We have six top-flight matches to look forward to on Wednesday evening - George Pitts previews the action.
Recommended bets
1pt Crystal Palace to beat Man United at 113/50
1pt Wilfried Zaha to score anytime v Man United at 13/5
1pt Leroy Sane to score anytime in Man City v West Ham at 13/10
For advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
Fixtures
- Arsenal v AFC Bournemouth
- Southampton v Fulham
- Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - FULL PREVIEW HERE
- Crystal Palace v Manchester United
- Liverpool v Watford
- Manchester City v West Ham United
Arsenal v Bournemouth
Arsenal will see this clash as vital in their bid to finish in the Premier League's top four finish, and the stats point in their favour.
Unai Emery's men currently sit fourth, a point ahead of Manchester United and three in front of Chelsea with 11 games to go.
They host a Bournemouth side struggling for consistency, having won just two of their last 10 in all competitions, and the Cherries have also found difficulties on the road with just three victories from 13 in the this season.
Arsenal have won their last seven home matches in the league and can be confident against a Cherries side with a growing injury list - Simon Francis, Callum Wilson, David Brooks and Junior Stanislas are all out while Jefferson Lerma is suspended.
There was a temptation to back the hosts on a -1 handicap at above evens, but the fact Arsenal have scored in the first half in nine of their last 11, the preference is to back them in a half-time/full-time at 6/5.
Super 6 prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Best bet: Half-time/full-time - Arsenal/Arsenal at 6/5
Opta facts
- Arsenal have won all four of their home meetings with Bournemouth in all competitions by an aggregate score of 11-1.
- Bournemouth have won just one of their eight meetings in all competitions with Arsenal (D1 L6), beating them 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium last season.
- Only Manchester City (39) have won more home Premier League points this season than Arsenal (35 – W11 D2 L1).
- Bournemouth have lost each of their last eight away Premier League games, conceding at least two goals each time. The only sides to lose more on the road in a row while conceding at least twice in the competition are Wimbledon (10 between December 1999-May 2000) and Ipswich (11 between January 1995-September 2000).
- English managers have collected just one point in their last 16 Premier League visits to the Emirates against Arsenal (P16 W0 D1 L15) since Garry Monk led Swansea City to a 1-0 win in May 2015.
- Bournemouth haven’t lost nine consecutive away league matches since losing 12 in a row between December 1933 and August 1934 in the Third Division South.
- Only Man City striker Sergio Aguero (8) has scored more Premier League goals during 2019 than Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette (5).
- Since the start of last season, Bournemouth have lost seven of their eight away Premier League matches when Callum Wilson hasn’t featured (W1 D0 L7), failing to score in six of those matches.
- Alexandre Lacazette has been involved in 29 goals in 37 appearances at the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal in all competitions (23 goals, 6 assists).
- Josh King has been involved in five goals in his last five Premier League games for Bournemouth (4 goals, 1 assist).
Southampton v Fulham
Another big match taking place at the bottom the table, with a win potentially taking Southampton out of the bottom three.
After such a good start under Ralph Hasenhuttl, the Saints are now without a win in their last four league games but this is a great opportunity to bounce back against a fellow struggling side.
A key improvement since the Austrian's December appointment is their home form, while Fulham are still yet to win away.
The slight improvement under Claudio Ranieri since the Italian replaced Slavisa Jokanovic at Craven Cottage is at the back. While they still concede quite a lot, the goals against count is slightly better, but time is running out with relegation looming.
The Saints will want to be effective and it may not be the best of games, so backing the hosts combined with the unders market at least gives a more appealing price.
Super 6 prediction: Southampton v Fulham (Sky Bet odds: 15/2)
Best bet: Southampton to win and under 3.5 total goals at 33/20
Opta facts
- Southampton are unbeaten in their last 19 home league games against Fulham (W13 D6) since a 1-2 loss in October 1935 (second tier). Only against Coventry (22 games) have they ever had a longer unbeaten home run in their league history.
- Despite this being the 30th different league season in which they’ve faced, Fulham are looking to do the league double over Southampton for the very first time.
- Since winning their first Premier League match at St Mary’s under Ralph Hasenhüttl against Arsenal, Southampton have won just one of their subsequent five (W1 D1 L3).
- Since Claudio Ranieri’s first Premier League match in charge of Fulham, only Bournemouth (32) have conceded more goals than the Cottagers (30).
- Among the 17 teams to have featured in each of the last two Premier League seasons, Southampton have won fewer home games than any other side in that time (6 in 32 games).
- Claudio Ranieri is winless in 22 away Premier League games (15 for Leicester, 7 for Fulham). The last manager to have a longer winless run was Iain Dowie (23 games between November 2004 and May 2010).
- Southampton have lost all four of their Premier League games against newly-promoted teams this season. Only two teams have ever lost five in a single season – Ipswich Town in 1994-95 and Sunderland 2002-03, both of whom were relegated.
- Fulham’s Ryan Babel scored his first Premier League goal for 3000 days in their 1-3 defeat at West Ham – it was the first time he’d scored in the division and failed to win that match (W11 D0 L1).
- Southampton have lost their last five top flight matches against newly promoted teams; the last team to have a longer losing run were Bristol City in December 1977 (six in a row).
- Fulham are the only Premier League team yet to win away from home in the Premier League this season (P14 W0 D2 L12). Among teams to have played at least 100 away from home in the competition, Fulham have the worst win ratio (14.6%, 38 wins in 261).
Crystal Palace v Man United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is yet to lose in the Premier League since taking over as Man United's interim manager, and that record could come under threat on Wednesday.
The trip to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park comes at a tough time, with around 10 players unavailable for selection. That includes Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard who were all forced off during the first half of Sunday's goalless draw against Liverpool.
Marcus Rashford's ankle issue also needs to be assessed, so the likes of Tahith Chong, James Garner and Angel Gomes are expected to be involved for the Red Devils.
With their injury-hit squad in mind, Palace can take advantage. They have beat some big teams in recent years, while they pulled off a shock result by winning 3-2 against Man City at the Etihad in December.
Roy Hodgson became the oldest Premier League manager of all time on Saturday as his side extended their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions, winning 4-1 at Leicester. A positive result for the Eagles would come as no shock and the price of around 11/5 makes it worth a small play.
The 33/20 for them to score 2+ goals is also worth a look, as is former United player Wilfried Zaha to score anytime at 13/5 after excellent recent form with four goals in his last three appearances.
Super 6 prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Man United (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)
Best bets:
Opta facts
- Crystal Palace have played more Premier League games without ever winning against Man Utd (D4 L15) than any side has against another in the competition’s history.
- Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 21 league games against Crystal Palace, since a 0-3 away defeat in May 1991 (W17 D4).
- Following their goalless draw at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture, Crystal Palace are looking to avoid defeat in both league meetings with Man Utd in a single season for the first time since 1989-90 (W1 D1).
- Manchester United have won their last seven away matches in all competitions, their best such run since April 2002 (also seven in a row); the last Premier League side to win eight away games in a row were Man City in November 2017 (11 consecutive wins).
- Only Huddersfield Town (6) have scored fewer home Premier League goals than Crystal Palace this season (9), with Selhurst Park seeing fewer goals than any other ground this season (21).
- Manchester United have won their last two Premier League matches in London, beating Spurs and Fulham; they haven’t won three consecutive league trips to the capital since November 2014.
- Luka Milivojevic has scored more Premier League goals than any other Crystal Palace player since his debut in February 2017 (20 goals).
- Manchester United have kept more clean sheets in the Premier League than any other side since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first game in charge (five).
- Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has lost more Premier League matches against Man Utd (11) than he has against any other side.
- Against Liverpool, David de Gea became only the second Manchester United goalkeeper to keep 100 Premier League clean sheets, after Peter Schmeichel (112).
Liverpool v Watford
The sort of result you could see Liverpool losing, but they boast a 34-game unbeaten record at home in the Premier League and have the title as their motivation.
Jurgen Klopp is waiting on the availability of Roberto Firmino, who left Old Trafford on crutches after their goalless draw with Man United on Sunday, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Xherdan Shaqiri could start after settling for the bench.
Watford are having a great season and boast a strong record on the road - they are sixth in the away table this season with 20 points from 14 fixtures. The Hornets are unbeaten in their last four in all competitions, with three wins in a row which includes the 5-1 thrashing of Cardiff last time out.
They are currently best of the rest in seventh and have no reason to be fearful on Merseyside.
With preference to avoid the result, the even-money price on both teams to score is eye-catching, with the visitors knowing where the goal is, finding the back of the net 22 times on the road so far, while Liverpool have conceded against West Ham, Leicester, Palace (three) and Man City since the turn of the year.
Super 6 prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Watford (Sky Bet odds: 8/1)
Best bet: BTTS at 53/50 (Marathon Bet)
Opta facts
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six league meetings with Watford (W5 D1), netting 20 goals and keeping four clean sheets in that run.
- Watford have lost 10 of their 11 top-flight away games against Liverpool, with the only exception being a 1-0 victory in their first ever Premier League game at Anfield in August 1999.
- Only against Arsenal (15) have Liverpool scored more Premier League goals at Anfield than they have against Watford (13) under Jurgen Klopp.
- Watford have lost their last 11 away Premier League games against ‘big six’ teams since beating Arsenal at the Emirates in January 2017.
- Liverpool have scored at least five goals in their last two home Premier League games against Watford (6-1, 5-0); the last top-flight team to do so against an opponent in three consecutive seasons back-to-back were Man City against Chelsea between 1956-57 and 1958-59.
- Watford’s Gerard Deulofeu became the first Hornets player to score a top flight hat-trick since Mark Falco in 1986 in their 5-1 victory at Cardiff City.
- Liverpool’s front three have all been directly involved in more than five goals each for the Reds in Premier League meetings with Watford – Mohamed Salah has six goals and one assist in three games, Sadio Mane has three goals and three assists in four games, and Roberto Firmino has five goals and three assists in seven games.
- Of players to have played at least three games against a specific opponent in the Premier League, no-one has a better goals-per-game ratio than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah does against Watford (6 in 3, 2 goals-per-game, the same as Michael Owen vs West Bromwich Albion and Luis Suarez vs Norwich City).
- Watford have lost their last 10 top flight matches against teams starting the day top, a run stretching back to September 1986.
- Liverpool have lost just one of their last 26 home matches at Anfield in February in all competitions (W19 D6), a 2-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in February 2013.
Man City v West Ham
Pep Guardiola will make use of his strength in depth by rotating his Man City squad for the visit of West Ham.
The Citizens played two hours of football in their penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final, with Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho appearing to pick up knocks.
The likes of Danilo, Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane are expected to come into the XI and the latter could be worth backing to score.
The classy German forward scored against old club Schalke in the Champions League last week - watch it again here - and he averages nearly two shots per game in the Premier League. He came on as a substitute at Wembley and can cause Pablo Zabaleta issues when he faces the former City man on the left-hand side.
The Hammers, with Manuel Pellegrini making his Etihad return, are unbeaten in their last three games but getting a result at City is a big ask. Sane scored twice in the reverse fixture (4-0) and the 23-year-old can punish a Hammers defence lacking in pace.
Super 6 prediction: Man City 3-1 West Ham (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Best bet: Leroy Sane to score anytime at 13/10
Opta facts
- Manchester City have won 10 of their 12 league games against West Ham at the Etihad, drawing 1-1 in January 2008 and losing 1-2 in September 2015.
- West Ham are winless in their last six Premier League meetings with Man City (D1 L5), losing the last five by an aggregate scored of 3-17.
- Man City have won all six of their meetings with West Ham in all competitions under Pep Guardiola, scoring 22 goals and conceding just three.
- Since beating each of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City at the start of the 2015-16 season, West Ham are winless in their last 17 away league games against ‘big six’ opponents (D6 L11).
- Manchester City have scored at least twice in each of their last 15 Premier League home games (W14 D0 L1), the longest such run in the top-flight since Spurs did so in 16 consecutive home matches between March-December 1965.
- Sergio Aguero could become the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick in three consecutive home appearances – the Argentinian hit hat-tricks against Arsenal and Chelsea and has scored 25 goals in his last 16 starts at the Etihad for Man City.
- Sergio Aguero has ended on the winning side in each of his last 23 Premier League starts at the Etihad for Man City, scoring 29 goals and assisting seven in those matches.
- West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini will be just the third different manager to play away against Man City having previously managed them in the competition. Of the two, Peter Reid lost his return to Maine Road (2-4 in August 2000), while Mark Hughes’ record at the Etihad after leaving was P9 W1 D2 L6.
- David Silva has scored more goals in all competitions against West Ham as a Manchester City player than he has vs any other opponent (6).
- West Ham have lost 19 of their 22 away Premier League matches against the reigning champions (W1 D2), with their only win coming against Manchester United in December 2001 under Glenn Roeder.
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Odds correct as of 1700 GMT on 26/02/19
