Manchester City look the away bankers of the Premier League programme this weekend and they can beat Burnley by more than one goal and without conceding live on television on Saturday. Burnley have won just one of their last 11 leagues games against City and despite a solid start to the season were well beaten by West Brom on Monday, conceding four goals without reply. They could suffer a similar reverse against City at home.
Sergio Aguero has scored against 28 of the 30 teams he has played against for City but he did not score in his one appearance against Burnley. His side had a solid draw away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League this week and are now in a strong position to qualify for the last 16. The club look well on track to win the Premier League for the third time in six years.
Burnley’s two previous Premier League campaigns ended in relegation and despite the reverse at West Brom they have had a solid start to their latest venture at the highest level. City have the best coach in the world and once he is happy with the defence Pep Guardiloa can win the Premier League during his first season in charge and that process can begin by picking up three points at Burnley.
Chelsea have had more victories against Tottenham than any of their other opponents in the history of the Premier League. They have won their six of their last seven matches in all competitions, scoring 18 goals and conceding two. Tottenham have not won in 29 visits to Stamford Bridge in all competitions. They were poor in their defeat at Monaco which means they will not progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League and may not even finish third and move into the Europa League.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte showed with Italy at Euro 2016 how far an excellent coach can improve a squad when the players are tuned in to the message. Diego Costa is the first player to score 10 goals in the Premier League this season. Finishing third would usually be considered a good season for Tottenham but they missed a great opportunity to win the Premier League last season and the whole thing unravelled in this corresponding fixture which Chelsea can win this time though both teams should score.
Watford at home to Stoke has a mid-table look to it and home advantage can be key in determining the outcome. Stoke have won just once on their last nine Premier League road trips and Watford have lost just one in six but that was a 6-1 thumping away to Liverpool. Stoke failed to avoid defeat at home to Bournemouth in the Premier League last time and another loss is feasible this weekend.
Watford are now established in the top half of the table and look like continuing to overachieve in the context of the wage bill and resources. Troy Deeney is one goal away from joining a select group of players to score 100 goals for Watford. Stoke have finished between 9th and 14th since moving up to the Premier League in 2008 and that trend looks set to continue this season but a trip to Watford could prove fruitless.
Southampton and Everton will probably be safe from relegation and not qualify for Europe. A draw is the most likely outcome of their meeting on the south coast on Sunday. Southampton have lost just one of their last 11 matches in the Premier League while Everton needed a 89th minute goal to secure a point at home to Swansea last Saturday. There is little between the sides so the stalemate looks the most likely outcome of this fixture and both sides should have fairly uneventful seasons with no great dramas at either end of the table.
Romelu Lukaku has scored just four goals in 17 away matches for Everton in the Premier League. Since beating Inter Milan in the Europa League Southampton picked up one point from two Premier League matches. The club keep selling their best players but hold their own at this level. Everton finished fifth in Roberto Martinez’s first season but then 11th in his last two years at the club. A top-four target is ambitious and that is dependent on how much the new investor is prepared to spend. There could be some encouragement from a draw at Southampton.
Leave a Reply