Liverpool's trip to Old Trafford tops the EPL billing this weekend with Spurs and Arsenal up against Burnley and Southampton respectively.
There's plenty of hype surrounding a weekend where we see a reduced number of Premier League fixtures with Chelsea and Manchester City set to slug it out in the Carabao Cup final.
The league fixture this week sees Liverpool travel to a rejuvenated Manchester United at Old Trafford. Elsewhere, Spurs are away to Burnley while Arsenal welcome Southampton to the Emirates.
Friday 22 February
Cardiff 21/10
Draw 23/10
Watford 27/20
Cardiff host Watford looking for three vital points in their battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League. Neil Warnock’s men, who occupy 17th position, know that a win over the Hornets on Friday will boost their survival hopes with 18th-placed Southampton widely expected to lose at Arsenal on Sunday. The Bluebirds are looking to make it three league wins in a row for the first time this season, having recorded back-to-back victories over Bournemouth and Southampton.
Watford are eighth in the table and Javi Gracia’s side have lost just once in their last 10 matches in all competitions (a 2-1 league defeat against Spurs at Wembley last month). When these sides met in December, the Hornets were 3-0 up after 68 minutes, but Cardiff gave them a late scare, scoring twice in the final 10 minutes of the game.
We’ll be lucky to see another five-goal thriller here; I’m backing Cardiff on the Win/Draw Double Chance at 11/20.
West Ham 17/20
Draw 11/4
Fulham 3/1
West Ham will be desperate to return to winning ways when they host relegation-threatened Fulham in a London derby on Friday night. After a promising start to 2019, progressing to the FA Cup fourth round with a 2-0 victory over Birmingham and beating Arsenal 1-0 in the league, it went horribly wrong for Manuel Pellegrini’s men as they suffered three straight defeats, including a 4-2 loss away to League One’s bottom side, AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup. The Hammers have somewhat improved, holding Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at home and getting a point at Crystal Palace.
Fulham look set for an immidiate return to the Championship as they sit 19th in the table and are eight points off safety. They come into this game with six losses from their last seven matches and have recently become the first ever club in English top-flight history to lose eight consecutive London derbies. The Cottagers have also conceded the most away goals (32) in the league this season.
Back Pellegrini’s men to claim all three points.
Saturday 23 February
Burnley 17/4
Draw 28/10
Tottenham 7/10
Tottenham will be looking to continue their hot streak when they travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley in Saturday's early kick-off. Mauricio Pochettino’s side come into this game, riding a four-match winning streak, having beaten Watford, Newcastle and Leicester in the Premier League and thrashing Borussia Dortmund 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League last time out.
Burnley come off a superb 3-1 victory away to Brighton, which moved them from 17th to 15th in the league table. Sean Dyche’s men will be hoping to build on that result as they look to move further away from the drop zone. The Clarets are unbeaten in their last four matches at home, beating West Ham and Fulham, in between an FA Cup victory over Barnsley and a draw with Southampton in their last game. Burnley put up a valiant rearguard effort in the reverse tie at Wembley, but Spurs sealed a 1-0 victory thanks to Christian Eriksen's stoppage-time strike. I’m expecting another tight affair and instead of picking a winner,
I’m backing Son Heung-min to Score Anytime at 11/10.
Bournemouth 18/10
Draw| 9/4
Wolves 16/10
Wolves travel to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday to take on Bournemouth. Eddie Howe’s side will be delighted to return to their home ground after suffering back-to-back away defeats against Cardiff (2-0) and Liverpool (3-0). The Cherries haven’t played at the Vitality Stadium since they thrashed Chelsea 4-0 last month in what was probably the upset of the season.
Wolves have been the surprise package of the season, coming up from the Championship, sitting seventh in the standings after 26 games. Nuno Espirito Santo's men are on a seven-game unbeaten run and are brimming with confidence, with the likes of Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves all in exceptional form.
Wolves won the reverse tie 2-0 at the Molineux in December and I do fancy Nuno's men here, but rather play it safe and back Both Teams to Score at 8/10.
Newcastle 8/10
Draw 49/20
Huddersfield 4/1
Newcastle welcome bottom side Huddersfield to Tyneside on Saturday looking for a vital three points in their battle to avoid relegation. The Magpies currently sit just one point above the drop zone following a hard-fought draw away at Wolves last time out. Rafa Benitez’s men have won back-to-back matches at St James' Park, thrashing Cardiff 3-0 and stunning Manchester City 2-1.
Huddersfield have only won two league games this season and sit bottom of the table. They are 14 points behind 17th-placed Cardiff with a worse goal difference. With 12 matches remaining, realistically Jan Siewert will be planning for the future and trying to ensure the team, who have not won since November, can compete for promotion in the Championship next season.
The home win is the way to go.
Leicester 23/20
Draw 23/10
Crystal Palace 5/2
Leicester City will be desperate to return to winning ways when they welcome Crystal Palace to the King Power Stadium. It’s been a difficult start to 2019 for Claude Puel's outfit, having won just once from seven matches played this year, losing five times. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, winning three times – including an FA Cup victory over Tottenham last month.
The Eagles have won their last three meetings against the Foxes. They won both league encounters comfortably last season, 3-0 away and 5-0 at Selhurst Park. After winning the reverse tie 1-0 at Selhurst Park in December, Palace will be hoping to complete the double over the Foxes for the second season in a row. Also, Roy Hodgson remains undefeated as a manager against Leicester, winning six out of seven meetings against them.
Everything points to a victory for Palace at 5/2.
Sunday 24 February
Arsenal 9/20
Draw 36/10
Southampton 57/10
Arsenal will be looking to continue their superb form at the Emirates Stadium when they face relegation-threatened Southampton on Sunday. The Gunners will believe they can break into the top four with victory this weekend, with hope of Manchester United dropping points against Liverpool. Unai Emery's side are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League home games and have won their last six at the Emirates, including a 2-0 victory over Chelsea last month.
It’s going to be incredibly difficult for Southampton to leave north London with a positive result, but with Ralph Hussenhuttl's fearless side desperate to come out of the relegation zone, the Gunners will need to be on top of their game. The Saints are unbeaten in their last four away matches with two wins and last month they held Chelsea to a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal will also be seeking revenge after Southampton beat them 3-2 at St. Mary's in December.
I’m going for the Gunners to Win & Both Teams to Score at 17/10.
Manchester United 43/20
Draw| 51/20
Liverpool 5/4
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TREBLE @ 5/1
West Ham Win 17/20
Bournemouth vs Wolves BTTS 8/10
Newcastle Win 8/10
Written by Chad Nagel for Hollywoodbets and SBN.
