Manchester City’s hopes of retaining their Premier League title took a major blow last night as they were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle United at St James’s Park. City initially looked on course for a ninth straight win in all competitions when Aguero opened the scoring in the first minute of the game. However, Newcastle were not phased by this early set back and they heroically kept City at bay until midway through the second half, when against all the odds they produced one of the club’s greatest comebacks thanks to invaluable goals from new signing, striker Rondon on sixty six minutes and Ritchie netted the winner via the penalty spot. The defeat means City will fall seven points behind leaders Liverpool if they beat Leicester tonight.
There were more Premier League shocks last night as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s record winning start of eight matches in a row ended abruptly against Burnley who came close to winning when they went 2-0 up with nine minutes plus injury time remaining. However, Burnley had to settle for a third straight draw in this corresponding league fixture as United produced one of their trademark late, last gasp attacking bombardments which snatched them a fortunate 2-2 draw thanks to an eighty seventh minute Pogba penalty and a ninety second minute leveller from centre-back Lindelof.
The draw will have no doubt felt like a defeat for United as they were closing in on fourth place Chelsea and the automatic Champions League places, however, if Chelsea win tonight away at Bournemouth, they will be five points clear of United and three points ahead of fifth place Arsenal who were too good for struggling Cardiff City last night winning 2-1 thanks to goals from both big money signing strikers Aubameyang and Lacazette.
Struggling second from bottom Fulham also produced a big shock last night as they came from 2-0 down against Brighton at home thanks to an inspired half-time team talk from new manager Ranieri and second half performance from his players and team. The Cottagers were a different team in the second half, they scored their first goal two minutes in to the half and proceeded to dominate the remainder of the game with three more goals including a brace from top scorer Mitrovic. The other two Premier League games played last night went they way of ten man Everton, who beat rock bottom Huddersfield 1-0, and Wolves who easily defeated West Ham 3-0 at home.
There’s more Premier League action tonight with four more games including leaders Liverpool, who will aim to extend their lead over nearest rivals Manchester City to seven points, after City lost their first match in eight straight games against Newcastle last night. First up, Chelsea travel to the south coast to face mid-table Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium and it’s a must win game for the Blues as Arsenal are now level on points with them after they beat Cardiff 2-1 at the Emirates last night. Chelsea can take heart from their winning record in this corresponding fixture and in general against teams outside the Premier league big six away from home. If the Blues can continue their recent good cup and goal scoring form, they should beat Bournemouth again and star man Hazard will aim to continue his great scoring record in this corresponding fixture having netted in the last three.
As mentioned earlier leaders Liverpool play another significant game in terms of their title winning credentials tonight against 2016 Premier League champions Leicester City at Anfield. Manchester City’s shock defeat last night means Liverpool are firmly in the driver’s seat for the title now and if they win tonight, they’ll be seven points clear. While the pressure and stakes are high for Liverpool tonight, they can take great heart from the fact that as well as having an excellent home record in the league this season, they’ve also got an excellent record in this corresponding league fixture having won six of the past nine, including six of the last seven, and the last three in a row between 2015 and 2017.
From a betting perspective Liverpool should win as the Tigers are experiencing a mini crisis at present having lost their last three games in all competitions conceding eight goals in the process. I suggest backing Liverpool Win & Mane To Score Match Double and/or if you’re looking for a higher return you can consider backing Liverpool Win & BTTS Match Double.
The other two Premier League games taking place tonight are a bottom half of the table clash between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St Mary’s and a top half clash and London Derby between an injury ravaged Spurs and this seasons surprise package seventh place Watford at Wembley. From a betting perspective for the Southampton game I suggest backing Over 2.5 Goals and/or if you’re looking for a higher return BTTS & Over 2.5 Goals Match Double and finally, take Watford to upset an injury ravaged Spurs at Wembley.
Selections:
None.
