A plethora of Premier League betting opportunities are heading our way on Saturday as gameweek 26 brings winnable home games to four in-form teams.
Arsenal and Everton have both taken 10 points from the last 12 on offer and they will attempt to maintain their momentum when struggling West Ham and Manchester United make the respective trips to North London and Merseyside.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth moved up to fifth place last weekend with their win at Southampton and can enter the top four for the first time in the club’s history if they beat Wolves on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Fulham host Crystal Palace in another London derby, Tottenham Hotspur travel to Ipswich looking to avenge their early-season home defeat to the Tractor Boys and the Seagulls of Brighton soar along the south coast to Southampton in the other 3pm games.
- EVERTON TO BEAT MANCHESTER UNITED
- ETHAN NWANERI TO SCORE OR ASSIST VS WEST HAM
- BOURNEMOUTH TO BEAT WOLVES AND OVER 2.5 GOALS
- FULHAM TO BEAT CRYSTAL PALACE 2-1
- LIAM DELAP TO SCORE AGAINST TOTTENHAM
- BRIGHTON TO COVER A -1 HANDICAP VS SOUTHAMPTON
Everton vs Manchester United
Everton leapfrogged United in the table last weekend and will go into this lunchtime clash as the favourites to take all three points.
That is not just because of the excellent performances the Toffees have been putting in under David Moyes, who has overseen four wins, a draw and a defeat in the league since this second spell in charge began.
But, quite frankly, Manchester United have been insipid over the last few weeks as their problems mount both on and off the field.
Everton fans now have more optimism for the future after the recent takeover and test event at their new Bramley Moore home, which looks almost certain to host Premier League football next season.
The Toffees have a top-six defence and a bottom-six attack, although they now look a more potent force than United because of the rejuvenated Beto.
The Red Devils have fired blanks in 10 different league outings this season, their joint-highest number of failures in any Premier League season with 13 games to go, so one goal might be enough for the Toffees to take the spoils.
EVERTON TO WIN
Arsenal vs West Ham
All eyes were on the Gunners last Saturday as Mikel Arteta sought a solution to his striker injury crisis.
He kept Ethan Nwaneri on the wing and tried Leandro Trossard down the middle at Leicester, but the Gunners lacked firepower until the Spaniard sent Mikel Merino up front.
The midfielder popped up with two late goals to keep Arsenal’s title tilt in the realms of possibility with Nwaneri delivering the pinpoint cross for the all-important first.
The 17-year-old looks likely to remain on the wing for the visit of West Ham this weekend, but his eye for a goal and a pass make him a leading candidate to make another telling contribution.
Nwaneri has registered seven goals and an assist in all competitions this term with his tally of three Premier League goals plus last week’s decisive delivery taking his ratio to 0.97 goals and assists per 90 minutes this season.
ETHAN NWANERI TO SCORE OR ASSIST AT ANY TIME
Bournemouth vs Wolves
The Cherries have hovered around the top five to eight places in the table for much of the campaign, but Saturday’s visit of Wolves is their big chance to crash the top four for the first time.
Andoni Iraola’s side continue to confound clubs with bigger budgets with a combination of hard running, tactical invention and defensive structure.
Wolves will probably be overpowered by them at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday as they seek to ease their relegation worries.
A doughty second-half display at Anfield last weekend still brought them no reward because they had spotted Liverpool a two-goal lead through some sloppy defending.
Bournemouth have the third-best expected goals differential in the division, so the analytics already suggest they deserve to be higher and by teatime on Saturday their Premier League placing should reflect that.
BOURNEMOUTH TO WIN AND OVER 2.5 GOALS
Fulham vs Crystal Palace
Fulham have been on the right side of more 2-1 wins than any other Premier League club this season with five in total, including each of the Cottagers’ last two top-flight games.
You can rely on Marco Silva’s men to score two goals — and usually no more — which they have done in eight of their last 10 league games.
Crystal Palace are the visitors to Craven Cottage this weekend and they will hope to fare better than in their home game against Fulham when they lost 2-0.
The Eagles have scored in seven consecutive league games and, having kept four away clean sheets in a row, will fancy their chances of stifling the hosts this time.
The first goal will be crucial to the outcome and with Palace having taken only two points after trailing away from home, it is more likely the scoreline favours Fulham at the final whistle.
FULHAM TO BEAT CRYSTAL PALACE 2-1
Ipswich vs Tottenham
Liam Delap is the Ipswich dangerman that Spurs must be worried about this weekend. The striker reached double figures in the Premier League last Saturday with a deft flick beyond Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Delap terrorised Tottenham’s defenders in the reverse fixture too, creating Town’s opener for Sammie Szomdics before grabbing one for himself in a 2-1 win in North London.
The 22-year-old is one of the deadliest one-on-one finishers in the Premier League and has the pace and power to exploit Tottenham’s injury-weakened rearguard again.
LIAM DELAP TO SCORE AGAINST TOTTENHAM
Southampton vs Brighton
Southampton remain eight points adrift from 19th-placed Leicester and may yet eclipse Derby County's Premier League low of 11 in the 2007-08 campaign.
Ivan Juric’s side have fared better on their travels of late, so a return to St.Mary’s for the visit of a dangerous Brighton team is not likely to go well.
The Saints have lost their last seven home league games and five of those defeats could be filed in the category of ‘hammerings’.
The combined goal difference across those losses is 24-5, which suggests the Seagulls may be able to cover a -1 handicap in this clash.
Fabian Hurzeler’s team have won three of their last five Premier League games and in all of those victories, they had more than a goal to spare.
BRIGHTON TO COVER A -1 HANDICAP VS SOUTHAMPTON
