November 7th, 2020
Welcome to EPL matchday #8, the last weekend before the second international break of this season. Ahead of the break, tidy work seems to be the strategy for teams, albeit with a chance of exciting displays and goals.
Everton are unbeaten in three previous meetings with Man United;
Chelsea won each of their last three matches to nil;
Man City beat Liverpool 4-0 when the teams last played in July;
Spurs lost just one of their last 13 fixtures in all competitions;
Arsenal’s league games have seen fewer goals this season than any other team in the division.
Merseyside meets Manchester in the early kick-off of matchday 8, as Everton welcomes Manchester United. Both teams seek a return to winning ways after failing to get three points from back-to-back fixtures. This is especially so for Everton who haven’t won their last three games. And after a debut featuring eight successive wins across all competitions, boasting a controversial point from the derby against Liverpool is disappointing. Following this were back-to-back away defeats to Southampton (2-0) and Newcastle United (2-1).
Meanwhile, Man United are dropping in 15th position following their miserable performance in the EPL. They have amassed one point from six in the last two games. Also, their 0-1 defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford left them with only one point from 12 and seven overall.
With four wins from five games at Goodison Park in all competitions since the summer, Everton has been a formidable force at Goodison Park. So far, Liverpool was the only team to avoid defeat at that venue since the fresh campaign kicked off. Moreso, Everton are unbeaten in each of their last three meetings with United. Two of those meetings ended in a 1-1 draw. Considering these statistics, we predict both teams to score and a draw.
In-form Chelsea would welcome struggling Sheffield United to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. Chelsea boasts of an excellent form thanks to their ability to sort their defensive issues after a shaky start to the campaign. From conceding nine goals in their first five Premier League games, they turned things around with clean sheets in five games.
Conversely, Sheffield United’s miserable start to the 2020/21 campaign continued last weekend, when they fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester City. Currently sitting 19th in the table with six defeats from their opening seven matches, Sheffield’s return of just three goals this season makes them the division’s joint lowest scorers.
Against a Blades team that isn’t cutting it in the final third, the Blues should be able to add another shutout to their string. We predict Chelsea to win to nil in this encounter.
West Brom’s search for a first Premier League win continues this weekend when they host in-form Tottenham Hotspur at the Hawthorns. With three points from three draws, West Brom now sits in the relegation zone of the table. Prior to this, West Brom’s successive draws against Burnley (0-0) and Brighton (1-1) hinted a glimmer of hope. However, a confidence shattering 2-0 defeat to Fulham last weekend reset things for the worse.
On the flip side, Tottenham will look to maintain their positive start to the season with an eye on the top spot. With just one defeat in their last 13 games in all competitions, Tottenham travels to the West Midlands as one of the Premier League’s top-notch teams this weekend.
Fending off West Brom may prove to be a cakewalk for Tottenham, given the Baggies’ defensive woes. Conceding 11 goals against Leicester, Everton, and Chelsea, goal-hungry Spurs may just help themselves to three goals or more from West Brom. Based on this we favour Tottenham to win with over 2.5 goals for this game.
In an epic Sunday showdown, Manchester City and Liverpool go head-to-head at Etihad Stadium. City head into this game in tenth position with one game fewer, and five points behind Liverpool. For both teams, this game like every other top-flight game might be a champion’s fate determiner at the end of the season.
A run of six wins and two draws from their last eight matches in all competitions sets Man City up nicely for Sunday’s heavyweight encounter against Liverpool. City thumped Liverpool 4-0 the last time Liverpool visited Etihad, though Sunday’s encounter promises to be a much closer run thing.
With both teams having a low hunger for goal this season, their defensive organisation might determine the victor of this game. Liverpool has looked a little more vulnerable than their streak of winning results might suggest over the past month. And with Liverpool’s key defensive duo- Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho- out because of injuries, things might be dicey for the Reds.
In contrast, City has been polishing their rearguard. Chief of which is the partnership between Aymeric Laporte and new signing Ruben Dias, which is showing promise. However, a perfect litmus test for City’s defensive resurgence would be Liverpool’s front line that shipped five against Atalanta in the mid-week. Going by this review, we favour Man City to win in this encounter with both teams to score.
Arsenal 1-0 win over Man United at Old Trafford last weekend put an end to their drought in away games against the Premier League’s big six. Quite unlike the Arsenal team before Arteta’s reign, it was their defensive and organisational improvements that won them the game in Manchester.
On a flip side, Aston Villa had their surging confidence of a stunning start to the 2020/21 campaign knocked with successive defeats to Leeds (0-3) and Southampton (3-4).
Now, Arsenal looks to take advantage of their newfound playing style and Aston Villa’s dip in confidence to win this encounter. Mikel Arteta’s rigid tactical approach has made Arsenal a much tougher team to score against. And it shows, as the Gunners have conceded, one or fewer goals in 13 of their last 16 Premier League fixtures.
Their improved defence has, however, come at a cost. A cost to creativity, as evidenced by their last five league games. Nonetheless, we are tipping the pattern of the Gunners play to keep the score down on Sunday; this is the premise for our prediction of under 2.5 goals in this match.
Fixtures | Predictions |
Everton VS Manchester United, 1:30 pm | Draw and both teams to score |
Chelsea VS Sheffield United, 6:30 pm | Chelsea to win |
West Brom VS Tottenham, 1:00 pm | Tottenham to win and over 2.5 goals |
Manchester City VS Liverpool 5:30 pm | Man City to Win and Both teams to score |
Arsenal VS Aston Villa 9:00 pm | Under 2.5 goals |
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Welcome to EPL matchday #8, the last weekend before the second international break of this season. Ahead of the break, tidy work seems to be the strategy for teams, albeit with a chance of exciting displays and goals.
