. As for Leeds, they’ve only managed a single point on the road this season (the joint worst away record in the league). 

I see a positive response in this one for Liverpool with Leeds attacking style of play allowing Liverpool’s high press and quick attackers to get in behind an unorganised Leeds defence.

Arsenal v Nottingham Forest

Top of the table host bottom of the table on Sunday afternoon with Arsenal keen to extend their lead at the summit, while Forest will be confident they can cause another upset after beating Liverpool 1-0 last week and proving they can beat the ‘Top 6’ sides.

Arsenal come into this one with 5 wins from 5 home games this season while Forest are yet to win on the road, making any kind of upset this week a very tough task. Scoring 14 goals in those games, giving an average of just under 3 goals per game and a 2.47 xG at home, shows the quality of chances Arsenal are creating. Martin Odegaard will be key in this game, playing as a ‘Number 10’ looking to play in between the lines and trying to help break down a resilient Forest defence (something Liverpool failed to do).

Last week’s victory for Forest, was their first since GW2 and with 6 losses in their last 9 games (1W, 2D) means this could be a very tough afternoon for the visitors. Goals have been a problem for Forest all season scoring only 8 in 12 games, so if they are going to get any kind of result in this one, it’s going to require another inspired performance from goalkeeper Dean Henderson to keep Arsenal’s inform attackers at bay.

It’s been reported Arsenal are feeling ‘fatigued’ due to the congested fixtures which is worrying after only scoring 2 in the last 2 Premier League games resulting in a disappointing 1-1 draw last week to Southampton, maybe now is a good time to play Arsenal?

Personally, Arsenal look too good at home for Forest to cause any issues in this one, Forest will be desperate to stay in the game for as long as possible but I believe The Gunners quality will shine through here.

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