Manchester City welcome Fulham to the Etihad Stadium
Fresh from their memorable triumph at Anfield, Manchester City will attempt to apply more pressure on Premier League title rivals Arsenal when they welcome Fulham to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
The two teams meet just over two months on from their nine-goal thriller at Craven Cottage which the Citizens won by a 5-4 scoreline.
Guardiola and co will welcome a return to the Etihad where they have accumulated 44 points from a possible 51 available across their last 17 Premier League home games.
Man City should be confident of success on Wednesday, as they have won each of their last 19 encounters against Fulham in all tournaments and have prevailed in all of their last 16 Premier League meetings with the Cottagers.
In addition, the Citizens love a midweek fixture at the Etihad, as they have not lost any of their last 55 Premier League home games played on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (W47 D8) since suffering a narrow 1-0 loss to Tottenham in May 2010.
If the reverse fixture is anything to go by, then we could be in for another Premier League cracker this week, with both sides expected to adopt a positive, attack-minded approach.
Taking into account Man City’s exceptional head-to-head record against Fulham, their strong home form, and the Cottagers’ recent dip, it is difficult to back against the Citizens on this occasions.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Sunderland play host to reigning champions Liverpool
Two Premier League teams keen to make a swift return to winning ways butt heads at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday night, as Sunderland play host to reigning champions Liverpool.
The Black Cats and the Reds meet just over two months on from playing out a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at Anfield where Nordi Mukiele’s own goal rescued a point late on for Arne Slot‘s side.
Dropping points late in matches has become a problem for the Reds, who have now conceded four 90th-minute winners in the top flight this season.
Defeat for Liverpool represents their eighth in the Premier League this season, twice as many as last season when they won the title, and head coach Arne Slot has a tricky task on his hands to secure Champions League qualification.
The Merseysiders can ill-afford to drop too many more points following a poor run of just one win in their last seven Premier League games.
After scoring his superb free kick against Man City, Szoboszlai was send off in the closing stages for denying a goalscoring opportunity and will now serve a one-match suspension against Sunderland.
Another closely-contested battle is in store, and with the Reds not quite firing on all cylinders at present, we are backing the Black Cats to claim at least a share of the spoils in front of a fired-up capacity crowd.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Aston Villa and Brighton look to return to winning ways
Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion will both be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they do battle at Villa Park on Wednesday night.
The two teams were involved in a seven-goal thriller in the reverse fixture just over two months ago, with Villa claiming a 4-3 victory at the Amex Stadium.
Since enjoying an eight-game winning streak in the Premier League towards the end of last year, Aston Villa have only won two of their last seven top-flight matches (D3 L3), dropping points in their first two fixtures of February against Brentford and Bournemouth.
Villa sit third in the Premier League table and nine points behind the Gunners at the summit, while there is an eight-point gap to sixth-placed Liverpool. However, the Midlands club cannot rest on their laurels, as they are scheduled to face the Merseysiders, Man City, Man United and Chelsea before the season comes to a close.
Emery and co have lost their last two Premier League home games to Brentford and Everton, and they are now looking to avoid becoming the first English top-flight team in history to lose three consecutive home matches having won their previous eight (or more) beforehand – Villa have not lost three on the bounce at home since November 2020 under former boss Dean Smith.
An entertaining, end-to-end contest could be in store on Wednesday, given that six of the last seven meetings between Aston Villa and Brighton have seen three or more goals scored, with both teams netting in five of those.
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Crystal Palace, Burnley faceoff at Selhurst Park
Fresh off ending a nine-match winless Premier League run, Crystal Palace host Burnley at Selhurst Park on Wednesday, seeking consecutive top-flight victories for the first time since December.
The precedent in this fixture undoubtedly favours the Eagles, who have won the last three meetings against the Clarets, and are backed to add to the Lancashire side’s misery by extending the visitors’ seven-match winless run in midweek league games.
Oliver Glasner was full of praise for the Palace supporters after Sunday’s 1-0 win over rivals Brighton & Hove Albion secured the club’s first top-flight victory in 10 games, since defeating Fulham 2-1 on December 7.
Aiming to restore some Selhurst Park confidence, the South London club head into this midweek round 26 fixture seeking their first home league victory since beating Brentford 2-0 at the start of November.
Indeed, three statistics ought to please Palace supporters heading into Wednesday: their club have won the last three meetings against Burnley without conceding; the Eagles are unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 midweek Premier League games; and the hosts are enjoying a nine-year unbeaten run against teams starting the day in the bottom three, winning 13 and drawing six.
Although Palace have found victories hard to come by at Selhurst Park lately, their historic dominance over teams in the bottom three and their winning streak against Burnley suggest they will find a way to prevail.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
