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A great night of Premier League football ahead of us today, with some great fixtures on paper as we enter the business end of the season with European places at stake.
Brighton v Villa looks like a 6 pointer, with Bournemouth and Man City big favourites to strengthen their European hopes for next season. Newcastle will be hoping to play Champions League football, and a win tonight would see them overtake Chelsea.
We have put our heads together to come up with this 6-fold accumulator 👇
Bournemouth v Ipswich – Bournemouth to win
Bournemouth were unlucky to not progress to the FA Cup Semi-Finals as they lost 2-1 at home to Manchester City. They did take an early lead against the run of play after a Haaland penalty miss but were eventually swept aside as City progress.
Bournemouth have failed to win in 90 minutes in their last six games after putting together some really good form as they charged towards the European places, but their form seems to have been stunted and they have lost momentum. They really must beat Ipswich tonight if they want to keep pressure on the top seven.
Ipswich look doomed now, 12 points behind Wolves in 17th place. With not much to play for, we expect Bournemouth to get the job done and get back to winning ways.
Southampton v Crystal Palace – Crystal Palace to win
Crystal Palace were the standout team in the weekends FA Cup Quarter-Finals as they notched another win and clean sheet away at Fulham.
Southampton have lost eight of their last nine games, whilst Palace have won seven in a row on the road in all competitions.
A win for Crystal Palace here could see them move just two points behind high flying Aston Villa, and we expect them to continue their surge up the table.
Newcastle v Brentford – Newcastle to win
Newcastle are back in action at St James Park nearly three weeks after the League Cup final win over Liverpool. They’ll have a huge reception and expect a bouncing home atmosphere to help them shake off the hangovers and chase the Champions League places.
Brentford should also be well rested after the international break, and will hope to pick where they left off, after winning away at Bournemouth 2-1. Brentford have won five away games in a row, but Newcastle is a tough place to go and there is a real feel-good factor growing there. Newcastle should have enough in the tank to see this one out.
Manchester City v Leicester – Manchester City to win
Last year’s Champions Manchester City swept aside Bournemouth away as they progressed to yet another FA Cup semi-final. They really must qualify for Champions League and win the FA Cup for this season to not be considered a complete disaster.
Leicester have lost seven in a row scoring just once. They look set to bounce straight back down to the Championship and despite City playing 90 minutes away on Sunday, they should have plenty in the tank with a bit of rotation to move Leicester aside with ease.
Liverpool v Everton – Liverpool to win
Liverpool look to have sealed their second Premier League title and are out of all other competitions. There isn’t much left for them to play for, but a big Merseyside Derby should lift them up again after the League Cup final defeat. A win here brings the bragging rights back to Anfield and would put Liverpool 12 points ahead of Arsenal with just 8 games to go.
Everton have had a huge turnaround in fortune since the return of David Moyes and are unbeaten in six, drawing five of those including their 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool in February.
Liverpool will take a firm grasp of the Premier League title here tonight.
Brighton v Aston Villa – Villa to score a goal
The standout game tonight for me. Brighton looked jaded as they crashed out of the FA Cup at home to Nottingham Forest on penalties on Saturday. They certainly weren’t the Brighton that were on a seven-game unbeaten run which included Man City, Chelsea twice, Newcastle and Bournemouth. They looked tired following the international break.
Villa on the other hand swept Preston aside with ease 3-0 and were able to do so whilst resting captain John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Pau Torres, Onana, Malen, and Maatsen whilst Disasi was cup tied. I expect some rotation here tonight with fresh legs coming into the side. Villa have lost just one of their last eleven and there is something brewing with Emery’s side as they enter the business end of the season.
We expect Villa to not only score, but to collect at least a point here against the odds.
