The Premier League returns from the FA Cup break this weekend and it does so with six matches on Saturday, a set of fixtures which see the league leaders in action.
Leicester play host to Norwich in one of four 3pm kick offs but prior to that West Ham and Sunderland get the day underway at Upton Park in the early kick off. The other 3pm matches see Stoke hosting Aston Villa, Watford facing Bournemouth and Chelsea heading to Southampton. The late game comes from The Hawthorns as West Brom welcome Crystal Palace.
I’m getting involved in the action right from the off as I really like West Ham in their match against Sunderland. At the beginning of the season West Ham were being pigeon holed as a better side on the road but that isn’t necessarily the case.
The Hammers have only lost twice at home all season in their 12 matches at Upton Park and are going well again now that Dimitri Payet is back from injury and dazzling all with his skills. A West Ham win here would move them into the European places ahead of the rest of the weekend games so their incentive is clear.
Sunderland haven’t really launched the strong bid for safety that they were expected to do when they employed Sam Allardyce but the veteran manager will be right up for this as he is returning to Upton Park for the first time since leaving. His side have only won twice on their travels all season though which highlights the size of the task.
There might be some goals in this game but when the final whistle goes I do think it will be West Ham who have more of them. They’re the better side and going well and can win this one.
In truth there isn’t a whole lot more I fancy over the course of the day. I came close to backing Chelsea at Southampton but I respect the excellent form of the Saints right now. I’ve no idea where to start in the Watford vs Bournemouth match and while I don’t expect many goals in the late game the bookmakers have priced that accordingly.
I will go with the leaders though. Leicester have only lost once at home in the league all season and have the ideal chance to get back to winning ways when they welcome a Norwich side who have won just two away games all year and who have lost their last four on the road.
Not only have Norwich lost their last four away games but they have only scored one goal in that time and against a defensively solid Leicester side it is hard to see them bettering that record too much.
On the flip side the Canaries concede far too many and Leicester are free scoring at the minute. Some people might want to second guess how they will go from now and what damage the Arsenal defeat did to them but if anything it might have been a reality check and they can go again. I expect Leicester to win this and win it with something in hand.
WON -Back West Ham to beat Sunderland for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Coral
Back them here:
Back Leicester (-1AH) to beat Norwich for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Bet365
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