Weekend tips: Premier League title decider, Everton to struggle

With a huge weekend coming up in the Premier League, we've previewed everything you need to know. Liverpool head to Manchester City in an attempt to surpass them in the league and Everton could continue to struggle against Manchester United.

Manchester City and Liverpool meet on Sunday in a sizzling match that has been billed as the Premier League title decider. Of course, the winners on Sunday will not be receiving the Premier League trophy, but they will have struck a devastating psychological blow on their rivals in what is turning into a pulsating title race. Pep Guardiola’s side know they can open a four-point gap at the top, while a win for Jurgen Klopp’s men would see them go clear at the top at the end of a game weekend for the first time since October.

The bookies favour the home win with City chalked up around the 11/10 mark. The Citizens have lost only one of their last 12 Premier League home matches against Liverpool and are also defending champions, so it’s easy to see why the layers fancy them. As an aside, Phil Foden also enjoys this fixture having bagged in each of his last three meetings with the Reds.

However, the away win looks tempting here given Liverpool’s red-hot recent form. Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Estadio da Luz was their eighth consecutive victory on the road in all competitions, a Liverpool record, and Klopp’s troops are also unbeaten in 2022 having taken 31 points from 33 available since the New Year.

Many are billing this as a title decider, but there are sure to be various twists and turns to come before this particular race is run. Liverpool has a tough run in, facing the likes of Manchester United, Everton and Tottenham after this contest. However, they are bang in form and look a fair old price at 5/2 to make it 11 league wins on the spin and deal a body blow to their Manchester rivals.

 

The Nap – Liverpool to win at 5/2 (bet365)

 

Real Madrid taught Chelsea a footballing lesson the other night and Southampton could be over-priced to compound Thomas Tuchel’s misery this weekend. The Blues have lost their last two matches by an aggregate score of 7-2 and look vulnerable at St Mary’s.

Who knows where Chelsea might be if Ben Chilwell didn’t tear his ACL earlier this season? Tuchel’s men were top of the pile domestically after 12 games when disaster struck for Chilwell, and he has been a player they have just not been able to adequately replace.

To be fair Southampton have little to play for but pride but they are not a bad team and have only failed to score twice in 15 home league games this term.

 

Value Tip – Southampton to win & both teams to score at 13/2 (bet365/Betfred/Hills)

 

These are worrying times if you are an Everton fan. Let’s have it right. When Everton sacked Rafa Benitez they were five points clear of the drop zone with two games in hand. Ten games later, they are one point clear of the relegation zone with no games in hand.

Frank Lampard has lost eight of his 12 games in charge of Everton and while the Merseyside giants have not been relegated since 1951, things are looking decidedly dodgy now at Goodison.

The Toffeemen sit just one point above the relegation zone, despite spending over £500million on new players since Farhad Moshiri’s arrival in February 2016. It’s a huge mess and the financial implications of going down are absolutely massive. They are no bigger than 11/10 now for the drop (their run in looks horrendous) and face another huge test against Manchester United this weekend.

In truth, the Red Devils have not been overly impressive in recent weeks themselves, winning just three of their last 11 Premier League away games.

However, Bruno Fernandes looks big at 6/1 to score first. The Portuguese has been directly involved in six goals in just four Premier League appearances against Everton (four goals and two assists) and could help heap further misery on the Blues in Saturday’s early kick-off.

 

First Goal Flutter – Bruno Fernandes to score first at 6/1 (Betfair/Paddy Power)

 

Barcelona have been banging goals in for fun in recent weeks and look worth a play when they travel to Levante on Sunday. The Catalan giants have enjoyed a strange season. Indeed, nobody imagined the post-Messi era would be quite so difficult but their rise under Xavi has been swift, with a six-game winning run – including that fabulous Clasico win – lifting them up to second.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has made a stellar start to his Barcelona career, scoring nine times already since his loan move from Arsenal. The Blaugrana saw off Sevilla last time out and have not lost in the league since early December.

In contrast, Levante had to wait until January for their first win of the season and actually have the worst defensive record in La Liga having shipped 58 goals, so Aubameyang and Co could fill their boots this weekend and the pick is for Barca to cruise to victory in a goalfest.

 

The Euro Banker – Barcelona to win & both teams to score at 7/4 (bet365)