Home of football statistics and historyPremier League football returns after the international break and we have some huge games to look forward to at the top of the table as four of the top five go head-to-head. Let’s preview the games involving the current title contenders…..
Man City vs Liverpool
There is only one place to start and that’s at the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City take on Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime. Defending champions City went into the break sitting top of the table despite being held to a thrilling 4-4 draw at Chelsea last time out. Pep Guardiola will see it as an opportunity missed to put some distance between them and the chasing pack so he’ll be keen to get back to winning ways on home soil.
Liverpool now sit joint second with Arsenal – just one point behind Man City – after beating Brentford 3-0 at Anfield before the international break. Mohamed Salah scored twice during the win and Jurgen Klopp will be looking to his Egyptian talisman to be the main threat once again at City this weekend.
Leading betting sites such as Asian Storm have Man City as the 7/10 favourites to win the game on Saturday. Liverpool are priced at 10/3 to take home all three points while the draw is available at odds of 16/5.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Tottenham will be waiting to take advantage of any slip ups by the teams above them in the table as they prepare to host high-flying Aston Villa in North London on Sunday afternoon. Spurs have enjoyed an excellent start to the new season but slipped to a shock 2-1 defeat to Wolves last time out with the hosts scoring two late goals to consign Tottenham to their second consecutive defeat.
Tottenham now sit fourth in the Premier League table after 12 games, but they’re just one point behind Arsenal and Liverpool , and a further point adrift of leaders City, so they are still right in the title mix. A win over Villa on Sunday would cement their position as title contenders so Ange Postecoglou will be desperate to get back on track with a win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, that won’t be easy against an impressive Villa side that continues to improve under Unai Emery. Villa have been superb this campaign and bounced back from a shock defeat to Nottingham Forest with a routine 3-1 win over Fulham two weeks ago. That has left them sitting fifth in the table and just three points off the leaders, so they could announce themselves as shock title contenders with a win over Tottenham.
The betting markets have Tottenham as the 5/4 favourites to win the game on Sunday. Villa can be backed at 14/5 to claim the three points while the draw is 9/5.
Brentford vs Arsenal
With the rest of the top five playing against each other, this weekend presents Arsenal with a golden opportunity to pull away from some of their closest rivals. The Gunners lost their unbeaten record with a controversial 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle United earlier this month. However, they responded with a solid 3-1 win over Burnley before the international break with Leandro Trossard, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko all on the scoresheet.
Arsenal are looking to build on their excellent second placed finish from last season and have already shown they are ready to battle it out with Man City once again for the title this campaign. If City and/or Liverpool drop points at the Etihad in Saturday’s early kick-off, Arsenal could move top with a win over Brentford later that evening.
It won’t be straightforward though against a Brentford side who’ve won three of their last four league games. They were well beaten away to Liverpool last time out but wins over Burnley, Chelsea and West Ham in the games prior show Arsenal can’t take this match lightly. The bookies have Arsenal as the narrow 4/5 favourites to claim the win at the Gtech Community Stadium. The Bees can be backed at 4/1 to win on home soil while the draw is priced at 14/5.
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