According to Chris Sutton, England’s leading football expert, top team Liverpool will have a difficult trip to the field of the in-form team Bournemouth and will be divided points. Meanwhile, Arsenal is predicted to win to stay close to the top of the table.
Round 21 of the Premier League witnessed the longest playing time between the first match (Burnley vs Luton) and the latest match (Brighton vs Wolves) at up to 10 days. Therefore, a week ago, expert Sutton only made predictions for the first 5 pairs of matches before going on air on Thursday to give comments on the remaining 5 pairs, including the presence of two pairs. The top teams are Liverpool and Arsenal.
The earliest to play this weekend is the London derby between Arsenal vs Crystal Palace. After going through a streak of 3 consecutive matches without winning in the Premier League (4 matches in all competitions), the Gunners lost the top position to Liverpool and even fell to 4th on the rankings with a gap of 5 points. 3 points behind Man City’s second place in the table.
However, this round Arsenal has a chance to end their series of poor matches, having only had a two-week “recharge” period, helping the pillars have the best physical foundation. Mikel Arteta’s team returns to England after the winter break in Abu Dhabi and will welcome neighboring team Crystal Palace, who just had a difficult match against Everton in midweek in the FA Cup third round replay and admit defeat.
According to expert Sutton: “Of course, there are question marks for Mikel Arteta’s army after their recent results, especially in attack when they fail to take advantage of opportunities. I want to see Arsenal in the race championship title and challenge Man City at the end of the season. For that to happen, they will improve their attack and I think the Gunners can find a way to penetrate Palace’s defense.”
The highlight of the Premier League this weekend is the match between Bournemouth and Liverpool. The last time they welcomed Liverpool at Vitality’s home ground in the Premier League, Bournemouth players won 2-1 in March 2023. That was also this team’s only victory against the opponent, when they lost the remaining 9 matches, including the loss in the first leg this season and the defeat in the English League Cup not long after.
However, at the present time, Bouenrmouth is having a very convincing performance with a record of winning 5/6 matches played in all competitions. This may be a necessary boost for coach Andoni Iraola’s team to welcome Liverpool without striker Mohamed Salah as well as midfielder Wataru Endo due to being busy with the national team participating in the CAN and Asian Cup.
According to experts’ predictions, despite being in quite convincing form recently, Liverpool will likely face difficulties in their away trip to Bournemouth’s stadium: “We see how Man City did when they were not has had Erling Haaland in attack for the past few weeks – now it’s Liverpool’s turn to deal without Mohamed Salah, who returned to participate in CAN 2023 with the Egyptian national team. The Red Devils are also without the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, which is a problem. Another big loss, especially for a difficult match like this one.”
“This will be a real test for Jurgen Klopp’s side. Bournemouth lost to Tottenham in their last match at the start of the year, but they created enough chances to win that match. Before the defeat Meanwhile, Bournemouth has had a series of 7 wins and 1 draw in 8 matches. They are well organized and will be ready to put pressure on Liverpool, and I have a feeling they will gain something from this match.” .
These are two notable matches in the Premier League this weekend. In addition, there are still 3 other matches. West Ham, after the shock of being defeated by lower-ranked team Bristol City in the FA Cup, did not receive high praise from expert Sutton, as he commented that The Hammers would be split points in their away trip to the field of bottom-ranked team Sheffield United. .
A team that is fighting for relegation, Nottingham, will have a trip to Brentford’s stadium and according to expert Sutton’s prediction, home field advantage will help coach Thomas Frank’s team win. Similarly, England’s leading football expert has faith in another home team, Brighton, to overcome Wolves in the latest match of round 21.
