Sports Blog 04/02/2016: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 6th to Sunday 7th February 2016

It’s a huge weekend for the Premier League, the highlight being a potential game-changer in the fight for the title coming early on Saturday afternoon.

The game in question is, of course, sees Leicester travel to Manchester City at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1. Doubts over the sustainability of the Foxes’ astonishing run appear to have been firmly answered and, sitting 3 points clear at the top of the table, talk of them actually winning the title is far less caveat-filled than it once was. Unbeaten in the league since their final game of 2015 against City (a 0-0 draw), Leicester have deftly jumped over every obstacle thrown their way, including the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool (1-0 and 2-0 wins respectively). Even more importantly Jamie Vardy ended his 7 game (including the FA Cup) drought against Stoke, following that up with a brace against Liverpool that now sees the striker challenging for Goal, as well as Player, of the season.



Yet City are unbeaten since Boxing Day, their run also including FA Cup victories over Norwich and Aston Villa (with 7 goals scored and none conceded). Their league form is slightly spottier, draws against Leicester, Everton and West Ham joined by victories over Sunderland (twice), Watford and Crystal Palace. That form has seen City climb to within 3 points of Leicester, and they would overtake their unlikely title rivals with a win on Saturday. And whilst Vardy is the (relatively) unchallenged top goal scorer this season, Sergio Aguero is actually in better form at the moment, the Argentine nabbing 7 in City’s last 7 matches. That perhaps give the Manchester side the edge going into the weekend, with Spreadex offering a Manchester City/Leicester Goal Supremacy spread of 1-1.2 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.85-3.05.

We turn to a slightly less high octane, but just as hotly contested tie, on Saturday evening, as Southampton host West Ham at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 1. After a dire run between the end of November and the start of January saw them lose 7 (including their 3rd round FA Cup fixture against Crystal Palace), draw 1 and win 1 (a cathartic 4-0 win over Arsenal), Southampton appear to have got their groove back, beating Watford, West Brom and Manchester United before holding Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates. That sees the Saints back in 7th place, 5 behind their weekend rivals but still with a slim chance of pushing for the Europa League spot currently 6 points away.



The Hammers, on the other hand, are having a slightly more mixed time of it at the moment. Victories over Southampton ,Liverpool and Bournemouth saw them leap back into contention for a sport in Europe after a run of 5 league draws, however since then West Ham have faltered slightly, losing to Newcastle, drawing against City and, admittedly, beating Aston Villa. Yet even that shaky form sees them only 1 point behind Manchester United in 5th, consistency not as much of a requirement in this topsy turvy season as it once was assumed. Given that the Saints appear slightly more put together at the moment our Spreadex traders have plumped for a home win, offering a Southampton/West Ham Goal Supremacy spread of 0.75-0.95 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

Sunday then sees a chance for redemption for Arsenal, who travel to Bournemouth at 1.30pm on Sky Sports 1. Now 5 points behind Leicester, 2 behind City and trailing Tottenham on goal difference the Gunners are back in 4th and without a league win since the 2nd January. In fact in their last 3 league games Arsenal haven’t even managed to score, a 1-0 loss to Chelsea sandwiched between 0-0 draws against Stoke and Southampton. Only their mid-January match against Liverpool saw them show any spark, yet a leaky back line saw that game end 3-3. The Gunners appear to have been saving their best for the FA Cup, 3-1 and 2-1 victories over Sunderland and Burnley respectively setting up a repeat of the 2014 final against Hull in the 5th round.



Things are relatively brighter for Bournemouth, if only just. A draw against Sunderland, and wins over Norwich and, most recently, Crystal Palace has seen the Cherries put 7 points between them and 18th place Newcastle. Bournemouth have also been fairly fortunate in the FA Cup, beating both Birmingham and Portsmouth 2-1 thanks to late goals from Glenn Murray and Marc Pugh respectively. Yet, unluckily for the Cherries, Arsene Wenger will likely be hoping to use this weekend’s game to work out a few of his side’s demons, with Spreadex offering an Arsenal/Bournemouth (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.4-0.6 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.45-2.65.

Finally we turn to Sunday evening. Before the season began an early February match between Chelsea and Manchester United would have been a safe bet for one of the most important games of the season. Not so anymore; the two sides meet at 4pm on Sky Sports 1. On the spectrum of disappointment both sides are operating under Manchester United sit at the upper end. Yet currently in 5th place United are effectively out of the title race already, 5 points adrift of 4th place Tottenham and 10 away from league leaders Leicester. And whilst United haven’t even been that bad in 2016, losing once in 7 games, there remains an air of dissatisfaction around Old Trafford, one that sees van Gaal’s position called into question on a near weekly basis.



Chelsea, of course, are the bizzaro-example of Leicester’s ascent, a previously dominant side reduced to rubble in less than a season. Stuck in 13th despite being unbeaten since Guus Hiddink took the reins in the middle of December, the Blues will be hoping a victory over United can seem them finally push into the top half of the table. Yet every step forward Chelsea seem to make (wins over Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Arsenal, as well as an impressive showing in the FA Cup) is countered by two steps back (draws against Watford, United, West Brom, Everton and, on Wednesday, Watford). However it appears that our traders have faith that the Blues can nab an important win this weekend, however, offering a Chelsea/Manchester United Goal Supremacy spread of 0.3-0.5 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.2-2.4.

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