Sports Blog 20/11/2015: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 19th to Sunday 20th November 2015

The Premier League returns from an emotional international break this weekend, with a few ties that could set the tone of the upcoming festive period.

First up on Saturday is a potentially tricky trip to Watford for Manchester United, at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1. Since their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal United have been in sturdy form at the back, with clean sheets in their following 4 league games. However their issues up front persist. Many have criticised the automatic selection of the misfiring Rooney; 7 goals this season may not sound like a disastrous tally, but 3 of those came as hat-trick against Club Brugge in Champions League qualifying and only 2 have been found in the league. Yet his forced absence (through illness) may give a chance for someone else to shine. Normally that would opportunity would fall to Anthony Martial; however, injury to the Frenchman means Juan Mata, on 5 goals (4 in the league), will most likely be given the starring role, leaving the Spaniard at a Super Mega PGM spread of 21-25.



Frustratingly for Watford they may have their own issues up front. Odion Ighalo, behind Leicester’s Jamie Vardy one of the league’s most consistent forwards with 7 goals, returned late from international duty with Nigeria, meaning his selection will be dependent on a last minute fitness test. If the striker, at a Super Mega PGM spread of 17-21, misses Saturday’s match it would be a huge blow for the Hornets, having only managed 3 home goals so far this season. Not that Watford have been doing too badly; as far as this year’s promotees are going, they are far and away the best of the three, knocking on the door of the top half of the table whilst Norwich and Bournemouth become (to varying degrees) embroiled in the season’s relegation battle.

Without Rooney and Martial this tie becomes ostensibly more difficult for Louis van Gaal’s side; however faith in an in-form Mata has led our Spreadex traders to fancy the away side, offering a Manchester United/Watford (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.4-0.6 with a Total Goals spread of 2.2-2.4.

Both beleaguered by injuries, league leaders Manchester City (and, importantly, Raheem Sterling) host Liverpool at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 1. Whilst Sergio Aguero is likely to return on Saturday (and sits at a Super Mega PGM of 53-61) and David Silva is a maybe, Manuel Pellegrini’s side will definitely be without Vincent Kompany, Wilfriend Bony and Samir Nasri as they try and prevent Arsenal from leapfrogging them at the top of the table. Currently unbeaten in 9 games (including success runs in the League Cup and 3 wins on the trot in Europe) City nevertheless could only manage a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa of all teams before the break, though they did put 3 past Sevilla.



Jurgen Klopp’s list of absentees is slightly shorter than his Italian colleague’s; Mamadou Sakho is definitely out, but Daniel Sturridge, still to play under his new manager, remains an uncertainty. The Reds are still to fully click under the German’s leadership; draws against Tottenham and Southampton showed promise, however fleeting, before a 3-1 win over Chelsea, though not the scalp it might once have been, gave Klopp his first Premier League victory. However, the former Dortmund manager soon suffered the first defeat of his tenure, with a bullying Crystal Palace nabbing a 2-1 win at Anfield.

Liverpool are still far from the being the fully-formed side Klopp would like; City, despite showing the capacity for a wobble or two, are as close to the finished article as the Premier League has to offer. This plain fact leaves the Manchester side as favourites heading into the weekend, with Spreadex offering a Manchester City/Liverpool Goal Supremacy spread of 0.85-1.05 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.85-3.05.

Finally Sunday sees a battle just outside the top 4, as Tottenham host West Ham in the season’s latest London derby at 4pm on Sky Sports 1. Whilst they have an over-propensity for draws this season (6 in 12 games), Spurs remain without a loss in the league since their opening day defeat to Manchester United. Their most recent match, an arguably unlucky 1-1 tie against fierce rivals Arsenal, showed a tenacity that would only take a bit of refining to turn a few more of those draws into victories. It helps that Harry Kane (at 3/1 favourite to score first) has finally begun to regularly find the back of the net, scoring 6 in his last 6 league games after coming up with nothing for his first half a dozen games. Add onto that the return of summer signing supremo Heung-Min Son and Tottenham will be feeling confident they can keep up their unbeaten streak on Sunday



Not that West Ham won’t give them a fair fight. Sitting in 6th level on points with Tottenham the Hammers have recovered from a frustrating start to the season (which saw them follow an opening victory over Arsenal with losses to Leicester and Bournemouth) to now be pushing for a spot in Europe. They’ve added victories over Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea in the interim, losing only one league game since the end of August (sunk by Odion Ighalo against Watford at the end of October). And with Diafra Sakho and Alex Song set to make an appearance this weekend, Slaven Bilic will be looking to end his rival’s run and leapfrog Spurs into 5th place.

Whilst they may be level in the league, Spurs are still arguably in the better form of the 2 sides; our Spreadex traders think so, at least, offering a Tottenham/West Ham Goal Supremacy spread of 1-1.2 with a Total Goals spread of 2.8-3.