Sports Blog 18/03/2016: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th March 2016

Following a largely disappointing week for English sides in Europe the Premier League rumbles on this weekend, bookended by a tough trip to Toffee-land for Arsenal and a rather desperate Manchester derby.

Kicking off the weekend in style Arsenal go from the Nou Camp to Goodison Park as they face Everton at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1. Whilst not an unmitigated disaster, the Gunners’ 3-1 loss to Barcelona in Spain nevertheless saw them crash out of the Champions League just days after exiting the FA Cup, leaving their chances of silverware this season perilously thin. Sitting 11 points behind Leicester (but, admittedly, with a game in hand) a defeat on Saturday would see their hopes of recapturing the Premier League title effectively disappear.



Like Arsenal Everton know a thing or two about frustrating fans with form that lurches between fantastic and flaccid. Giving up a 2-0 lead against West Ham to lose the match in the final 12 minutes Everton followed up that defeat with a confident 2-0 victory against Chelsea in the Champions League, Romelu Lukaku’s brace taking the Belgian behemoth to 25 goals all competitions and a Super Mega PGM of 40-47.That 2 game run provides the perfect snapshot of the Toffees’ season, where a side that has scored 51 league goals (the 3rd best tally) can sit in 12th place. The inconsistency of both teams makes Saturday’s game just too hard to call, our Spreadex traders offering a choice Everton/Arsenal Goal Supremacy spread of -0.1-0.1, with a Total Goals spread of 2.85-3.05.

Saturday afternoon then sees a rather inauspicious meeting between Swansea and Aston Villa at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 1. The Swans are having the kind of season where they are pretty much just there to make up numbers; out of the FA Cup to Oxford United of all teams, exiting the League Cup in the 3rd round and stuck in 16th place in the league, but with an 8 point gap between them and 17th place Sunderland. There have been moments of promise, namely a start of March victory over Arsenal, but beyond that one imagines Swansea are even testing the interest of their own fans.



At least, however, they aren’t Aston Villa. With a paltry 3 wins and the worst defence AND attack in the league (57 goals conceded with only 22 scored) Villa are almost guaranteed a place in the Championship next season. They are 8 points behind 19th place Newcastle, but with the Toon having a game in hand, and 9 behind 18th place Norwich. In other words, the home side should win comfortably, Spreadex offering a Swansea/Aston Villa Goal Supremacy of 0.75-0.95 with a Total Goals spread of 2.3-2.5.

Sunday kicks off with a slightly more important battle at the bottom, as Newcastle host bitter rivals Sunderland at 1.30pm on Sky Sports 1. Getting rid of a shocking Steve McClaren, Newcastle saw a slight improvement as Rafa Benitez’s took charge last weekend, suffering a respectable 1-0 loss to league leaders Leicester when the Toon travelled to the King Power Stadium. This weekend’s Tyne-Wear derby, however, is arguably far more important; not only has Benitez now had some time to try and paper over the cracks at the club, but a win on Saturday would potentially lift the club out of the relegation zone (dependent on Norwich’s result against West Brom).



Yet Sunderland are in a similarly precarious position, and will be approaching Sunday’s derby with equal amounts of desperation and aggression. Things haven’t been too bad for the Black Cats in the last month or so; a victory over Manchester United was followed by a loss against West Ham, and hard-earned, and somewhat unlucky, draws against Crystal Palace and Southampton. Big Sam will be hoping to recapture the magic that saw his team beat the Toon 3-0 back in October; however, our traders are expected a Benitez-boosted win for the home side, offering a Newcastle/Sunderland Goal Supremacy spread of 0.3-0.5, with a Total Goals spread of 2.45-2.65.

The weekend ends with what once would have been one of the biggest games of the season, but is instead one of many games set to decide who finishes in 4th, as Manchester City and Manchester United face off at 4pm on Sky Sports 1. Now only 1 point behind Arsenal City’s season has begun to pick up again, even with consecutive 0-0 draws against Norwich and Dynamo Kiev (the latter result still helping to set up a Champions League quarter final, a first for City, against PSG). Yet City’s form remains so spotty that they haven’t won back-to-back games in the league since last October, an inconsistency that has seen them straggle behind the other title race contenders.



Not that United have been any better of late. A 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Thursday saw the club exit the Europa League 3-1 on aggregate, leaving the FA Cup the only chance for silverware Louis van Gaal will likely have in what is surely going to be his final season at the club, and even that involves a 6th round replay against West Ham. In the league United find themselves in 6th place, 2 behind West Ham and 4 behind City, a gap that could close with a victory on Sunday. However, the chances of that look slim, Spreadex offering a Manchester City/Manchester United Goal Supremacy spread of 0.6-0.8 with a Total Goals spread of 2.6-2.8.

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