Steve Davies
Soccer
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Saturday could be a big day if there is to be a title battle in the English Premier League when the top two teams, Manchester City and Chelsea, go head to head in the early-morning kickoff.
City are in first place and Chelsea are second, so the stakes don’t come any higher – and although City are the favorites, remember these two European giants played each other five times in 2021 and Chelsea came out on top in three of those.
We’ve got a bet for this matchup as part of a 4-game parlay to hopefully see you successfully through Saturday’s slate. It pays at +1194 odds with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Be sure to check out the rest of our Premier League soccer predictions and remember to gamble responsibly.
Manchester City ML (-140)
Newcastle vs Watford over 2.5 goals (-128)
Everton ML (+100)
Aston Villa tie no bet (+112)
Parlay odds: +1194
Manchester City ML (-140) over Chelsea, 7:30am ET
This Chelsea team under head coach Thomas Tuchel didn’t do much wrong in 2021, reaching the FA Cup final and winning the Champions League.
There was the occasional setback, however, such as when they lost 1-0 at home to Manchester City earlier this season. They didn’t quite freeze but City bared their teeth and played Tuchel’s team off the park.
Sure, Chelsea bossed this game last year – they met five times in total with Chelsea going 3-2 – but that most recent result in September was pretty revealing.
Now, of course, City have a 10-point gap over Chelsea in the EPL standings, and Chelsea have also had to deal with a much tougher workload. They’ve played six times since Christmas, while City have played just four times. That could have an impact.
Newcastle vs Watford over 2.5 goals (-128), 10am ET
Newcastle stole all the soccer headlines last weekend – but for all the wrong reasons.
It was FA Cup 3rd-round weekend and Newcastle were embarrassed at home by Cambridge, a team who play their soccer in League One — two divisions below.
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe is already spending the money the club’s new Saudi owners had promised him – but they are still in the relegation zone and simply aren’t a great team.
The same, of course, can be said of Watford – and what is clear is that neither of them can defend. Watford leak an average of 2 goals per game, while Newcastle concede 2.2. And those are the ingredients for a high-scoring matchup in a game both know they need to win.
Everton ML (+100) over Norwich, 10am ET
Rafa Benitez, the Everton head coach, is under serious pressure with his team closer to the bottom of the standings than the top. Many bettors fancied Everton for a good season this time round, but they are on a dreadful run of one win in their last 12 in the league.
They did, however, look pretty good last Saturday night in the FA Cup, winning 3-2 against Championship side Hull. The Toffees should have more than enough to win at Norwich, who are bottom of the English Premier League.
Incredibly, Norwich have lost their last six league games, all without scoring, and last scored a goal in the Premier League in November. They look in horrific trouble.
Aston Villa tie no bet (+112) over Manchester United, 12:30pm ET
This fixture comes just five days after the two teams met in the FA Cup – that was at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home stadium, and it was United who won 1-0.
But they weren’t impressive – indeed they haven’t been impressive all season, and you sense that if Villa have a little more luck at home than they did on Monday, they can win this game.
Villa have won one of their last five games but are playing much better than those bare statistics suggest.
Make sure you check out the rest of our EPL picks and predictions for the weekend
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