The Premier League returns from the international break on Saturday when seven of the 10 matches in the next round of games take place on a day where the champions and a couple of potential title contenders are on show.
We are back to a normal Saturday this week with two TV games which bookend the day and then there are five matches which take place in the traditional 3pm slot where the usual updates can be found in the normal places.
Early Kick Off
The Premier League weekend begins at the King Power Stadium where Leicester City will look to get back to winning ways when they entertain their former manager Enzo Maresca and his Chelsea team. Chelsea will make the trip up the M1 with just one win in their last five matches but are third in the table despite that and will move to within a point of Manchester City for a few hours with a win. Leicester can put six points between themselves and the bottom three if they come out on top here.
3pm Matches
Five of the seven matches on Saturday afternoon come in the traditional 3pm slot with the pick of them coming in the match at the Emirates Stadium where two teams in the top five in the division meet when Arsenal host Nottingham Forest. Brighton and Hove Albion are the next highest team in the league heading into the weekend. They make the trip to the Vitality Stadium where they head into a south coast clash with AFC Bournemouth.
Aston Villa finished fourth in the table last season and they are at home on Saturday afternoon. Crystal Palace are struggling in the league this term and they are the visitors to Villa Park. Fulham went into the international break in seventh spot and they host second from bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers while the other game sees two teams in the bottom half of the table meeting at Goodison Park where Everton play host to Brentford.
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Late Game
We save the best for last on Saturday evening when the champions Manchester City look to end their four-game losing streak when they host a Tottenham Hotspur side who have already dumped City out of the Carabao Cup this term and will be looking to not just land another major dent in the title challenge of Pep Guardiola’s men but spark their own chase for the top six and beyond into action in what should be a really good match at the Etihad Stadium. City will move to within two points of Liverpool with a win while Spurs could go as high as third with a win.
Betting
I’m never a massive bettor in the round after an international break because all sorts of weird shenanigans can often take place and in truth there isn’t a huge amount that I like here anyway but I will go with one bet which comes in the form of both teams to score in the match at Villa Park where Aston Villa host Crystal Palace. These two have already met in the Carabao Cup this season and Palace came away with a victory in a match in which Ebere Eze had an involvement of just 18 minutes.
Palace won that match 2-1 and I’m not convinced by this Aston Villa defence at the minute and the fact that Ezri Konsa and Amadou Onana aren’t fit isn’t going to help their defensive output. At the other end of the pitch Villa generally always cause a threat and although Eze is out for Palace here, there is still Jean-Philippe Mateta who can be a threat and plenty of pace in this Palace side so I really like the idea of both teams finding the net here.
Tips
Back Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace – Both teams to score for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
