It’s a huge Super Sunday in the Premier League with the title race, relegation battle and race for Europe still all the be settled as we turn into the business end of the campaign. All three games taking place on Sunday will have a major impact on those storylines as Bar One Racing broadcaster Kieran Burke looks ahead to the action.
Everton v Man City – 2.00, Sky Sports
The Toffees breathed new life into their survival hopes with a shock 5-1 win away to Brighton last time and the Goodison Park crowd should be right up for the visit of title chasing Manchester City as a result.
The Citizens again hit extremely high performance midweek levels during their thrilling 1-1 draw away to Real Madrid with attention now turning back to domestic duties as Pep Pep Guardiola’s men go in search of a historic treble.
With that European tie finely balanced, Guardiola’s team selection will be intriguing but even should the City boss rotate, the likes of Alvarez, Foden, and Mahrez didn’t feature in Madrid and could all slot in seamlessly here.
Recent meetings between Everton and City have been tight with the most recent meeting in Manchester ending 1-1 while Foden scored the only goal in the last clash at Goodison. Overall though, City have won 10 of the last 12 H2H’s and with big prizes in sight it’s difficult to suggest any other result this weekend.
Prediction: Man City (7/20)
Brentford v West Ham – 2.00
The Irons needed a big second half performance on Thursday night as the Londoners came from behind to beat AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final first-leg. While taking a lead to Holland was obviously the most important thing, nobody could suggest it was anything approaching a polished display by David Moyes side.
The exertions of Thursday could leave West Ham vulnerable as they head into this London derby against Brentford on Sunday. The Bees are enjoying a stellar campaign with their narrow defeat at Anfield last time their first loss in four.
With Brentford booked for a top-half finish they can afford to play with some freedom in the final weeks of the season while West Ham could enter such a situation with a positive result here. In saying that, this looks a good opportunity for Thomas Frank’s team to get back to winning ways.
Prediction: Brentford (21/20)
Arsenal v Brighton – 4.30 – Sky Sports – Double The Odds First Goalscorer.
The Gunners will already have watched their title rivals in action by the time they take to the field on Sunday for a tricky tie against Brighton. The Seagulls are pushing hard for a place in Europe with their new boss Roberto De Zerbi making a real name for himself in English football since replacing Graham Potter.
One Achilles heel from Potters time that has also plagued De Zerbi during his time at Brighton is the teams inability to convert clear cut chances. The FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United is one of numerous examples of that but thankfully, Evan Ferguson is nearing a return to full fitness and will be pushing for a start against Arsenal.
Monday’s 5-1 defeat at home to Everton will test the character of this Brighton side and a trip to Emirates Stadium where the home side have lost just once this season is certainly one of the sterner tests Brighton could be facing into off the back of such a hammering.
Given how both managers like to set out their stalls, this should be a really enjoyable watch with 24 of Arsenal’s 35 EPL games featuring over 2.5 goals while 21 of Brighton’s 33 matches played have contained over 2.5 goals.
Mikel Arteta’s team have bounced back quickly from that potentially damning loss against Man City with the North London club winning 3-1 here against Chelsea before a hard fought 2-0 victory at Newcastle.
Prediction: Arsenal (15/20)
Best bet: Arsenal win & BTTS – 19/10