Sports Blog 06/11/2015: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 7th to Sunday 8th November 2015

Following a largely successful mid-week foray into Europe the Premier League returns this weekend with a few eye-catching match-ups.

Kicking off proceedings on Saturday is a battle at the bottom between Bournemouth and Newcastle, who face each other at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1. Sitting in 17th and above Newcastle by a solitary point, the Cherries are continuing to suffer a serious cause of the post-Premier League promotion blues. Their 2-0 defeat to Southampton last weekend made it 4 losses in a row for Eddie Howe’s side and helped contribute to the second worst defence in the league, , behind only Sunderland after conceding 24 goals in 11 games. Things are just about better up front, though Glenn Murray (at a Super Mega PGM of 27-32) hasn’t quite been able to compensate for the absence of Callum Wilson.



Now lurking in the relegation zone, Steve McClaren is under increasingly intense pressure to get his Toon under control. That electric 6-2 victory over Norwich three weeks ago remains very much an anomaly in Newcastle’s season so far; failing to capitalise in any way at all on that win, McClaren’s men slumped to a painful 3-0 defeat against Sunderland before following that up with a forgettable 0-0 draw against Stoke. To make matters worse, with Tim Krul, Karl Darlow and, potentially, Rob Elliot injured McClaren may be forced to play the untested 18 year old Freddie Woodman in goal.

Given the abject form of both sides it is a tough game to call; the Toon’s woe away record, however, could see them come unstuck, leading our Spreadex traders to offer a Bournemouth/Newcastle Goal Supremacy spread of 0.25-0.45 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.7-2.9.

Saturday then provides Chelsea with the proverbial ‘grim afternoon in Stoke’, the Blues travelling to the Britannia Stadium at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 1. Mourinho will be praying that Chelsea’s mid-week win over Dynamo Kiev can revitalise their domestic form; astonishingly sitting in 15th, the Blues’ are in desperate need of momentum, failing to win 2 games in a row since their Maccabi Tel Aviv/Arsenal/Walsall run back in September. A winner from Willian mid-week, leaving the Brazilian as the Blues’ top scorer with 5 goals, prevented Aleksander Dragovic’s equaliser (after himself giving the home side the lead with an own goal) from compounding Chelsea’s misery.



Not that Stoke are in such fine form themselves; stuck in the bottom half of the table (granted, above Chelsea in 14th) the Potters have struggled for consistency this season, with 3 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses in the league. Their last 2 league games, a loss to Watford and their aforementioned snore draw against Newcastle, were hardly confidence boosters. They did, however, manage to beat Chelsea on penalties in the League Cup just last Tuesday, something that will likely give them confidence when they face the Blues’ once again this weekend.

Admittedly this has been said nearly every weekend of the season so far, but Saturday could provide a turning point for Chelsea if they can get 2 consecutive wins under their belt. Spreadex’s traders thinks so, at least, offering a Chelsea/Stoke (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.35-0.55 alongside Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

Sunday then arguably brings with it the weekend’s 2 most interesting games. First up sees the top versus the bottom, as Manchester City travel to Aston Villa at 1.30pm on Sky Sports 1. A 3-1 defeat to Tottenham on Monday left Villa barely keeping their head above water after securing a mere 4 points after 11 games. It also highlighted the huge task new manager Remi Garde has in front of him; whilst Villa have struggled at the back, going forwards has been just as much a worry. Only Stoke have scored fewer goals this season, with Rudy Gestede (at a Super Mega PGM of 13-17) an inadequate replacement for Christian Benteke.



If Aston Villa were in dire enough straits to begin with, Garde likely couldn’t have picked a tougher game to take charge. Fresh off a resilient 3-1 win over Sevilla mid-week, Manchester City haven’t lost a game since the end of September. In fact, since that embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Tottenham City only haven’t won 1 game, their interminable Manchester Derby a fortnight ago the only blip on a 5 and a half week spotless record. Sunday also provides an interesting opportunity for Wilfried Bony; with Sergio Aguero and David Silva back soon Bony will be keen to try and prove his worth to Manuel Pellegrini. 4 goals in the last 7 games is a decent return but, at a Super Mega PGM of 36-42, the former Swansea striker will want to increase his haul at the weekend.

It may be a cliché, but Sunday is likely to be a baptism of fire for the Premier League’s latest managerial replacement; City just look too strong at the moment, leading our traders to offer a Man City/Aston Villa (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 1.2-1.4 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.9-3.1.

Finally, in easily the biggest game of the weekend, an intriguing North London Derby gets underway at 4pm on Sky Sports 1. Arsenal had to endure a rather harrowing loss against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, their 5-1 thumping the Gunners’ biggest ever European defeat. It not only, from a purely practical point of view, leaves them with an unenviable, almost insurmountable task, if they want to get to the Champions League knockouts; no, it also the kind of defeat so demoralising that it puts in danger Arsenal’s 5 game winning streak in the league.



Luckily for the Gunners, they might be facing a very tired Tottenham. A 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on Monday was followed by a solid, if late, win over Anderlecht in the Europa League that saw them jump to the top of Group J. It leaves Spurs in a strong run of form, boosted immeasurably by a vastly improved Harry Kane, the England striker nabbing 5 goals in his last 5 games. However, playing 3 games in the space of 7 day is the punishment a club undergoes for playing in Europe’s second tier club competition, leaving Pochettino torn between resting weary players and needing his best starting 11 for what is likely to be an intense match.

The home advantage, (likely) fresher players and the memory of their League Cup win from earlier in the season gives the Gunners the edge, at an Arsenal/Tottenham Super Mega PGM spread of 0.75-0.95 with a Total Goals spread of 3-3.2.