A big Saturday in the Premier League takes place this weekend when seven matches in the competition are played out on a day where the battles to win the competition and stay in it will be very much in focus.
This is a normal Saturday schedule which means that the action is bookended by a TV game with one at lunchtime and one in the evening. There are five other matches which aren’t on TV in the UK as the blackout remains in place.
Early Kick Off
The title race is immediately under the spotlight on Saturday afternoon when Manchester City welcome the beaten Carabao Cup finalists Newcastle United to the Etihad. This gives the champions the chance to move to within a couple of points of leaders Arsenal at the top of the table, for a few hours at least, but there is nothing to suggest that the home side will have things all their own way because Newcastle need to get back to winning ways if they are going to stay relevant in the race for the Champions League spots next season.
3pm Matches
All eyes will then move to the Emirates Stadium where the leaders Arsenal will deliver their response to whatever Manchester City have done earlier in the day. They will have the chance to either reinstall their five point lead at the top of the table or pull even further clear should City slip up. They host AFC Bournemouth who will be looking to come out of the bottom three. The other match which will have eyes on it comes from Stamford Bridge where Graham Potter could seriously do with his Chelsea side winning to ease the pressure on his shoulders. They host Leeds United who will hope to build on last week’s win and pull away from the bottom three.
Tottenham Hotspur will be in action in this traditional kick off slot when they look to put their FA Cup exit behind them when they make the trip to Molineux to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers who will be aiming to get back to winning ways and pull away from the bottom three. Brighton and Hove Albion are on a high after reaching the last eight of the FA Cup and they host West Ham United while two mid-table teams meet at Villa Park as Aston Villa play host to Crystal Palace.
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Late Game
The action concludes at St Mary’s where rock bottom Southampton will look to put their embarrassing FA Cup defeat to Grimsby Town behind them as they look to resurrect their survival chances when they welcome Leicester City to Hampshire. Leicester also bombed out of the FA Cup to lower opposition in midweek and have hit a wall in the Premier League so they will be eager to away from the late game with a win which will see them pull further clear of the drop zone and ease any relegation fears.
Betting
It is that late game which catches my eye from a betting point of view as I can’t believe the price and lines on Leicester City for their match at Southampton. Southampton fans won’t need me to remind them of their poor record in this fixture and I suspect that 9-0 defeat is still in the memory somewhere. This Southampton side is probably worse than the one which played that evening. The question is how much worse are this Leicester team and I’m not convinced they are that bad that they won’t win this.
Prior to their last two matches, it looked like Leicester had turned the corner. I’m not sure defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal, two of the top three sides in the league, necessarily mean they have reverted back to type again. The one thing we do know is Southampton are a poor side, one which barring a minor miracle will be a Championship club next season. Southampton have won just two of their last 13 Premier League matches and lost the xG battle in both of them. It might be that Southampton score but the way they defend I expect Leicester to score more. I don’t see this being a draw but we might get to a stage where avoiding defeat becomes the intention given their recent form and at 10/11 I’m happy to play Leicester without the draw in play.
Tips
Back Leicester City (0AH) to beat Southampton for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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