Man United make visit St James’ Park to face Newcastle
Manchester United make the trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United today, looking to strengthen their hold of third place in the Premier League table.
Meanwhile, the Magpies welcome the Red Devils to the North East eager to improve on a run of five defeats in six top-flight fixtures.
With a remarkable 19 points from a possible 21 since January 17, Michael Carrick is continuing to bolster his chances of being named the Man United manager on a permanent basis.
Although four of his six victories have come by one-goal margins, positives can be taken from his players showing the maturity and togetherness to secure so many hard-fought successes during his short reign in charge.
While Man United only possess the sixth-best away record in the Premier League, it has gone under the radar that they have put together a five-match unbeaten streak on their travels.
However, it will not be lost on Carrick that Man United have failed to win at St James’ Park since October 2020, while they have also suffered defeat in the three most recent head-to-heads on Tyneside.
That all said, Newcastle are not exactly firing on all cylinders at St James’ Park, highlighted by the 3-2 defeat that they suffered to Everton on Saturday.
While Newcastle will be determined to end a run of three successive Premier League defeats at St James’ Park, they have shown nothing of late to suggest they can outfox a progressive Man United outfit.
With that in mind, we can only back Carrick’s men to battle their way to yet another victory by a one-goal margin.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Brighton and title-chasing Arsenal lock horns today
Both mid-table Brighton & Hove Albion and title-chasing Arsenal will have a third straight Premier League win in their sights when they lock horns at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Brighton took down Nottingham Forest 2-1 in Sunday’s home affair, before the Gunners bested Chelsea by the same scoreline to remain in control of their first-placed destiny.
Set-piece records have been Arsenal’s bread and butter during the Mikel Arteta years, and where their open-play sequences failed against Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea, their colossal corner routines proved as devastating as ever.
A second straight London derby success – after their destruction of Tottenham Hotspur – allowed Arsenal to restore their five-point lead over Manchester City, who still have a match in hand, so it is still as you were in the title race ahead of next month’s Etihad extravaganza.
Also buoyed by back-to-back victories in the top flight, Brighton have picked up more Premier League wins in their last two games than they had in their previous 13 beforehand, suggesting that their European dream is not dead and buried just yet.
The Seagulls held Arsenal to a 1-1 stalemate on home turf a little over a year ago, but Arteta’s men are poised to win as they have earned two home victories in the EFL Cup and top flight this season already and have gone unbeaten in five trips to Brighton’s turf since 2020-21.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Manchester City welcome Nottingham Forest to the Etihad
The Manchester City second-half-of-season juggernaut is rolling, and the Sky Blues will seek a fifth straight Premier League win in Wednesday’s clash with Nottingham Forest at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola‘s men edged out Leeds United 1-0 on Saturday to keep their title fate in their own hands, while the Tricky Trees fell to a 2-1 loss at Brighton & Hove Albion.
No Erling Haaland No problem for Man City and Antoine Semenyo, as the Sky Blues’ new signing filled the Scandinavian’s boots to settle Saturday’s contest with a rejuvenated Leeds side at Elland Road.
A fresh injury prevented Haaland from turning out against the team from his birth city, but with seconds remaining in the first half, Semenyo connected with Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross to prolong Man City’s praiseworthy winning sequence.
Now boasting six straight victories in all tournaments – and four from their most recent four Premier League clashes – the Sky Blues remain five points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League table, but still boasting a game in hand on the Gunners.
Wednesdays have traditionally been wonderful for Guardiola in the Premier League; the Catalan coach has won 24 of the 26 English top-flight home matches he has taken charge of on that particular day, averaging a stunning 2.85 points per match.
Facing a jaded Forest side whose display at Brighton left a lot to be desired, the Sky Blues should pass this test with flying colours to keep Arsenal on their toes.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Aston Villa welcome Chelsea to Villa Park
Aston Villa welcome Chelsea to Villa Park on Wednesday evening for their latest instalment of Premier League action.
The Villans suffered a damaging 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in their previous league outing, while the Blues were narrowly pipped by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Villa’s miserable run of form continued on Friday night as they were beaten 2-0 by close rivals Wolves at Molineux, handing Rob Edwards’s men only their second league win of the season.
Having won only once in their previous five Premier League matches and sitting 13 points behind league leaders Arsenal, the Villans’ title ambitions are almost certainly over, although there is much still to play for.
Now finding themselves in a scrap for a top-five finish, which is likely to earn UEFA Champions League qualification for next season, the immediate objective for Unai Emery‘s side is certainly to return to winning ways and avoid falling further down the table.
The perfect way to start would undoubtedly be picking up all three points on Wednesday evening, a result that would be made even sweeter for Villa considering Chelsea are one of three other sides within a six-point cluster in the race for Champions League inclusion.
The Blues have not been perfect, although Rosenior’s tenure so far has been mostly positive, picking up 14 points from his first seven league matches in charge.
With neither side impressing over the previous few matches we think the points will be shared on Wednesday night, a result that is not ideal for either club.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
