What an amazing run EFL League One Burton have been on in the League Cup this season and they produced another great performance midweek, knocking out EFL Championship promotion contenders Middlesbrough 0-1 at the Riverside. The semi-finals will be played over two home and away legs and Burton have been rewarded with a dream semi-final against last seasons winners Manchester City at the Etihad on January 8th 2019. The other semi-final is worthy of a final itself, a London derby between high flying Spurs and Chelsea and the first leg will be played at Spurs temporary home Wembley on Tuesday 8th January 2019.
Spurs gained revenge for their recent defeat against Arsenal, knocking them out 2-0 with goals in each half from the in-form Min and Ali. Chelsea had to work harder for their place in the semi-finals down on the South Coast against a resilient Bournemouth, but class always shines through at this level and it was star man Hazard who saved the Blues extra-time on this occasion with a late winner.
The domestic Premier League and EFL Championship and League One and Two action takes centre stage again this weekend and these will be the last games before the Premier League and EFL League One and Two return to action on Boxing Day. This weekend’s action kicks-off tonight, but it’s a live Premier League match rather than the usual Championship fixture.
High flying Wolves take on league leaders Liverpool at Molineux and this is a must win game for the Reds if they are going to maintain top-place. They can’t afford underestimate Wolves, as Chelsea with their star studded squad did recently and lost 2-1 at Molineux. However, I don’t expect Klopp will fall in to that trap and with the best defence in the league and a host of world class attacking players and goal scorers at his disposal I think they’ll come away with a low scoring win, which makes the Match Double Liverpool Win & U3.5 Goals a tempting bet.
Tomorrow’s action kicks off at lunch time with a Premier League clash between fifth placed Gunners and third from bottom Burnley at the Emirates. Arsenal have only lost one of nine at home in the league this season, winning six and drawing two, while it’s the opposite for Burnley who have only won once on their travels in the league this season. If past corresponding fixtures continue in the same vein, and their strikers live up to their price tags the Gunners should win and from a betting perspective you could consider Arsenal to score 2+ Goals or Arsenal Win and BTTS.
Reigning Premier league Champions Manchester City are one of the six 3pm kick-offs tomorrow and they face Palace at the Etihad. City will be expected to extend their winning league home run to nine in a row tomorrow as Palace lost the last nine visits to the Etihad in all competitions, they’ve won only two of their nine league away games so far this season and they could only muster a miserly nine goals in this run. Given the cautious nature of Palace manager Hodgson, his main aim will probably be to avoid the last three corresponding and humiliating 5-0, 5-0 and 4-1 defeats, but the way City are performing at present I fear Palace could be on the end of another thrashing tomorrow, and from a betting perspective backing the Match Double Jesus to Score and City Win or City Win & O4.5 Goals are worth considering based on past corresponding encounters.
There’s two important relegation six-pointers tomorrow at 3pm as second bottom Huddersfield face fourth from bottom Southampton at the Kirklees Stadium and Fulham head to the North East to play fourteenth place Newcastle United at St James Park. All four teams are near the bottom of the home and away league form tables this season and as games of these nature are usually low on quality and goals neither interests me from a betting perspective.
There’s two Premier League derby’s today as well, starting on the South Coast where mid-table Bournemouth play mid-table Brighton and from a betting perspective, I’d just give The Cherries the edge with home advantage. The other one is between two teams who are in decent form at present, Watford and West Ham at Vicarage Road and I think backing Over 2.5 Goals should land comfortably from a betting perspective.
Selections:
None
