It feels like a pivotal Sunday at the top end of the Premier League – how does our tipster Jones Knows see it all unfolding?
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace, Sunday 2pm
Graham Potter isn’t doing himself any favours at Chelsea with his lack of adaptability. He simply has to make Chelsea tougher to score against and if that goes against his natural instincts then so be it. His defenders don’t look prepared or anywhere near the level required to play Premier League football at the moment.
Kalidou Koulibaly and Trevor Chalobah were so far away from their best against Fulham is was embarrassing and the team’s continued inability to be organised defending set pieces is quite baffling. That’s on the manager.
I’m not sure there will be many takers on the 4/6 with Sky Bet for a home win based on how soft Chelsea are in both boxes. Play the Palace double chance at 6/5 with Sky Bet.
SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1
Newcastle vs Fulham, Sunday 2pm, live on Sky Sports – PLAY SUPER 6 HERE!
Sunday 15th January 1:00pm
Newcastle have taken their time to put away teams of late so I’d expect their shots and shots on target count to be hitting the projected lines as Fulham make a game of it. Nothing much jumped out as serious value but I’d be surprised if Bruno Guimaraes isn’t involved in keeping the shot count high in a game where Newcastle should get the job done. He and Sean Longstaff have a good understanding in the middle of the park of dovetailing when one sits and one attacks the box. It’s leading to the Brazilian seeing plenty of attacking action.
Despite Fulham’s magnificent set of results, I’m still not convinced they defend the heart of the pitch with much conviction so oppositions teams can take advantage there. Guimaraes had 12 shots in his last six games. The 11/10 with Sky Bet for him to have a shot on target stands out.
SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1
Tottenham vs Arsenal, Sunday 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports – PLAY SUPER 6 HERE!
If someone would have given me 12/5 with Sky Bet at the start of the season for Tottenham to beat Arsenal at home, I’d have snapped your hands off. However, my confidence behind Spurs having a title-challenging season was way off the mark and it’s their north London rivals that have made giant strides.
Arsenal are 23/20 with Sky Bet for maximum points. Across all metrics and just using the naked eye to assess performances, it’s hard to argue that they are the most likely winners. But, like with previous north London derby fixtures, I am going hunting for a bet in the cards markets.
In the past four seasons, no fixture has produced more booking points than an Tottenham vs Arsenal encounter. We’ve seen 43 yellows and five reds in the last nine meetings, to be precise. I’d expect this to be fiercely contested in a red-hot atmosphere with both teams playing right on the edge.
With that in mind, I think we can chase a high booking line and the 2/1 on 70 or more booking points makes appeal. It’s a bet that would have landed in six of the last nine meetings between these two in the Premier League.
Sunday 15th January 4:00pm
