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Manchester City imperious at home but face difficult Newcastle challenge, Graham Potter needs results despite owners’ backing and a potentially exciting battle between Rashford and Salah at Anfield.
Manchester City vs Newcastle
Pep Guardiola’s men have huffed and puffed in the second half of the season after a strong start. City have dominated pretty much every game they have been involved in so far but a few of those have failed to yield the required results.
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Newcastle and Manchester City played out a pulsating 3-3 draw at St James’ Park back in August.
That game had everything, Newcastle briefly led 3-1 in the second half and a rampaging Erling Haaland led the comeback for City.
The Magpies are in a bit of a rut at the moment and they will certainly be reeling from the Carabao Cup final loss to City’s neighbors, Man United.
Eddie Howe’s men could find a way to hurt City as they showed when they met early in the season. Pep will need his players to remain focused in defence and clinical in front of goal which means Haaland might need to have a big game.
Chelsea vs Leeds
There is no simple way to say this. Graham Potter is under immense pressure.
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After the most recent defeat, a 2-0 reverse against Tottenham, fans turned on Potter in huge numbers. They want him gone, at least on Twitter.
There have even been tweets calling for the return of Jose Mourinho. I guess some Chelsea fans have forgotten why he was sacked in the first place. Anyway, Potter needs a win here desperately.
The injury to Thiago Silva is a huge blow but the Blues’ main problems are in front of goal. One goal in their last six games tells a damning tale.
Leeds will be no pushovers, especially under the tutelage of new boss Javi Gracia who secured a win in his opening game to boost confidence levels.
Another defeat for Chelsea and it could be a long week ahead for Graham Potter.
Liverpool vs Manchester United
There are several narratives surrounding this game. For the first time in several years, Manchester United travel to Anfield as the favourites.
Credit to Erik ten Hag for taking this team from a side that would have been losing this game 5-0 at halftime to one that could possibly win it outright, on Sunday.
That said, Liverpool are still Liverpool and this is still going to be Anfield where United have not won in 7 years.
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One problem for Ten Hag is Mohamed Salah’s record in this fixture. The Egyptian has scored 9 goals in his last 5 appearances against the Red Devils and you would not bet against him adding another.
United will believe they can end their disappointing run at Anfield for a few reasons but particularly because of the form of Marcus Rashford.
With 25 goals this season and counting, Rashford looks like a man on a mission and if United are going to have a chance to defeat Liverpool, he will be the catalyst.
Here is the full list of Premier League fixtures for this weekend
Expert predictions for Premier League game week 26
In-house betting expert Kolawale Babatunde gives the best predictions from each game in the English Premier League round 26.
Manchester City - Newcastle Utd - Over 2.5 Aston Villa - Crystal Palace - Under 4.5 Chelsea - Leeds Utd - Under 3.5 Arsenal - Bournemouth - Arsenal to win and over 1.5 Brighton - West Ham - Brighton to win Wolves - Tottenham - Wolves Handicap +2 Southampton - Leicester City - Both teams to score Nottingham Forest - Everton - Under 3.5 Liverpool - Manchester Utd - Both teams to score |
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