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Football | Premier League | Matchweek 23 | Best to Watch

By Robert Wheeler

  • League leaders Arsenal are up against Brentford
  • Leeds plays Manchester United for the second time this week
  • Merseyside derby on Monday night

UK – This weekend’s fixtures include Arsenal against Brentford, Manchester United versus Leeds and the Merseyside derby on Monday night.

 

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Arsenal vs Brentford, Saturday February 11, kick-off 15:00

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Arsenal slipped up in the title race last weekend as they were defeated by Everton. Luckily for them, Manchester City also lost to Tottenham Hotspur. Mikel Arteta‘s side is still five points clear with a game in hand but they cannot afford any more slip-ups if they are going to win the league this year.

Arsenal has now lost their last two games in all competitions as they lost to City in the FA Cup also. Their last goal was Eddie Nketiah‘s 90th-minute winner against Manchester United. Nketiah is now on a mini-goal drought by his standards recently and will need to start scoring again soon if he is to keep his place when Gabriel Jesus returns from injury.

This Saturday they face a Brentford side who are flying high in seventh place in the league. The Bees have not lost a league game since the World Cup. Last weekend saw them dismantle Southampton 3-0. On the scoresheet against the Saints were Bryan Mbeumo and Mathias Jensen who have eight goals between them. Arsenal will need to keep them quiet but also watch out for set pieces as this was their undoing at Goodison Park, Ben Mee who also scored against Southampton can be deadly from corners. The centre-back has three goals so far this season.

Thomas Frank‘s side has a real chance of qualifying for Europe this season, so it would be massive if they could get a result against Arsenal who is wounded following their defeat to Everton.

Score prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Brentford

 

Leeds vs Manchester United, Sunday February 12th, kick-off 14:00

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These two rivals met during the week and it was a classic, with Manchester United coming from behind to rescue a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford who can do no wrong at the moment, found the back of the net to get the Red Devils back into it. The equaliser came from Jadon Sancho who made a real impact coming off the bench.

Leeds started brightly with Wilfried Gnonto scoring in the first minute. The young Italian is their man in form, with four goals in all competitions this year. Also for Leeds, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams started together in midfield for the first time, the two U.S. men’s national team players linked up well.

The Yorkshire side is still without a manager, having sacked Jesse Marsch on Monday. Michael Skubala will likely still be in temporary charge on Sunday.

United will be desperate for a win at Elland Road, as they can overtake Manchester City if Pep Guardiola‘s side slips up again.  Any positive result for Leeds will be massive, with big games in their fight to avoid the drop coming up.

Score prediction: Leeds 1-2 Manchester United

 

Liverpool vs Everton, Monday February 13th, kick-off 20:00

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Everton produced the shock of the round last weekend as Sean Dyche delivered a new manager bounce masterclass in their 1-0 win over Arsenal. The match was reminiscent of Dyche at Burnley with defender James Tarkowski who played under him at the Clarets scoring the winning goal from a corner. 

The Toffees are still in the bottom three but only on goal difference. It is a good time for them to be playing Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp‘s side on a dreadful run of form.

Liverpool has lost three of their last four league games and conceded three goals in each of the defeats. Their only result of their last four that was not a loss was a 0-0 draw with Chelsea who is also struggling for form.

Last Matchweek’s 3-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers was an awful performance for the Reds, with Joel Matip scoring an own-goal in the fifth minute, setting the tone for another bad day.

Liverpool was runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League last year and it is remarkable that they have fallen so low. The usually charismatic Klopp is starting to become very blunt in his interviews, he is experienced enough to know that if results do not improve it will not be long until he is shown the door.

Score prediction: Liverpool 0-1 Everton

Last weekend’s predictions vs actual results:

Rob’s prediction Actual result
Everton 0-4 Arsenal Everton 1-0 Arsenal
Tottenham 1-2 Manchester City Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City
Chelsea 1-1 Fulham Chelsea 0-0 Fulham