A busy weekend of Premier League football sees some tough fixtures for those battling relegation, alongside an intriguing clash that could reconfigure the top 5.

Early Saturday afternoon sees Swansea dealt a trip to Anfield, the league’s bottom place side taking on Liverpool at 12.30pm on BT Sport 1. After showing spirit to beat the similarly troubled Crystal Palace in the first game of 2017 the Swans quickly reverted back to old ways. They were dumped out of the FA Cup by Hull, before losing last weekend’s visit from Arsenal 4-0, a game complete with the ignominy of 2 own goals.



As for Liverpool, an intense New Year schedule has left them playing below the standard set during 2016. Back-to-back league draws against Sunderland and Man United were joined by a forced-replay against Plymouth in the FA Cup (which they won 1-0 mid-week) and a semi-final 1st leg defeat to Southampton in the EFL Cup. Klopp, then, will be looking to this visit from the Welsh side as a chance for the Reds to get their swagger back, with Spreadex offering a Liverpool/Swansea Goal Supremacy spread of 1.95-2.15 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.35-3.55.

After suffering the biggest league defeat of his career against Everton last weekend, the pressure is on Pep Guardiola to make a statement when Man City host Tottenham at 5.30pm on BT Sport 1. Spurs have won their last 6 games on the trot (7 if you include their 3rd round FA Cup victory against Aston Villa), and have already beaten Guardiola and co. once this season. And in Harry Kane and Dele Alli, who sit at Super Mega PGMs of 31-37 and 17-21 respectively, Mauricio Pochettino has two of the league’s in-form forwards.



Yet when the City are at their best they look unbeatable, and will be aiming to close the 3 point gap that separates the 2 sides. New signing Gabriel Jesus may also finally make his debut, heading into the tie at a Super Mega PGM spread of 19-23. It is likely to be tight, with Spreadex favouring the hosts at a Man City/Tottenham Goal Supremacy spread of 0.35-0.55 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.7-2.9.

Moving on to Sunday and both Southampton and Leicester will be looking to put some distance between themselves and those scrapping to avoid relegation when they meet at 12pm on Sky Sports 1. The Saints are on a dismal run of league form at the moment having lost their last 4 games in a row; that’s seen them sink from 7th to 13th place and though, on 24 points, they have 8 points on 18th place Hull, if their winless streak continues that could soon change.



Leicester finds themselves in a similar situation. Just 3 points behind the Saints, the defending champions most recently lost heavily to Chelsea, but did manage a surprising 2-1 victory over Everton in the FA Cup. Without Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani the Foxes may struggle as they did against the Blues, leading Spreadex to offer a Southampton/Leicester Goal Supremacy spread of 0.6-0.8 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.25-2.45.

Hoping for Spurs and Liverpool to slip up so they can take 2nd place, Arsenal then host Burnley at 2.15pm on Sky Sports 1. Since their mid-December wobble the Gunners have largely been on the up and up again, the only real disappointment being their 3-3 draw against Bournemouth (though even that involved the fairly impressive feat of coming back from 3-0 down). Last weekend’s win over Swansea also saw Alexis Sanchez become the league’s top scorer, ahead of Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on number of assists.



In 10th place Sean Dyche will be pretty happy with Burnley’s current form. The Clarets have won 3 of their last 4 league matches, with their only defeat coming at Manchester City. They also won their mid-week FA Cup 3rd round replay against Sunderland thanks to goals from Sam Vokes and Andre Gray. That likely won’t be enough to prevent the Gunners running rampant, however, with Spreadex offering an Arsenal/Burnley Goal Supremacy spread of 2-2.2 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.2-3.4.

Finally Chelsea will be hoping to nip Hull’s recovery in the bud when they meet at 4.30pm on Sky Sports 1. The Blues’ defeat at Tottenham just after the New Year began hasn’t exactly disrupted their place at the top; Chelsea have a 7 point lead over 2nd place Spurs, brushing past Leicester last weekend even without Diego Costa. For now the China-controversy that kept Costa from that game seems to have been resolved, so Hull should be worried – the Spaniard has scored 14 goals so far this season, and has a muscular Super Mega PGM of 62-72.



The Tigers, meanwhile, will be desperate to get something from Sunday’s game. In 18th place they are on equal footing points-wise with Crystal Palace, who are 17th, but with a vastly inferior goal difference. Under the new management of Marco Silva Hull have begun to improve, beating Swansea in the FA Cup and Bournemouth in the league. However, there is every chance they will crumble in the face of Antonio Conte’s gladiators, with Spreadex offering a Chelsea/Hull Goal Supremacy spread of 2.1-2.3 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.15-3.35.