Qualifying for the Champions League is the key aspect of Saturday’s Premier League action with Liverpool looking to jump into the top four with a win over Newcastle before direct rivals West Ham and Chelsea do battle at the London Stadium.
Liverpool can afford few slips in their remaining six matches if they want to qualify for the Champions League and they can help their cause with a comfortable win over Newcastle at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea but they look over their early-year Premier League blip, taking ten points from the last 12 available and it was only a late leveller against Leeds which stopped four wins on the spin.
Liverpool are understandably 1/4 for the win with a better bet coming in the Asian handicap market with the Reds fancied to cover the minus 1.5 line at 20/27.
Newcastle have kept only two clean sheets in 2021 and when they get beat on the road it tends to end in a wide-margin loss.
Nine times the Magpies have lost on their travels and eight of those were by at least two goals with the exception being a 1-0 defeat to rock-bottom Sheffield United.
Steve Bruce has Newcastle more adventurous these days and they may be able to notch a consolation with a 3-1 home win of interest at 8/1 in what would be a repeat of last season’s score at Anfield between the clubs.
Chelsea Can Edge Out Hammers
West Ham and Chelsea are level on points and it’s a huge London derby which can go the way of the visiting Blues in what could be a low-scoring encounter.
An away win with under 3.5 goals is available at 7/5 and appeals given Thomas Tuchel’s team have managed 11 clean sheets in their last 13 matches.
Twelve of Chelsea’s last 13 wins have featured under 3.5 goals and West Ham just don’t look quite the same team with Declan Rice and Michail Antonio injured.
The Hammers’ last four games have featured 21 goals, but before that each of the previous seven were under 3.5 goals.
A 1-0 Chelsea win at 5/1 may also be worth a second look with the Blues having already won by that margin four away games under Tuchel.
'It's in our hands.'
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 24, 2021
Blades Lack Cutting Edge
Relegated Sheffield United will be hoping to finish the season with pride but the blunt Blades have scored just twice in their last nine Premier League games.
Putting them in for nil seems sensible with Brighton 20/21 for a clean sheet, although for better value take a tie and under 2.5 goals at 3/1 and 0-0 correct score at 6/1. Brighton have played seven matches against teams currently below them in the table and all of them went under 2.5 goals. Six of them were draws – including the reverse fixture – and three finished goalless.
*All odds correct at time of writing