Andrew Wilsher
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Once upon a time, Liverpool at Arsenal would not only have been the biggest game in England, but probably the biggest game in Europe. Not this weekend, folks.
Events at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium are strictly on the undercard on this Premier League Saturday, with Manchester City at Leicester most definitely the main event of the day as Pep Guardiola’s all-stars aim to stretch their lead at the top of the standings to 17 points.
Will they? Well, we say yes they will and we’ve got a bet to back that up, as well as a couple of picks from two other games.
Check out the rest of our Premier League soccer predictions and remember to gamble responsibly. A parlay of these three EPL predictions can land a nice return, paying odds of +579 with DraftKings Sportsbook — nearly 6/1.
Chelsea to beat West Brom – Money Line and under 3.5 goals (-117), 7:30 a.m ET
There are two things we know about Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel – they don’t lose soccer matches and those same matches don’t feature many goals.
Give those two stats a stir, add in the fact that West Brom are fighting for their Premier League lives but actually aren’t that good, and the bet is obvious, isn’t it? Chelsea and under 3.5 goals.
Every single one of Chelsea’s 14 games under Tuchel has produced three goals or less. Indeed 13 of the 14 have produced two or less. They boast a defense to be proud of and an offense that’s less convincing.
Either way they should be far too good for Sam Allardyce’s West Brom, who are destined for relegation to the Championship and whose last five games in total have produced just three goals.
Manchester City to beat Leicester – Money Line and over 2.5 total goals (+128), 12:30 p.m ET
And so to the big one, leaders Manchester City at third-placed Leicester.
The title race is as good as over – Manchester City are 14 points clear of the pack – but Leicester need to stay in the top four to get into next season’s Champions League, so this is a massive game.
Leicester have actually won more games and scored more goals on the road than they have at their King Power home because they set themselves up to play on the counter.
Because Manchester City are so dominant, on the road or at home, this may well feel like a road game for Leicester anyway so they should get their share of chances.
They score goals, so too do Manchester City, who also win games in breathtaking numbers – they have won 25 of their last 26 matches! How do you bet against that? Don’t.
Arsenal vs. Liverpool – Both teams to score (-167), 3 p.m ET
Anyone who saw Arsenal’s last game – a 3-3 tie at West Ham – will appreciate that they cannot defend very well. In fact, it’s no secret. They haven’t stopped an opponent from scoring in any of their last 12 matches.
Interestingly, Liverpool have stopped scoring but with Diogo Jota available again to give Jurgen Klopp another option in attack, that should soon change.
Both of these teams are off the pace in the race for a top-four finish so a 0-0 tie does neither of them any good. Expect plenty of attacking and plenty of goals.
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